VIAGRA

Viagra Good for Her, Too

A new study shows that erectile dysfunction drug Viagra can create more sexual satisfaction for women.
There’s a running joke that while Viagra may be man’s best friend, women rue the day it was invented.
Maybe not anymore. A recent study, published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, examined the sexual satisfaction of women who added Viagra while taking antidepressants. The women in the study had reported sexual problems, including lack of interest in sex, difficulty in achieving orgasm, and difficulty becoming lubricated, since being prescribed antidepressants.
Sexual dysfunctions are one of the major side effects reported after taking the main class of antidepressants. The most commonly prescribed antidepressants are called SRIs, or serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and include Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Effexor.
Experts say that sexual problems are a primary reason that both sexes stop their antidepressant treatment prematurely.
The results of the study are encouraging because taking Viagra may keep women on their antidepressant medication for a longer period of time.
The small-scale study involved 98 women, half of whom were given Viagra and half a placebo. All of the women were told to take the medication one to two hours before sexual activity.
Almost 72% of the participants who were taking Viagra reported a "much improved" or "very much improved" satisfaction during sexual activity, said Dr. Harry Croft, the study’s co-author and medical director of the San Antonio Psychiatric Research Center in Texas. Only 27% of the women taking the placebo reported similar reactions.
While the Viagra did not improve desire or sexual drive, similar to results in men, it appeared to improve the ease with which the women attained orgasm, plus the quality of orgasm.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Viagra taken by the women also improved the sexual satisfaction of their partners.
Before every gal runs out to her doctor for a prescription for Viagra, however, medical experts caution that it isn’t as easy as just showing up at the pharmacy.
Testosterone levels must be normal for the Viagra to work, says Dr. Irwin Goldstein, the director of sexual medicine at San Diego’s Alvarado hospital. Dr. Goldstein told reporters that Viagra’s action on the clitoris is similar to that on the penis, but that normal testosterone levels are required for it to work on either.
While the study was done on women taking antidepressants, women have been taking Viagra off-label for years. "I actually prescribe a lot of Viagra for women," admitted Goldstein.
But other medical experts aren’t so quick to see the answer to women’s libido problems as taking one pill to cancel out a side effect of another pill.
"The libido response in women is such a complex problem," said Dr. Judi Chervenak, a reproductive endocrinologist at New York’s Montefiore Medical Center, to reporters. "If women are unhappy in a relationship, it can affect libido. If it hurts, it can affect libido. If she doesn't feel good about herself, it can affect libido. It's hard to tease all of those factors out."
Dr. Chervenak suggested an in-depth exploration of the sexual dysfunction, and to try to find other solutions, like changing antidepressants, before deciding to pop another pill.
Still, even Dr. Chervenak admits, "It’s an enticing study."