Viagra doesn’t work as a treatment for women, most studies show. But new research suggests that among women who suffer sexual side effects as a result of antidepressants, the little blue pill may help.
Sexual side effects due to antidepressant treatment are common, affecting from 30 percent to 70 percent of men and women who use the drugs. In the first month of treatment, about two out of three patients will stop using antidepressants, often citing sexual side effects as a reason.
In a new study, researchers studied the effects of Viagra and a placebo in 98 women, average age of 37, who were using antidepressants for major depression. All the women also reported sexual side effects like lack of arousal or difficulty achieving orgasm. For eight weeks, the women took either Viagra or a placebo pill one to two hours before having sex.
The study, which was funded by Viagra-maker Pfizer, showed that 72 percent of women taking Viagra reported improvement, compared to 27 percent of those taking the placebo. The Viagra users reported significant improvements in their ability to achieve orgasm and enjoyment and showed greater improvement in overall sexual function based on an established rating scale.
The finding is believed to be the first time researchers have demonstrated an effective treatment for antidepressant-related sexual side effects in women. It’s also one of the few studies that has shown a benefit of Viagra for women with sexual problems. So far, studies of Viagra in women have been disappointing, showing that while the drug increased blood flow to a woman’s genital area, that change failed to enhance women’s enjoyment of sex.
Because the study involved only a small group of women, it’s not viewed as conclusive. In addition, because Viagra has obvious side effects, such as flushing and headache, it’s possible the Viagra users were aware they were getting the real drug and not the placebo, which could have influenced their perceptions of the benefit.
Dr. Glenn D. Braunstein, an endocrinologist and chairman of the department of medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told The Los Angeles Times that the findings need to be confirmed in a larger group of women. That said, he expects many women using antidepressants won’t wait for another study.
“If I had to predict, use of Viagra will go up,” he told the paper. “A woman might not even ask her gynecologist for it — she might just ask her significant other to give her some.”
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From 1 to 25 of 121 Comments
“The study, which was funded by Viagra-maker Pfizer. . .”
I’m sure this study is accurate.
— JillianHmmm…why not try to solve the depression through therapy and get off the drugs that are causing the side effects? Viagra probably has a bunch of other side effects that you’ll need to take some more drugs for, and so on.
— CParisIs it worth the headache?
Yes, study sponsored by Pfizer. Watch the stock “crotch rocket.”
— Banu Danuinteresting news
— scott mcculloughIf progress keeps up, hopefully there will be soon a third drug to counter the sideffects of Viagra in women who took Viagra to counter the sideeffects of an antidepressant.
— ArchangelThe drug companies influence on medical research has resulted in such mistrust of the medical literature that psychiatrists such as myself discount what we read. I will be very hesitant to prescribe Viagra for my patients on antidepressants.
— RogerQuote
— AngelaM…because Viagra has obvious side effects, such as flushing and headache..
Unquote
After all that “Not tonight, dear, I have a headache”? What a waste of a study (paid for by Phizer) and space in a Newspaper.
Another example of “cascading prescription”.
— KazThe domino effect; a pill for the ill caused by the pill taken for the ill caused by … society’s misogyny and the expectations that it is women who must change, not society. If she’s unhappy there’s a reason, and it’s not within her, but out there. It is within her to change herself though, and get out there and change society so her daughters and grand-daughters don’t have to go those this &@#!.
— NRCParis: You simply do not understand that depression can be devastating and thoroughly debilatating. Talk therapy has its place; so does medication.
— NitaAmen to Post #9!
— lu-luYes, pile drugs on top of other drugs. The ol’ American way.
— Alex M. PruteanuJust expand the customer base. Soon we will be able to give it to kids suffering from depression. And we wonder why we are a nation of drug addicts.
— Psul A.“In the first month of treatment, about two out of three patients will stop using antidepressants, often citing sexual side effects as a reason.”
It seems there is more of a problem with the antidepressants if 2/3 stop using within a month. Aside from the sexual side effects, are these drugs effectively treating the depression?
I have a close relative who suffers from depression and has run the gamut of the various pharma treatments, with fleeting satisfaction.
— CParisI’m sick of judgmental attitude towards depression. Would any of you ask to treat pneumonia with talk therapy, so as not to turn the population into “drug addicts”? Perhaps when you have a serious disease, you can go and try to treat it with only counseling - see how far it takes you.
— GregoryViagra did NOT work for me, not even close.
— annep.s. After two years, I’m finally off the anti-depressants altogether, but they (and light therapy) were an integral part of my recovery process. I took them alongside talk therapy. Therapy is what one needs to develop helpful coping skills that drugs alone can never give you, but it’s a long process and antidepressants can be very helpful in lightening the depression to a place where therapy can actually help. At my worst, I couldn’t even get out of bed.. from there, therapy doesn’t work. And the antidepressant side effects can SUCK! Viagra never came close to helping, but anti-depressants that were not SSRIs did. Good luck to those trying to find relief!
— anneWell I don’t have insurance, even though I need antidepressnats as I have been depressed for about 2 years. So it doesnt matter to me.
— TraceyHow about if you get your head out of the unlighted place and stop waisting money on dope? Those pills are nothing more than poison.
— Charles ThomasThe study and who paid for it puts its value in question. And even assuming Viagra might have some positive impact, what are the down sides in the long run: poor quality, some illness and deaths, another reason why medical care is unaffordable?
Most drug company reps (including unbiased medical doctors) dismiss the use of niacin (vitamin B-3)because it might cause temporary flushing vs. the use of statins which they claim have no adverse long term side effects. It will be interesting to see how the spinmeisters handle that apparent contradiction.
The study (ghost-written?) is a coded message to medical doctors and the public: no need to be bothered by science and safety. Good sex and a Brave New World (or is it “1984″) soma pill and all will be well.
Off label prescribing and use of this drug will increase as physicians get the message from the public (as patients) and drug company reps as CME experts- “Write it now doc. Do not take the chance of losing the patient and income.”
The psychiatrists are already prepped (95%) and so are the pediatricans becoming so (about 75%). Ob-gyn medical doctors are certainly not far behind (60%). The only issue is how to justify (sell) Viagra to little kids with the loving approval of their parents/guardians.
Preganant women and breastfeeding mothers will get it to the kids anyway. (It will keep them quiet, keep them happy and keep them in the bedroom/bathroom so you’ll always know where they are!)
Of course this is far out. Never happen!
No psychiatrist would push powerful antidepressant prescription drugs on kids and no pediatrician would ever prescribe statins to 8 year olds and neither would their professional trade associations, the AP[sych]A or AAP, ever recommend these courses of treatment under any conditions.
Or are we all dreaming? In denial? Just dense?
In some ways it does not matter as we all are drinking prescription drug residue in our water.
— healthmattersIn a few years, Viagra on top of female hormones and contraceptive drug residue in our water will have us all wondering why we did not get into drugs sooner. Too bad George Carlin died. He would have had a field day with this stuff.
I say, what’s good for the gander is good for the goose.
Low-dose antidepressant use has helped me (for years) to combat a tendency to ruminate over daily worries in an otherwise exciting and satisfying public service career. The antidepressant I use has changed my life and allowed me to be fully functioning and happy person. The only side effect is an inability to achieve orgasm. Hey, guys, try giving up all your orgasms and see how you feel! Why give up them up when popping a Viagra a couple of hours before sex can remove that frustration?
I intend to try it.
— TeriMaybe Pfizer should spend more of its time and money on reducing the price of drugs for American consumers and less on their so-called “studies. How dumb do these companies think we are?
— Berlin SallyI fail to see the difference sometimes between the corporate purveyors of drugs and the dealer on the corner. Each preys on the hopes and sometimes desperation of the user.
In independent experiments conducted by myself and a former girlfriend, Viagra can improve sexual enjoyment for women. In our case, the critical component was using a very, very small dosage, which we unscientifically achieved by cutting a tablet into quarters, and then cutting that fragment into thirds.
My girlfriend reported that her clitoris was greatly engorged, its sensitivity was increased to touch, her degree of overall sexual desire was greatly enhanced, leading to approximately 15 orgasms (a normal set of orgasms for her would have been between three and five in a session of sex).
She did get a little stuffy, but the symptom faded as we got it on, a development which I attributed to adrenalin.
She was not depressed. We just had a very healthy sexual relationship.
:)
— EstebanI have been prescribing Viagra for years to counter the sexual effects of the antidepressants. It works in a significant number of women. The problem is that the insurance companies have a study that says it doesn’t and they use that to not pay. By the way I listened to a talk on significant depression last pm. One of the topics was the significant loss of cell function and cell death that occurs in the brain during severe depression. The antidepressants counter this. Most of the research cited was not paid for by the pharmaceutical industry.
— h dougSo if women are taking it does this mean that the insurance companies will stop covering it?
— bigL