Recognition and management of addictive sexual disorders: guide for the primary care clinician.

With greater awareness of sexual exploitation, professional sexual misconduct, and the sexual issues of public figures, a growing awareness of the problem of sexual addiction is emerging. As a result of public awareness, more cases will be brought to the attention of primary care providers. When primary care providers are confronted by problematic sexual behavior that fits the parameters of addictive illness, they should know what the implications are in order to make appropriate clinical decisions and to evaluate treatment approaches. The purpose of this article is to summarize the nature of the problem, to review critical issues in assessment, to provide treatment options, and to suggest critical factors for monitoring progress.

Sexual addiction and compulsion: recognition, treatment, and recovery.

The management of patients with compulsive sexual behavior requires an understanding of the profile of the sexually compulsive or addicted patient. This article summarizes patient characteristics and their implications for treatment. Data from a study of the recovery of 957 patients who had problematic, sexually excessive behavior are presented. Spanning 5 years, the study shows six distinct stages patients experienced and the clinical activities that were most useful to them. A trajectory of a typical diagnosis and treatment path is provided, as well as important resources for physicians and patients.

Virtual sex addiction: when cybersex becomes the drug of choice.

This article explores how the concepts of cybersex and sexual addiction overlap. Sexual addiction is explained briefly to provide the reader with the necessary information to understand how this overlap may occur. Examination of data from recent studies in cybersex are presented. In addition, several cybersex case examples are provided to illuminate numerical findings with real-life clinical examples. Recommendations for future research are presented along with the Internet Sex Screening Test to help assess whether someone may need help with their cybersexual addiction.

Change in pain threshold by meperidine, naproxen sodium, and acetaminophen as determined by electric pulp testing.

The purpose of this study was to compare changes in pain threshold caused by meperidine, naproxen sodium, acetaminophen, and placebo. The change in pain threshold was measured by electric pulp testing. Acetaminophen elevated the pain threshold statistically significantly. Clinically, however, the superiority of acetaminophen is questionable. No elevation of the pain threshold occurred with narcotic drugs or with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: our research shows that the electric pulp tests of patients who have taken these drugs preoperatively will have results similar to those of patients who have taken no drugs. We question the philosophy of administering these drugs for change in pain threshold at the levels used here preoperatively.