sexual problems are often complex and buy sale viagra
.
Medications may be used in treating certain conditions that contribute to
sexual problems.
Medication Choices
Estrogen. If you only have vaginal
dryness and irritation (and not other symptoms such as hot flashes), you can
use a limited amount of
estrogen in a cream, tablet, or ring in the vagina.
The daily estrogen makes your tissue less thin and sensitive and more moist.
Many women find that using a cream or tablet twice a week is enough. This may
increase vaginal tone and lubrication, which will decrease
vulvar dryness, irritation, and shrinkage (atrophy).
If you also have other
menopausal symptoms that affect physical and mental
well-being, talk to your health professional about taking daily (systemic)
estrogen therapy.
Estrogen can increase the blood flow in the
vagina , as well as reduce hot flashes and other
symptoms of
menopause.
Estrogen therapy or
erectile dysfunction drugs
therapy can be oral (pills),
vaginal, or transdermal (with a patch). In a small number of women, hormone
therapy causes heart disease, breast cancer, dangerous blood clots, stroke, and
dementia. Talk to your health professional about whether this therapy is right
for you.
Testosterone. This hormone may play a part
in a woman’s sex drive and satisfaction. The ovaries make
testosterone throughout a woman’s lifetime. Women have
the most testosterone in early adulthood; testosterone levels drop by half
between the early 20s and the early 40s.
In women who have their ovaries removed (oophorectomy),
testosterone drops by 50%.10 If you have had an
oophorectomy, your health professional may suggest trying
testosterone therapy. But the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has not approved any testosterone therapy for women.
What To Think About
The pills
-estrogen formula called Estratest is
not approved by the FDA. The company that makes it
markets it for moderate to severe
menopausal symptoms. It is also prescribed to some
menopausal women to improve sexual desire and
response. But Estratest is made with
methyltestosterone, which the body uses differently than testosterone. It does
not directly raise the amount of testosterone in your body. And, taking a
testosterone by mouth does put you at risk for problems with your liver and
possibly your heart. Using a patch or cream does not.
At this time, there is no testosterone pill, patch, or cream
approved for women-those made for men have too high a dose for women. Side
effects of too much testosterone include acne, facial hair, and loss of hair
and a deepening of the voice, which may be permanent.
No studies have looked at the benefits and risks of taking
testosterone for longer than 6 months. The long-term effects of testosterone
therapy in women are not known.10
Sildenafil (Viagra) is used to treat
erectile dysfunction in men. The maker of this
medicine has decided not to market it for improving women’s sexual desire and
arousal. This was based on research showing that sildenafil was not effective
for most women. The maker has commented that women’s sexuality is a complex mix
of physical, emotional, and relationship factors, and it is not as simple to
treat with a medicine as male erectile dysfunction is.11
Currently no medications are approved by the FDA to treat female
sexual problems, although several paths are being studied, including
stimulation of certain molecules (receptors) in the brain and increasing blood
flow to the genitals. It is still too early in the process to know whether any
of these medications will prove to be effective and safe treatment
options.12
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