Female Viagra Has Been Approved: Swallowing the Little Pink Pill

People can expect to start having a lot more sex. The female equivalent to Viagra will officially become available on October 17, 2015. This overdue evolution in women’s health could arguably be a dream come true for women and men with struggling sex lives. Still, Addyi, the sex drive enhancement for women, differs in many ways from its male counterpart.

According to sexhealthmatters.org, about one in ten women suffer from Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD). It is these women whom qualify for an Addyi prescription.

Where Viagra comes in handy for a man on a moment’s notice, a woman prescribed Addyi is to take the little pink pill daily at bedtime. This habitual pill, similar to that of taking birth control pills, works to rebuild the sex drive of a woman with HSDD.

HSDD occurs regardless of the type of sexual activity, the situation or the sexual partner. Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Janet Woodcock, M.D., said, “[Addyi] provides women distressed by their low sexual desire with an approved treatment option.”

The FDA conducted three 24-week studies to test the drugs influences and side effects. But perhaps the results were less exciting than scientists hoped for. The study tested 2,400 premenopausal women with HSDD of approximately 36 years of age. Ten percent of them reported to have only one additional exceptional sexual experience than women who received a placebo.

The pink pill poses a few problems. Like most prescription drugs, Addyi comes with a list of side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, nausea, fatigue, insomnia and dry mouth. All of which could really fuck up a moment of desire–side effect six.

Most notably however, those medicated are highly warned not to consume alcohol. The consumption of alcohol while being treated with Addyi can cause extremely low blood pressure and loss of consciousness. We wonder: Will forgoing alcohol completely deter women from the drug, as cocktails are often used as social lubricant? And if a woman does have a drink while being treated, how much alcohol does it take to really cause damage?

The FDA made a point to clarify that the pink pill does not increase a woman’s sexual performance; so don’t expect to turn into Angelina Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. Smith three weeks into treatment.

Overall, it seems that Addyi is a fix for some of the sexually depressed. In relation to Viagra, most men swallowing the blue pill can get going without the drug–they just can’t get it up. Addyi’s job is to make sure women (and the men who love them) who have lost their mojo get the long-term sex life they imagined they’d always have.