A Woman’s Sluggish Sex Drive: It’s All In Her Head?
31 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // November 13th, 2009 // 8:34 am
That’s what Boehringer Ingelheim hopes to convince countless women. The German drugmaker is developing a pill designed to reawaken desire by blunting female inhibitions and unlike Pfizer’s Viagra, which boosts blood flow to the penis, this drug works on the brain, Bloomberg News writes.
You can imagine the debate - is female sexual dysfunction caused by a mysterious interaction between body and brain, or a legit medical problem? “This drug has the potential to finally open the door to acceptance of the idea that decreased desire can be something that involves a dysfunctional way the brain works, and not only a bad partner,” Jim Pfaus, a neurologist at Concordia University, who tested the drug in rats, tells Bloomberg. “Of course it’s in your head.”
Boehringer hasn’t published studies of the drug, called flibanserin, but trial data of more than 5,000 US and European women will be shown next week at the European Society for Sexual Medicine conference, the news service notes. The litmus test - how many “satisfying sexual events” women said they experienced after starting treatment (the studies were named after flowers - Violet, Daisy, Dahlia and Orchid, Bloomberg writes).
A Boehringer survey of 31,000 US women aged 18 and older found that one in 10 expressed distress because of diminished sex drive. A sluggish libido is “a real problem,” and early clinical results so far suggest Boehringer’s drug can help, Stephen Stahl, a psychopharmacologist, chairman of the Neuroscience Education Institute and Boehringer consultant, tells Bloomberg.
However, a 2003 article written by Ray Moynihan in the British Medical Journal called female sexual dysfunction “the freshest, clearest example we have” of a disease created by pharmaceutical companies to make healthy people think they need medicine. Hmmm…. what do you think?
Are Libido Problems All 'In Her Head'?
- No (57%, 62 Votes)
- Yes (43%, 47 Votes)
Total Voters: 109
Loading ...
talbot
There was a ton of work done on this a while back, which included analyses of just how complex an emotion “desire” is–particularly in women. Reasons for lack of interest range from anger at a long-time spouse who refuses to help with the housework, to exhaustion at the end of a day of working both inside and outside the home. It would probably be a good idea to avoid the “lowers female inhibition” tagline–bears an unfortunate resemblance to roofies.
harpy
So it works by blunting female inhibitions because it’s all in your head, not just because you have a bad partner. Not only that, you have to take it every day and don’t get any effects for 6 weeks? I wonder how much of the “effect” is from being called every day and asked if you’re horny and if you did it and was it good?
What does blunting female inhibitions mean anyway? I don’t like any of this.
Condor
Is it just that some men believe the way to fix all of “woman’s” problems is to give her a pill?
I tend to think if we men (as a class — not speaking specifically, here) did help-out more around the house, and were more attentive, generally, our spouses would have more energy — for everything, sex included.
Now, I don’t want to get all tin-foiled-hattish here, as for some people, in a limited number of situations, this drug may be of some benefit. But I fear, however, that it will be pushed — just like Pfizer’s little blue pill (the miracle that is Viagra!) — into protocols where it plainly has no place.
And that will happen, in part, because men — as a class — would rather find a chemical solution, than one that requires more effort from them, personally. But they still want what they want. [Let the flames -- of my remarks begin -- um. . . now.]
Namaste
PS: As if it weren’t clear enough, from my remarks above — I voted “no” in the poll.
Condor
I read the Boomberg version of this last night — and I agree with Harpy — the article (at lest in the online form , as of last night) is chock-full of “value judgments” that imply (or overtly state) a fault, of one osrt or another, on the part of the female, in most of the descriptive vignettes.
Namaste
Chris
Poorly phrased question, since ‘all in the head’ could refer to the fact that the respondent believes it is not a real condition or is buying into BI’s view that their new pharmaceutical works on the brain.
Justice in Michigan
Agree with Chris and others–desire probably _is_ “all in one’s head,” but it is most likely for reasons for which a drug is unnecessary, irrelevant, and distracting from genuine issues.
Also sexist phrasing. Do ED drugs advertise themselves as changing “libido” or just the ability to do something with it?
Wasn’t the “horny guy” ad busted because of a false claim about desire?
Robert
So, a MENTAL Viagra pill designed for women? Not such a bad idea.
Evelyn Pringle
I agree with most that the reasons a woman is not interested in sex may be any of the above.
And I too wonder how a pill can change a woman’s dissatisfaction with or disinterest in her mate for a variety of reasons (real or imagined), and from there make her horny.
I’m sure the marketing department is working on ways to convey an illogical answer to this question in non-stop DTC ads as we speak.
Just as I’m sure plenty of dumb people will accept whatever they come up with, and probably men will be driving 90 miles an hour to the drug store to pick up the pills.
Former Pharma Marketing Director
I think I agree with Ray Moynihan:
“An Article written by Ray Moynihan in the British Medical Journal called female sexual dysfunction “the freshest, clearest example we have” of a disease created by pharmaceutical companies to make healthy people think they need medicine…”
Hopefully it will not be reimbursed…..
Evelyn Pringle
One more thing.
We already have a drug available to free up woman’s inhibitions - it’s called alcohol. It’s been used for centuries and has loosened up plenty of women.
harpy
Wouldn’t want to make the effort to change the culture that makes women uncomfortable with/disconnected from their bodies, because the problem is obviously you.
Ogden Nash
Evelyn,
I believe I said some years ago “Candy’s dandy but liquor’s quicker”.
Evelyn Pringle
Ogden, I seem to remember that phrase myself.
The point being we already have a substance readily available if the goal is to loosen up women’s inhibitions, however, if indeed a woman has problems with intimacy consistently with men, women or whoever, indicating some type of a psychological block, I do not believe there is a pill that is going to solve the problem.
I myself can’t picture taking a pill and suddenly wanting to crawl in the sack with somebody I had no desire for before I swallowed the pill.
That scenario brings up a vision of spanish fly or something like that being added to a drink.
As mentioned above, Ray Moynihan saw this disease mongering scheme coming long ago.
Dr. Sal
I was one of the original members of the Viagra Global Marketing team and also worked on some of the premarket analysis on sildenafil for women. This product should have been brought to market. The reason it was not is multifaceted but one of the reasons it was not is that many would not support the notion that female sexual dysfunction is worthy of treatment. This area presents a very complex range of globally divers issues with social, religious and cultural issues that are stunningly complex and difficult to understand and manage. If B-I wants to work in this area it must do its homework and be prepared to advance not just the science but the cultural issues. Having said this, after looking at a lot of data and reviewing hours of interview materials and surveys female sexual dysfunction is real. It is a disservice to women to ignore it or to relegate approaches to help manage true problems to the trash-basket of “it’s all marketing hype”. Remember, some 50 years ago OCs were very controversial and many felt that all society would collapse if there was a safe and easy product available that would allow women to express their sexuality without the fear of unwanted pregnancy. I am astounded that that battle still. I wish B-I luck and hope they do not abandon the project because of nay-sayers and listen to women and their partners.
Justice in Michigan
Hi Dr. Sal. Good to see you here again. What is an “OC”? Thanks.
Condor
JiM — when Dr. Sal typed “OC” it was short, back then, anyway for “Oral Contraceptive” — the pill.
Namaste
Justice in Michigan
Ah. In psychology, it has a different meaning. People who unduly _worry_ about OCs.
Gracie
pharmavet
Can we put “restless vagina syndrome” to rest and get back to discovering drugs for real diseases for a change?
Lisa Van Syckel
Pharmavet,… couldnt have said it better myself. And I agree with Evelyn, have a problem,.. breakout the Pinot. At least women dont have to be concerned with the wet noodle syndrome.
pharmavet
Thanks, Lisa. George Burns finally knew when he and Gracie should give up sex, because, as he said, “it was like trying to slip an oyster through a keyhole”. I don’t think their marriage suffered for it.
Evelyn Pringle
I have to wonder whether this drug was investigated by all men.
Only a man would believe that a drug could change how a woman views a man sexually. Somehow I can’t picture a woman signing on to that view at all.
If I can’t stand the SOB, or even if he just annoys me in other areas of my life, how is a pill going to change that and make me want to go to bed with him?
This has got to be the most ridiculous debate over what a drug is capable of doing that I have seen in a long time.
Ogden
“Only a man would believe that a drug could change how a woman views a man sexually.” Or perhaps that an angry woman will have to view sex manually?
Carolyn Thomas
This has disease-mongering written all over it - and not a moment too soon for Boehringer, the German drugmaker of this ‘pink Viagra’. Next year, the company is poised to lose patent protection of two of its blockbuster drugs, thus facing a potential revenue hit of $1.5 billion. What’s a poor drug company to do? Come up with a media darling of a drug, then come up with a disorder that fits, convince the consumer that they have this disorder, and that a simple pill can fix it. Brilliant marketing. And I can already imagine the snickering TV ads for this…
Now, for men who are eagerly waiting for this drug’s approval, hoping it will perk up their disinterested partners, they might want to browse through the book ‘Porn For Women’ - the book whose cover photo shows a man vacuuming the living room. Now THAT’S an erotic turn on…
Meanwhile, for more marketing perspectives, read “New ‘Desire Drug’ Claims That Sex Really IS All In Her Head” at The Ethical Nag. http://ethicalnag.org/2009/11/15/boehringer-desire-drug/
maiasz
I find the *objections* to this sexist. Why is it that if a woman feels like her sex drive is low, she should be stuck with talking it out in therapy, but if a man can’t get it up, he gets away with the much easier to deal with pill?
No one is forcing people to take it– and if we believe that men can stand up to the forces of marketing successfully but women are so weak that they have to be protected, well, again, why isn’t *that* sexist?
There are legitimate objections to disease mongering and markets do produce pressure but I think that for the most part, people are pretty sensible. All the hype over the hyping of restless leg syndrome did was stigmatize people with that *genuine* disorder– no one ever produced any evidence that people who didn’t have a serious problem went out and got the drug and began thinking they had a condition that they didn’t really have.
Similarly, there are lots of complaints about overprescribing of antidepressants– but I have yet to hear from anyone who went racing for drugs when they felt sad for two weeks, nor do I see people who feel that their own depression was mild and unbothersome before they tried meds. *other people’s depression* might be mild and *they* might be overmedicated, but I’ve never heard anyone apply that to their own pain, which suggests that the problem is under-empathizing not overprescribing.
Evelyn Pringle
I would apply the same principles to the marketing of ED drugs.
I for one am so sick of seeing those commercials on TV that I literally turn the channel when they come on.
I am just as sick of watching the antidepressant commercials.
In fact, just last night, I thought I should really write letters to the programs that keep airing this trash and tell them I am going to quit watching their shows, no matter how much I might like the actually like the program.
In matching up the two classes of drugs, it’s a well known fact that antidepressants cause major sexual problems, along with a host of other drugs, so who knows what the underlying problems may be.
But one thing’s for sure, taking more drugs is not the answer.
In sitting here thinking, in the end, I don’t believe many women will be conned into buying the sex drugs. And the ones that do, will probably realize after the first prescription that pills couldn’t suddenly transform their mate into a mythical movie star to turn them on.
I remember back in the late 1970s when club owners got the bright idea to have male strip joints in Milwaukee for the enjoyment of women and they were a hit for about a month, with most women stopping in for one night to check it out.
Lisa Van Syckel
Am I wrong, or is this new find just a remake of a failed antidepressant. If so, I will stick with a Pinot Buzz, instead of an antidepressant manic reaction.
Antidepressants are also known to cause sexual dysfunction,… yes?
Lisa Van Syckel
maiasz,… has anyone ever told you that you have a male mentality?
Evelyn Pringle
Lisa,
Antidepressants cause MAJOR sexual dysfunction. Everything from no desire to inability to climax for both sexes.
That’s one of the reasons I was blown away by the proponents of the Mother’s Act and their attempts to reel in “sad daddy’s” with a diagnosis of postpartum depression.
Picture that, young couples trying to get back into having sex after the birth of a child with both of them disinterested or unable to perform and not knowing it was due to the antidepressants they were given.
Oh that’s right though, now we can give them both the sex drugs to try to overcome that little problem.
Carolyn Thomas
If you haven’t already seen it, please watch the documentary “Orgasm Inc.” which features interviews with Ray Moynihan and some truly embarrassing comments by drug industry staff and “researchers” trying to explain their strategies in turning normal people into patients. It’s a balanced yet revealing indictment of disease-mongering featuring a number of experts and academics who know what they’re talking about.
Evelyn Pringle
That documentary is really funny and eye-opening.
riv
That poor woman who was subjected to an invasive spinal procedure to help her orgasm, after someone convinced her she had a “disease” because she didn’t orgasm during penetration… .
Women don’t need a pill for their bodies or their brains. They need sex education that is about their bodies, not male response.
And so do their physicians, apparently.