Rebecca Gillett: There’s one thing that can easily kill the mood if you’re not in the mood is the smell of pain cream. So, if (laughs) my husband ever walks in the room and he’s like, “Oh, it’s one of those nights, huh?” So, he knows, OK, you’re in pain, fine. You know?

But that is one thing, too, for some people. I’m fortunate to have a husband that does a lot of things. Just that alone, that appreciative perspective I have of all of the things he does to support. That adds to the intimacy. He takes care of me. It does make a difference. I think that adds to it. Keep unloading that dishwasher, Pete. I mean, seriously. (laughs) For a lot of women, especially in moms, we’re all trying to balance so many things. And that’s, you know, that’s the hard part. When am I supposed to have energy to do that, too?

We’ve talked a lot about having a healthy sex life and drive and keeping that with your partner. But I don’t wanna skim over the fact that there might be listeners who are listening who don’t have a partner. So, do you have patients with arthritis who come to you who have concerns about their sexual health and they don’t have a partner?

Iris Zink, NP: Absolutely. And I hope Vicky has a lot more advice about this: If you are newly diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and you’re dating, and when do you reveal that? And talk about lubrication and things like that. I have a sex therapist that I have on speed dial so that I can refer my patients to the sex therapist, or give them a catalog of toys. There’s so much on the internet now that is available. And remind them that the occupational therapist can help them with gadgets and devices and help them manipulate them.

If you have an orgasm, your pain threshold goes up by 110%, according to the Rutgers study. That is huge. It really helps with pain. It helps physiologically with your immune system, when you have an orgasm. You’re better able to fight infection, which we all need right now. So, these are really, really important things for everyone.

But it’s very, very important to maintain a sex life, even if you’re a solo partner, because it helps with pain

Pete Scalia: I’m gonna give that entire list right there, all the benefits. I’m gonna tell my wife about all of that tonight (laughing), for sure. It’s good for my health, right?

Rebecca Gillett: Yeah, the endorphin release, I think we forget about that, right? One of the things that we talk about is staying physically active when you have arthritis. So, this is a form of physical activity.

Victoria Ruffing, RN-BC: It seems to me that too soon is… it can be scary. But too late can be scary. So, it’s really, I think, a matter of sort of waiting for that door to open. I guess if I had to give it a third date discussion or something like that. It depends. I think you’re gonna know. And if it’s not the right person to bring it up sГ©rvio mulheres namorando with, then that’s not the right person.

I love it when ladies come to me and tell me that they wanna maintain intimacy but they don’t have a partner, because then we can talk about toys, which is super fun

Iris Zink, NP: That’s why the support groups are so important, and the Arthritis Foundation is so important, because that allows individuals to have a platform where they can talk to other people who’ve been there and done that. And what do you do? And what worked for you?