Despite every headline to the contrary, the new female sexual desire drug that’s been in the news lately is not “female Viagra.” In fact, it’s nothing like Viagra.
Viagra solves a hydraulic problem: It allows more blood to flow to the penis. That’s it. Flibanserin, on the other hand, affects brain chemistry. A German drug company originally developed it as an antidepressant. Turns out it did nothing to enhance mood but researchers noticed a rather curious side effect: It increased interest in sex.
Given that estimates put the market for treatment of Female Sexual Dysfunction(FSD) at about $2 billion US in the U.S. alone, Flibanserin has no doubt enhanced the mood of drug company’s execs. I’m sure it also enhanced the mood of women who find themselves too often, well, not in the mood.
But before we pop the champagne corks, consider this: While the North American women in the study reported an increase of “satisfying sexual events” from 2.8 per month to 4.5, European women found no significant increase.
Never mind how they defined “satisfying” — this discrepancy deserves an explanation. Unfortunately, the drug company didn’t provide one. Nor did they explain why participants who took the drug reported sexual desire didn’t diminish after the study ended.
They don’t know how the drug works. All they know is that it blocks the release of serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates mood, memory, sleep and appetite. The sex stuff, it seems, is a fluke. I’d like more details before I take a drug that’s going to mess with my brain chemistry.
During the study, one in seven participants dropped out because of side effects like dizziness, fatigue, anxiety, nausea and insomnia.
Finally, this drug is being developed to treat FSD, a controversial condition some say was created by pharmaceutical companies so they could invent drugs to treat it. Unlike erectile dysfunction(it goes up or it doesn’t), FSD is a little trickier to define. High sexual desire for one woman might be considered low for another, for example. And how do you separate FSD from your average everyday libido killers like stress, routine, boredom, feeling crummy about your body or not being able to communicate your sexual needs to your partner?
Even if it jumps all the regulatory hurdles, Flibanserin won’t be on the market for a few years yet. Maybe you and your partner could use the time to work on non-medicinal treatments to help get you in the mood, like eliminating stress, busting your routine, working on self-image and talking to your partner.
– Josey Vogels is a sex and relationship columnist and author of five books on the subjects. For more info, visit www.joseyvogels.com.
