Sexual Desire

Candy hearts and fancy chocolate boxes are showing up in stores, which means many couples are starting to look forward to a special day of ... something other than candy. But even on a holiday devoted to the cause, sexual desire can be hard to come by. Whether it's because of age, illness, stress or distractions, many people feel their spark isn't sparking like it should. Not surprisingly, a lot of would-be romantics turn to herbal remedies for help. "We sell a lot of libido products throughout the year, but we definitely see a spike around Valentine's Day," says Bill Chioffi, director of education for Gaia Herbs, a company in Brevard, N.C., that makes two supplements for the occasion: Women's Libido and Male Libido.

Candy hearts and fancy chocolate boxes are showing up in stores, which means many couples are starting to look forward to a special day of ... something other than candy. But even on a holiday devoted to the cause, sexual desire can be hard to come by. Whether it's because of age, illness, stress or distractions, many people feel their spark isn't sparking like it should. Not surprisingly, a lot of would-be romantics turn to herbal remedies for help. "We sell a lot of libido products throughout the year, but we definitely see a spike around Valentine's Day," says Bill Chioffi, director of education for Gaia Herbs, a company in Brevard, N.C., that makes two supplements for the occasion: Women's Libido and Male Libido.

A dizzying number of factors can conspire against sexual desire as midlife approaches: depression, medications, illness, career worries, financial pressures, marriage troubles, young children in the home (or an empty nest), the sense that life is half over … and then there's testosterone. Usually we think of testosterone as a hormone that men have — in abundance. But testosterone plays a big role in setting the pace for a woman's sex drive as well. And both men and women experience a natural drop in testosterone that can cause libido to ebb in midlife.

A woman's sexual satisfaction does not require high levels of sexual desire--and in fact, does not require sexual activity at all, according to a new study that finds rates of sexual satisfaction highest among the youngest and oldest women it surveyed. A study published Tuesday in the American Journal of Medicine found that in a group of more than 800 women between age 40 and 100, those under 55 and those over 80 were most likely to declare themselves satisfied with their sex lives.

An experimental non-hormonal drug appears to help women increase their sexual desire and satisfaction -- and reduce the distress associated with lack of desire. About one in 10 women are thought to suffer from sufficient lack of sexual desire for it to be distressing for them. But few good therapeutic options exist. The most common treatments for female sexual dysfunction currently are creams spread on the vagina that lead to engorgement of blood vessels. The results of a new clinical trial, reported Nov. 16, will provide Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals of Germany ammunition to approach the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval.

A "little pink pill" to solve women's sexual problems probably won't be hitting drugstore shelves anytime soon. But that doesn't mean discussion of the need for it, or lack thereof, is likely to end. On June 18, an advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration recommended against the approval of flibanserin, which had been touted as a female Viagra. The FDA can accept or reject the panel's advice but usually chooses to follow it. In many drug approval proceedings, that would be the end of the matter.

A woman's sexual satisfaction does not require high levels of sexual desire--and in fact, does not require sexual activity at all, according to a new study that finds rates of sexual satisfaction highest among the youngest and oldest women it surveyed. A study published Tuesday in the American Journal of Medicine found that in a group of more than 800 women between age 40 and 100, those under 55 and those over 80 were most likely to declare themselves satisfied with their sex lives.

The Oklahoma Senate passed, 37 to 10, a bill that would make the state the first to allow judges to order surgical castration of sex offenders. The measure, which now goes to the House, would require a positive DNA test linking the offender to the crime. A jury also would have to find aggravating circumstances. Critics said sex crimes are tied to violence, not sexual desire.

For several years I have been taking atenolol for my blood pressure, Zoloft for depression and Prevacid for acid reflux. During this time, my breathing has gradually gotten worse, and now I can't walk more than 20 or 30 feet without stopping to catch my breath. Up to a couple of years ago, I walked four to five miles a day at a fast pace. Could this change have anything to do with my medicines? Atenolol (Tenormin) is a possible candidate. This beta blocker can affect the lungs and cause fatigue.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that there is no such thing as a safe and effective over-the-counter aphrodisiac and proposed a ban on the marketing of non-prescription drugs that claim to arouse sexual desire. The FDA issued a formal notice that it is tentatively adopting the conclusions of an advisory board that has been studying the drugs, a preparatory step to issuing a regulation banning them.

A dizzying number of factors can conspire against sexual desire as midlife approaches: depression, medications, illness, career worries, financial pressures, marriage troubles, young children in the home (or an empty nest), the sense that life is half over … and then there's testosterone. Usually we think of testosterone as a hormone that men have — in abundance. But testosterone plays a big role in setting the pace for a woman's sex drive as well. And both men and women experience a natural drop in testosterone that can cause libido to ebb in midlife.

A "little pink pill" to solve women's sexual problems probably won't be hitting drugstore shelves anytime soon. But that doesn't mean discussion of the need for it, or lack thereof, is likely to end. On June 18, an advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration recommended against the approval of flibanserin, which had been touted as a female Viagra. The FDA can accept or reject the panel's advice but usually chooses to follow it. In many drug approval proceedings, that would be the end of the matter.

Pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim doesn't have an approved solution, but that hasn't kept it from marketing the problem. The German firm, which touts its new but as yet unapproved drug flibanserin as a treatment for women with low libido, has sponsored a website about the issue. It sent a soap-opera star on tour to discuss the problem, and, according to the New York Times, sponsored a Discovery Channel show on female sexual disorders and an online course for doctors that included a quiz question about an overworked, stressed middle-aged woman who had lost interest in sex. The "correct" response was for the woman to be evaluated for "hypoactive sexual desire disorder," a severe lack of libido.

An experimental non-hormonal drug appears to help women increase their sexual desire and satisfaction -- and reduce the distress associated with lack of desire. About one in 10 women are thought to suffer from sufficient lack of sexual desire for it to be distressing for them. But few good therapeutic options exist. The most common treatments for female sexual dysfunction currently are creams spread on the vagina that lead to engorgement of blood vessels. The results of a new clinical trial, reported Nov. 16, will provide Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals of Germany ammunition to approach the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval.

I have been taking the oral contraceptive Yaz for about a year. Since starting the drug, I have been less interested in the things that I love. I really am not always interested in sex. I also get headaches on the week of my reminder pill and am very grumpy or insecure during that week. Studies published in 2006 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine show that women taking oral contraceptives may have lower libido and less sexual arousal.

On the Cardigans' 2004 song "You're the Storm," singer Nina Persson used images of a marauding army to talk about love and submission. "Come and conquer and drop your bombs," she sang on the shimmering guitar-pop track. "Cross my borders and kill the calm." The metaphor must have stuck with her.

Here's a sampling of what University of Chicago Prof. Allan Bloom has to say about rock 'n' roll in his current best-seller, "The Closing of the American Mind." . . . Rock music has one appeal only, a barbaric appeal, to sexual desire--not love, not eros , but sexual desire undeveloped and untutored. . . . Young people know that rock has the beat of sexual intercourse. That is why Ravel's "Bolero" is the one piece of classical music that is commonly known and liked by them.

Thanks to Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, men with erectile dysfunction can get on board the Food and Drug Administration-approved love train. But women who experience a different sexual problem -- sagging libido -- have been left at the station. That may be changing. BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. is testing the safety and effectiveness of LibiGel, a testosterone gel for women designed to combat declines in sexual arousal associated with menopause. There are currently no drugs available in the U.S.