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Helping Women With Sexual Problems
09 February 2005
You've got to give Viagra credit. In two
short years, the drug helped millions of men prevail over impotence,
nourished the punch lines of comedians everywhere, and caused perfect
strangers to spend more time thinking about Bob Dole's sex life
than they might have liked.
More to the point, Viagra added $1 billion to the coffers of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
and prompted women to speak up about their own sexual
dysfunction. "What about us?" they asked. Finally,
they may be closer to getting new answers.
"It's not just Viagra anymore," says pharmacologist Joe Graedon of the People's Pharmacy books, radio program and columns. "The pharmaceutical industry has discovered that this is a very hot field. Female sexuality is sort of the next frontier, so there is a tremendous amount of research going on."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already approved EROS-CTD, a battery-operated device that uses gentle suction to increase sensation and lubrication of the clitoris. It is available by prescription. Elsewhere, drug companies and marketers are sponsoring studies and pushing herbal and over-the-counter products that claim to boost or enhance a woman's sexual performance and enjoyment. Even Viagra has been tested on women, though with mixed results.
It's about time the problem is addressed, says Dr. Pouru Bhiwandi, an obstetrician/gynecologist and international expert on women's health issues. She says female sexual dysfunction is a common, complicated and poorly understood problem.
"I have women coming in all of the time complaining of low sex drives," she says. "If you watch TV and read magazines, they make us believe that Americans have hot sex every night. And if a woman is not doing that, then she feels that something is wrong. Now with Viagra coming out and this being out in the open, I think a lot more women feel free to express this to their doctors than they did previously."
For many of them, help is already available _ and it may not be found in a pharmacy. For others, new developments on the treatment front may soon offer solutions.
More than 40 percent of American women 18 to 59 report some sort of sexual
dysfunction, such as lack of interest in sex, performance anxiety
or an inability to achieve or delay orgasm, according to a 1999
report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Margaret Christilles of San Antonio, Texas, found herself in their company.
"It wasn't that sex was unenjoyable," says Christilles, 54, who cited fatigue as part of the problem. "I just didn't get the urge. It was a lot of 'I'll watch TV or read my book later and wait for him to go to bed and fall asleep.' "
Her gynecologist told her a waning libido was normal at this point in her life. But none of Christilles' friends seemed to share her experience, or at least they weren't talking about it.
Christilles read about a study using bupropion hydrochloride _ an antidepressant and antismoking medication better known as Wellbutrin and Zyban _ to treat sexual dysfunction. Over the next 12 weeks, she and 65 other women were given placebo pills or bupropion hydrochloride. Christilles gradually began noticing a change.
In the end, the study found that one-third of the women who took the drug had a twofold increase in sexual interest. The study has ended. Glaxo-Wellcome, the drug's manufacturer, is considering conducting more trials on the drug's libido-enhancing effects.
Other companies are following suit. Some of the most promising research seems to be hinting that low levels of testosterone play a role in waning libido in women.
Although testosterone is thought of as a male hormone, women also make it. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that a testosterone patch worn on the abdomen significantly increased the libido and sexual enjoyment of women who had their ovaries and uterus removed.
Procter & Gamble is recruiting women for additional trials on the patch. And Noven Pharmaceuticals is investigating a combination (estrogen and androgen) transdermal patch for postmenopausal women that it hopes to bring to market by 2002.
While waiting for the research to yield results, women may be drawn to drugstore shelves with herbal products. And products that can't be found at the drugstore are readily available online.
But women should approach these items with caution, says Graedon and Dr. Andrea Sullivan, a naturopathic doctor in Washington and author of "A Path to Healing: A Guide to Wellness for Body, Mind and Soul" (Doubleday, 1998).
Though Sullivan believes that herbs and homeopathic remedies have a place in treating low libido, she could think of no single product on the market that she would recommend. "We have over 5,000 herbs, so finding the right one depends on getting to understand what is the real source for the problem," she said.
Sexual dysfunction can have many causes. Stress, fatigue, anxiety, depression, illness and medications can all contribute to a lack of desire. So can hormonal fluctuations, pain during intercourse, a history of sexual abuse or an unhappy relationship.
All of these things can be treated, Bhiwandi stresses. Depending on the cause, treatment may include lubricants or creams, hormonal therapy, stress-reducing techniques or talk therapy.
Dr. Robert Bright, a psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina said, "I think that's a stereotype that women have more emotional issues with sex than men do. It may start with one partner, but it gets played out in the relationship and affects both partners eventually."
Too often, he says, it's assumed that Viagra or another "magic"
pill will take care of the problem. "Many times sexual dysfunction
is much deeper than something that can be fixed with a pill."
Furthermore, Bright says, Viagra addresses erectile
dysfunction, not low libido.
Most often, Bright and Sullivan say, partners can benefit from taking more time for themselves and each other.
Instead of berating themselves for a lack of libido, Sullivan suggests that women set aside time for themselves and their needs. Spend the afternoon getting a manicure or massage, go for a walk or hire a baby sitter for the evening and go out to a romantic dinner and movie with a mate, she'll tell patients.
"When people feel better about themselves," she says, "they're more likely to want to be intimate."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com.)
© 2004 Scripps Howard News Service. source:-http://www.rednova.com | 
