14 and struggling to get wet

[Aspen]

I'm currently 14 and will be 15 in September. I have had a pretty high sex drive for all of last year and it's continuing into this year. I frequently watch porn or read erotic works and do find it at least mentally/emotionally arousing. Sadly, though, I can't seem to get actually wet.

I want to masturbate, and I have a pretty big interest in sex, but the one area that's required for that is refusing to cooperate. Even if I try in the shower, it seems to almost suck in all the moisture and go back to full on Sahara desert mode. It starting to be a big issue for me as I'm often finding myself wanting to masturbate but being met with an uncooperative cooch. If it helps, I have had my period and they've been consistent for about a year now.

I have some ideas on what it could be that's causing this issue for me, but there's no being sure. I'll list them off.

One thing that might be part of it is that I'm of course 14. I'm young, and even though I'm a freshman in highschool and I'm pretty mature physically, mentally, and emotionally, I'm guessing it's possible that even with periods and hormones that the mysterious part of my body called a vagina just may not be ready for a big jump like this.

The second possibility I had come up with is medications. I've struggled with mental health for a lot of my life, and I've read that medications can cause dryness. Though I'm not sure if methylphenidate or sertraline is the big bad guy that's been drying up the land down under, though I'm guessing even if the meds have nothing to do with the snatch, they may be playing a part in my currently failing irrigation system.

My third guess is that I need to change my habits or at least try and take better care of my health when it comes to my eating, drinking, and sleeping. ADHD patients like me can end up being sugar/caffeine addicts and I'm most certainly no exception. I've been doing a bit better as the new year came around and I've focused on eating better, but I still will drink a large amount of soda instead of water a lot of the time and that's probably not the best for my body when it comes to getting some moisture. Soda, of course, has caffeine, and though caffeine doesn't actually affect me much (ADHD thing, I've noticed it makes me more tired at times) I still don't have the best sleeping patterns. At the current time of writing this, it is 4:33 am, so there's an example of "woops, I'm bad at sleeping at the right time". I've even been sleeping in more by accident lately (that might be the fact that it's winter so it's darker for more time). I eat a lot of junk foods, love sugary things, and even though I love fruit I often resort to the quicker to grab bag of chips that I don't have to wash off like I would with a bowl of mixed berries.

The fourth and final option is that I've got some sort of health issue. Though I don't exactly find this likely, I've struggled with maintaining my weight for most of my life due to my mental state and eating habits, and since I've lost quite a bit of weight lately (I went from around 96ish pounds to 86) I've guessed that maybe this rapid change in weight in my still developing system could be taking a toll on my health in not only a physical way as in weight but also in how my body actually reacts and treats things.

So, is this a normal problem for other girls of my age? Is it something I should wait on, are my meds to blame, is my health the issue? Should I just look for a gynecologist in case? Thanks for any help or advice, as it will be really appreciated!

[Sam W]

Hi Aspen,

Sounds like you've developed a lot of theories about this! It's unlikely that your age is an issue (when age does cause vaginal dryness it's usually due to someone being post-menopausal), and if you're on medications, particularly antidepressants, that is a know side effect of them. If you haven't read it before, this article might help you out right now: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advic ... ate_enough . Too, some people produce less lubricant than others, but if this is bothering you or causing you concern, you could ask a gynecologist to take a look and offer their opinion.

Have you looked into getting yourself some lube off the self to help you out?

[Aspen]

Hi Aspen,

Sounds like you've developed a lot of theories about this! It's unlikely that your age is an issue (when age does cause vaginal dryness it's usually due to someone being post-menopausal), and if you're on medications, particularly antidepressants, that is a know side effect of them. If you haven't read it before, this article might help you out right now: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advic ... ate_enough . Too, some people produce less lubricant than others, but if this is bothering you or causing you concern, you could ask a gynecologist to take a look and offer their opinion.

Have you looked into getting yourself some lube off the self to help you out?

I haven't as I'm not sure how to bring it up to my parents, but thank you for the idea!

[Sam W]

You're welcome! With lube, you should be able to get a hold of it yourself without needing to ask your parents if you're not comfortable doing so. You can find it in most drugstores or grocery stores, and it doesn't require I.D or anything like to purchase it.