Viagra and Addyi are drugs with completely different mechanisms of action and are not remotely comparable drugs. Viagra is for men who are already psychologically aroused, and want to have sex, but are physically unable to get an erection; it treats a physical problem. Addyi is for women who are not psychologically aroused, but would like to be.
The former is a much simpler issue than the latter.
And, I’m a man, so if you want to dismiss this as mansplaining, then so be it. I prefer to think of it as drugdevelopmentscientistsplaining, but whatever.
Point one: one of the most common reasons for lack of sex drive and lack of sexual pleasure in women is depression. Women whose sexual issues are caused by undiagnosed depression need treatment for depression, not for low sex drive.
Point two: Addyi is a completely different animal from Viagra. Viagra acts essentially via manipulating blood pressure; it’s a hydrodynamic aid to the mechanical function of the penis (so that penetration can ensue), not an aid to arousal or satisfaction. Addyi, on the other hand, is intended to cause increased libido: not to make it easier to have sex or to have an orgasm, but to make the patient want sex in the first place. It is a psychoactive drug, originally developed as a potential antidepressant, and it acts by affecting the serontonergic and dopaminergic signalling pathways in the brain. By action, it is far more similar to drugs like Prozac and Ritalin than to Viagra; drugs with similar psychoactive profiles can cause severe side effects when given to people with existing psychiatric problems. Just by its mechanism, it is reasonable to suspect that Addyi patients should be prescreened for psychiatric conditions for the same reason that men seeking Viagra need to be screened for heart problems: using the drug with an existing sensitizing condition could be very, very bad for you.
Anyway, I, as a woman, agree with those who think Addyi is a giant crock of BS. Not only is its efficacy and safety profile terrible, the primary causes of “generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder” (not wanting to have sex as often as you think you should, or, for a lot of women, as often as your partner thinks you should) are bad sex, bad relationships, stress, and/or a lack of time and energy, not some chemical imbalance in women.
Viagra doesn’t actually change a man’s sex drive, or arousal, or pleasure*: it just helps the equipment get into position. A man can perfectly well have sex without an erection, unless you think penetration is a prerequisite for sex (which admittedly a lot of men do). As the owner of a clitoris, I don’t see how engorgement, by itself, would “help stimulate or arouse”, except by maybe making it a bigger target. It’s like expecting that, since women lubricate when aroused, squirting some KY on the area would induce arousal.
(* OK: It can prolong an erection, and maybe shorten the refractory period. And of course many men find inability to get or maintain an erection psychologically distressing and therefore an impediment to sexual satisfaction in and of itself.)
um, no. I own a clitoris and it really doesn’t matter if it’s up or down. You can have an orgasm either way if stimulated correctly. I can’t think of any way viagra would have a beneficial effect on women.
Or that it’s exactly the same as men’s, which seems to be option number two, or that women have only two settings: virgin and whore - and who says Mary was a one-shot? With the amount of people who seem to think their own mother never had sex, you’d think gemation is the common mode of human reproduction.
I’ve read elsewhere (and it makes sense to me, IMHO) that the issue with female Viagra is that it’s more of an attraction problem than an arousal problem.
Woman is with a man she’s not attracted to. Taking Viagra doesn’t change that. Especially if it’s a long-term partner she’s bored with.
Man has an erection. Wants to have sex.
FWIW, I’m in my mid 30s and have frequent erections that have nothing to do with sex. I don’t relate to men who say they don’t get random erections. Also, I can’t relate to men who say they couldn’t even get it up unless a woman is a certain level on an attractiveness scale. Pretty sure if I felt like having sex I could get it up for anyone.
Very true. Engorgement of erectile tissue (penis, clitoris) and pelvic congestion for production of natural lubricant enhances the chances for success of reproduction (and success of enjoying the encounter) but is not necessary for achieving orgasm.
I guess we’re stuck with your interpretation of the interview, which is sort of unfortunate considering your wild assumptions and baseless accusations in this thread.
My late wife was on Viagra (Sildenafil) for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, 20mg three times a day, every day. She reported no noticeable effect at all.
I’ll vouch for that (Anaamika’s campaigning). It’s the third or fourth time I’ve seen her post this kind of info.
What I find truly surprising is that it seems like I’m the only male who was fully aware of that info years before I had seen Anaamika bringing it to Dopers’ attention.
I know someone who works for the company that sold Addyi and then got it back because nobody wanted to use it. I believe it is still not used very much but the founder of the company got around $1 billion to sell the drug to a big pharma company and she got it back for free.