By Robert Knutzen, M.B.A.

It is clear to all humans that sex and reproduction have a clear and unmistakable link.  Sex for fun and pleasure, however, gets us into another arena with far less certainty.  Human Sexuality, on the other hand, is poorly understood, and therefore rarely explained, and most human beings are left to ponder the what, the where and the how of their own sexual lives.

We prefer to define human sexuality as the thoughts, feelings, responses and reactions that our bodies and "brain"  have to situations and events which may or may not lead to the completion of 'the sex act'

Human libido has been described in many different ways but appears often to be confused with lust and desire and is often thought to have various levels of excitement or response. For Pituitary Patients, however, it seems clear that the libido 'switch' has but two positions, on and off.  The lust and desire thermometer, however, may have an infinite number of settings and responses depending on time, place, person, opportunity, occasion, etc.

Sex is something that men and women both think about or at least it comes to mind with a great degree of frequency, depending on an unending series of occasions, times and places.

The lack of libido was once described by a female pituitary patient like this:  "You are in the honeymoon suite of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, along with Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Robert Redford, all of whom are naked and fighting for the honor of getting into your bed, although you would prefer that they leave you alone in the room to watch television in peace and quiet"

Ken Baker, author of 'Man Made:  A memoir of my body' describes the terror associated with psychosexual failure after being invited to a party by Drew Barrymore, as: 'I would rather not try to have sex with Drew than to try to have sex with her and fail, because I couldn't get it up'

In an attempt to demystify so much surrounding human sexuality and healthy pituitary function, PNA has elected to launch an awareness campaign on Pituitary and Hormonal Health based on a recent presentation in New York which described human sexuality as having incredible benefits for cardiac health, stress relief, prevention of cancers, increased longevity and other physical and emotional benefits. The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality released their "white paper" on the subject.

As pituitary patients almost all of us can testify to the enormous emotional, sexual and physical toll that Pituitary Tumors/ Hormonal imbalances demand from us. The Surgeon General's call to action to promote sexual health and responsible sexual behavior 2001, published by the office of the then US Surgeon General David Satcher, urged all Americans to begin a candid dialogue about sex, sexuality, sexual health and sexual behavior.  As Dr. Satcher concluded in his call to action; 
“Solutions are complex, but we do have evidence that we can promote sexual health and responsible sexual behavior.  Given the diversity of attitudes, beliefs, values, and opinions, finding common ground might not be easy, but it is attainable. We are more likely to find this common ground through a rational dialogue using honest and responsible communication.  We need to appreciate and respect the diversity of our culture and be informed by the science that is available to us.”

Hippocrates, in 480 BC, said this about human health, 'Positive health requires knowledge of man's primary constitution (which today we call genetics) and of the powers of various foods, both those natural to them and those resulting from human skill (today's processed food).  But eating alone is not enough for health.  There must also be exercise, of which the effects must likewise be known.  The combination of these two things makes regimen, when proper attention is given to the season of the year, the changes of the winds, the age of the individual and the situation of his home.  If there is any deficiency in food or exercise the body will fall sick'

The PNA is not advocating promiscuity or reckless behavior, but in fact, we want to inform the public, medical and patient communities that physical, sexual, emotional and mental health are closely tied together and mutually inclusive. 

Sylvia Asa, MD, Ph.D., Chair of PNA's Scientific Advisory Panel describes the Pituitary Gland as the 'Story of human sexuality' which is an accurate assessment, as this 'master gland' regulates every function of the human body, including sexuality:
“The pituitary gland sorts and integrates information to send many signals that control several bodily functions.  Among these are reproductive and sexual functions.  These are mediated by two essential pituitary hormones referred to as LH and FSH.  These two hormones sustain and regulate the functions of our sexual organs (testes in men and ovaries in women) to produce sex hormones (testosterone in men and estrogen in women) as well as sperm in men and eggs in women.”

In demonstration of the important nature of the pituitary, one might consider air travel.  If you were traveling on a jet, bound for an overseas journey, how comfortable would you be, in your chair, if you knew that the control tower was not functional and no one could 'regulate' the travel of planes around you?  The body is very much the same way, if the 'master gland/control tower/pituitary' is not working, the bodily functions truly don't know how to function properly. There is no set format without the input of the Pituitary gland.

One issue that must be overcome is the 'approach' to the subject of sexuality.  The majority of medical schools report between 3-10 hours of focused study on human sexuality and many physicians feel the same discomfort in approaching the topic of sexual function, history, sexual health and related topics that could provide better diagnostic tools.  Separating the 'sex act' from the biological, hormonal and emotional aspects could assist in mainstreaming the message, that healthy functional human beings are, indeed, sexual as nature intended.

The Pituitary Network Association, as part of our education and awareness programs, intend to focus on issues of weight, obesity and osteoporosis but first and foremost, we need to examine the sexual and mental health problems too often plaguing Pituitary Patients. 

Pituitary patients recognize that the first signals of something being wrong with their system 'body' is when they find both their sexual health and mental health deteriorating. In order to create a higher level of awareness, suspicion and recognition, we are launching a 'SEX is a nine letter word'© campaign and we ask you to help us and yourself by doing all that you can to spread the word not only about sexual and mental health issues but of course about all of the attendant disorders that come along with Pituitary disease. It is simple:  Help us to help you.

We are pleased to add these links for your educational curriculum and hope that this will assist you in finding better Health and a good life.

CNN.com - Study: One in 100 Adults Asexual
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/14/asexual.study/

Psychology Today – The New Sex Scorecard
http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20030624-000003.html

Planned Parenthood - The Health Benefits of Sexual Expression
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/library/sexuality/030512_sexual_expression.pdf

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