The FDA has approved a pill that many women wanted, but it comes with a long list of reasons not to ever take it.

After twice rejecting it in previous years, the Food and Drug Administration has approved Addyi, chemical name flibanserin, the first prescription drug designed to bolster female sex drive. But unlike its male counterpart, it comes with more potentially negative side effects, including no alcohol for those on the drug, and doesn’t yield instant results.

“This is not a drug you take an hour before you have sex. You have to take it for weeks and months in order to see any benefit at all,” said Leonore Tiefer, a sex therapist who launched a petition last month calling on the FDA to reject the drug.

Really, no drinking! Like EVER… From Addyi.com

Hypotension and Syncope ( which is a temporary loss of consciousness caused by a fall in blood pressure) can happen when the pill is combined with alcohol. An interaction between Addyi and alcohol increases the risk of severe hypotension and syncope.  Before prescribing Addyi, the healthcare provider should assess the likelihood of the patient abstaining from alcohol use.

OK, what else?

•  Addyi is not indicated for the treatment of HSDD in postmenopausal women or in men.
•  Addyi is not indicated to enhance sexual performance.
• Addyi is indicated for the treatment of premenopausal women with acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) as characterized by low sexual desire that causes marked distress or interpersonal difficulty and is NOT due to:

  1. A co-existing medical or psychiatric condition
  2. Problems within the relationship, or
  3. The effects of a medication or other drug substance. 

That last one is a biggie, because many women on hormone therapy or certain kinds of birth control report a significant loss in sexual appetite. Plus, did you catch the part where this is for younger women, ages 20-49, who are PRE-menopausal? That just knocked off about 75% of the women requesting this type of medical assistance from their doctors. With age and hormonal changes, sexual desire drops.

Flibanserin is not a wonder drug to given to women handling male partners with a shiny new prescription for Viagra. We must keep searching!!!! Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), is the most common form of female sexual dysfunction, currently affecting up to 1 in 10 women in the United States.

8-19-15