Dr. Rachel Rubin

Honestly, I don't know anymore. It's incredible. So we could argue Viagra. 1998, Viagra comes out. Viagra changed the world. Billions of dollars. What is Viagra? It is a PD-5 inhibitor. It relaxes smooth muscles of the penis, increased blood flow, gives you a rigid erection. So it helps with arousal for men, okay? If you take it microdose, low doses, it can also help with BPH or urinary problems.

Honestly, I don't know anymore. It's incredible. So we could argue Viagra. 1998, Viagra comes out. Viagra changed the world. Billions of dollars. What is Viagra? It is a PD-5 inhibitor. It relaxes smooth muscles of the penis, increased blood flow, gives you a rigid erection. So it helps with arousal for men, okay? If you take it microdose, low doses, it can also help with BPH or urinary problems.

We love Viagra. We love Cialis. Wish it was in the water. We should study it in women.

We love Viagra. We love Cialis. Wish it was in the water. We should study it in women.

Oh, I'm going to talk about that. But I will argue we've had Viagra for women long before we've had Viagra for men. And we've known about it since the 1970s. And Viagra for women is vaginal hormones. What do vaginal hormones do? They relax the tissue. They increase arousal. They increase lubrication. They increase orgasm. They help with urinary symptoms. So they do everything Viagra does.

Oh, I'm going to talk about that. But I will argue we've had Viagra for women long before we've had Viagra for men. And we've known about it since the 1970s. And Viagra for women is vaginal hormones. What do vaginal hormones do? They relax the tissue. They increase arousal. They increase lubrication. They increase orgasm. They help with urinary symptoms. So they do everything Viagra does.

And they prevent urinary tract infections. Viagra doesn't do that. So you're talking about better than Viagra. It's inexpensive. Now, it didn't used to be. So when I got out of my training, a tube of Estrace was $500. Now, because of people like Mark Cuban and GoodRx, and I've talked to Mark Cuban on my DMs and Twitter, and he knows more about vaginal estrogen than 90% of doctors.

And they prevent urinary tract infections. Viagra doesn't do that. So you're talking about better than Viagra. It's inexpensive. Now, it didn't used to be. So when I got out of my training, a tube of Estrace was $500. Now, because of people like Mark Cuban and GoodRx, and I've talked to Mark Cuban on my DMs and Twitter, and he knows more about vaginal estrogen than 90% of doctors.

But this idea of it's not expensive. A tube of estrogen is $13.

But this idea of it's not expensive. A tube of estrogen is $13.

Yeah. Yeah. They changed the game. Awesome. And so it's incredible. Oh my gosh, it's incredible. And he understands this. He literally understands the nuances of why vaginal estrogen is so important. I can't get doctors to do that. I think he's incredible. So we have a marketing problem. We have a product that is better than Viagra for women. It's been around longer than Viagra. It's inexpensive.

Yeah. Yeah. They changed the game. Awesome. And so it's incredible. Oh my gosh, it's incredible. And he understands this. He literally understands the nuances of why vaginal estrogen is so important. I can't get doctors to do that. I think he's incredible. So we have a marketing problem. We have a product that is better than Viagra for women. It's been around longer than Viagra. It's inexpensive.

What are we missing? It's marketing. We're not telling the patients. We're not telling the doctors. And we have a box labeling that says this product causes stroke, heart attacks, blood clots, probable dementia, breast cancer, and needs to be taken with progesterone. Not one of those statements is true. Not one. Okay, so we went to the FDA and says, you got to remove the box. You're killing people.

What are we missing? It's marketing. We're not telling the patients. We're not telling the doctors. And we have a box labeling that says this product causes stroke, heart attacks, blood clots, probable dementia, breast cancer, and needs to be taken with progesterone. Not one of those statements is true. Not one. Okay, so we went to the FDA and says, you got to remove the box. You're killing people.

And the FDA said, nah, mm-hmm. We're going to leave the box on. This is a nightmare. Can I just tell a very personal story? I promise it won't take long. My mother just died in November. We spent six months in the ICU in Houston, Texas. Six months, my mother, nobody should be in an ICU for six months. It was absolutely gut-wrenching, horrible time for me.

And the FDA said, nah, mm-hmm. We're going to leave the box on. This is a nightmare. Can I just tell a very personal story? I promise it won't take long. My mother just died in November. We spent six months in the ICU in Houston, Texas. Six months, my mother, nobody should be in an ICU for six months. It was absolutely gut-wrenching, horrible time for me.

My mother had been on vaginal estrogen because I want her to prevent UTIs for many, many years. You know, she's a 70-year-old woman, many years. So she gets into the hospital, has a transplant, has a catheter, and isn't doing well, is on ECMO and very sick for a very long time.

My mother had been on vaginal estrogen because I want her to prevent UTIs for many, many years. You know, she's a 70-year-old woman, many years. So she gets into the hospital, has a transplant, has a catheter, and isn't doing well, is on ECMO and very sick for a very long time.

And I said to the doctors, I said, I know this isn't the most important thing in the world, but I'd like to restart her vaginal hormones because having a catheter, being in an ICU and being immunocompromised, my mother's risks of a urinary tract infection are incredibly high and a urinary tract infection is going to kill this woman. So I would like to restart her vaginal estrogen.

And I said to the doctors, I said, I know this isn't the most important thing in the world, but I'd like to restart her vaginal hormones because having a catheter, being in an ICU and being immunocompromised, my mother's risks of a urinary tract infection are incredibly high and a urinary tract infection is going to kill this woman. So I would like to restart her vaginal estrogen.