Wednesday Bubble: one pill makes you…
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Have you heard about Flibanserin? Pharma Giant Boehringer-Ingelheim is entering the bedroom with an antidepressant (with a new moniker) that may change the sex lives of women everywhere!
Sorry for the sarcasm but this Bubble has “Viagra for women” written all over it. In fact, the U.S. market for sexual desire is estimated to exceed a whopping $3.5 billion a year. No wonder other companies are so eager to market testosterone to women.
So what’s the story behind Flibanserin?
Flibanserin is an antidepressant compound that is is believed to affect brain receptors and neurotransmittors that play a role in sexual response. Data presented at the European Society for Sexual Medicine conference show that in clinical studies, flibanserin significantly improved desire, sexual experience and sexual functioning in women when taken for at least six months. The majority of the women participating were pre-menopausal and had been diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), a condition that is characterized by a decline in sexual desire, a loss of intimacy, and distress.
Declines in sexual desire at any point in life are terrible and not to be taken lightly. Should flibanserin becomes available in the United States, it is likely to be prescribed along with sex therapy, a move, that the company disagrees with. In fact, the company is quoted in Bloomberg News as saying that it hopes that the drug can be prescribed by itself and not as a complement to therapy. Importantly, this is where one has to start questioning the value of this drug and how it will ultimately be marketed should it ever be approved by the US Food & Drug Administration.
Many behavioral and mental health specialists will argue that “a pill has no place in the bedroom” and that sexual dysfunction is linked to factors other than physical ones, factors that need to be thoroughly explored and addressed. This holds true in particular, for menopausal women. Indeed, evidence does show that t sexual desire in women can be affected not only by physiology but also, may vary depending on personal attitudes, experiences and context.
I don’t take issue with drugs when they are prescribed and used responsibly. But the answer to everything that ails is not a pill. With regards to sexual desire, this could not be truer.
Sex is big business. This has been borne out by the incredibly success of drugs geared towards erectile dysfunction. Companies have been racing to find an equivalent for women. Looks like Boehringher might have just gotten the gold ring.
What do you think?
Read MoreIntroducing….it’s raining men! A male perspective on menopause
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For over a year now, Flashfree has been ignoring a key player in the midlife-menopause shuffle: men. So I decided to add some male voices into the mix to lend their perspective and educate us about their experiences with our experiences. My hope: to start an evolving dialogue and deepen understanding, provide humor and encourage better communication.
Our first contributor is a dear friend, who has asked to remain anonymous because of the deeply personal nature of his topic: sexual desire. I hope you enjoy it, comment and share.
When I was asked to provide another voice on this subject I hesitated. It’s not that I don’t have first hand experience as my wife has been in the perimenopausal stage for the last few years, and I’m usually not shy with my opinions, but this request made me pause. Did I really want to weigh in with my thoughts? Was this a “do I look fat in this” type of question with no good answers? Was there any upside to being honest? Despite my reservations, I decided that this was as good a time as any, so here goes.
It’s been very hard to watch what has happened to the woman I love. I’m not just talking about the constant temperature changes, or the night sweats, or the mood swings, or the changes in odor (see, I do pay attention) that so clearly affect her. Instead, the largest change I’ve noticed is the loss of libido.
Now I know many of you are thinking “typical man, all he cares about is sex” when you read that last sentence, but let me defend myself. While our frequency of intercourse has significantly decreased, what I miss more is her desire. The feelings we have shared for each over these 16 years haven’t changed, but our means of expressing them have. I miss what we had, and hope that one day soon we can have it again.
There, I said it. And I suspect many of my peers are (or will soon be) experiencing similar feelings. So if I have any message for the readers, it’s just that while menopause primarily affects you, it also affects the others in your life. So the next time we say something insensitive, maybe you can occasionally cut us a break?
Flashfree is looking for contributors/male voices:
Want to add your perspective? Do you remember you mother or aunt going through ‘the change?’ Is your sister/friend/lover/wife/ex-wife/co-worker driving you nuts with her flip/flopping about? Got something you just want to say? Write to me at flashfree111@gmail.com.
Keep it greasy…with Zestra®
Sexual desire an issue? Not feeling it?
That isn’t my problem but when I was approached by the folks at Semprae Labs to test Zestra®, their hormone-free, topical “Essential Arousal Oils™, I thought, hey, what the heck? I’m all for research! And they sent me clinical data supporting its theoretical effectiveness, which peaked my interest even more.
What is Zestra, you ask?
Zestra contains a proprietary blend of borage seed and evening primrose oils (purportedly to increase blood flow and nerve sensitivity), angelica root extract (to improve arousal/desire) and coleus forskohlii extract (to boost performance/orgasm). On its packaging, it says that “Zestra works effortlessly and within minutes by heightening your sensitivity to touch — for deep, pleasurable sensations, sexual satisfaction and fulfillment.
Zestra was tested in a small clinical study comparing its effectiveness versus a placebo oil in 20 women with and without difficulties with arousal. During the study, participants were asked to use Zestra 5 times and then complete a questionnaire on side effects and sexual function (i.e. desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain). Study findings showed the following:
- Participants with normal function reported highly significant improvements in arousal while those with female sexual arousal disorder reported highly significant improvements in arousal, orgasm and satisfaction.
- The most commonly reported side effect was a burning sensation in the genitalia that subsided within 30 minutes.
So, this was the study population.
What about me?
Zestra ain’t “zesty.” The oil has a unpleasant smell. Following application, it heats up the vaginal area but that’s about it – heat – and not the sexual, I want to/have to have you kind of heat. Nope. No increase in desire, arousal or sensitivity to touch. No added improvements in satisfaction. Just one unpleasantly warm, greasy vagina.
Is it just me? Evidently not. Here’s what some friends have to say about Zestra:
“Smells like an overly-sweet candle shop or bad potpourri. Not an enticing scent. Taste is chemical and bitter. Too greasy. Nice, slightly warming effect, but felt no unusual or heightened sensation. Actually had to work harder because I was so turned off by the Zestra scent. Zestra will be sleeping alone from now on!!!”
“OH. MY. F***ING. GOD. I hated that shit. It burned and I couldn’t even wash it off afterward. Who the f**k knows if it increased arousal? I was too busy burning to notice.”
Like my gal pals, I couldn’t wait to shower Zestra off. In fact, Zestra left me wanting less, not more.
I’ve got lots of zest. But not for Zestra. Zestra – you underwhelm and underwow me.
Sorry Semprae. This one’s a dud.
Read MoreWednesday bubble: Cheers! (Please, don’t let me burst this one!)
Can red wine help increase a woman’s sexual desire? Interesting data from an Italian study among 798 women between the ages of 18 and 50 suggest that indeed, it just might.
Researchers divided women without any sexual complaints into three groups:
- More than two glasses of red wine and other types of alcohol (including white wine) daily, and occasional drinkers
- One to two glasses of red wine daily (“moderate intake”)
- Teetotallars
All study participants were asked to complete a questionnaire measuring female sexual functioning, as well as report on their daily alcohol consumption. The questionnaire – the Female Sexual Function Index – contains 19 questions designed to assess desire, arousal, confidence, lubrication, orgasm, and the degree of pain during and after vaginal penetration.
The findings? Overall, women reporting daily moderate red wine drinking (one to two glasses) scored significantly higher in all domains of sexual functioning, including desire and lubrication, than women in the other two groups. More striking, however, was that the women who regularly drank red wine were reportedly older than women in the other two groups.
These study findings, which undoubtedly require more research and a larger study group, do suggest a link between moderate red wine intake and sexual desire, even among older women whose sexual functioning and desire, theoretically declines with age. Of course, there are many other factors that come into play for older women; we know that declining hormones affect the vaginal lining, causing pain and interfering with lubrication. We know that hormones can also affect weight and self-image, which affects desire. And of course, how we interact with our partners is also important.
But study after study all point to medicating ourselves back towards sexual desire. Could it be as simple as a few glasses of antioxidant rich red wine, which may help improve blood flow to key areas of the body, such as the vaginal region?
I’d love to think so.
The jury’s still out. But me? I’m planning on drinking a few glasses of red wine tonight…! I’m inspired; are you?
[Many thanks to my friend Daphne Swancutt for directing me to these data!]
Read MoreWednesday Bubble: sexual desire in midlife
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Since I’ve embarked on this blog, I’ve run across numerous studies and articles discussing sexual dysfunction and the lack of/declining sexual desire in women entering midlife and menopause. I’ve written quite a few posts about data that suggest that ingesting hormones can help to reverse these trends as well as a post that focuses on the often overlooked health aspects. If you’ve not read them, I encourage you to do so.
However, this post is not about me; it’s about you. It’s also excellent fodder for your partners and I hope that they derive some important tidbits.
I ran across some fascinating research in the online ahead of print edition of the Journal of Sexual Research that will hopefully burst a few bubbles about desire, more specifically, how women (versus researchers) define and characterize sexual desire and whether there is a huge difference between women with and without female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD, the inability to attain or maintain a sexual excitement (genital lubrication, swelling etc.).
The researchers, who based their study on one-one-one interviews with 22 women, mean ages 45 to 55, noted several challenges when characterizing sexual desire:
- Is it a state or action?
- Is it spontaneous and responds to a stimulus?
- Does it precede, follow or is it indistinguishable from sexual arousal?
They added that for women in midlife, social context is also important; mass media, for example, creates unrealistic expectations and culturally perfect images that are not easily recreated in real life or in midlife. Notably, the distorted views that midlife women have towards their bodies have been shown to influence sexual response more than menopausal status.
Here are some key findings:
- Both women with and without FSAD expressed that physical touch was a common trigger or enhancer of sexual desire. Physical proximity was also important, that is, feeling comfortable or safe. Additionally, visual stimuli (e.g. seeing their partner or appealing aspects of their partner, watching erotic films) were common stimulators
- One of the most recurrent themes was that perceived desirability was important: if women felt desired by their partners, they felt more desire. However, their desire was also influenced by their partners’ desire, sexual response, and emotional state of mind, such as depression
- Nearly all the women said that experiencing an emotional and intellectual connection to their partner was essential and the “goal of her desire” (as opposed to simply reaching orgasm or having intercourse)
Overall, the researchers found that women’s descriptions of sexual desire varied little regardless of arousal difficulties. They noted that current measures of sexual desire in clinical studies do not take into account factors such as emotional influences, responsive desire and the importance of context. Rather, they assess how frequently women experience spontaneous sexual desire.
They concluded that “what is deemed dysfunction on a questionnaire might not be dysfunction in reality.”
The key take-away from this study is that women have varying definitions of desire that only become clear when they reflect on them for a period of time. The answers, rather than divergent based on medical conditions, actually converge the longer that women reflect on their experiences.
I am not suggesting that hormones have no role to lay in how we perceive sex and respond to sex as we age. But I find it heartening to see that there are other controllable essential factors that come into play. Be open to the experiences before you and don’t take the answers as THE answers.
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
Anais Nin
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