The only medical treatment for hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in women, Addyi, more commonly known as female viagra, has been generating mixed reviews since its release in October. Studies have concluded that the drug has more secondary effects than benefits while some patients and doctors disagree.
A Dutch team looked at eight studies on Addyi that conjoined analysis from up to 6,000 women. They reached the conclusion that for women using the drug, the number of additional satisfying sexual events averaged out to 0.5 per month, as reported by CNN.
“The data presented in this review suggests that the meaningful change caused by flibanserin is minimal,” said the new review published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Flibanserin, sold under the brand name Addyi, was approved by the FDA last summer and was presented as a victory for women suffering for HSDD. However, its approval has been qualified as a rushed decision by Dr. Steven Woloshin and Dr. Lisa M. Schwartz, in an accompanying editorial in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The drug has been associated with a diversity of side effects, quadrupling the risk of dizziness and sleepiness and more than doubling the chance of nausea. It also increased the risk of fatigue by more than a half, according to CBS News.
“I should be able to choose”
Even though negatives reviews have been targeting the drug lately, many patients and doctors actually see an improvement in HSDD symptoms.
Dutch results have been qualified as “average” by Dr. Lauren Streicher, medical director of the Center for Sexual Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She said that while Addyi does not work for everyone, many of her patients had benefited from it.
Dr. Streicher has prescribed the drug for about 10 women and three or four have emailed her back to give a positive review for the treatment. Many even have said that the drug has changed her life, she added.
Jodi Cole, a 33-year-old stay-at-home mother in the U.S. commented that before she started taking Addyi, she did not want to have sex with her husband. Even though she usually had sex a couple times a week, part of her dreaded, Cole said.
After treatment, Cole expressed that she felt the change. She was actually enjoying being intimate and for the first time in a long time, felt a connection with her husband. She assured to understand Addyi side effects but said that women should be able to choose to take it just as men choose to take Viagra despite its side effects.
“I should be able to choose whether the side effects are worth the benefit,” Cole said.
Source: CNN