After several attempts to enter the market and surrounded by controversy since its commercialization was approved by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) last August, the popularly known ‘female viagra’ has been sold in all U.S. pharmacies since early October, both milestones widely celebrated by feminist groups as another step forward in sexual equality.
Regarding its composition, this controversial pill, responsible for increasing women’s sexual desire, has flibanserin as its active ingredient, a substance that activates neurotransmitters related to sexual desire, such as increased dopamine and norepinephrine, as well as decreased serotonin.
The target group of women for whom the medication is intended is limited to women with female sexual interest/arousal disorder who have not yet reached menopause, since during menopause, the pill, whose commercial name is Addyi, would only have a placebo effect. Thus, all women who experience low libido due to other physical or psychiatric illnesses are excluded.
Unlike male viagra, this pill must be ingested for weeks or even months since its effect is not vasodilating and instantaneous, but rather a psychic medication that directly affects the central nervous system, hence the importance of contraindications and side effects (fatigue, nausea, fainting, decreased blood pressure, and even loss of consciousness when combined with alcohol), reasons responsible for its delayed approval by the FDA. Do these side effects sound familiar? Of course, at the beginning of the research, these pills were intended to be future antidepressants, until researchers realized that they increased sexual desire.
The differences between the groups of women who participated in the scientific trials are key to demonstrating the pill’s effectiveness. In the three trials conducted, women who ingested the pill improved their erotic encounters, stating that they noticed an increase in their sexual desire and a decrease in anxiety about sex, with a 10% difference compared to women who ingested a placebo.
For our part, sexual health professionals know that the lack of sexual desire or interest in women is currently categorized within the DSM as a sexual dysfunction that has been surrounded by questions for years, given that it is debated whether it can truly be a disorder or not, the main reason why it is currently discussed whether the pill is necessary.
In any case, it is proven that the ingestion of a medication for a certain period has the capacity to modify human physiology. Furthermore, in this specific case, there is a high probability of frustration over time due to not having control over one’s sexual life and one’s own body, and even feelings of dependence on the pill after the decrease in sexual desire once the treatment is finished. Therefore, if it is not strictly necessary, it is advisable to use other methods to work on sexual desire, such as sexual therapy.
Sources:
El País (2015). What Addyi, the ‘female viagra’, is and what it is not for. Retrieved from: https://elpais.com/elpais/2015/08/19/ciencia/1440000743_905314.html
BBC (2015). 9 questions to understand what Addyi, the ‘female viagra’, is and how it works. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2015/08/150819_salud_preguntas_viagra_femenino_addyi_lv
El Diario (2015). ‘Female Viagra’ is now available in U.S. Pharmacies. Retrieved from: https://www.eldiariony.com/2015/10/17/la-viagra-femenina-ya-esta-disponible-en-farmacias-de-eeuu/