A 47-year-old Cincinnati woman who uses Viagra regularly says that unlike with men, Viagra in women can cause a noticeable sensation when you take it. "I felt like there was a tingling in the pelvic area," she says. "I could almost feel the increase in blood flow. It felt like there was an increase in sensitivity."
The woman's doctor gave her Viagra after a hysterectomy made it nearly impossible to have an orgasm. She says Viagra has given her about 70% of her sexual function back. The level of orgasm "is not the same to what I had prior -- it's not as full," she says. "But it does make it easier."
Early studies of Viagra and women found it didn't work, but doctors say those studies weren't selective enough and included women with desire disorders who, like men with such problems, can't be helped by Viagra.
As with men, Viagra gets the blood flowing to the genitals in women. So for women who have difficulty achieving orgasm, vaginal dryness or a lack of sensation, arousal or engorgement, Viagra may help.
In a recent Pfizer-sponsored study of 200 women who either were postmenopausal or had undergone hysterectomies and who all suffered from some form of sexual arousal disorder, half were given Viagra and half were given a placebo. Researchers found that 57% of women taking Viagra reported improved sensation in the genital area, compared with 44% in the placebo group.
Even so, many researchers say sexual problems are far more complex in women than in men, and it's unlikely Viagra will ever work as well for women as for men.
04/18/06 @ 21:30