PGAD. EGAD! Another Syndrome/Disorder, Whatever!
Just when you thought it was OK to call Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) a "real" medical condition that affects mostly women, here comes another syndrome (no, disorder! whatever!) besetting women: Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder or PGAD. And Paxil may help treat it (you can read Ed Silverman's post "Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder - A Pill, Please" to find out more about that).
At first, when reading Ed's post, I thought this was about a condition affecting men. I've heard that men think of sex about once every 4 seconds. I'm sexually aroused right now just writing about this stuff. And no, I'm not talking about "priapism," which IS a real medical condition affecting men (who may be taking too much Viagra).
Nope. It's not about male persistent sexual arousal, which is a normal state for us guys (and we don't need no stinkin' pill for it either!). It's about women, some of whom need to masturbate repeatedly to deal with PGAD. One woman claims to have rejected her husband because she "treasured any time she was not feeling aroused." Maybe less masturbation would help?
This story was picked up on MSNBC.com, which used the image shown here (above) to illustrate the story. I find it oddly disturbing, don't you?
I'm thinking this story is part of the opening PR/marketing salvo by the folks at GSK, the drug company that manufactures and markets Paxil, as they collect clinical data to support a PGAD indication for the drug.
GSK, you recall, is the same company that brought us Requip for RLS! Coincidence? I think not!
Right now, the Requip ad agency may be hard at work coming up with the Paxil/PGAD TV DTC ads that may take a page or two from the Requip/RLS ads. Here's my concept of the storyboard.
[Woman looks up into the camera. Ominous, mysterious music in background.]
"It was so frustrating. Like an urge I couldn't satisfy.[Cut to woman in bed next to man -- assumed to be her husband. Woman is wriggling under the sheets with her hand down her pajama bottoms.]
"Night after night, strange feelings of arousal in my genitals kept me from falling asleep."[Woman angrily tosses sheet up and over her male companion -- as if HE were to blame -- and gets up out of bed.]
"I had to get up and really masturbate when all I wanted to do was get out of this awful relationship!"[Cut to woman in kitchen with a friend who shows her an "independent" article in Woman's Day magazine about "Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder". She sees the article and it is as if a light went off in her head.]
"I had PGAD - Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder!"[Etc, etc; her doctor confirms it; symptoms worse whenever her husband WASN'T AROUND or at night when she was dreaming about OTHER men (or women, who knows!).]
[Cut to profile close-up of doctor's lips moving.]
"And then he said something else. PAXIL!"[Background music changes to pleasant tune, very soothing. Side effects; etc., etc.]
[Cut to final scene. Woman riding bicycle with very hard, narrow seat down a country lane.]
"Thanks to Paxil, PGAD is not a problem any longer. Riding my bike also helps. And I got rid of my loser husband!"[Fade to black.]
Let the hate comments come in!
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19 comments:
Loved your analogy
Hey, watch what you say about RVS! It's a serious medical condition that affects X million American adults each year. And my dog died from it.
Which celebrities do you think will do the ads?
Yet again, life imitates art. This time, I'm suing GSK for patent infringement...
I had never heard of PGAD until last week so I doubt it is a common condition, assuming it even exists. The opposite condition is much more of a problem and is a common side effect of SSRIs.
Can you comment on that idiotic TV commercial for the Cypher stent, if you haven't already? I can just see heart patients asking their doctors to put in a Cypher stent as they're heading for the cath lab.
http://adverlicio.us/cordis_cypher_stent_life_wide_open_300x250_branded
Exscuse me I deal with this condition and by the way I hate attention focused on me it is the most embarassing condition I have ever faced and it is because of doctors who would like to believe it's all in our head is why many woman don't come out. I would love to have relief even if it means no havy sexual pleasure for the rest of my life.
THE VILLAGE HOT
The Riverside village was hot
Hence, men always fought
All tried to cool the heat
But fell flat on thier feet
Knight GSK rode the PGAD horse & got caught
Those women are called nymphomanic. Nothing new.
SSRI are well-known to cut down libido, hence the idea to treat such condition with Paxil.
Problem is women with such condition rarely complain about it...surely not their husband.
You are surely right about companies looking to milk their drugs to the last drop though.
Typical male response to a serious female health issue. It seems funny at first blush, but to someone living with this problem, or someone support such an individual, it's no laughing matter. It probably is a cash-grab on the drug companies part, as there really is no treatment yet, but Paxil did help somewhat.
This is post is very upsetting. So you think all women complaining about this disorder are making it up? you think there is no such disorder? I have this and it is very disturbing and painful. Imagine living your life 24 hours a day feeling like you are in the middle of having sex! It is not funny or desirable. People with PGAD, are not thinking about sex- don't want to have sex- it has nothing to do with sexual desire!!!- yet your genitals are constantly aroused. You can't concentrate on anything, you sit around praying and thinking of ways to get the feeling to stop but nothing works. I am hopeless because I can't find any help, crying at my computer because there is nothing to help this disorder and then I come across this asshole. It is painful and I feel like I am going insain, and having sex doesn't help it so if Paxil does than give me some please.
I never said women were making it up. It's just fun to imagine how pharma marketers will advertise the treatment.
John Mack,
I suffer from this disorder and it is frustrating and never-ending. It can be nightmarish and leave me huddled in a pile on the floor, sobbing. When few hours of relief finally do come, my genitals feel kicked, bruised and tortured.
Your article sounded like the ravings of a man who is ignorant, rude and jealous. Do not project your own sexual insecurities onto your readers through deplorable, pompous joviality… it is very unbecoming.
However, I am appreciative to you for one thing. I miraculously found a cure for my Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder…. I glanced at your picture.
John… worry about your own genitals and stop envying and giggling about ours.
I must say that most of the negative comments I have received so far misses the fact that I am poking fun more at how GSK might handle the ads for this condition than the condition itself.
In fact, I believe most DTC ads actually depict women in a negative way.
First of all, the ads for PGAD treatments will most likely imply that many more women suffer from this condition than is supported by the evidence. That generates an impression of women in general rather than a very small subset of women.
Currently, the impression of women I am getting from most DTC ads are that most women suffer from depression in ads -- I see very few ads of men suffering from depression -- have mysterious, hard-to-define syndromes -- and they are battered-looking, suffering creatures who really really need help from a pill!
Is this the image that women want to relate to?
Yes, I know there are women out there who DO suffer from these conditions. I'm just objecting to the way that women are objectified in DTC ads!
In contrast to most women in DTC ads, most of the men I see in these ads are strong and vibrantly alive -- even ED sufferers are young, viral, sexy men with great looking women partners who are HOT for them!
So, for PGAD, I see an image of a woman printed in a major newspaper objectified as a cartoon vagina and she doesn't look happy (BTW, I did not create this image). Other women in other DTC ads also do not look very happy.
There is one exception that may prove the rule: the ad for Amitiza -- this woman has a medical problem, but it's not detracting from her attitude and there is a positive feeling as she goes about her life.
DTC advertisers: let's stop depicting women as victims!
When you "have fun" with some issues surrounding a disorder, it can be difficult for people who suffer from it, particularly when it is a poorly understood disorder, to recognize just precisely what the real target of the "fun" is. Maybe because there just isn't any fun to be had (for them).
It's called Cougar mode, idiots! Women get this at a certain point in their lives. It just happens, so read something inspirational in a positive way, exercise, and if worse comes to worse, put an ice pack on your crotch...
Don't give up your day job ---you'd never make it in Hollywood as a screenwriter!
I appreciate any attempts to expose the money-grabbing drug companies. But I abhor the sexist, mysogynistic tone of this blog, which implies that PGAD is a figment of "neurotic" women's imaginations.
As someone who suffers from this condition, I can assure you that it is not. It is intrusive, uncomfortable and embarrassing - and not something that I can tell people about, as evidenced by some of the ignorant comments to this blog.
I've been fortunate to find an email forum of other sufferers. It was wonderful to find that I'm not alone, or crazy, or a "nympho", as someone has implied.
It takes a while for conditions such as ours to be recognized by the medical profession - look at the way ME sufferers used to be treated.
PGAD is not funny. It's like a serious itch in a private place that you can't scratch, and if you do, it only makes it worse.
I wish that you could experience it for just a day. That would shut your mouth and perhaps transfer your blog to a more constructive direction, such as finding a cure.
My question as a biochemist is simply: Why are only women afflicted? The exclusive presence solely in the female population warrants further study and is a bit perplexing.
I have a feeling that any drugs which dramatically elevate prolactin and destroy sex drive (mu-agonist opioid compounds) would probably relieve the disorder. Because of dependence and elevating tolerance, some of the milder ones like Buprenorphine (Suboxone) or Tramadol may be the only ones effective on a longterm basis. Tramadol, with its SSRI action, may have additional utility in alleviating symptoms.
And, no, I'm not with big pharma, I'm a university student.
wow John Mack,
you are a brave man to leave so many of those nasty remarks from woman on your blog!
I am a woman and I did not feel the least bit offended by the point you were making John. But I was quite put off by the rubbish some of those woman posted as comments... I wonder if those nympho dykes really have PGAD or if they can finally submit to being nymphomaniacs that are in a sour relationship.
If they really aren't suffering from Cougar mode... then they should post the email address or forum where other true suffers can get some relief.
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