"I feel like I'm less of a woman and that I’m missing out on something that’s a natural human feeling. It’s splashed across books, movies, and conversations all over the world, yet it’s something I can’t experience myself."
These are the words of Jo Turner*, a 38 year old women who has never experienced an orgasm. Despite a healthy sex drive and a loving and supportive partner, Turner feels frustrated, disappointed and alone.
However, she is far from it.
According to the MayoClinic, as many as one in five women suffer with anorgasmia, the inability to orgasm, and as many as one in ten claim never to have climaxed at all.
But for Turner, and others like her, a remedy may not be that far away.
Professor Susan Davis from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Monash University has been at the reins of a trial of nasal spray, Tefina.
She believes the spray could help one in three women to achieve full sexual satisfaction.
"We knew from other studies that testosterone therapy improves the likelihood of women achieving orgasm, so we wanted to look at whether intermittent dosing could achieve the same result."
Unlike other testosterone treatments that require continuous dosing, Tefina is used 'on demand' only, and therefore is considered a better alternative.
The results so far have been promising. 58 per cent of women in the trial reported a 35 per cent increase in orgasms while taking the drug, in comparison to 48 per cent who were given a placebo.
"Sexual function is multifactorial and there is a huge placebo effect to treatment," acknowledges Davis. "The same goes for many medical conditions such as depression and migraine, because our minds impact so much on our bodies."
Davis highlights that in a less controlled environment, the likelihood of orgasm could potentially be even higher.
Pending the success of further trials, Davis estimates the drug will be available to the public in 2016. However, she says it will not provide the answer for everyone.
"No one working in this field disregards the importance of relationships, self esteem, wellbeing, or general health, but sometimes it’s difficult to work out which is the chicken and which is the egg," she explains.
"To assess a person’s sexual wellbeing you have to look at the bigger picture, and it can be very complex."
"There are both physical and psychological factors that contribute to anorgasmia," she says.
Physical factors could be damage to the nervous system, multiple sclerosis, genital changes after menopause, or certain medications.
Psychological factors could be things like past sexual traumas, depression, anger, relationship distress, difficulties letting go, sexual beliefs, or trust issues.
'Spectating' is also a common problem amongst women.
"This is where a woman is not really present in the moment and will describe feeling more like an observer than a participant during a sexual encounter," explains Spierings.
So what treatments are currently available to help?
"If menopause plays a role, there are treatments for vaginal atrophy or dryness. But for others, I recommend body exploration, possibly with a vibrator."
Spierings says it’s often easier for women to learn to orgasm via masturbation, as they can let go completely when no one else can see or hear them.
She also recommends sex therapy to overcome more deeper-rooted issues.
"Therapy can help you to become more sexually confident and provide you with specific tips on how to reach orgasm, either with or without a partner," she says.
Sexologist, Elaine George, agrees, and says that women need to learn how to pleasure themselves via both 'biofeedback' and neural feedback.
"Biofeedback gives the woman the power to use her thoughts to control her body, and to let go and enjoy the sensations," she says.
"Neurofeedback links into neuroplasticity. Our brains can constantly create new neural pathways and sometimes learning to masturbate and reach orgasm is exactly that."
George says that mindfulness techniques are also essential and often overlooked.
"Mindfulness allows us to achieve orgasm by learning to shut out the myriad of noise and distractions from the outside world - it is an internal escape and good for the soul!"
