The Mexico City Journal ran an article about the mayor giving away Viagra to men in the "third age," or the "golden years." Mayor Marcelo Ebard got an itch in his pants, apparently, to give away this medicine to older men with erectile dysfunction.
Very good, great, I'm all for mature men, women, and couples making love well into their 60s,
70s, and 80s. As far as research tells us, as long as a person has a partner available and is in decent health, they can and do have sex.
But can you spot the problem? Very nice, the guy's bringing home pills to get an erection, and his wife may just toss them out the window. (Jack and the Beanstalk got nothing
on Viagra!) She may have given up on sex, may be insulted that her husband needs a pill to get an erection, or she may have been without sex so long that her poor vagina has atrophied and it's going to hurt like hell to get it on.
Any idea why you see women in the ads for these medicines? It's because the manufacturers realized that it was a good idea to get partners involved. In fact, partners should be there at the initial appointment to ask questions, to report problems, and to learn how to incorporate the medicine into their sex life.
Of course, there's no mention here of why the men may have problems. Although the pharmaceutical companies would like you to believe that they have made miracle pills, the fact is that if a man has a psychological problem like anxiety, depression, or substance abuse, the pills aren't going to make any difference.
That's why sex therapists like myself have a practice filled with men who still have problems. My hope is that stories and ads don't make men feel any worse about getting psychological help when a pill doesn't do the whole job.
What do you think about the mayor handing out these pills? And do you think the medications are marketed as being able to do the whole job? What do you think about the role of a sex therapist in the treatment of ED? I would love to hear from you.
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