It should be noted that if someone just happens to have a low sex drive and is completely fine with that then it’s not a medical problem in any form. However, if having a low sex drive is negatively impacting a person’s life and well-being, then they may have hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
Of course, everyone knows that when you break your leg you go to the emergency room. If you have a bacterial infection, you’re usually prescribed antibiotics. There’s even medication for mental health issues like depression and anxiety. But what are you supposed to do when you have a low sex drive?
This has been a long questioned and debated topic. Should there be a pill that treats low sex drive? Is sex therapy the only healthy option? Or is there nothing wrong with someone who has a low sex drive and that’s just who they are? These questions, among many others, are central to the idea that having a low sex drive could potentially be a medical issue.
When a Low Sex Drive is a Medical Issue
It should be noted that if someone just happens to have a low sex drive and is completely fine with that then it’s not a medical problem in any form. However, if having a low sex drive is negatively impacting a person’s life and well-being, then they may have hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).
The symptoms of HSDD include very little to no interest in sex, very few if any sexual fantasies, and difficulty feeling any pleasure from sex. If these symptoms cause significant distress for the person in question, then a diagnosis of HSDD could be likely.
HSDD affects approximately 10% of all adult women and can have a large variety of different causes, both physical as well as psychological, including arthritis, stress, diabetes, too little estrogen or testosterone, anxiety, and more.
Potential Solutions to the Problem
Depending on the cause for one’s HSDD, a few different treatments could be used. If the cause of the lowered sex drive is a result of a hormone problem, then the treatment may involve taking estrogen or testosterone in order to bring the person’s hormones back to a normal level. But if the cause is largely psychological, then therapy is typically the preferred method of dealing with it. However, for a lot of people suffering from HSDD, the traditional treatments are either not effective, are time-consuming, or too expensive. And, in many cases, those with HSDD never learn what is causing their lack of sexual desire and are unable to find a treatment that works. Which is why so many researchers have long been working towards new forms of treatment for HSDD. If one were able to simply take a pill or use a patch or injection and be cured of their HSDD then it would be far easier and more convenient for those suffering from this illness as well as gives hope to those who have tried traditional forms of treatment to no avail.
Treating HSDD with Pharmaceuticals
In 2015, the FDA approved a new medication for HSDD called flibanserin, which is a postsynaptic 5HT-1A receptor agonist and 5HT-2A receptor antagonist. While flibanserin’s specific mechanism of action isn’t fully understood, it is thought to work by raising the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine while also lowering serotonin at the same time. Through this, it increases sexual desire, thus treating HSDD.
However, many women taking flibanserin have found that the meager benefits they received from the medication didn’t outweigh the many side effects that came with it, making it an unattractive option for those suffering from HSDD. Most recently, a new HSDD treatment received FDA approval and will become an alternative to taking flibanserin. This new medication, called bremelanotide, might be a better alternative for those who didn’t receive enough benefits from flibanserin or who couldn’t handle the side effects.
While bremelanotide holds a lot of promise, it still has its own fair share of downsides. The most common side effect, which affects around 40% of those who use it, is nausea after the medication is injected. 13% experienced nausea so severe that they required medications to treat it. However, for many suffering from HSDD, the chance of experiencing extreme nausea will be a risk worth taking.
Research into new medications won’t just stop at bremelanotide, either. There are a plethora of other potential treatments that are being developed and studied for their efficacy in treating HSDD, including even combining two other medications, bupropion and trazodone, together. While many have suffered with HSDD for decades without any hope of getting better, all of these new treatments being developed promise to finally give them options for treating their illness.
