For a lot of girls, sexual want goes up and down over time, usually linked to modifications in relationships, stress and bodily modifications comparable to being pregnant and menopause.. However about 10% of girls undergo from low intercourse drive, which causes them issues. It’s a situation often called hypoactive sexual want dysfunction (HSDD).

There are just a few over-the-counter dietary supplements supposed to deal with the issue which have restricted, largely unproven results. However in recent times, the FDA has authorized two pharmaceuticals to deal with HSDD. These therapies are sometimes called 'feminine Viagra' – a nod to one of many drugs males can take for sexual issues. However they’re nothing like Viagra. The truth is, they work very in another way within the physique.

“In males, Viagra solves a 'plumber's downside,' if you’ll,” says Judith Volkar, MD, of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh. Viagra and different related drugs deal with erectile dysfunction, when a person can’t get or keep an erection agency sufficient for intercourse. These males usually nonetheless have sexual want, however they only can't get their our bodies to bodily reply once they wish to have intercourse. The drugs assist by stress-free the muscular tissues within the penis and stimulating blood movement, permitting an erection to happen.

The drugs the FDA has authorized for HSDD are:

• Flibanserin (Addyi): It’s a tablet that you simply take each night.
• Bremelanotide (Vyleesi): It’s an injection that you simply give your self within the stomach or thigh 45 minutes earlier than having intercourse. You are taking one in a 24-hour interval, and medical doctors advocate solely eight injections per 30 days.

How they work. Each medicine stimulate the exercise of chemical messengers in your mind known as neurotransmitters, that are important for serving to you’re feeling aroused. You are taking flibanserin every single day, whether or not you intend to have intercourse or not. You solely inject bremelanotide while you want it. It's vital to notice that neither drug makes intercourse higher. They simply make you’re feeling extra within the temper.

Your physician could advocate that you simply strive intercourse schooling and counseling along with treatment. You might also want hormone remedy in case you're coping with bodily issues that have an effect on intercourse, comparable to vaginal dryness.

How do I get them? Your physician should diagnose you with HSDD earlier than you possibly can prescribe both drug. They will do that by asking screening questions, comparable to:

• Have you ever beforehand been happy along with your stage of sexual want?
• Has your intercourse drive decreased?
• Are you bothered by your lack of libido?
• Would you prefer it to extend?
• Are there different issues (drugs, being pregnant, surgical procedure, stress) that may have an effect on your intercourse drive?

In the event you reply sure to the primary 4 questions and there’s no different trigger on your low intercourse drive, you most likely have HSDD.

Volkar says that the ache a girl feels about her intercourse drive is commonly the driving consider whether or not or not she takes treatment. “As a result of if it doesn't hassle you, it's not an issue,” she says.

Researchers have primarily investigated how the medicine work in girls who haven’t but entered menopause. Due to this fact, the FDA authorized each medicine for premenopausal girls solely. Ladies who’re pregnant or breastfeeding shouldn’t take both drugs.

There are others who shouldn’t take the medicine, together with those that:

“They will additionally work together with a number of drugs that girls generally take, comparable to fluconazole (Diflucan), a drug for yeast infections, and in addition with some antibiotics,” says Volkar. “So it’s good to know what drugs you’re taking and focus on them along with your physician.”

Ladies taking HSDD drugs shouldn’t drink alcohol from 2 hours earlier than taking the drug till the subsequent morning as a result of it could actually decrease blood stress to harmful ranges.

The drugs could cause unwanted effects, comparable to:

Bremelanotide could cause your pores and skin and gums to darken.

To measure how properly these drugs deal with HSDD, medical doctors have a look at whether or not sexual want has elevated and whether or not nervousness about it has decreased. Volkar says flibanserin sometimes results in “one further sexually vital occasion per 30 days.” Which will sound like successful to some and to not others.

“It is dependent upon the way you outline issues,” she says. “Is that nice, or is that not so nice? Once I counsel a affected person, I sort of go away it as much as their discretion and allow them to resolve what which means for them.

There isn’t a 'regular' quantity of intercourse or want. So a change within the ache a girl feels about her intercourse drive is commonly an vital signal of how properly the therapy is working.

In the event you strive the medication for 8 weeks and really feel no change, your physician could advocate that you simply cease taking it.

The underside line, Volkar says, is that whereas these therapies aren't good but, bringing two medicine to market is a step in the suitable path.

“I believe it's nice that we're lastly doing analysis on drugs for ladies and sexual want,” she says. “I don't suppose that is fairly the reply but, however it is a crucial first step.”