The O-Shot | Can This Platelet Rich Plasma Shot Give You Better Sex?

DOES IT HURT?

"The vaginal area and clitoral region are very sensitive areas so the O-shot may cause some discomfort.  It also depends on your pain threshold. But at our practice we give our patients topical numbing medicine to apply 1-2 hours before the procedure and they tolerate the procedure. They describe the "pain" as a discomfort at best."

- Dr. Edsel Antonio, cosmetic OB/GYN, South Plainfield, New Jersey

How much does it cost?

RealSelf.com lists the average price for the O-Shot as $1,400.

How long does it last?

The O-Shot website says the shot "does last up to 3 years or longer in some women.  But, average seems to be about 18 months."

But the O-Shot gets it's share of criticism.

One of the most vocal critics of the O-Shot is Dr. Jen,Gunter, an OB / GYN and blogger. She talks about it in her post, Does the “O Shot®” give insanely good orgasms or is it a “no shot.”

Here are some of Dr. Gunter's concerns:

• There isn't enough evidence to prove that PRP works.  She cites a study of Platelet Rich Therapies for Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Injuries. The study didn't find enough evidence to support the use of platelet rich therapies to treat musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries.
• We can't be sure the O-Shot is safe.  Lots of women have HPV (human papilloma virus), a virus known to cause cancer of the cervix, vulva, and vagina. In her article, Dr. Gunter wonders, "If a woman has human papilloma virus (HPV) in her vagina (lots of women do) and gets a PRP injection could that cause the HPV to spread or make it more likely to develop into cancer?" She explains, "Lots of therapies sound good on paper, but when they are put to the test they don’t work or the studies are never robust enough to say either way. Sometimes when we test things we also find unanticipated bad side effects."
• There is only one study of these vaginal injections to back Dr. Runels' claims.  Larger studies - and more of them - will give a better idea if the procedure works.
• Dr. Runels' study only follows 11 women.  It's just not a big enough group to get conclusive results.
• This study is published in the Journal of Women’s Health Care. It's an open access journal from OMICS Publishing group, a publisher with a questionable reputation.  Wickipedia lists OMICS Publishing Group as "a publisher of open access journals that is widely regarded as predatory. It issued its first publication in 2008. According to a 2012 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education about 60 percent of the group's 200 journals had never actually published anything."
• The women studied had a variety of complaints from dyspareunia to orgasmic disorder. The best studies treat people with the same conditions because it's easier to quantify the results. Dr. Gunter uses this analogy, "The study has apples and oranges and pears all lumped in together."
• There is no proof that the shot lasts as long as Dr. Runels says.  The women had their final check at 10 - 16 weeks. Dr. Runels says the results last anywhere from 18 months to 3 years. Because his study didn't last a full 18 months, there is no proof that the O-Shot works for 18 months, 3 years, or any period of time past the final check.
• There was no placebo group included in the study, so the placebo effect cannot be ruled out.  (A placebo is a harmless pill (like a sugar pill), medication, or procedure prescribed for the emotional benefit of a patient - instead of a medication with active ingredients that that work. They're used in clinical studies for a basis of comparison. Usually, the people receiving the placebo are unaware they are getting the placebo.)  The LA Times wrote about it. The more expensive a drug, the more effective people thought it was - even when it was a placebo. And the O-Shot is expensive.