Why should Viagra concern women? When women go through menopause, the hormonal changes they experience often lead to a drop in libido and less interest in sex. It’s nature taking its course – just another phase in the female life cycle. It’s the way we’re built and programmed, biologically speaking.
It’s Not That Easy
Mary Jo Rapini, LPC, an intimacy/sex/relationship therapist, psychotherapy consultant at Methodist Hospital Weight Management Center and intimacy therapist at Methodist Pelvic Restorative Center in Houston, Texas, has her reservations about women wanting to take a female sexual enhancer. ‘Viagra works in a very simple way. It increases blood flow to the penis and the man achieves an erection. Women’s anatomy is not so simple,’ she explains. ‘Attempting to treat low libido in women with a pill ignores the fact that many women’s level of desire is deeply affected by everyday stress and interpersonal relationships. Women’s sexuality is also tied in closely with their feelings in regards to their body image. Finding a woman who doesn’t struggle with her body image is like finding a needle in a haystack — very difficult.
It’s Not Really for You
That sounds a little scary, doesn’t it? Andre T. Guay, MD, FACP, FACE and expert from the Lahey Clinic Northshore in Peabody, Massachusetts, points out that although Viagra was approved for men, it was not approved for women. ‘Women can use it if ordered by their physician, as long as they realize that it is not officially approved [for them] and that there are no long-term safety data,’ he explains. ‘All PDE5s increase blood flow. In men, this causes erections. In women, it causes arousal and, therefore, later orgasm.’ But, it does not directly increase libido in either gender. And while there have been some studies on the use of Viagra in women, they’ve gotten mixed results. ‘Under the correct circumstances, it can work for arousal problems,’ Guay adds. But, what if it doesn’t?
Think Before You Take
Elaine Wilkes, PhD, Hay House author of Nature’s Secret Messages: Hidden in Plain Sight (released February 15, 2010), equates taking Viagra-like pills to ‘charge card sex.’ ‘If you don’t know all the details you may be paying much more in the future,’ she explains. ‘Know what you are putting into your body — the side effects — and if it can be mixed with alcohol or other [medicine].’ Wilkes warns that messing with your hormones can be very tricky and create even more issues down the line. ‘Bottom line: A quick pill now can have compounded problems later,’ she cautions.
There’s No Such Thing
Rapini says she would love to say experts have found a cure for women’s low libido, but at the moment, that’s not a very concrete claim. ‘I want Flibanserin [a female sexual enhancer] to be successful! I would love it to equal the effects [of] Viagra, but I doubt it ever will.’ No one really understands yet what turns women on, she points out. ‘Women don’t understand why one day we could make passionate love and the next day we simply have no sex drive. It makes no sense,’ she says. The proper solution to a lack of sexual desire: non-drug approaches such as therapy, mind-body techniques, and getting partners involved in the relationship, she suggests.
So if you’re ever hard up for the big ‘O,’ and need some help, are you going to take Viagra or a female sexual enhancer? Think before you take, ladies. ‘If we have learned nothing else, I hope we have learned this: a sex drug of any kind can or may turn us on, but being turned on does not mean we will be turned on by our partner,’ concludes Rapini. ‘Many women who have lost their sexual desire have also lost the intimacy, communication, and feeling of being loved by their partner.’ Think about that before you take the easy approach, such as a female sexual enhancer. It may not be the only solution.