A young woman has a rare condition that leaves her constantly aroused – but the sensation is anything but pleasurable.
Amanda McLaughlin, 23, of Jackson, Michigan, has Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD), a condition that makes her feel as if she is always on the brink of orgasm.
But the debilitating disability doesn’t give her any pleasure, and leaves her in constant pain.
Amanda McLaughlin at home in Jackson, Michigan. Her condition means she cannot drive, or work, but she is working with doctors who are trying to find a cure for her
Amanda says relationships have been hard to maintain but she is now engaged to Jojo Feller, who she met a year ago and is very supportive of her unusual condition
She said: ‘I wish the name was different. You say arousal and it sounds like it’s a fun thing to have.
‘I get people saying “oh I wish my wife had that” and thinking it’s a joke.
‘But would they want to have a raging boner 24/7? I don’t think so.’
The 23-year-old, who cannot work or drive because of her condition, says that she has to sit on heat pads to relieve the pain she feels in her pelvis and in her legs.
Amanda McLaughlin and her fiance, Jojo Feller at home. She has Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD) – a rare condition that means she feels as though she is always on the brink of orgasm
Amanda McLaughlin has had the condition all her life but was only diagnosed with it in 2013
She also has to insert ice into her vagina to help with swelling.
For years Amanda complained of feeling like she ‘needed to orgasm’ but doctors told her that there was nothing wrong or that she had a sex addiction.
She explained: ‘From the ages of 15 to 18 I masturbated constantly. Way more than an average teenager would.
‘I knew there was something not right. I kept telling people “I need to have sex” but nobody listened to me.’
Even her mother, Victoria Enriquez, struggled at times to believe her daughter.
Victoria said: ‘I still feel guilty. My daughter was telling me she was in pain and the doctors were saying there was nothing wrong.
‘And I believed them over my child. The whole family thought she was just a w**** and I thought she was a hypochondriac or making it up.’
Amanda (left) with her mother, Victoria Enriquez (right). Her mother admitted that she didn’t believe that her daughter had a medical condition before she was diagnosed, and said the whole family thought she was a ‘w****’
Amanda says her relationship with Jojo is hard work as sometimes she has to beg him for sex just to relieve some of the pressure she is feeling
Amanda says the condition is exceptionally painful rather than pleasurable
Amanda was finally diagnosed with PGAD in 2013, but had never heard of the disorder.
She said: ‘I looked it up online and found so many other women, and some men, who also have this problem. They understood.’
Her mother Victoria said: ‘It was a huge relief because then there was something – there was validation.
‘She’s not lying, she’s not making all this stuff up, she’s not a w**** and she’s not a sex addict. I really want the diagnosis to mean that she can find a cure.’
Unable to work or drive because of the condition, Amanda has suffered with depression and anxiety because of the extremely personal nature of PGAD, and the pain that comes with it.
But she has found support in fiancé Jojo Feller, whom she met a year ago. The pair have been inseparable ever since.
Amanda has now been with her fiance Jojo for a year – but he says he tries to keep their sex life from feeling like a chore
Amanda is now on 30 different types of medication to try and ease her symptoms but so far any treatment has only provided temporary relief
Amanda said: ‘Relationships are really hard to keep with this problem.
‘But he never once has judged me, he never made me feel bad about not working. It was love at first sight.’
Amanda admitted that PGAD has caused some tension in the relationship and that at times, she has had to beg Jojo for sex to try to relieve her symptoms.
In turn, Jojo wants to keep sex from feeling like a chore and instead something special the two share.
Amanda said: ‘It affects our sex life quite tremendously – you’d think that you could have sex and it would just go away, but it doesn’t.
‘Sometimes I will be crying and begging him to have sex with me just to relieve some of the pressure that I have down there.
Amanda (with her fiance Jojo) is under the care of Dr Gupta who is trying different therapies to try and help her
She has had procedures to numb her nerves, but any successes so far have been found to be only temporary in nature
‘And it doesn’t feel great, having to beg your man for sex.’
JoJo met Amanda at a party of a mutual friend and she was open with him right from the start.
Jojo said: ‘When she first told me I didn’t know how to feel about it but I liked her so I was prepared to jump in.
‘I just try to support her and learn as much as I can. ‘The more I can learn, the more I can help her. I’ll help her so she can get anything she needs.’
Amanda is now seeing a specialist at Michigan University and is taking thirty different medications to help ease her symptoms.
She has had procedures to numb her nerves, but any successes so far have been found to be only temporary in nature.
Dr Priyanka Gupta, assistant professor of neurology at Michigan University is working with Amanda and is still confident that there is hope.
She said: ‘Because it’s such a rare diagnosis and there’s been such little research into PGAD, we don’t know exactly what causes it. We suspect it’s multifactorial.
‘I don’t have a quick cure for this, and I’ve spoken with Amanda about that. We’re going to be trying out a few different therapies and I’m very hopeful that we can get her functioning better.’