Why do women take viagra

FSAD refers to the occasional or reoccurring experience of being unable to get or maintain adequate lubrication and genital swelling long enough for sexual activity.

Some of the women in the study done by Berman and colleagues experienced significant improvement in arousal sensation, lubrication, and orgasm. Emotional and mental health both play into desire, neither of which Viagra addresses. Overall, whether Viagra is an effective treatment for women is still debated. Anyone taking Viagra may experience common side effects of the medicine such as headache, nausea, flushing, stuffy nose, and visual symptoms.

Other prescription medications have emerged as targeted treatments for a range of issues women face in their sexual health, though. Viagra is generally prescribed to people who want to have sex but are having physical problems that prevent sexual activity. Addyi and Vyleesi change brain chemistry in order to help people with the first part: wanting to have sex. As we said, desire is complicated. Mental health can play a large role in desire or lack thereof.

Individual or sex therapy may also help if the sexual problems stem from something mental or emotional. Although Addyi and Vyleesi address similar problems, they each have their own side effects. Addyi, the oral medication, may cause:. Addyi also needs to be taken daily and should not be combined with alcohol. You should speak with your healthcare provider about whether the benefits outweigh the risks and potential side effects. On average , Addyi successfully increased satisfying sexual encounters per month baseline of 2—3 by 0.

The medication did not significantly increase daily sexual desire in study participants Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Application Number Orig1s, Vyleesi is an injection that, like Viagra for ED, is taken in preparation for a sexual encounter.

This medication may cause:. Accessed March 11, Female sexual problems. American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Your sexual health. Frequently asked questions: Women's health.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Accessed April 1, Akbarzadeh M, et al. Comparison of Elaeagnus angustifolia extract and sildenafil citrate on female orgasmic disorders: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Reproduction and Infertility. Lo Monte G, et al. Women taking the "blue pill" sildenafil citrate : Such a big deal? Drug Design, Development and Therapy.

Shifren JL. Sexual dysfunction in women: Epidemiology, risk factors, and evaluation. Accessed March 12, Sexual dysfunction in women. Rochester, Minn. Sexual dysfunction in women: Management. Accessed March 13, Addyi prescribing information. Drugs FDA. FDA approves new treatment for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed July 16, Vyleesi prescribing information.

Can it get even better? A year-old nurse in New Jersey, who like most women in this article refused to be quoted except on condition of anonymity, said she tried Viagra for the first time last weekend. She wanted to be able to discuss the drug's effects with patients; she also thought it might help with the fact that she is reluctant to have sex at certain times in her menstrual cycle.

I've been with him for about two and a half years, and it's just not as exciting as it used to be. Last Saturday night, she swallowed a blue, diamond-shaped Viagra pill, which she sneaked from a cache in the office where she works. The dosage was 50 milligrams, the standard for male sexual dysfunction.

She chose not to tell her partner. I can't say it was a tingling, but it was some effect of the increased blood flow to the area.

I can definitely say it was not a placebo effect. I'm a nurse, and I'm trained to recognize those things. She has no hesitancy about trying the drug again, despite doctors' warnings that women of childbearing age should not take the drug. Jennifer Berman, a urologist at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, is conducting a study of the effects of Viagra on women who have some level of sexual dysfunction and is giving the drug only to those who have had hysterectomies or are postmenopausal.

Stanley Bloom, a urologist in Livingston, N. But we should be cautious. Do you remember thalidomide? You can't be too blase with this stuff. No one could have foreseen the disastrous effects of that drug. A freelance writer in Manhattan tried Viagra 10 days ago because she felt that Prozac, which she has been taking for more than a year, had dampened her sexual ardor.

Notably, she also chose not to tell her partner.