Science of Sex: Using Drugs to Raise Women’s Libido

June 29th, 2019

Raising Women's Sex Drive with Medication

This month’s Science of Sex post comes on the heels of an announcement that the FDA has approved the second drug that intended’s to treat women with low libido, also known as hypoactive sexual desire disorder and which you might remember is one of several types of female sexual dysfunction.  The new medication, called Vyleesi, works differently than the previously-released Addyi. In both cases, however, the efficacy and methods of the drugs leave us with more questions than answers.

Vyleesi binds to melanocortin receptors in the brain. Although researchers aren’t sure why that would lead to increased libido because those receptors deal with pain and food intake among other functions. The current theory is that this helps to increase dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that functions as a hormone in the body and a neurotransmitter in the brain, sending signals to other cells. Of the dopamine pathways in the brain, one is associated with the reward center. The association with pleasure is why dopamine plays a role in addition. It also helps to regular attention, emotional response, movement, and learning.

This drug may force the brain to process erotic stimulation as rewarding, which boosts libido. Because this happens immediately, Vyleesi only needs to be taken before sexual activity and not every day like Addyi, which has been around for several years but hasn’t performed well commercially.

Furthermore, Addyi works on another brain receptor to block serotonin, a neurotransmitter that contributes to feelings of happiness among many other functions. Serotonin plays a role in reward systems and too much can dampen libido as well as curb dopamine. Taken daily, Addyi can reduce serotonin

Both drugs have their risks. Because low serotonin levels are associated with depression, Addyi may be a poor fit with women who struggle from depression. It may be negated by SSRIs, which mitigate depression by boosting serotonin levels in the body but often reduce sex drive. The drug also comes with side effects such as dizziness and “sedation.” It shouldn’t be used with alcohol.

While Vyleesi isn’t taken daily and can be used with alcohol, which might mitigate some risks, users will face a tighter schedule. The drug can be used once daily, up to eight times a month. Boosting libido twice a week is better than the one additional sack session prompted by Addyi over placebo during clinical trials, but Vyleesi comes as an injection while Addyi is a pill. Furthermore, Vyleesi’s side effects include nausea, which affected 40% of women who took it, mostly after the first injection. A small number of participants experienced changes in skin color that remained even after they stopped the drug. Consider that 90% of participants remained in the trial, however.

Before Addyi was even approved, some sex educators were wary of the drug. I imagine Vyleesi will receive some of the same critiques. Vyleesi appears to be a better deal than Addyi in some ways, but neither drug increased the number of sexually satisfying events n a statistically significant way. The FDA no longer requires companies making these drugs to count sexual sessions, and critics point out that women may simply be having more sex that they don’t enjoy. 

And this leads us to one of the main complaints. Is it really beneficial to boost a woman’s sex drive just so it’ll be closer to her partner’s? Should we make women to feel bad for having less desire than men (apparently)? It is a win to force women to sit through more bad sex? Certainly there are women who would feel just fine having less sex if society allowed them to.

The CEO of the drug company has stated “It’s not just about low sexual desire, but about how it impacts patients’ relationships and quality of life. These women are really suffering.” However, this drug doesn’t examine why women are suffering. Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, a professor in the department of pharmacology and physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center who studies pharmaceutical marketing has.

I think it’s worth noting what’s an acceptable level of libido is socially influenced. Making women care less about the bad sex that they’re having is a dubious goal.

And for those women who want to want more sex? There are non-drug options that are more effective than both of these options and present fewer risks. Mindfulness can increase libido and sexual satisfaction. Sex education can ensure that women know and ask for what they want in bed, that their partners are better lovers, and that people understand that responsive desire does not necessarily mean low desire. On top of this, education explains concepts such as the dual-control model, which helps explain how external factors play into libido and enables people to ditch the shackles placed on them by society in the form of (useless) sexual scripts.

Can we even diagnose low libido before tackling those issues?

Reading a book or experimenting doesn’t require a prescription, abstinence from alcohol, or perfect health to produce results that are more statistically significant than Addyi and Vyleesi have shown.

Further Reading

Comment


My Sex Life Can Legally Vote

February 3rd, 2015

And marry. And it can drink in Japan.

That is, to say, I’ve been a consciously sexual being since I was around 8 years old. Give or take.

I don’t remember the first time I masturbated exactly. I remember simply grinding against balled up blankets — never pillows — until I became sweaty and hot and felt finished. In hindsight, that must have been an orgasm. But either I didn’t know the word or maybe it really wasn’t. Perhaps I felt some sort of other closure. And I would stop for the night.

Some twenty years later, I occasionally find myself getting off in the same way. I almost-but-not-quite wake up in the middle of the night, reach down for a corner of my blanket and grind against it for dear life. I’ve always been a fan of grinding.

Of course, it’s not the only routine in my repertoire now, but that’s how this all got started. I was still in the single digits, and I was humping blankets when I was supposed to be sleeping. I suppose I became bolder, sometimes doing it during the day time. I recall masturbating in my best friend’s bed one night while she talked in the other room. I couldn’t quite remember where her brother was. I was relieved to know he wasn’t in the room.

I remember, in high school, masturbating with the door to my room not quite closed. Could someone in the living room see the movement of my feet and legs and guess what was happening even though I wasn’t making a noise?

It wasn’t that I was a voyeur. I was just a horny teenager, and I couldn’t resist if the mood strike. And strike it did — hard and often.

During my teen years, I spent countless hours in chatrooms talking to boys, men, women. Cyber sex, they called it. Back then, it was simply erotic roleplaying. There were no photos and videos, not really. People would try to encourage them, but I wasn’t comfortable in my skin in any way shape or form. During those times, the blood would rush to my clit and my G-spot, making me feel like I had to pee. I read plenty of articles about G-spot stimulation, but it wasn’t that. It wasn’t impending orgasm. I just mistook the equivalent of blue balls as a different sort of bodily fluid.

I experimented with technique during these times. I once read that you could use the handle of a Venus razor as an impromptu dildo. I tried. It wasn’t necessarily pleasurable and I freaked out when I realized I was bleeding. I was never entirely sure if it was a cut from vigorous thrusting of a first-time penetrator or if that was my hymen. It didn’t hurt, and neither did sex for the first time. I didn’t give it much thought. I was happy to be masturbating and having sex.

I guess there must have been other household objects, but nothing stuck. It was that blanket or nothing. At some point, I added in fingers to rub my clit, which afforded me the opportunity to jack off wherever the hell I wanted. Eventually, the feeling-like-I-needed-to-pee sensation would fade away, and I’d forget about it.

It wasn’t until 10 years after I started masturbating that I bought my first sex toy, a purple jelly beast. In hindsight, it might have been a bit large. But I used it for a couple years, and it worked for several years after that without the purple glitter jelly leaking. I was surprised. I enjoyed this toy internally and externally, but it wasn’t doing me any favors. I can now recognize that my body just wasn’t used to masturbating in different ways.

I decided that I need clitoral stimulation, too, and plopped down money on another purple beast: the Rabbit Habit. In less than a month’s time, I had broken it because my tendency was to pull the base upward, forcing the shaft to bend. I bought another, not realizing the dubious construction or materials were something that should prevent me from doing so. I hadn’t ever thought about silicone, even though the original Form 6 had already been added to my wishlist.

The second rabbit eventually broke, too, but because loose beads are simply a terrible idea. But between the two bunnies, I had managed to have a toy-induced orgasm. Except, I had no fucking idea what it was. The quick contractions of my vagina felt like an alien, and that’s literally how I described it to a Livejournal group I was part of. Some women replied with “Yes! That’s an orgasm.” Others thought I should see a doctor.

I spend a lot of time researching whether or not a person, especially a woman, could have an orgasm and not realize it. Weren’t they all supposed to be toe-curling and earth-shattering? Mine surely weren’t. In fact, to this day, I’d still describe them as somewhat perfunctory. There have certainly been some pleasurable orgasms, but they’re notable, not frequent.

A few more shitty toys, including pocket rockets, would call my makeshift converted shoebox home before I would finally upgrade to something better, mostly thanks to this blog.  I still focus on clitoral stimulation, and I often use nothing more than my fingers despite my growing collection.

Rabbit after rabbit followed. An interesting night with k-balls and the Miracle Massager led to me squirting for the first time, awakening my G-spot. Or perhaps re-awakening it and reminding me of sensations I had experienced but learned to fight years before.

The years following would include more clitoral and G-spot vibrators, glass, wood, stainless steel and various ceramic toys. Several of those years were spent with my ex-husband.

5 years ago, my marriage started to crumble. Although masturbation was much the same, my sex life would change forever when the divroce was finalized a little over 4 years ago. For months, I would struggled to be aroused and masturbate without fantasizing about my ex, an issue I still face when dealing with heartbreak.

For three years, I would remain sexually celibate. It wasn’t necessarily on purpose, but I also didn’t want to deal with the hassle that came with romance and/or sex. I was sick of terrible first dates. And for nearly two of those years, the hot geek was unintentionally breaking my heart.

2 years ago, I finally left my celibacy behind. I was glad to have broken the fast, but it didn’t enhance my sex life. My drive might have been kicked alive once more, but the very act that was the catalyst for this change also opened my eyes to the fact that there would be no coming back for seconds with this person.

Just under 2 years ago, I would begin a haphazard romantic and sexual relationship with the bartender. There were as many highs as there were lows, but the sex was some of the best in my life. It brought out parts of me that I hadn’t understood or perhaps had even hidden from light for years. I felt whole and I finally understood that my sexuality can never be quite complete without a partner.

1 day, 1 week, 1 month from now, I don’t know how my sex life might look. I can imagine. I can hope that the next time I have sex, it will satiate me in every way. But if there’s anything that the past two decades have taught me, it’s that the life my sexuality takes on is bigger, bolder and better than I can imagine.

5 Comments