How To Get A Prescription For Female Viagra

With flibanserin (Addyi) coming to pharmacies on October 17, 2015, the question on many women's minds is: How can I get a prescription for Addyi? After all, it is meant to: provide an increased higher number of satisfying sexual events; increase sexual desire; and lower distress. Well, getting access to the pill is not as easy as calling your doctor and requesting he or she write you a script for it. Yes, you may be peri- or premenopausal. Yes, you may suffer from Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD). Yes, you may have a medical condition that decreases your sex drive. But the only way to get it prescribed to you is by getting a medical evaluation. During it, your doctor will consider many things before pulling out their prescription pad, including questions such as:

• “What are your menstrual cycles like?”
• “Are you on a birth control (with hormones)?”
• “What, if any, medical conditions do you have?”
• “What medications are you on?”
• “Do you have a good relationship with your significant other?”

Chances are, all you need is for some of the above to be switched up — medications changed or starting therapy with your mate. Dr. Drew agrees that prescriptions should not just be handed out to anybody. “I wouldn’t give a 20- or 30-year old man Viagra,” he says. As far as 20- and 30-something-year-old women, Pinsky says “In my experience, birth control is the most common regarding a lowered libido. (I’d say to) focus on diet and exercise and your (romantic) relationship and maybe adjust your birth control medication.”

However, if the above adjustments are made and you are still having a hard time getting in the mood, that’s where the little pink pill comes in. When a woman starts taking it daily — which is required when it's prescribed — she can start seeing results in just two to four weeks. And, in case you need some reminders, there are many health benefits from having sex. For instance, it:

-improves sleep

-lowers heart attack risk

-reduces stress

-makes your relationship stronger

-makes you skin glow

-promotes an overall happier mood (and we could all use that, right?)

So, we know when Addyi will be out, but how will consumers pay for it? “Another fascinating piece of the puzzle is, will it be marginalized by health insurance companies or not — the cost of the pill, whether insurance will cover it, and if Medicare and Medicaid will, also,” says Dr. Brett Worly, MD and OB/GYN. Great questions.

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Images: Fotolia; Courtesy of Sprout