What Happens To Females When They Take Viagra: Viagra (sildenafil), also known as the “little blue pill,” is an FDA-approved drug that helps improve blood flow to the penis in men with erectile dysfunction. It’s not yet approved for women with sexual problems, but some may use it. In these situations, doctors may decide to give the medicine outside of its labeled use to help with arousal problems.
This article looks at “What Happens To Females When They Take Viagra?” It also discusses whether or not women can safely and effectively use Viagra to treat low sex drive, as well as what FDA-approved alternatives are available.
Let’s get started!
What Is Viagra?
Viagra is a drug that is used to treat erectile dysfunction in men. It helps men to achieve and maintain an erection.
It was originally developed as a treatment for hypertension, angina, and other heart problems. It was not until the 1990s that its potential use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction was discovered.
Viagra is available in different dosages, such as 25mg (low), 50mg (medium) and 100mg (high). The dosage that is most appropriate for each man depends on various factors, including age and other health conditions.
Basically, Viagra (sildenafil) is a prescription-only medicine that belongs to a group of medicines called PDE5 inhibitors. Viagra should be taken only under the supervision of your doctor, and it is in most cases not suitable for women or children.
When Viagra lost its patent and market exclusivity in 2017, many other drug companies started making generic versions of Viagra using sildenafil. Pfizer also released a “authorized generic” version of sildenafil.
Prices went down, and now you can get a generic version of Viagra for as little as $2 per pill.
How Does Viagra Work?
Sildenafil is the main part of Viagra. It is a phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, which is a type of drug. Sildenafil and other PDE5 drugs like tadalafil and vardenafil work by widening the arteries and relaxing the smooth muscles in the penis. This lets the penis stay relaxed for longer.
By doing these things, the amount of blood going into the penis goes up and the amount going out goes down. This causes the penis to fill up and an erection to happen.
It’s important to remember that taking a PDE5 inhibitor doesn’t mean you’ll get an erection automatically!
When a man is sexually stimulated physically or mentally, his brain sends out chemicals that cause the blood vessels in his pelvic area to widen. Nitric oxide is the most important of these chemicals. PDE5 inhibitors kind of ride on the effects of nitric oxide and make them even stronger. Most of the time, Viagra won’t work unless something else is going on.
Nitric oxide causes the amount of cyclic guanosine monophosphate to rise in the body (cGMP). Blood flow to the penis goes up directly because of CGMP.
Here’s the thing: sildenafil blocks the phosphodiesterase type 5 enzyme (PDE5), which is another thing in the body that breaks down cGMP and gets rid of it. In some ways, it is the body’s natural way to stop or slow down cGMP.
By blocking PDE5, sildenafil and similar drugs “take the brakes off” the process of getting an erection. This lets more blood flow to the penis.
cGMP is changed by nitric oxide, but PDE5 cancels that out. Sildenafil stops this PDE5 effect from happening.
What is low libido?
Sexual dysfunction in women can be caused by a number of things that make it hard to enjoy sex, such as less desire, less arousal, less climax, or painful sex. Low libido, or a lack of desire or interest in sex, is a common sexual dysfunction that affects one out of every three women in the U.S.
It has a lot of complicated causes, such as:
- How people feel about sex depends on their culture.
- Having a bad relationship.
- Having had depression in the past
- Changes in hormones happen at menopause and during pregnancy.
- Stressful times or very tired times
- Taking some medicines
It’s important to remember that libido and arousal are not the same thing. Arousal is when you feel sexually excited. This means that you could want to have sex but not be able to get excited, or vice versa. Because of this, arousal disorder is different from having a low libido and may need a different kind of treatment.
Does Viagra help women with low libido?
Actually, no. Viagra works on the body in a way that helps with erectile dysfunction. As was said above, when a woman has a low libido, she is less interested in having sex. The physical effects may not be a problem.
Viagra is thought to increase blood flow to the genitalia in women, making them more sensitive and stimulating. Studies have shown that Viagra may help women who have trouble getting sexually aroused because it makes them more responsive to sexual stimulation. But it might not help if there isn’t much sexual desire.
In other words, people with low libido need treatments that focus on sexual desire to get better.
But Viagra might help people with depression who take drugs like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This is because some antidepressants, like SSRIs, can make people have trouble with their sexual function. Studies show that women may have fewer unwanted sexual side effects from Viagra if they take it before having sex.
Can Viagra Treat Women?
According to research on how Viagra affects sexual function in women, there may be some benefits, but they are not certain. So far, the jury is still out on Viagra/sildenafil for women.
A 2009 review of medical studies on women and sildenafil suggests that some women with FSAD may benefit from sildenafil, but it will take more testing to figure out who will benefit. In the end, these authors say: “compared to placebo, treatment with sildenafil citrate led to a small improvement in arousal (albeit with caveats in the Basson and Brotto study). It might be helpful to do more research to find out which people with FSAD are most likely to respond to sildenafil citrate.”
The same study shows that women have much less cGMP in their genitalia than men do. This could be one reason why some patients did better than others.
In one study that took place over 12 weeks, Viagra was given to 202 postmenopausal women who were having problems with their sexual function. Some of the women were given doses of Viagra that ranged from 25 to 100 milligrams, while others were given a sugar pill instead. When Viagra was given to women, their genital feelings got stronger and their sexual satisfaction went up, both during and after sexual activity.
Newer studies, on the other hand, have not all been positive.
In 2011, a medical study found that sildenafil did not work better than a placebo for women with sexual arousal disorder and spinal cord injuries.
A study from 2012 came to the same conclusion, that sildenafil did not make women with sexual arousal disorders feel more sexually aroused.
In another study with volunteers, it was found that sildenafil doesn’t help postmenopausal women with genital female sexual arousal disorder or problems with having an orgasm.
What Happens To Females When They Take Viagra: Side Effects
What Happens To Females When They Take Viagra: Almost all clinical trials and research on the side effects of Viagra were, of course, done on men.
But the small studies done on sildenafil in women suggest that the side effects of Viagra in women are the same as those in men. Some of the most common negative effects of Viagra are:
- Flushing of the face or body
- Having stomach aches, cramps, and diarrhea
- Headaches or migraines
- Nasal stuffiness or a running nose
- Irregular heartbeats and a hard time getting enough air
- Feeling sick and puking
- Changes in how you see, like blurry vision or a blue tint
In addition to these possible side effects, Viagra can also interact badly with other drugs, especially those used to treat high blood pressure. Mixing Viagra with nitrates is especially dangerous because it can cause your blood pressure to drop by a lot.
Alternatives to Viagra for Women
Compared to men with erectile dysfunction, there aren’t as many ways to help women with female sexual dysfunction. One reason is that a woman’s sexual experience is much more complicated than a man’s.
Treatments for sexual problems in women include:
Flibanserin
When Addyi (flibanserin) came out in 2015, it was mostly marketed as a “female Viagra.” But it hasn’t lived up to our hopes and has been rather disappointing. Even though it isn’t as well-known or as effective as Viagra, flibanserin is probably better for women than using a PDE5 inhibitor like Viagra.
Flibanserin mostly works on dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which are all important chemicals in the brain. People think that the brain plays a much bigger role in the sexual response of women.
Flibanserin works by making dopamine and norepinephrine levels go up while making serotonin levels go down. This is meant to make you feel more sexually excited and interested. Most of the time, 100 milligrams should be taken every night before bed.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Through hormone replacement therapy, estrogen levels can be brought back to a healthy range, which is another possible treatment for women. You can get these medicines as creams to put on your skin, pills to take by mouth, skin patches, sprays, vaginal tablets, and vaginal rings.
Most of the time, this treatment is only for women who have gone through menopause and need to replace the estrogen that their bodies no longer make. But it can sometimes be used “off label” to help women with sexual problems.
Is there a safe and effective natural alternative to Viagra for females?
There are supplements that claim to help with female sexual dysfunction in a natural way. But there aren’t enough studies to say for sure that they are safe and work. Even though supplements have natural ingredients, that doesn’t mean they are safe.
A recent systematic review suggests that the combination of the supplements L-arginine, ginkgo biloba, and Korean red ginseng may help increase the desire to have sex. Both ginkgo and ginseng can raise the amount of nitric oxide in the body, which is important for sexual function.
Red clover is a herb that has chemicals in it that act like estrogen. These chemicals are called phytoestrogens, and they may help with libido, sleep, and mood. It has also been used to treat things like hot flashes that come with menopause.
Cannabidiol (CBD) might help reduce anxiety, which can lead to a low libido. Higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol can make people less sexually interested when they are stressed. CBD products are available over-the-counter (OTC), but they are not FDA-approved and there have been concerns about their quality and safety.
Tribulus terrestris is a well-known plant that is used in both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. In small studies, people who took this herb said that it made their sexual experiences better. In studies with women before menopause, it also made their testosterone levels go up.
Before you take any supplements for low libido, you should talk to your doctor. At best, these might make you more sexually interested or aroused. Keep in mind that they haven’t been approved by the FDA, which means we don’t know if they’re safe, if they work, or what the long-term effects are. Also, herbal products can have side effects and interact with other medicines you are taking.
Some other natural options are:
- Sex therapy or therapy with a licensed therapist on an individual basis
- People who take antidepressants and have sexual problems should work out regularly for their health.
- Having a healthy diet (e.g., Mediterranean diet)
- Mindfulness and other ways to reduce stress
- Yoga and acupuncture
Conclusion
Viagra does not seem to be a very effective therapy for female sexual dysfunction, despite the fact that it may enhance blood flow to the genitalia. If further study is conducted, it may be possible to identify a subset of women with FSAD who might benefit from therapy with Viagra; nonetheless, when it comes to the question of what would happen if a woman took Viagra, you shouldn’t anticipate fireworks.
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