The FDA’s Advisory Panel voted 18-6 to recommend the FDA approve the drug flibanserin, designed to modulate neurotransmitters believed to influence the sexual response. Women’s groups have been divided in their response, with some groups like Even the Score (back by the drug’s manufacturer Sprout Pharmaceuticals) praising the decision, and other groups like the National Women’s Health Network complaining about unaddressed safety concerns.
I am very pleased that drug companies are researching interventions that can help women. But I have a worry. This drug (as do many, many others) fiddles with the body at a cellular, biochemical level, in order to reduce symptoms. There are almost always side effects of this process.
We’re a pill-taking culture. We want a pill to fix things with minimum effort on our part. In the realm of sexuality, there are many interventions that function at a more holistic level to address such symptoms as low desire and erection difficulty. But these interventions usually require more effort on the part of the patient. It takes time and focus to reduce your stress level, learn to communicate with your partner, pay attention to what kind of sexual interaction you want at the moment.
I’ve written a longer blog post, Sex and Drugs: some thoughts about pharmaceuticals, on SexTherapyNashville.com, which lays out these thoughts in more detail and provides links to relevant articles. I hope you take a look!