Associated Press, MAY 02, 10:54 EDT
Viagra Mania: Impotent Men Rejoice
By DAVID FOSTER
SUN CITY, Ariz. (AP) -- A retirement community might
seem an unlikely hotbed for sexual revolution, but such
is the power of a little blue pill. Down palm-lined
streets where golf, grandkids and gallstones are the
usual topics of conversation, the new talk of the town
is Viagra, a potent new medicine for male impotence.
Some here call it ''that sex pill.'' Harold Dennis, 61,
calls it something close to a miracle.
''I've been impotent since 1986. But last night, I felt
good.'' He puts his arm around his wife, Juanita, and
flashes a big grin. ''It was very satisfactory.''
In the three weeks Viagra has been available,
drugstores nationwide have filled an estimated 150,000
prescriptions. Across America, men have found
satisfaction in a way they haven't for years -- and both
men and women engaged in the eternal scrimmage of
the sexes have found the playing field shifting once
again.
There are other treatments for impotence -- vacuum
pumps, inflatable implants and drugs that are injected
into the penis or plunged down the urethra -- but their
disadvantages are obvious.
Viagra is something new: the first pill that makes
erections possible. Take the tablet. Wait a half hour.
Add a little old-fashioned sexual stimulation. And
things begin to happen, perhaps for the first time in a
long while.
No wonder doctors can't write prescriptions fast
enough.
''It's the biggest thing since the Beatles,'' said Dr.
Rafael Wurzel of New Britain General Hospital in
Connecticut. He has already made out more than 300
Viagra prescriptions.
''There are about 30 million guys out there'' with
erectile dysfunction -- as impotence is called now by
most doctors -- ''and hardly any will acknowledge the
problem and get help,'' Wurzel said. ''All of a sudden,
I see this taboo totally debunked because of Viagra.''
Overnight, patients he'd seen for years for kidney
stones, prostate woes, bladder tumors, whatever,
began calling him to talk about this other little matter
they'd never gotten around to mentioning.
Typical of his patients is Bernard, 58, a retired
construction worker who, like many taking the pill,
doesn't want to see his name in the newspaper. Cancer
and emphysema, plus the side effects of his medicines,
have made erections unpredictable for him the past
four years, but he's still grinning about the first time
he took Viagra.
''I didn't say a word to my partner before,'' he said.
''But afterward, she asked what got into me. This
took me back 10 years. It's changed my life. It's given
me more self-confidence. I feel good about who I am.''
Doctors generally appear to be prescribing the drug for
men like Bernard who have clear physical reasons for
their impotence. Among the most common causes are
diseases that damage the nerves or interfere with
blood flow to the penis. These include high blood
pressure, diabetes, clogged arteries, multiple sclerosis
and reactions to medications.
''It definitely works, but it won't work for everybody,''
said Dr. William Steers, chairman of urology at the
University of Virginia Health Science Center. ''I tell
patients that the chance of a home run is 50-50.''
Among those most interested in Viagra are men who
have had their cancerous prostate glands removed. The
operation often snips nerves essential for erections.
Many of these men are still vigorous and healthy, and
still interested in sex. But only about 25 percent to 40
percent are likely to be helped by Viagra.
Lon, a retired financial planner in Clovis, Calif., has
been impotent since prostate surgery three years ago.
The second time he took Viagra, he felt ''a slight
beginning of an erection, but nothing to get excited
about.'' So he will stick with his inflatable implant,
which he says is not as bad as it sounds.
Viagra may not be just for men. Studies are going on
to see whether Viagra can rejuvenate women's sex
lives, too.
Baltimore hairdresser Laurie Kline took a pill last week
and said she had her first orgasm since her
hysterectomy five years ago.
''It was like it used to be -- maybe even a little bit
better,'' she said.
While specialists are delighted to have something new
to offer their patients -- and talk-show hosts are
rushing to line up guests -- some observers worry
about Viagra's effects beyond the mechanics of
erection.
What will it do to couples' relationships? What about
the curious who want to see if it revs up normal sexual
prowess? How much sex should an aging man expect,
anyway? Who will pay for it?
Pfizer Inc., which makes Viagra, stresses that it's not
quite a sexual fountain of youth.
''Viagra restores. It doesn't create,'' said spokesman
Andy McCormick. ''A 55-year-old man taking Viagra
would report a return of desire consistent with a
healthy 55-year-old man, not to the level of a
22-year-old.''
Viagra has been tested mostly on men who are clearly
impotent, and doctors say there's no reason to believe
the drug will do anything for those who get normal
erections. But the idea, even without evidence, that
this elixir might make erections grow harder, last
longer and return sooner clearly intrigues many.
Sun City pharmacist Jim Detwiler couldn't resist trying a
pill, even though he says he's fully functional. It made
no difference, and it gave him a headache, one of the
drug's occasional side effects. (Some other patients
report a stuffy nose, flushed skin and indigestion).
Another experimenter was Dr. Karlis Ullis, 54, who has
a sports medicine practice in Santa Monica, Calif. He
said the pill seemed to give him remarkable sexual
vigor, and he sees a future for Viagra as an
''enhancing tool'' for the sexually dissatisfied.
Others wonder what will happen to relationships where
men suddenly have more sexual stamina than their
aging mates. Will wives worry that husbands will stray?
Will they secretly count the pills in the bottle?
''It can bond and unite people, but it can also cause
erosions if there is any lack of trust,'' said Dr. Domeena
Renshaw, who runs the sex clinic at Chicago's Loyola
University.
Cost is another concern. Insurance companies are still
sorting out how many pills -- retailing at $8 or more
apiece -- they will pay for, if any. For now, about half
of prescriptions are being covered.
Some men have already discovered they can halve the
price by cutting 100 milligram pills in two. Others say
they consider Viagra a bargain, compared with the cost
of, say, movies, candlelit dinners, nice clothes and
other accoutrements of sex.
Certainly in Sun City, where residents must be 55 or
older, the reception is overwhelmingly positive.
Impotence becomes more common with advancing age,
though accurate figures are scarce.
Dr. Aubrey Chung, a Sun City urologist, said 90 percent
of the men he sees ask about the drug.
''I won't say the response is exuberant, but it's very,
very good,'' he said. ''A lot patients are relieved that
there's something other than invasive techniques
available.''
Not every older gentleman wants to restart a dormant
sex life. More than one Sun City retiree said he was
more likely to spend money on Pfizer stock than on the
pills.
''I haven't had sex in 15 years, and I don't miss it,''
said Alvin Larned, 71. ''My wife and I had our fun, but
now it's over. I play shuffleboard, bocce. There are
plenty of other things to do.''
Sure, but none quite as enjoyable as sex, said Harold
Dennis, a retired carpenter. He's tired of his years of
involuntary abstinence.
''I've tried everything they said to try,'' he said. ''I've
been to specialists, I've been to urologists. I've had
the needle in the penis. I've had the testosterone. I
had an implant put in, and then taken out after five
months when it didn't work right. This Viagra is the
best thing we've tried.''
If his health insurer balks at paying for the pills, he'll
switch companies.
''I'd rather have my sex life than good health,'' Dennis
said. ''In the hereafter, I'm not going to have sex. As
long as I'm alive, I want it, and this pill is the yellow
brick road.''
------
EDITOR'S NOTE -- David Foster is the AP's Northwest
regional reporter, based in Olympia, Wash. Daniel Q.
Haney is medical editor for the AP. AP Business Writer
John Hendren also contributed to this report |
