Comments on: Flibanserin: Viagra for ladies?

By: Lynn

Lynn — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:17:56 +0000

A woman’s lack of libido can indeed have physiological causes. In my case, I had a strong libido my entire adult life until I had both of my ovaries removed (I had them proactively removed due to a high cancer risk, a BRCA2 gene mutation which was associated with a 40-60% chance of ovarian or breast cancer, inherited from my mother who died of ovarian cancer in her mid 40’s). I have no more stress, body image, relationship, or psychological problems than I did pre-surgery; however my libido disappeared in the days and weeks after my surgery and did not return in spite of my good health, excellent fitness, and happiness in all other aspects of my life. Compounded testosterone/estrogen hormone replacement therapy hasn’t served to restore my libido so I can personally say there is more to the ‘chemical soup’ produced by the ovaries and needed for libido than simply testosterone. For women, it’s not just a ‘blood flow’ issue (since my circulation didn’t change overnight after my surgery). Before my surgery, I thought that if I eventually had an issue with libido, I would simply take testosterone and estrogen supplements and that would solve it, but it wasn’t simple as that unfortunately. I’m very glad that pharm companies are trying to develop drugs which may help women in my situation. Some of you are jumping to ill-informed conclusions (and being somewhat insensitive and condescending) when you claim that women’s libido problems are mostly psychological. Sure there might be a psychological, body image, or relationship factor for some libido problems in women, but physiology is probably a larger factor for the majority of cases, especially for problems that begin after menopause.

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:20:02 +0000

Sorry, double post ;_;

By: Rick York

Rick York — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:52:18 +0000

I think all of this misses the fundamental issue with Viagra. It does not improve libido. It helps a male with difficulty achieving or maintaining erections.

One can have a strong libido but not be able to perform.

Of course, this does exemplify the recent trend of “medicalizing” all human problems. “There’s a pill for that.”

Trying to increase a woman’s libido pharmacologically makes very little sense. ED is mostly a physiological not psychological problem. Libido is likely to be a psychological issue. Often resulting from serious trauma around sexuality.

Improving anyone’s ability to perform and enjoy sex is always a good thing (well, mostly a good thing).

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:57:44 +0000

Also, although I can’t quote sources, it is likely that the psychological problems affect the situation at least part of the time for men as well, making the above information more relevant: if women are to be encouraged to get over the psychological obstacles, rather than seeking medication, the same should be done for men. Conversely, if men can have a drug that lets them avoid dealing with stress and body image issues, it’s unjust to stand against a female Viagra for those reasons. At least let both sides be equally misguided.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:57:12 +0000

While I certainly agree that lifestyle drugs should be far more rarely prescribed, I have to disagree with other conclusions in this article. My main issue with this is the common perception that only men are prohibited from sex if they can’t get the “mechanical” (as you put it) functions going. If a woman can’t get the juices flowing, she can still technically have sex, but it can be very painful due to the lack of a) lubrication and b) the expansion that usually occurs in anticipation of penetration. Additionally, low libido is a common effect of menopause, just as men can lose their (ahem) abilities with age.