Viagra For Girls
Medicalizing low sexual desire in women...and news I broke that shows it's not necessarily a necessary route. Via AP/ABCnews:
A drug that could do for women what Viagra has done for men is being tested at the University of Virginia. The drug is a testosterone-laden ointment called LibiGel and it's intended to boost the libido of women who have lost interest in sex....Ovariectomies, or surgical menopause, can lead to a drop in sexual interest because ovaries produce roughly half of the testosterone in a woman's body.
Testosterone plays a key role in sexual functioning for men and women.
LibiGel comes in a pump bottle. The woman rubs the small dot of gel into the skin of her upper arm. Over the next 24 hours, the gel's testosterone seeps into her bloodstream, boosting her energy and libido.
Clayton, who is running the clinical trial at UVa, said the drug is better than previous testosterone treatments because it keeps levels of the chemical constant, much like naturally occurring testosterone.
"I expect this will work," she said.
The thing is, for a lot of women, it's not the only option -- or even a necessary option. I believe I broke the news in the mainstream media of Rosemary Basson's work, which you'll find detailed in these two of my columns below. Here's the first, an excerpt from "Groping For More":
You aren’t the only couple crawling around under furniture to look for the woman’s lost libido. In a series of studies published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, sexual medicine specialist Rosemary Basson noted data showing that a third of women lack sexual interest. A third? Hmmm…could the problem be not in women, but in the expectation that desire in women works exactly like desire in men? Well, that’s what Basson found. When a relationship is new, or when women are away from their partner for days or weeks, they’re more likely to have “conscious sexual hunger,” just like men. But, once women are in long-term relationships, they tend not to have the same “spontaneous sexual neediness” men do, but they can be sexually arousable, or “triggerable.” In other words, there’s a good chance the problem isn’t with your girlfriend’s desire for sex, but in how you’re both waiting around for it like it’s a crosstown bus.A better approach is what marriage therapist Michele Weiner Davis calls “The Nike Solution” (i.e., “just do it”) in her smart but depressingly titled book, The Sex-Starved Marriage. Jumping off from Basson’s work, Weiner Davis explains that women may not feel desire initially, but if they just start fooling around, they’re likely to get there. You should also reconsider the notion that sharing a life means sharing living quarters. Since you might have a little more sex if it’s a little less available, why not rent the apartment across the street and just do a lot of visiting? If your girlfriend’s pilot light still can’t be lit, she should have herself checked out by a specialist in female sexual medicine -- who probably won’t be the corner gynecologist. Finally, consider the unpleasant possibility that love isn’t the answer but the problem. Maybe your girlfriend never was very attracted to you, but believed the hoohah that if you love somebody, attraction will follow. Wrong. Not gonna happen. But, minus attraction, there’s still plenty of opportunity for sleeping together -- as in, lying perfectly still in flannel pajamas after you’re both spent from 20 minutes of the hottest nonstop hugging ever.
And here's a repeat mention, because this is a problem for so many people who write me for advice. From my column, "A Tale Of Naked Whoa":
The real problem for many couples is the notion that “the mood” is something they’re supposed to wait around for like Halley’s Comet -- probably due to the assumption that desire works the same in men and women. The truth is, just because a woman isn’t in the mood doesn’t mean she can’t get in the mood. According to breakthrough work by sexual medicine specialist Rosemary Basson, women in long-term relationships tend not to have the same “spontaneous sexual neediness” men do, but they can be arousable, or “triggerable.” In other words, forget trying to have sex. Tell your girlfriend about Basson’s findings, and ask her to try an experiment: making out three times a week (without sex being the presumed outcome) and seeing if “the mood” happens to strike her. You just might find the member getting admitted to the club a little more often.
Posted by aalkon at January 2, 2008 9:13 AM
Comments
The following might be TMI for some folks— but it is germaine.
I've been using a testosterone suppliment for YEARS— first as capsules, then as a gel that a pharmacist compounds for me.
I was taking Estratest as hormone replacement after an early hysterectomy, but a blood clot event ended that.
I just felt blah without it, though, so, what about the "test" without the "est"?
I had read about testosterone— and the suppliments for men, so I asked my doctor for a prescription for just the testosterone. (it's "off label" since I'm a girl, so it costs $100 for a month's use. Lovely!) I discovered that it helped combat night sweats, it adds a definite spring to my general step and is awesome for my voice, I must say.
As far as "being in the mood" is concerned: I can boost my testosterone level like mad, but if my memory of sexual episodes is mostly boring or disappointing, the heightened hormone level just translates to the desire to work harder at something else.
Posted by: Deirdre B. at January 2, 2008 7:40 AM
That's great to know - thanks for posting that.
Posted by: Amy Alkon at January 2, 2008 7:54 AM
Oh yeah...are there negative side-effects? (Like, say, growing a goatee?)
Posted by: Amy Alkon at January 2, 2008 7:55 AM
I have only in the last 6 months or so noticed in increase in my facial peach fuzz— and this is after YEARS of use. No corsening or darkening, just a little bit more fine blonde peach-fuzz hair, especially near my mouth. I have a tiny trimmer I use to keep it at bay, but it's mostly invisible.
Not a big deal-- any spa salon can take care of it. I am thinking of a serious wax before my next big speaking engagement.
Posted by: Deirdre B. at January 2, 2008 1:59 PM
Anytime anyone advises that women "fool around" with their men --- I'm all for it. My girlfriend is a grad student, and she's often tired after long hours of lab work. So, I'll cook something, and then ask her to help out a little. Then I'll "notice" I need something over near her, so I start that "reach across to get the boob brush-by" thing that guys do. Next thing you know...well you know.
I definitely vouch for fooling around.
Posted by: Jeff at January 2, 2008 7:09 PM
Me, I'm just sighing at the "Viagra" comparison. Viagra doesn't increase interest in sex, except as a purely psychological side effect of solving a mechanical problem. The actual equivalent of Viagra for women would be something that relieved, say, abnormally low production of lubrication.
Posted by: Lunatic at January 2, 2008 9:43 PM
Funny, after being married for 4 years, I've found out that there is no such thing as "Erectile Disfunction". Show me a man who won't get aroused by a 21 y/o hot blonde, and I'll show you a man with no pulse. Let's just call E.D. by it's proper name...
Marriage.
Posted by: Anthony at January 2, 2008 11:18 PM
Anthony, Anthony, Anthony, tsk, tsk, tsk...
Come back in a few years love when you are nearing 50, are 100 lbs over weight and have diabetes and high blood pressure and tell us there is no such thing as E.D.
You could get aroused by a 21 y/o hot blonde, but your willy isn't going to follow suit.
Posted by: Ginger at January 3, 2008 8:01 AM
Not my man! It is me. When, very seldom I "fell like it", when we have intercourse he satisfies me to no end. 4,5, 6 or more... I feel bad that I am not "in the mood", It's incredible sex. I hope this hits the market. I'll get in line.
Posted by: DEBRA at January 3, 2008 3:33 PM
I completely agree with Debra. It's me - not my husband! I'm happily married for 16 years, with 3 beautiful kids. My husband is wonderful at sex - he will do anything to satisfy me - and I could not be happier with the outcome. However, I am rarely "in the mood". I feel bad about it and have had numerous discussions with him that I would gladly try anything to give me a libido. Even got a trial of Viagra from the doc - does nothing. If Libigel goes to market - I'll get in line too!
Posted by: Ella at January 3, 2008 5:25 PM
Three in a row. Me, too. I'm never in the mood, though when we do do it (i.e., when I can avoid it no longer), I enjoy it! I don't know how my husband puts up with me. I would be so happy to try some of that stuff.
Posted by: Susan at January 3, 2008 6:26 PM
"Triggerable" makes sense to me. I masturbate most nights of the week, and when I start, I'm usually not thinking sexy thoughts. But about 30 seconds into it, I sure am. Never thought about that before. So yeah, if I'm not feeling sexy, I sure know the way to get there.
Posted by: Sue K at January 12, 2008 9:48 AM
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