Medicines and Sex: Not Always a Good Mix - KXLY Spokane

For some men and women, it takes a analyzable concatenation of events to determination from arousal to a satisfying orgasm. The caput has to enactment focused, nerves person to enactment sensitive, and humor has to travel to each the close places. Unfortunately, galore things tin interruption the concatenation — including, perhaps, the pills successful your medicine cabinet.

Medicines often enactment by altering humor travel and encephalon chemistry, truthful its nary astonishment that they tin impact intersexual function, and not ever for the better. Medications tin unopen down a person’s enactment drive, hold orgasms, oregon forestall orgasms entirely. Medications are besides a starring origin of erectile dysfunction successful men.

If you’ve noticed a driblet successful your quality to person oregon bask sex, speech to your doc astir imaginable causes. Be definite to bring a database of each medicine you’re taking. A elemental alteration of drugs oregon doses could beryllium each it takes. But ne'er halt taking a medicine cause oregon alteration dosages connected your own. Your doc tin assistance you find if a cause you’re taking is the occupation — and assistance you power to different medicine safely.

What drugs tin impact intersexual function?

SSRIs (antidepressants) You whitethorn person noticed that tv ads for communal antidepressants specified arsenic Paxil (paroxetine) oregon Zoloft (sertraline) notation “certain intersexual broadside effects.” The afloat communicative is that for immoderate people, SSRI antidepressants tin enactment tendency connected clasp and marque it hard to execute orgasm. A survey of astir 600 men and women treated with an SSRI, published successful the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, recovered that astir 1 successful six patients reported caller intersexual problems. The number-one complaint? Delayed oregon absent orgasms. Many patients besides reported declines successful desire. Overall, men were much apt than women to study intersexual problems portion connected SSRIs.

As reported successful The American Family Physician, different studies person recovered that up to one-half of patients taking SSRIs person reported intersexual problems. Study results alteration depending connected the patients studied and the questions asked, but the last connection is the same: Sexual broadside effects caused by SSRIs are common.

If SSRIs are affecting your enactment life, speech to your doctor. As reported successful Current Psychiatry Reports, determination are respective options to get you backmost connected track. Your doc whitethorn suggest switching to Wellbutrin (bupropion), oregon different non-SSRI antidepressant that is little apt to origin intersexual broadside effects. If your existent medicine is moving good and you don’t privation to marque a switch, your doc whitethorn privation to little the dose oregon springiness you a interruption from taking drugs. A fewer studies person suggested that men who make erectile dysfunction portion taking SSRIs whitethorn respond to Viagra (sildenafil), Cialis (tadalafil), oregon Levitra (vardenafil) added to their wide attraction plan.

Blood unit medications

Many drugs that power precocious humor unit — including commonly prescribed diuretics and beta blockers — tin besides enactment the brakes connected a person’s enactment life. The drugs tin origin erectile dysfunction successful men and, erstwhile taken by women, they tin diminish intersexual desire.

In galore cases, the champion mode to flooded intersexual problems caused by humor unit medicine is simply to power prescriptions. ACE inhibitors and calcium antagonists look little apt than diuretics oregon beta blockers to origin intersexual broadside effects.

Keep successful caput that not each humor unit medicine is close for each person. Your doc volition assistance you find whether a antithetic medicine would beryllium the champion enactment for you, and tin urge the close 1 for your peculiar circumstances.

Opioid (narcotic) painkillers Opioids specified arsenic morphine oregon OxyContin (oxycodone) bash much than conscionable easiness pain. As an unfortunate broadside effect, the drugs tin besides trim the accumulation of testosterone and different hormones that assistance thrust intersexual tendency successful some men and women.

The intersexual broadside effects of opioids haven’t been thoroughly investigated, but preliminary studies overgarment a disappointing picture. As reported successful the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, a survey of 73 men and women receiving spinal infusions of opioids uncovered wide intersexual problems. Ninety-five percent of the men and 68 percent of the women reported a driblet successful enactment drive, and each of the premenopausal women either developed irregular periods oregon stopped menstruating completely.

If you deliberation opioids mightiness beryllium undermining your enactment life, inquire your doc if it’s imaginable to get akin symptom alleviation from non-opioid medications. Even if you don’t discontinue opioids completely, simply cutting backmost could assistance you regain your spark. Your doc whitethorn beryllium capable to suggest different methods of symptom alleviation specified arsenic massage oregon biofeedback that volition marque it easier for you to standard backmost connected your opioids. If humor tests amusement that you’re debased successful testosterone, your doc whitethorn privation to prescribe testosterone shots oregon patches to assistance rekindle your enactment drive.

Antihistamines

Even immoderate over-the-counter drugs tin impact your enactment life. Antihistamines are a premier example. As reported by the Cleveland Clinic, these drugs tin origin erectile dysfunction oregon ejaculation problems successful men. For women, antihistamines tin origin vaginal dryness.

This is lone a partial list. Other drugs that tin impact a person’s enactment beingness see oral contraceptives, tricyclic antidepressants, antipsychotics, and cholesterin medications. You and your doc should instrumentality intersexual broadside effects seriously, but you should beryllium capable to find a mode to reconstruct intersexual abilities and desires without compromising your treatment.

References

Cleveland Clinic. Medications that impact intersexual function.

National Cancer Institute. Pharmacological effects of supportive attraction medications connected intersexual function.

Llisterri LJ et al. Sexual dysfunction successful hypertensive patients treated with losartan. American Journal of Medicine and Science; 321(5): 336-341.

Fogari R and A Zoppi. Effects of antihypertensive therapy connected intersexual enactment successful hypertensive men. Current Hypertension Reports; 4(3): 202-210.

Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. Variable affecting pistillate intersexual function.

Phillips RJ and JR Slaughter. Depression and intersexual desire. American Family Physician.

Abs R et al. Endocrine consequences of semipermanent intrathecal medication of opioids. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism; 85(6): 2215-2222.

Taylor MJ. Strategies for managing antidepressant-induced intersexual dysfunction: A review. Current Psychiatry Reports; 8(6): 431-436.

Keller AA, et al. Serotonin reuptake inhibitor-induced intersexual dysfunction and its treatment: a large-scale retrospective survey of 596 psychiatric outpatients. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy; ;23(3):165-75.