Cheap generic viagra

31-May-2008 : decade has passed since drug giant Pfizer let its little blue genie out of the bottle, granting men a new lease on their sex lives.

Ten years later, has the so-called "magic blue pill" lived up to everyone's wishes?

Lori Brotto is head of the sexual health lab at the University of British Columbia and a clinical psychologist who specializes in women's sexual problems in her private practice and research. There's no question men and women everywhere are enjoying more sex without the physical barriers created by erectile dysfunction, she says. However, in the wake of the pharmaceutical frenzy to find a sister drug or "pink" pill for ladies, Viagra's seductive spell has been broken.

"It's a full 10 years after Viagra and nothing has been found to be effective -- and approved -- for women with sexual difficulties. What we've learned is that female sexuality is extremely complex."

Brotto, who has seen the pendulum shift recently from the "medicalizing" of sexual dysfunction to a greater focus on psychological treatment, says Viagra is no more a cure-all for sexual ailments than it is a thrill-pill to reinstate desire in a passionless marriage.

"Here in the West, we focus on the symptoms," she says. "Let's fix the orgasm or make you harder, sooner, longer. We're very skills- and performance-focused. What about the whole person, the state of their life and well-being?"

Brotto will be discussing the topic of "East versus West in the treatment of sexual disorders" at the Guelph Sexuality Conference next month. Her presentation centres on the eastern concept of "mindfulness," which teaches practitioners to "be present" or "in the moment," listen to internal dialogue and correct maladaptive thoughts and behaviours that may diminish desire.

"The most common complaint we hear is not 'I can't get lubricated,'" Brotto says. "It's 'I can't get excited' or 'I'm distracted' or 'He doesn't turn me on like he used to.'"

Contrary to popular myth, Brotto explains, even a powerful aphrodisiac -- were it to exist -- couldn't summon spontaneous desire, put brain and body back in sync or render someone more sexy. Viagra has been assumed to do all of this (and more) by people who've built their sexual faith on a wonder drug.

In reality, Viagra just increases blood flow to the genitals, engorging a man's penis and making it possible to sustain an erection once he's aroused. In some cases, the drug is prescribed to women, although it has not been FDA approved for this use, says Marelize Swart, a Vancouver sex therapist who counsels men and women with sexual difficulties.

"Anecdotally, drugs like Viagra and Levitra can help women have orgasms by increasing blood flow to the genital area," Swart says. "Some doctors feel Viagra could improve engorgement for women. If a woman really wants to be orgasmic and the problem's clearly not psychological, it may be prescribed off-label. But the side effects for women over the long term are unknown."

For most women, however, sexual problems are not medically-based, Brotto explains. Sexual aversion is typically a result of unresolved relationship issues or inner conflict, which can inhibit sexual desire. Only you can get to the root of the problem. Genies are false prophets.

"In the East, they keep it simple," she says. "Mindfulness is a way of living and being. There's less pathologizing. The view is, 'Let's get the whole person into a state of well-being and the sexuality will follow.'"

Mindfulness practice -- also known as meditation -- is not-so-coincidentally one of the ancient techniques described in the age-old Indian sex manual, the Kama Sutra.