5 ways to get your sex life going

[DewDropS]

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Sexually dysfunctional women in the United States are, well, mostly out of luck.
Women's sexual dysfunction is an area of medicine that's highly neglected, experts say.

Women's sexual dysfunction is an area of medicine that's highly neglected, experts say.

Unlike men, there are no approved drugs to take. If you go strictly by the rules, the best medical science has to offer is counseling, or a device that applies suction to your clitoris, or physical therapy for your vagina. While not to diminish these choices, where's that convenient, little blue pill for women?

That's what Joanne wanted to know. This isn't her real name, but she's a 26-year-old nurse at the Cleveland Clinic who felt no sex drive -- nothing, nada, zilch -- for eight years. She wasn't happy, and neither was her boyfriend.

When Joanne asked her gynecologist for help, she told her to talk to her psychiatrist. Her psychiatrist said her antidepressants were to blame -- they're known to decrease libido in about a third to a half of women, experts say.

"My psychiatrist just kind of shrugged her shoulders," Joann says. "It was just like, well, that's a side effect of the drug. That's just the way it is." Watch more on how women can get their groove back Video

Finally, fate intervened on behalf of Joann's sex life. Last year, the anti-depressants she was taking stopped working, and her psychiatrist had to switch her to a new one. "All of a sudden, my sex drive went through the roof. It was awesome. It was wonderful," she says.

But it wasn't perfect, or even close to it. Probably because of her long-dormant sex drive, Joanne could get sexually excited, but couldn't reach orgasm. Again, after being shuffled around to various doctors, Joanne ended up with a urogynecologist at the Cleveland Clinic.

That doctor prescribed the anti-impotence drug, Cialis. At first Joanne thought it strange to take a drug meant for a man. But she tried it, and she says it's helped somewhat. "I'm still not able to achieve orgasm, but I'm getting closer each time," Joanne says. "We're working with changing the dosage."
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Getting help for women's sexual problems is often a long and complicated road. "This is an area that's highly neglected," says Dr. Sharon Parish, an internist at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine who treats sexually dysfunctional women. "Many primary care doctors have no idea what to do."

So if you want help for your sexual problems, you may have to make suggestions to your doctor. "I feel like if I hadn't aggressively pursued it, I'd still be stuck in the same spot," Joanne says.

Here are some treatments for sexual dysfunction you can discuss with your doctor.

1. Impotence drugs such as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis

Some studies, like one out this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, show they work for some women with sexual problems; others have shown they don't work.

A woman's biggest hurdle could be finding a doctor who'll prescribe them, since they're approved by the FDA only for men.

The solution: Be frank with your doctor. Ask if he or she is willing to consider prescribing these drugs "off label." Be clear that you recognize these medicines have not been approved for women, and that you want to know about the risks and benefits.

2. Testosterone

Experts we talked to said taking testosterone has helped many of their female patients. "It not only helps with sex drive, it will also help with arousal," says Dr. Cynthia Brewer, a clinical associate at the Center for Specialized Women's Health at the Cleveland Clinic.

Testosterone, produced naturally by both men and women, boosts libido. Synthetic testosterone, however, has been approved only for use with men. In 2004, the FDA declined to approve a testosterone patch for women, saying it hadn't been thoroughly tested.

As with Viagra and its cousins, if you're interested in possibly trying testosterone, tell your doctor you know it's off label, and you'd like to discuss the benefits and risks for women -- knowing that not all the risks are fully understood.

There's one big hitch: Testosterone is available only in men's doses, which are way too high for women. You'll need a doctor who's familiar with how to fit the dose to a woman. There's no one central place to find doctors who specialize in female sexual dysfunction, but you can start at the American Urological Association, or at the International Pelvic Pain Society.

3. Arginine

Some doctors suggest using a cream with arginine, an amino acid that's supposed to increase blood flow.

"It's supposed to act like Viagra," says Brewer. "I saw one patient try it, and it had benefits. For another it didn't. Women can try it and decide for themselves."

4. Anti-stress herbs

You don't have to be Dr. Ruth to know that when you're under stress, you're not in the mood for love. "Stress levels will affect a woman's libido. We're more sensitive to stress than our male counterparts," says Dr. Esther Konigsberg, medical director of the Family Practice Center of Integrative Health and Healing in Burlington, Ontario.

Konigsberg often suggests these anti-stress herbs to her patients with sexual problems: ashwagandha, astragalus, panax ginseng. Licorice can also be used for stress, but she says your physician must monitor your potassium levels.

5. Experimental medicines

"There are a few investigational drugs in the pipeline for both pre- and post-menopausal women," says Sheryl Kingsberg, a clinical psychologist and chief of the division of behavioral medicine at Case Western Reserve Medical School.
Health Library

* MayoClinic.com: Female sexual dysfunction

While you can't get these on the open market, women can try to join a clinical trial. Two experimental drugs, called flibanserin and bremelanotide, work on the brain to increase arousal. A third, Libigel, is a gel that boosts testosterone.

The National Institutes of Health has a list of clinical trials for female sexual dysfunction.

And the most important rule: Don't wait for your doctor to ask you about sexual problems. "Women should feel empowered to bring up the topic first, because lots of physicians aren't comfortable bringing it up themselves," Kingsberg says.
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Also, be aware that drugs won't help every woman with a sex problem. Kingsberg says drugs have helped about half of her post-menopausal patients, and about 20 percent of her pre-menopausal patients. The rest, she said, benefited from counseling.

I have been seeing articles on this topic often in the past couple of weeks. Someone try cialis or viagra and let us know how it works on you!

[indecentspeech]

Never know, might be something simple as trying to have less stress and putting on some Porno.

[MissS]

Why would anyone want to try something which isn't licensed for use in women yet? I would have thought a Doctor would only consider prescribing the option of viagra/cialis etc if all other options had been exhausted.

Interesting though. I wonder how it would work exactly.

[indecentspeech]

Plenty of medications are given "off label" but the companies aren't allowed to push them as off label.

[MissS]

I know that, but this sounds like something much more new! Just a thought. :)

[indecentspeech]

There's a big debate going on about viagra, because it is covered by Healthcare insurance while Birth Control pills are not.

[MissS]

Originally Posted by indecentspeech

There's a big debate going on about viagra, because it is covered by Healthcare insurance while Birth Control pills are not.

It's the other way around here! Viagra = not covered (except in certain circumstances), and birth control = covered.

The grass is always greener.... blah.

[indecentspeech]

Ya but over there there's way more Pakis so I could understand Birth Control being covered there.

[MissS]

Ok, I don't know if I should laugh or shout out "RACIST!", but it is true. Pakistanis are technically the most rapidly reproducing ethnicity in this country.

[mistry?]

Originally Posted by indecentspeech

Ya but over there there's way more Pakis so I could understand Birth Control being covered there.

hahahah...LOL...
but dont they believe in not using birth control as well?

[Tweak Head]

Originally Posted by indecentspeech

Ya but over there there's way more Pakis so I could understand Birth Control being covered there.

note: someone needs to make a smiley with joker clapping :)

[MonicaC_NYC]

birth control is covered by insurance here...u just pay co pay

[VoicesInFashion]

Originally Posted by MonicaC_NYC

birth control is covered by insurance here...u just pay co pay

We got a professional here!

Originally Posted by MissS

Why would anyone want to try something which isn't licensed for use in women yet? I would have thought a Doctor would only consider prescribing the option of viagra/cialis etc if all other options had been exhausted.

Interesting though. I wonder how it would work exactly.

Miss, how many black guys have you fucked?

[indecentspeech]

Originally Posted by MonicaC_NYC

birth control is covered by insurance here...u just pay co pay

you're right, after there was legislation passed to force insurance companies into covering it, but before it wasn't covered, and the copay can be pretty high... $40.00 or so.

Planned Parenthood TV Ad Knocks McCain on Birth Control
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July 16, 2008 2:15 PM

ABC News' Tahman Bradley and Teddy Davis report: Planned Parenthood Action Fund has seized on Sen. John McCain's recent on-camera hesitation when he was asked to clarify his position on forcing health insurance companies to cover birth control the way some cover Viagra, a male enhancement drug, by launching a television commercial slamming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Abortion rights groups have launched a push to highlight McCain's position on birth control after one of his top advisers, Carly Fiorina, seemed to criticize some health insurance companies for covering Viagra, but not birth control.

"There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice," Fiorina told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington D.C. last Monday.

The McCain campaign scrambled to explain her comments last week which seemed to be at odds with the candidate's view. In 2003 and 2005, McCain voted against requiring insurance companies to include coverage for birth control.

"I don't know enough about it to give you an informed answer," the Arizona Senator told a reporter last week, when asked to clarify his position on birth control after Fiorina's comments.

Watch the TV commercial HERE.

Planned Parenthood backs Sen. Barack Obama for president and its political action arm hopes to help the Illinois senator shore up support among women by purchasing time on shows with large female audiences, like Project Runway, Army Wives and Oprah.

The 30-second spot will air in swing states Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A spokesman would not say how much money is behind the ad.

The Republican National Comittee disputes the characterization of McCain's position on birth control in the ad, saying that McCain voted against bills that would have used taxpayer funds to promote the use of emergency contraceptives.

"These types of misleading partisan attacks wont help women who are desperately in need of quality healthcare," said RNC spokeswomen Amber Wilkerson. "John McCain's plan will provide all Americans with choice and competition in health insurance, putting patients in charge of their own care instead of Washington bureaucrats."

Long before Fiorina made her contraception comments last week, Democrats had identified McCain's votes against requiring birth control coverage as a key means by which they would seek to make him unacceptable to women with moderate social views.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean first signaled an interest in highlighting McCain's opposition to mandatory birth control pill coverage during an April 10 McCain polling briefing with the media.

Speaking to reporters at party headquarters in Washington, DC, Dean said that women participating in a DNC focus group in West Virginia were "shocked" to learn that the presumptive Republican nominee has voted against requiring private insurance companies to cover birth control pills. Dean said they were also "shocked" to learn that he has backed "abstinence only" sex education.

Dean said the women taking part in the West Virginia focus group saw these two issue stances as evidence that McCain holds "old-fashioned" views. The former Vermont governor said focus group participants were also concerned about McCain's health.

While saying that voters bring up McCain's age unprompted, Dean said the DNC would not make his age an issue in the campaign against him.

McCain's campaign says that the Arizona senator's opposition to requiring birth control coverage is part of a broader aversion to mandates. By creating a 2500 refundable tax credit for individuals to purchase health insurance, McCain hopes the market will make more insurance options available to Americans including those who do not receive coverage through their workplace.

Political Radar: Planned Parenthood TV Ad Knocks McCain on Birth Control