Viagra for women, Female Drug to Drive the Libido

Vigour returns to the arid land

Injecting life to a barren gland

Arise the phoenix from the ashes

Growing strong as the moment passes

Resurrected by a haze of blue

A physical awakening to tame the shrew

© J.Alexis-Hagues 4th June 2014

While Viagra has given men with erectile dysfunction a new lease of life, researchers are having a hard time figuring out how best to study the desires of women to produce the female Viagra pill.

The drug giant Pfizer gave up on testing Viagra for women in 2004 because research into Viagra for women was proving much too complicated.

The ability to enjoy a full and healthy sexual relationship can be a massive problem for some women. There are many forms of female sexual dysfunction, low sex drive or libido is common in women of menopausal and post-menopausal age, but can also occur in women of any age. Sexual problems can include:

• Loss of desire

• Loss of arousal

• Difficulty with orgasm

• Pain during sexual intercourse

According to the Sexual Advice Association, about 30% of women have no sex drive what-so-ever. Sexual problems affect 50% of women becoming more common with age. Some women may only experience sexual dysfunction at certain times in their lives such as during pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, during the menopause and at times of crisis or illness. For some women, the condition is chronic and causes much distress.

Women's sexual dysfunction and lack of desire can be due to physical, psychological and social problems.

Physical

• Dyspareunia is painful sexual intercourse due to medical or psychological causes; it affects about one-fifth of women at some point in their lives. Dyspareunia affects more women than men.

• Hormonal disorders, Oestrogen levels drop after the menopause causing vaginal drying and pain during intercourse. Pain can lead to a lack of desire. Hormone replacement therapy or HRT can help to reduce the symptoms. Tibolone is a synthetic (man-made) hormone that acts in the same way as HRT. Testosterone is produced in the female ovaries and adrenal glands naturally and is linked to female sexual function, a fall in testosterone levels can be associated with loss of sexual desire. Testosterone patches for women are also available; this treatment is simple to use when it is needed and can be discontinued at any time.

• Diabetes, in a survey of 240 adults with type 1 diabetes seen in an outpatient clinic; sexual dysfunction was reported in 27% of women and 22% of men. Sexual dysfunction in diabetic women was more common than in women without the condition (15%). While diabetes does not cause sexual dysfunction in the majority of women, it is associated with reduced interest in sex. Adjusting to a new diagnosis of diabetes can be very challenging and can have added impact on the individual's sex life.

• Alcohol abuse, the sexual effects of alcohol can be complicated. Alcohol can help to remove inhibitions when taken in small quantities; it allows an individual to feel more comfortable and confident in initiating sex. However, research shows a reduced sexual response even after a few drinks. Consumption of alcohol in large quantities can make sex painful or impossible. When taken in moderate amounts, risky sexual behaviour can become a real problem.

• Drug abuse, like alcohol, drugs can affect sex, and not necessarily in a positive way. Certain types of drugs, e.g., opiates may induce a sense of inhibition but can also dampen libido. Anti-hypertensive, anti-depressant and some over-the-counter medicines can also contribute to sexual dysfunction.

• Tiredness stress and anxiety can reduce sex drive and libido to prevent a healthy and fulfilling sex life.

• Childbirth and episiotomy, female sexual dysfunction can occur postnatally, this may be due to several causes, and can be divided into physical, social and psychological problems.

• Neurological illness, e.g., Parkinson's disease can affect sexual functioning in different ways since the brain and nervous system regulate arousal. People with Parkinson's disease have particular difficulties with tremors and slow movements that can lead to frustration. Patients with Parkinson's disease are advised to seek help from their GP or neurologist.

• Vaginismus causes the muscles in and around the vagina to contract suddenly and involuntarily, making sexual intercourse painful or impossible. Vaginismus can occur when sex is associated with pain such as traumatic childbirth, sexual abuse or the belief that sex is wrong.

Psychological and Social

• Depression
• Fatigue
• Previous or current physical, or emotional abuse
• Body image problem
• Relationship problems
• Previous traumatic sexual experience
• Fear of pregnancy
• Family and financial difficulty
• Job problems
• Illness or death

Secretly she yearns to bloom again

Inside she bury disdane and pain

Love fades like a withering flower

Desert thirst for reviving shower

Endless wait for the pink solution

Nirvana worth the revolution

Apathetic; she makes her excuse

Frustrated; he is hurt and confuse (d)

Icy long nights the weather forecast

Loving across a chasm so vast

© J. Alexis-Hagues 5th June 2014

All rights reserved

Lugubrious mood surrenders to contentment

After thunder, rain washes all resentment

Dysfunction resigned to the distant past

As she yields to the magical healing at last

Phenomenal woman in every way

Radiant, rapaciously claiming her day

Effervescent, enchanting, rejuvenated

Libidos pink pill emancipating

Orgasmic capacity for liberation

Xanthippe exalts in transfiguration

© J. Alexis-Hagues 5th June 2014

All rights reserved

The male of the species currently has access to around 24 drugs for the treatment of sexual dysfunction, including the happy little blue pill, 'Viagra.' Until now, there has been no real help for women with low sexual desire. Women were forced to ask the question, is female sexual dysfunction less important than men's? Or is it simply harder to treat due to the female's approach to sex?

Various studies have shown that the male's sex drive are stronger and infinitely more straightforward than that of their female counterpart. Sexual desire in women is much harder to pin down. It's often said that women want sex for love, for men, it is mostly about physical gratification. Female arousal is strongly influenced by thoughts and emotions, and may be one reason why sexual dysfunction is higher in women.

An extensive US study showed, 43% of women suffer from sexual dysfunction compared to 31% men. Finding the right solution for female sexual dysfunction is proving difficult because there is still much to learn about female sexual function.

Medication like Viagra has shown itself to be effective for men due to its ability to increase the supply of blood to the genital. We know that the drug works well for men with sexual dysfunction. Within the first few weeks of Viagra entering the marketplace, pharmacies dispensed more than 215,000 prescriptions, sending Pfizer's stock into orbit. Well over 23 million prescriptions have been written for Viagra to date.

While this was good news for the drug company and the male population, there was still no help for women. A few female researchers wanted to know if post-menopausal women can also benefit from Viagra.

Laura A Berman, director of Berman Center and professor of OB-GYN and psychiatry at Northwestern University in Chicago and Dr. Jennifer R Berman, director of the Female Sexual medicine Center at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, began a twelve weeks clinical study. The study focused on 202 post-menopausal and post-hysterectomy women experiencing female sexual arousal disorder, the women were given Sildenafil (Viagra) and a placebo.

The study concluded that after each sexual experience, women who took the sildenafil, reported overall sexual satisfaction compared with the group of women who took the placebo.

Female Viagra The Lady Prelox or little pink pill

Prelox for men was launched in 2010 by the drug company Pharma Nord, it is a natural product containing L-Arginine, a natural amino acid and pycnogenol, a French pine bark extract, and antioxidant designed to improve vascular health and enhance sexual performance. European sales for the drug now exceeds £10 million.

A female version of the herbal pill dubbed the 'female Viagra' have been found to boost women's libido and increase arousal by encouraging blood flow to the reproductive organs as well as the brain. The female version of the little blue pill known as the Lady Prelox, was found to significantly improve sexual function in a small study carry out by Italian scientist on 40 volunteers in their late 40s, early 50s and also on another group of women aged 37 to 45. Both groups reported improvements in their sex lives after eight weeks.

Scientists suggest, that although men's sexual dysfunction is mainly a vascular problem, and there is no concrete evidence of this in women, there may still be a link. However, some doctors remain sceptical.

According to the Chairman of the Sexual Advice Association, Dr. Graham Jackson, since female sexual dysfunction is so complex, there is no one cause, therefore, no single magic bullet. Dr. Graham cautioned that such pills worked on the basis that desire was already there. He warned that the pills aren't aphrodisiacs, if an individual were not turned on by their partner, no amount of tablets would help.

© J Alexis-Hagues June 5th 2014

All rights reserved