The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the USA has approved Flibanserin, to be sold under the brand name Addyi and dubbed in the media as the “female Viagra”, for treating low sexual libido in women.
Although it has been branded as a drug which is like Viagra, it is significantly different from Viagra. While Viagra is more like a stimulant, Flibanserin is more like an antidepressant. Viagra is a mechanical problem and is taken for immediate effect – you take the pill before you have sex, but Flibanserin works over time and has to be taken daily for improves libido. It changes brain chemistry to treat an absence of desire for sexual activity, a disorder called the Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) among women. For Addyi to work, a woman has to take regularly over a period of time. It has to be prescribed by the doctor. Taking it along with alcohol can have severe side effects like losing consciousness and concussions.
For this reason, Addyi cannot be called the ‘female viagra’.
According to media reports, Flibanserin was created by a German pharmaceutical company called Boehringer Ingelheim and was an accident. It was originally created as an antidepressant but while women were being questioned about their trial experiences, many reported an unexpectedly positive side effect – increased sexual interest and more satisfying sexual experiences than before.
How does it work?
The drug aims to change the chemistry of the brain by targeting the neurotransmitters. It increases the dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain which are responsible for sexual excitement and decreases serotonin which reduces sexual reticence.
It cannot be taken by women after menopause. FDA says a 100-mg dose of the drug should be taken once daily just before bedtime and patients should discontinue use if they experience no improvement in sexual desire within 8 weeks.
More importantly, it cannot be the alternative for a man being lethargic in bed. The drug cannot do your job in arousing a woman.
So dear men, here is what you should be doing instead - learn how to give the woman a better sexual experience and an orgasm. Make an effort, show some interest. To begin with, you can read the How To Make Me Come blog, which has crowdsourced, anonymous essays on female orgasms. In all of 71 posts, the women explain what they like, how they like it and how men can improve their experience.