It’s not the ‘female Viagra’
Published 5:08 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Can we talk about female sexuality for a moment? And not in a sitcom-y way? The issue at hand: An FDA panel has voted to approve the “female Viagra” — after two previous attempts failed due to concerns about the drug’s effectiveness and its side effects.
One reason this discussion is difficult is because people can’t get past the “Viagra” comparison, even though it doesn’t fit at all. Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Medicine Center, states very clearly in the third sentence of a commentary he wrote for USA Today: “… this ‘pink pill’ is not at all like the famous ‘blue pill’ Viagra …” So naturally, the headline on his piece reads: “‘Female Viagra’ rocks: Finally, women get their own little blue pill.” Exactly the opposite of what the doctor says. (Siegel, who favors approval of the drug so doctors have the option of prescribing it, also notes any success has been “modest,” but don’t let the facts get in the way of a “rockin” bad headline.)
The main reason the drug can’t be likened to erectile dysfunction medications is that it does not work by increasing blood flow to the sex organs, like Viagra does. The drug flibanserin, which will be marketed under the name Addyi, works directly on the chemicals of the brain, increasing dopamine and norepinephrine, Siegel writes.
The makers of the drug say that it treats “female sexual dysfunction.” But again, the problem is that “female sexual dysfunction” doesn’t equate to “erectile dysfunction.” “Female sexual dysfunction” is a broad heading that covers pain with sex, lack of orgasm, lack of sexual desire and lack of arousal. While connected, all are different problems and there’s startlingly very little evidence Addyi is helpful for women with any of these conditions. (Studies have found that flibanserin helps 10-12 percent of women find “modest improvement” to their lack of libido.)
Cindy Pearson, executive director of the National Women’s Health Network, writing in the Washington Post, says the FDA has been influenced by people who complain it’s sexist not to approve the drug, because men have Viagra and treatments for low testosterone. She argues, correctly, that it’s not sexist to oppose this drug’s approval, since such a position seeks to protect women’s overall health. Gambling with known dangerous side effects, as well as unknown ones, makes women guinea pigs for an unproven “treatment.” (Now that sounds sexist.) Doctors and sex therapists do have treatments that can help women, depending on the problem.
If nothing else, let’s agree that flibanserin is not a “female Viagra.” And extrapolating: Since women are so different, physically and emotionally, from men, it’s unlikely that women with different sexual problems will ever find relief from a one-size-fits-all pill — even if it’s pink.
