The difference between blood-flow treatments and brain-pathway treatments, what is registered in Australia, and how to have the conversation properly. Then compare doctor-led clinics — free to enquire.
Confidential, doctor-led care for sexual health and libido. Some treatments act on blood flow, others on the brain's desire pathways — a registered practitioner can assess what fits, and what the evidence supports.
Sexual difficulties usually have more than one contributor. Broadly, treatments fall into two groups: those acting on blood flow — the registered PDE5 inhibitors most people have heard of — and those acting on the brain's desire pathways, such as bremelanotide (PT-141) and research-stage compounds like kisspeptin.
Which group is relevant depends on the actual problem. Difficulty with erections and loss of desire are different complaints with different causes, and a treatment aimed at one will not resolve the other.
A great deal of what presents as a sexual health problem is a signal from somewhere else: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, medication side effects (SSRIs in particular), thyroid or testosterone changes, alcohol, sleep debt, anxiety or relationship stress. Erectile dysfunction is a recognised early warning sign for cardiovascular disease and is worth treating as one.
This is also the area with the most aggressive online marketing. A consultation that skips the history and goes straight to a prescription is doing something other than medicine.
Neutral descriptions of the compounds that come up under this goal, with their Australian regulatory position and the strength of the human evidence. Listed so you can follow the conversation — not so you can choose one.
Bremelanotide is approved in the United States for a specific diagnosis in premenopausal women. It is not ARTG-registered in Australia, where any supply is compounded.
Read the PT-141 guideStudied in early human research on desire pathways. Not available as a registered medicine and not established treatment.
Several of these are prescription-only or compounded medicines. Listed for education only — a registered doctor decides what (if anything) is appropriate. Regulatory status changes over time; the ARTG and your prescriber are the current source of truth.
Ready to talk to someone?Compare 8 clinics listed under Sexual Health below. Free to enquire, and only the clinic you choose receives your details.
See the clinicsClinics differ in how thoroughly they assess. Knowing the shape of a careful process makes it easier to tell one from the other.
Onset, pattern, morning erections, medications, alcohol, mood and relationship context. Uncomfortable to discuss, but diagnostically the most useful part of the appointment.
Blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, and commonly glucose or HbA1c, lipids, testosterone and thyroid function.
Treating an underlying contributor often achieves more than a prescription alone. A good prescriber addresses both rather than choosing one.
What is registered, what is compounded, how it is taken, what the side effects are, and what happens if the first option does not work.
Sexual health care is rarely one appointment. Choice of treatment, dose and the underlying causes all get revisited.
These are the questions that separate a considered consultation from a transaction. You are entitled to ask every one of them, and to expect a straight answer.
This checklist is general information to help you prepare for an appointment. It is not medical advice and it is not a substitute for individual assessment by a registered practitioner.
There is no ARTG-registered bremelanotide product in Australia. It is approved in the United States for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women. Any Australian supply would be compounded against an individual prescription.
They act on different systems. PDE5 inhibitors work on blood flow and are registered and well studied. Bremelanotide acts on melanocortin receptors in the brain and is aimed at desire rather than erectile function.
No. Low testosterone is one cause, but thyroid disease, depression, medications, sleep debt, alcohol and relationship factors are at least as common. That is why both the history and the blood tests matter.
Some telehealth services prescribe after a questionnaire. Whether that is adequate depends on your risk profile — erectile dysfunction can be the first sign of cardiovascular disease, and a questionnaire will not detect that. It is reasonable to ask what assessment a clinic actually performs.
Clinics are bound by Australian privacy law and professional obligations. On Get Enhanced, only the clinic you choose receives your enquiry.
It is a research compound studied in early human trials of sexual desire pathways. It is not a registered medicine in Australia and is not established treatment.
Doctor-supervised clinics that list Sexual Health as an area of care. Free to compare and free to enquire — only the clinic you choose receives your details.
Listings are information only. Verification confirms a clinic’s prescriber is registered with AHPRA — not an endorsement of treatment. Prescribing decisions are made solely by a registered practitioner. How we verify
A plain-English guide to what a thorough assessment covers, which causes get missed most often, and what separates a real consultation from a questionnaire.
Educational content only. No clinic receives your email from this form, and we never send prescribing or treatment recommendations. Unsubscribe anytime.
Information only, not medical advice. Get Enhanced is a directory. It does not prescribe, supply, endorse or recommend any medicine or treatment, and nothing on this page is an offer to supply a therapeutic good.
Prescribing decisions are made solely by a registered health practitioner following individual assessment. Compounds described above include prescription-only and compounded medicines; compounded preparations are not assessed by the TGA for quality, safety or efficacy in the way registered products are.
We check the AHPRA register — this is not an endorsement by AHPRA or of any treatment. Read the full medical disclaimer or how we verify clinics.
Want the science first? Start with the PT-141 guide.