Does The Sex Drive Testosterone Patch Work?

Intrinsa, a testosterone patch, which should help increase sexual desire in post-menopausal women, has been put under examination.

The Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) doubted the effectiveness of this product and stated that the tests carried out on the product were not convincing.

Intrinsa, produced by the Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals is intended to augment the sexual desire in all women suffering from hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) during menopause, by liberating doses of hormone in the blood system by means of a patch fixed on the abdomen.

The tests performed by the producing firm were criticized as not having embraced a larger group of menopausal women, such as those suffering from other physical and mental conditions, also responsible for the diminished sex drive.

Some women that were given a dummy patch said that their sex drive had increased [Testosterone therapy]; this raised considerable doubts as to whether low levels of testosterone are actually the cause of HSDD.

There were also side effects to the patch treatment such as weight gain, skin reactions, hair loss, migraine, insomnia and acne; in addition the test period only lasted six months, which is not enough to determine the effectiveness of a treatment.

On the other hand Procter & Gamble affirm that the patch was adequately tested and proved to be effective in increasing women’s sexual drive, furthermore it was statistically more efficient than the use of placebo.