The Sexual Lives of Women Living with Fibromyalgia: A Qualitative Study

This study examined women ’s perceptions of the impact of FM on a broad range of aspects of their sexual well-being as well as on their romantic and sexual relationship. Participants were 16 women diagnosed with FM currently in a romantic relationship living in North America who participated in a semi-structured interview. Inductive thematic analysis identified four themes: (1) Do I want to have sex? That’s a complicated question; (2) The impact of FM on women’s sexual well-being is not uniform; (3) It’s about more than sex and more than just me; (4) Elements that ameliorate or exacerbate the effect of FM’s o n SWB. Together, these results point to the variability and complexity of the effects of FM on women’s sexual well-being. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of assessing and addressing a wide range of aspects of the SWB of women with FM.
Source: Sexuality and Disability - Category: Disability Source Type: research