Pill that put pep back in millions of sex lives is one year old
Viagra lights candle
by Leon Taylor
Daily News Staff Writer
It's nice to stay up late on your birthday.
And it's safe to say Viagra will be doing just that tomorrow - its first
anniversary in the United States.
It promises to be a very happy birthday indeed for millions of men
who have jump-started their previously flat-lined sex lives with the aid
of the little blue pill that hit the market last March.
Since then, more than 8 million prescriptions have been written, and
about 40 million pills dispensed to the more than 4 million American
men, according to a spokeswoman for pillmaker Pfizer
Pharmaceuticals.
Viagra has been prescribed by more than 225,000 physicians in this
country and is available in 50 other countries, including Canada and
Japan.
As Pfizer spokeswoman Pam Gammel noted, sales and libido aren't
the only things that have been going up. Pfizer stock, valued at $74 a
share in January 1998, was up to $99 by March 31. It jumped from
$96 to $121 during a one-week frenzy in April and now hovers
around $136.
Medical studies show that Viagra has been effective for seven of 10
men with erectile dysfunction, according to the Impotence Institute of
America, a nonprofit health organization.
But while the drug has been hailed as a boon for monogomous
relationships, it also has been blamed for breaking up countless
others.
"Sometimes it works too well," said Gerald Weeks, director of the
Institute for Sex Therapy at the Penn Council marriage counseling
service in West Philadelphia.
"It's almost like when they were 18 . . . That has stirred up some
conflict within some couples when he wants to keep going like he's a
sexual athelete and she's saying, 'Hold on, I can't keep up.' "
Viagra is not an aphrodisiac.
It does enable increased blood flow, allowing most men to achieve an
erection if they are stimulated.
Temporary side effects include headaches, facial flushing, blue-tinted
vision and indigestion.
A small percentage of women are also taking Viagra to aid their
sexual pleasure.
And some claim success, although the Federal Drug Administration
has not yet approved the drug for women.
Soon after the drug was approved for men, news stories appeared
about Nevada's legal brothels experiencing an upsurge in
Viagra-hyped senior citizens shuffling in on canes and walkers.
And there were stories of younger men with other health problems
dying from overexertion between the sheets.
Which begs the question: Did they feel like they had died and gone to
heaven?
Or did they go to heaven - and then die?
Regardless, the introduction of Viagra has sparked national discussion
about a condition that was formerly closeted by fear and
embarrassment.
It has created an environment that prompted former presidential
candidate Bob Dole to become a courageous poster boy for erectile
dysfunction.
Health conditions that could be associated with the dysfunction
include urological disorders and circulatory dysfunctions brought on
by smoking, stress and cholesterol levels.
It also could indicate the presence of multiple sclerosis or pituatory
gland disorders.
Viagra, however, is not the only treatment available for men with
erectile dysfunction, said Dr. Irvin H. Hirsch, a clinical professor of
urology at Jefferson Medical College.
"I think it accounts for an important treatment," Hirsch said. "It's a
very viable option for many men who previously would not use local
therapy."
Other erectile dysfunction treatment options include medication-filled
needles, squeezing a medication directly into the urethra, adhesive
patches that deliver testosterone through the skin, vacuum pumps that
force blood into the penis, implants, vascular surgery and
psychotherapy.
Successful treatment, Hirsch noted, "changes the quality of life in a
very substantial way."
For more information about Viagra and other erectile
dysfunction treatments, talk to your doctor or contact the
Impotence Institute of America Web site at
www.impotenceworld.org or call 800-669- 1603.
Send e-mail to taylorl@phillynews.com
phillynews.com |
