Orgasm Inc. Page #5

medical perspective.

Woman need to feel entitled

to their sexual response.

They need to go to their doctors

and demand to be heard,

and demand treatment,

because it is available.

Urologist Jennifer Berman

and sex therapist Laura Berman

were the first to really brand

the condition of FSD.

They have become

the pseudo celebrities

associated with this

particular dysfunction.

In 2001, they wrote

the first popular book on FSD

and used it to launch a huge

marketing campaign.

This is a device

that was developed

to enhance genital

blood flow.

What Viagra does is it increases

the blood flow to the genital area.

You crave sex.

You can't stand sex.

Within a vey short time,

they had their own N shows...

...a call in radio

program,

a syndicated newspaper column

and sex clinics.

From the Berman Center

in downtown Chicago,

it's time to talk about

your love life.

The Dr. Laura Berman show...

no men allowed!

This is all about women.

Hi, welcome to

the Berman Center.

My name's Neyla

and I'm the patient concierge.

I just wanted to

introduce myself.

If you want

to follow me...

...you'll meet with

the sex therapist.

The sex therapist will be

looking to determine

if there is any emotional

or relationship issues

that may be

contributing

to the patient's problem

for coming in today.

Do you want me to talk to

you or talk to the camera?

Talk to the camera.

The Berman Center is

really sort of a culmination

of my professional dreams

over the past 1 O to 15 years

I've been working

in this field.

Well, my husband,

he's the one

who raised the money

to open the Center

but also he wears

a business hat,

in a way that I as

a clinician don't,

so it's really a nice marriage

literally and professionally.

If vibrators were

recommended,

if lubricants were

recommended,

it would be at the patient

concierge point

that we would go through them,

and talk about them,

and answer any questions

that they had.

So you were

really involved

at the beginning

of this weren't you?

Mm-hm.

How did it all happen?

Yeah, from the beginning,

when all of the focus started

on female sexual dysfunction,

the medical piece of it,

there have been

a lot of companies

that have been tying

to develop drugs

or medications or medical devices

for sexual dysfunction,

and I've been involved

with just about all of them.

I was one of the principal investigators

of Viagra in women.

At the halfway mark, Viagra,

the favorite, is bringing up the rear.

There's trouble

on the track.

Viagra is not working any better

in clinical trials than sugar pills

so Pfizer yanks her

from the competition.

So would you recommend

that doctors continue

to prescribe Viagra

for women?

I still feel really strongly

that Viagra and drugs like it,

the vasodilators in general

which improve blood flow

to the genital area,

definitely have a role

as part of a comprehensive

treatment plan for women.

The initial...

Laura Berman is playing

a dangerous game here.

She's promoting the use

of Viagra even after Pfizer

has found it does not

work in women

and the health risks

are unknown.

Once a drug has been FDA approved

for a particular condition,

doctors can legally prescribe it

for any disease.

It's called off label use.

That said, it's illegal

for pharmaceutical companies

to promote off label use

of their drugs.

So would you recommend

that doctors continue

to prescribe Viagra

for women off label?

I do recommend

it for women

who have arousal problems,

loss of sensation...

Here is a senior figure, Dr. Berman,

suggesting that doctors

prescribe Viagra off label

and yet Pfizer has called off

the trials for Viagra

in women.

They can't show that Viagra has

a meaningful benefit over sugar pills.

It's a vey subtle way to get

around the approval process.

The Berman sisters are key

characters in the development

of female sexual

dysfunction.

The trouble is that

with such influential figures,

they are so close to

the pharmaceutical industy,

on occasions working directly

with drug companies,

paid by drug

companies.

And our topic

is Viagra.

It does a bing

for men.

It does sort of the same thing

for women.

Our patient takes Viagra.

Viagra.

Viagra.

Viagra.

And I have no vested

interested in, in Viagra.

Our goal is to, whatever drug,

whatever hormone,

is to help women, but...

Does Viagra work?

Viagra works.

Now you'll be going to

the Sensoy Testing Room

where the physician will monitor

blood flow to the genitals.

If you'd like to go ahead

and have a seat,

she'll be with

you shortly.

This piece of equipment is

going to test your nerve function

at your clitoris and right inside

the vaginal opening,

to warmth, coolness,

and vibration.

And how that's done is

I'm going to give you this button.

Here's the first probe

that we are going to use

and the metal tip on this is going

to be placed against your clitoris.

So would you hand that to me

or would you hold it?

No.

At $50,OOO I don't want

anyone to drop it.

It'd be an awfully

expensive visit.

Okay.

Um, then you're going to

depress your button

to indicate to me

that you have felt something.

Okay?

Are there articles that I could read

about the tests that you run

in terms of what

the norms are?

Medock, the name of the manufacturer

for this piece of equipment,

Medock has the information

that determines the normal ranges

that we look for

in these patients.

You'll wear these

You'll be watching

an erotic video

and the whole idea again,

is to get yourself excited.

Bring some blood flow

to your genital area.

Your total today

is $1,500.

We take cash,

check, or charge.

Television in the United States

wasn't always full of doctors

and ads pushing pharmaceuticals

and diseases.

If you just say

no to drugs,

you'll be saying yes

to a whole lot more.

While Nancy Reagan was telling us

to just "say no to drugs,"

her husband was signing

a bill that would make us

the pill-popping nation

that we are today.

President Ronald Reagan

opened the floodgates

for direct to consumer

advertising of pharmaceuticals.

In 1997, thanks to

further deregulation

the pharmaceutical industy started

advertising like crazy on N.

This is the age

of Fosamax.

Oh no!

I live deep under

your nails.

They aren't kidding.

And I've been

on it for years.

And ya gotta

love that!

Even our pop culture heroes are

dependent on prescription drugs.

Well son, your uncle Homer

is like 800/o of America,

whacked out on

prescription drugs.

But users are losers.

You're confusing drugs

with DRUUUGS.

For now, the United States

and New Zealand

are the only countries

in the world that allow

direct-to-consumer advertising

of pharmaceuticals.

But the drug industy

is putting pressure

on other nations

to change their laws.

What we do is

we prescribe.

That's what we do

as a profession.

We're not paid

for counseling.

We're paid for action,

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