New Study Questions the Effectiveness of the “Female Viagra” Addyi/Flibanserin
New Study Questions the Effectiveness of the “Female Viagra” Addyi/Flibanserin
It’s been six months since the Food & Drug Administration gave its blessing to the marketing of Addyi, or Flibanserin, a prescription treatment for sexual dysfunction (low libido) in premenopausal women.
There seems to be a lot of controversy among medical professionals about the effectiveness of this new drug. According to a new study published in February 29, 2016, JAMA Internal Medicine, the so-called “female Viagra” drug isn’t showing impressive results.
The study suggests that most women’s sex lives were not enhanced all that much, nor did it meaningfully increase the frequency of their sexual encounters. Taking the drug was associated with just one-half of an additional satisfying sexual event each month. The researchers said the drug had significant known side effects, such as dizziness, sleepiness, and nausea.
It further urges that before Flibanserin is recommended there’s work to be done: the medication needs to prove itself safe and effective for use by a far wider range of women not just those in whom it has been tested, including women who take other medications for other health conditions, those who have been plunged early into menopause by surgery, post-menopausal women, and by women who drink alcohol and take birth control medications.
From my drug rep friends the word I got about the drug from reps on the street is not great. Seems once again a product is developed from a male model not specifically for a woman, but I don’t know that for sure.