The Science Behind Libido-Boosting Medication

Tribulus Terrestris for Female Sexual Dysfunction: A Systematic Review. Tribulus terrestris and female reproductive system health: A comprehensive review.

Desire Starts in the Brain...

Crocus sativus (saffron) in the treatment of female sexual dysfunction: A three-center, double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. Saffron for treatment of fluoxetine-induced sexual dysfunction in women: Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 28(1), 54-60. Tribulus terrestris for treatment of sexual dysfunction in women: Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study. DARU Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 22(1), 40. Bioavailability enhancers of herbal origin: An overview.

Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 3(4), 253. Fenugreek, A Potent Hypoglycaemic Herb Can Cause Central Hypothyroidism Via Leptin - A Threat To Diabetes Phytotherapy. Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes: Official Journal, German Society of Endocrinology [and] German Diabetes Association, 125(7), 441–448. Phytoestrogenic effect of fenugreek seed extract helps in ameliorating the leg pain and vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Exploring the Potential of Saffron as a Therapeutic Agent in Depression Treatment: A Comparative Review. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 97(3), 365.

If you're tired of uncertain quality and unproven options, you're not alone.

Effect of long-term intranasal oxytocin on sexual dysfunction in premenopausal and postmenopausal women: a randomized trial. (308) Oxytocin Troches as an Adjunctive Intervention to Conventional Testosterone and Erectile Dysfunction Medication for Men with Sexuality Concerns. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 20(Supplement_1). Tadalafil once daily: Narrative review of a treatment option for female sexual dysfunctions (FSD) in midlife and older women. Tadalafil reversal of sexual dysfunction caused by serotonin enhancing medications in women.

Vyleesi (bremelanotide)

Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 32(1), 1–3. Tadalafil 5 mg Daily Treatment for Type 1 Diabetic Premenopausal Women Affected by Sexual Genital Arousal Disorder. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 9(8), 2057-2065. Influence of a Specialized Trigonella foenum-graecum Seed Extract (Libifem), on Testosterone, Estradiol and Sexual Function in Healthy Menstruating Women, a Randomised Placebo Controlled Study. Safety and influence of a cialis or viagra for women novel extract of fenugreek on healthy young women: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. The first drug to treat a lack of female sexual desire has been approved by federal authorities. The drug flibanserin, which has been coined ‘female Viagra,’ is intended to treat women with a condition called hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) that’s characterized by lagging libido. On Tuesday, the drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Today’s approval provides women distressed by their low sexual desire with an approved treatment option,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. Although the drug is being called a “Viagra” for women, it actually works quite differently. And so, forward, the onward march to perfection! The US Food and Drug Administration has finally licensed a drug, Flibanserin, to enhance women’s appetite for sex.

• The Women's Health Concern charity offers expert advice on conditions like HSDD.
• The Sexual Advice Association provides resources and information for patients.
• Brook offers confidential sexual health support and advice for younger women.
• Relate provides relationship and sex therapy counseling services across the UK.
• The NHS website has extensive information on sexual health conditions and treatments.
• Online forums like HealthUnlocked offer community support and shared experiences.
• Always verify information from charities against NHS or other official medical sources.

Drugs for male sexual dysfunction have been around for 30 years, but this is the first for women, and it has taken a fierce campaign to persuade the FDA to overlook its reservations about side-effects (probably best not to wash it down with a pint of vodka). There are even worries that the FDA has been shamed into passing it by aggressive women wanting, you know, more sex. All the same, I wonder, do we really need this?

Where the Magic Happens

Effect of Zinc on Testosterone Levels and Sexual Function of Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 47(8), 804–813. BIOCHEMISTRY OF MOBILE ZINC AND NITRIC OXIDE REVEALED BY FLUORESCENT SENSORS. Adverse Events Associated with Melatonin for the Treatment of Primary or Secondary Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review. Evaluation of Dietary Niacin and New-Onset Hypertension Among Chinese Adults.

Addyi (filbanserin)

Hop extracts and hop substances in treatment of menopausal complaints. Hops for Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms: Mechanisms of Action. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 2(4), 331-339. Efficacy of Tribulus terrestris for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder in postmenopausal women: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Menopause (New York, N.Y.), 23(11), 1252–1256. In my mind’s eye, I see rampant pensioners knocking back their Viagra and their Addyi (the marketing name of the new drug) and chasing each other around on their zimmer frames when they could be sitting down with a nice cup of tea and a large-print book.

HOW TO GET YOUR PRESCRIPTION

A systematic review of clinical trials on Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) effectiveness on sexual function and its safety. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 145(3), 715–721. Capsaicinoids Modulating Cardiometabolic Syndrome Risk Factors: Current Perspectives. The effect of melatonin on the sexual function among postmenopausal women: A randomized placebo-controlled trial. Nursing and Midwifery Studies, 6(4), 149.

How it Helps You Do It

Understanding Unapproved Use of Approved Drugs "Off Label". Physiologic Measures of Sexual Function in Women: A Review. Topical Pentoxifylline for Pressure Injury Prevention: A Call for Clinical Research. Advances in skin & Wound Care, 32(11), 486. The effect of topically applied vasoactive agents and testosterone versus testosterone in the treatment of erectile dysfunction in aged men with low sexual interest. It would be like soma, the happiness drug in Brave New World. I know that female sexual desire is not very well understood and I can see that a mismatched appetite for sex can scupper a relationship (although the answer to that could be to try a different partner). But small kids, a stressful career, money worries – none of those really make for nights of unalloyed passion. A drug that turns you on only turns you on.

OUR PRE-FULFILLMENT PRESCRIPTION PERIOD HAS BEGUN.

Evaluation of aphrodisiac activity of ethanol extract of Ganoderma lucidum in male Wistar rats. Translational Andrology and Urology, 11(7), 982. Guaraná's Journey from Regional Tonic to Aphrodisiac and Global Energy Drink. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: ECAM, 7(3), 279. Effectiveness of guaraná (Paullinia cupana) for postradiation fatigue and depression: results of a pilot double-blind randomized study.

What is FSAD?

Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.), 15(4), 431–433. Effects of a commercial product containing guaraná on psychological well-being, anxiety and mood: A single-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy subjects. Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine, 12, 9. (023) The Acute Effect of Caffeine on Genital Arousal in Women: A Pilot Study. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 20(Supplement_2). It doesn’t deal with the kids, the job or the money, although I admit it might distract from them for a little while.

• Flibanserin works on neurotransmitters in the brain, increasing dopamine and noradrenaline.
• It simultaneously decreases serotonin activity, which is thought to inhibit sexual desire.
• Bremelanotide is a melanocortin receptor agonist that acts on pathways in the brain.
• Ospemifene is a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) with estrogen-like effects.
• Testosterone is thought to play a key role in libido for both men and women.
• Topical estrogens work by replenishing thinning vaginal tissues.
• Understanding the mechanism helps in choosing the right treatment for the cause.

What I resist most is the insistent, pervasive, inescapable message that we all must be happy.

Not some of the time, but all of the time. And not just happy, but striving to be happier and happier yet.

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Journal of Women's Health (2002), 28(6), 769–777. Melanocortin 4 receptor agonism enhances sexual brain processing in women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Peripheral Female Genital Arousal as Assessed by Thermography Following Topical Genital Application of Alprostadil vs Placebo Arousal Gel: A Proof-of-Principle Study Without Visual Sexual Stimulation. Effect of Diindolylmethane on Estrogen-related Hormones, Metabolites and Tamoxifen Metabolism: Results of a Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trial. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 1, 26(3), 435.

IN CLINICAL TRIALS1, WOMEN ON ADDYI EXPERIENCED:

Flibanserin (Addyi): The First FDA-Approved Treatment for Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder in Premenopausal Women. Role of Nitric Oxide in the Cardiovascular and Renal Systems. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(9), 2605. Systematic review and meta-analysis of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors for the treatment of female sexual dysfunction. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 133(2), 139-145. The idea of drugs for sex – which is after all largely a recreational activity – is a bit like middle-aged men using EPO so they can win cycling races. It is another symbol of our universal acceptance of what our lives ought to look like if we are to be judged, and to judge ourselves, as successful. Sometimes it feels as if the whole world has to be shoehorned into the mould established by golfers and their wives and girlfriends: uniformly thin, blond and lovely.

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International Journal of Impotence Research, 13(2), 93–99. Chemical composition, olfactory evaluation and antioxidant effects of essential oil from Mentha x piperita. Natural Product Communications, 4(8), 1107–1112. Randomised controlled trial of the effects of L-ornithine on stress markers and sleep quality in healthy workers. Clitoral blood flow after use of gel containing L-arginine and L-citrulline.

Let's do it.

Turnera diffusa Wild (Turneraceae) recovers sexual behavior in sexually exhausted males. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 123(3), 423–429. Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH) Expert Consensus Panel Review. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 92(1), 114–128. Flibanserin for Premenopausal Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: Pooled Analysis of Clinical Trials. At the root of this is the idea that to desire and to be desirable is the acme of fulfilment.

Happiness does not exist unless it has been granted some external authentication. Being sexy is no longer the upside of those torrid years somewhere between 15 and 35, it is a state to which we should aspire for all eternity, or at least until we are as old as, say, Andrew Neil. No wonder that, in other news on the happiness front, English 10- and 12-year-olds (the study is silent about children in other parts of the British isles) are more miserable and stressed than any others except in South Korea.

• Filbanserin (Addyi) is not available on the standard NHS drug tariff.
• Vyleesi (Bremelanotide) is also not routinely funded by the NHS in the UK.
• Ospemifene (Senshio) may be prescribed on the NHS for specific menopausal symptoms.
• Testosterone is used off-label, and funding can vary by local Clinical Commissioning Group.
• Most treatments for FSD are primarily accessed through private prescription.
• Private consultation costs range from £50-£250, plus the cost of medication.
• Some private health insurance policies may cover specialist consultations and treatments.