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'A car crash made me a sexaholic!'

Mother-of-two joleen Baughman’s low libido had always frustrated her husband, who used to dream of them having more sex. But following a car crash that damaged some of Joleen’s nerves, she was bizarrely left constantly craving sex and at first the couple were delighted with their renewed love life.

But now the novelty of her sex addiction has worn off and Joleen, 39, complains that her constant arousal has ruined her life. “It’s unbearable,” says Joleen, who has been married to Brian, 39, for 20 years and has suffered the rare condition – Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome (PSAS) – since the car crash two years ago.

She says: “Just my clothes rubbing against me gets me so aroused I can’t think straight. But doctors say there is no cure.”

Joleen previously had a low libido and says: “We only made love once a fortnight. Brian didn’t complain – even though he’d have liked it more frequently.” That changed after a motorist on drugs drove into her truck in April 2007.

Joleen was lucky to survive the impact and suffered severe injuries, including a broken spine. She was in hospital for a couple of months.

“It was only as I continued to recover at home that I started to feel aroused all the time,” says Joleen, from New Mexico, USA. “Every day, I’d get increasingly intense sexual urges out of nowhere.”

At first Joleen and Brian were pleased with her new-found sex drive. “Brian was ecstatic,” she admits. “I’d phone him at work and say, ‘I’m getting urges again,’ and he’d say, ‘I’ll be home early.’”

But within a few weeks, even multiple orgasms couldn’t satisfy Joleen. “We’d have sex once but I’d crave more – even though my clitoris would start hurting,” says Joleen, a former optician. “My boobs were constantly swollen and tender too.

“If Brian managed to go for it a third time I’d be in agony, but still be left feeling horny.” Joleen’s condition continued to worsen. “I’d masturbate up to five times a day but it wouldn’t help,” says Joleen, who has two children aged 14 and 17. “I’d climax and then feel even more aroused afterwards.”

Joleen was so embarrassed she didn’t see a specialist until six months ago – almost two years after the symptoms began. A scan revealed she’d suffered irreparable damage to her pudendal nerve in her pelvis and she was diagnosed with PSAS – also known as Restless Genital Syndrome.

“It means that my genitalia and breasts are constantly swollen,” says Joleen. “I was relieved my condition wasn’t psychological. For a while I thought I was going crazy.”

Joleen was prescribed a numbing cream for her vagina. “It only worked for a few weeks,” she says. “And there isn’t anything else they can give me except for sleeping pills to stop the urges keeping me awake at night.

“Being aroused 24 hours a day is exhausting. I think about sex even if I’m just cooking dinner or doing the weekly shop.But I’m learning to live with it. We only have sex every fortnight as it makes my urges worse and leaves me very sore.

“I suppose there are worse things to suffer from, but I’m hoping a cure will be found.”

Brian adds: “At first I thought Joleen’s new sex-drive was great. But it soon became obvious it was distressing and painful for her. We don’t see it as a blessing now.”

By Isla Harvey

For more information on the condition please visit the international support group: www.psas-support.com