Is the O-Shot® Right for Me?

Menopause can be associated with changes in sexual function for older women encounter as they age. Women may find it more challenging to experience a positive sexual experience, and it may become harder to feel their normal clitoral sensitivity, experience orgasm or get in the mood for intercourse.

The clitoris is an important part of a women’s sexual response. With sexual stimulation, the clitoris fills with blood. This engorgement can enhance the stimulation of the abundant nerve endings in the clitoris.

Clitoral atrophy (shrinking of the size of the clitoris) can be experienced in perimenopause and menopause. Declining levels of hormones and decreased blood flow, as well as ongoing disuse can be factors. Decreasing size and function of the clitoris can be a major cause for decreased sensitivity and difficulty with orgasm with aging.

Women may also experience changes in the vaginal tissue with aging. Your vaginal tissue becomes thinner and loses moisture and elasticity as you age, making it more challenging to have intercourse. Due to dryness and low sex drive, women have found that sexual intercourse has become more painful and less pleasurable. Urinary incontinence may also become and issue, or worsen with age.

What if you could change your sexual experience and with one clinic procedure to address these issue with minimal complications? If there was a medical treatment that could potentially improve your sex life, would you take it?

Learn more about what the O-Shot® has to offer and how it can affect menopause and incontinence below.

What Is The O-Shot®?

The O-Shot® is a non-surgical clinic treatment using platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection for a woman’s vagina. Platelets travel within your bloodstream, and are an important part of your normal healing response when you have physical injury. At the site of injured tissue, platelets release growth factors that heal tissue.

During a PRP procedure, your blood is drawn and your platelets are extracted and the platelet-rich plasma can be used to rejuvenate injected tissue.

Many women in perimenopause or older have noticed significant improvements by the O-Shot®’s effects on their sexual performance, as well as improvement of vaginal dryness and mild incontinence.

How Does the O-Shot® Work?

The O-Shot®, or “orgasm shot,” is a non-surgical procedure that many women use to positively impact their sexual responsiveness and deal with changing vaginal tissue with age. A medical professional uses your PRP to stimulate new healthy tissue change by injecting it into the vagina and clitoral area.

When your provider injects PRP into your tissues, the platelets are activated to release growth factors into the injected tissue. The growth factors in PRP have been shown in studies to increase blood flow, increase new nerve connections and supportive collagen fibers. While the process of new tissue stimulation and blood flow in your genital increase, so will your sensitivity and sexual comfort. For some women, it may also have a positive impact on mild incontinence issues faced during menopause.

Benefits

Like everything in this world, the O-Shot® is not a one-size-fits-all method for sexual performance or sex drive. Some women may experience the “wow factor,” whereas others may notice a more modest increase in sensitivity. 

Benefits of the O-Shot® vary depending on age, medical conditions (such as incontinence), and hormonal problems associated with menopause. However, for women who experience results benefits include:

• Greater clitoral sensitivity
• Improved sexual performance and sex drive
• Improved frequency and intensity orgasms
• Improved ability to experience penetration orgasm
• Decreased incontinence
• Increased vaginal lubrication and dryness
• Decreased painful sexual experiences

Who Is the O-Shot® For?

The O-Shot® is for people who experience a lack of sexual interest and worry about their sex drive, sexual dysfunction, and older women undergoing menopause and other complications, such as incontinence.

Candidates for the O-Shot® are most commonly perimenopausal women who experience one or more of the following:

• Arousal and orgasm difficulty, especially related to aging
• Clitoral atrophy related to aging
• Vaginal dryness (atrophic vaginitis)

The O-Shot® should not be performed is you have symptoms of, or are being treated for a bladder infection/urinary tract infection, vaginal infection, or other new vaginal issue.

Essentially, the O-Shot® is for women who are experiencing sexual difficulties with feeling clitoral stimulation or achieving orgasm; the O-shot can also improve vaginal dryness and mild urinary incontinence. If you are one of these women, we encourage you to speak with your healthcare provider.

Side Effects and Disadvantages

Since the O-Shot® is a minor procedure involving injecting your own blood products, the procedure is very safe, and with minimal side effects relating to the shot. Like any injection, you may experience some mild symptoms at the injection site.

Some women have experienced the following:

• Minor pinching or pressure during the injection
• Potential for small bruising or swelling
• Mild irritation of genital skin
• Brief increased incontinence
• Small pinpoint bleeding at injection sites

Each side effect, if any, is normal and resolves within a couple of hours following the procedure.

When to Seek Immediate Help

An infection at the injection site may occur in extremely rare cases. If you notice any of the following rare symptoms, you must call your healthcare provider or an ambulance for immediate help:

• Fever
• Severe pain or blistering
• Rash or severe sensitivity
• Symptoms are not getting better

While it is exceptionally rare for an infection to occur after an O-Shot® injection, your doctor or practitioner will help ease your mind if you experience abnormal symptoms.

Is the O-Shot® Expensive?

Perhaps the biggest downside of deciding to get the O-Shot® is the price. Ranging from $1200 – $1,800, the O-Shot® is not cheap. Also, the O-Shot is not covered by medical insurance as it is not FDA-approved since there isn’t enough data to support the success of the O-Shot®.

What to Expect

A consultation with an experienced provider is a must to make sure the O-shot is the best procedure for you.

Upon entering the clinic, you’ll be directed to an exam room for the O-Shot® procedure. The tissue at the injection area is first treated by applying a topical numbing medication. A nurse or doctor will extract blood from your arm, which is placed into a centrifuge to separate your PRP. After PRP has been separated from your blood, your doctor will perform the injections.

There are two injection sites: one in the vaginal wall and another in the clitoris. You may feel initial vagina fullness for the first three days. Immediately after the procedure, you can return to your daily activities. If you have any mild vaginal irritation from the procedure, you may want to wait a day or two for that to resolve before engaging in sexual activity, as you may feel the swelling impacts your sexual performance or sex drive.

FAQs

While the O-Shot® is completely safe and uses your natural blood product, you may still have some questions before making your final decisions, such as how it will impact menopause or any incontinence issues you may be facing.

Here’s what women are asking:

#1. How long will the treatment take?

From start to finish, the procedure lasts no longer than one hour. Your medical practitioner will answer any questions you may have before and after the procedure.

#2. Is there a recovery time?

You don’t have to change your daily schedule and there is no downtime for your regular daytime activities. Some women may have some very mild irritation of the injected tissue. You may resume sexual activity that evening after the procedure if you are comfortable, or after any mild irritation resolves.

#3. How long does the O-Shot® last?

On average, the O-Shot® has proven to last for up to 1-2 years. However, each individual is different, so the O-Shot® may last for shorter or longer than the average time.

If you need to get another O-Shot® sooner, it’s safe to receive a follow-up treatment 3-4 months later. Many physicians recommend periodic O-Shot® injections to best maintain maximum benefits and enhanced sexual performance.

#4. How fast are the results?

Results vary from person to person. Generally speaking, you’ll feel the O-Shot® benefits within the first 2-3 weeks, but it can take up to two to three months before symptom improvement, including improvement to clitoral sensitivity and incontinence.

#5. How many O-Shots® can I take?

While there is no magic number of how many O-Shot® you can have in a year, getting periodic follow-up treatment may be helpful to maintain benefits.

If you’re unsure, speak to your healthcare provider for more information.

Bottom Line: Is the O-Shot® Right for Me?

While the O-Shot® was designed for perimenopausal and menopausal women, there is no age limit on who can take the O-Shot®. If you’re trying to decide whether the O-Shot® is right for you, speak to an O-Shot® provider. These professionals can answer your questions and ease your concerns while deciding if the O-Shot® is suitable for you.

If you’re interested in learning more about the O-Shot®, contact BioAge Health today.