Like many other aspects related to sexuality, female Viagra is a topic of interest, one that is often asked about and which is currently generating a lot of concern, both in the scientific world and in the everyday world.
It is known as female Viagra or pink Viagra but its real name is Flibanserin, or Addyi, as it has been called for marketing in the USA. Although it has not yet been marketed in Spain, its arrival is expected in the next few months.
But what is pink Viagra and what is it used for? How does this pill work? Is it effective in increasing desire? Does it have side effects? Are there other ways to increase our desire? Below we will try to answer these questions.
A matter of desire
Female Viagra is a drug designed for hypoactive sexual desire in women. It is indicated for premenopausal women who, due to their lack of desire, suffer stress and discomfort in their daily lives.
Desire, from this perspective, is a phenomenon seen through the lens of a single eye, the biological one. According to this logic, the lack of desire would be determined by the lack of neurotransmitters in the woman’s brain and, therefore, taking a medication that influences these substances would cause the woman’s desire to increase.
But is desire a trait influenced solely by biology? The truth is that desire has multiple causes, not only physical but also psychological.
What we do and our lifestyle influences our desire to maintain relationships. Any view of this phenomenon that limits itself to seeing only one part of the picture is missing the whole picture.
Viagra that is not viagra
Although it is called female Viagra, the truth is that it has little to do with Viagra as we know it in its male version. Although both are medications designed for sexual dysfunctions, they have little or nothing to do with each other.
Male Viagra increases blood flow to the penis, allowing you to achieve and maintain an erection that allows you to have sexual intercourse. This pill is taken some time before having sex and can be taken sporadically.
However, Addyi is not a drug that can be consumed when necessary, but rather one pill must be taken daily, usually before going to bed, and is a long-term treatment. It also does not work in the same way as the male Viagra, female Viagra works by acting on the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.
While male Viagra acts directly on the male genitals, female Viagra acts on the woman’s brain.
A double-sided coin
Research results are contradictory. While some studies show that it increases sexual desire and frequency of sexual intercourse, others warn of its low efficacy, even stating that this drug can be considered ineffective and dangerous.
What all researchers do agree on is Addyi’s side effects. Its action begins to be noticed after 4 weeks, just like antidepressants, and can cause side effects such as dizziness, nausea, fatigue, drowsiness, difficulty sleeping, dry mouth, severe hypotension, and syncope.
This drug is not recommended for postmenopausal women, or men, to increase sexual performance and for liver dysfunctions. It should not be taken with alcohol, nor is it recommended when driving or performing tasks that require attention, at least until the person knows how they will react to the medication.
There are no magic solutions.
We often believe that a complex problem can be solved easily and quickly, with minimal effort or simply by taking a medicine. We also believe that this will not cause us any additional problems and that the problem will be solved forever.
The truth is that magic solutions do not exist.
All professionals would like to have a magic wand in the form of a pill or a technique that would eliminate suffering at its root and improve people’s lives, but in most cases, this is not so simple.
We are not passive beings, we do not act like a machine in which when you put a coin in, a candy immediately comes out. Human beings are complex and active beings, who decide and think for themselves. A single action, feeling, or desire can have different explanations, and a single problem can have multiple solutions .
We are what we do
If desire were only biological and increasing neurotransmitter levels increased desire, where does that leave the person and their actions? If the pills don’t work, does it mean that something is wrong inside us? And what do we do or think does not influence at all?
Desire, like most reactions that arise from our body, exists within a context, not just within an isolated body or brain. People live in an environment full of constant experiences and events that influence and modify who we are and how we feel.
Desire also exists within a context and a life, specifically our life. It is our actions, as well as our biology, that will determine the levels of our desire. What we do that day, who we talk to, what we think, or what has happened to us are things that will determine whether we want to have, or not have, sexual relations.
“Our reality is the reflection of our actions.”
– Anonymous –