Are Your Medications Causing Bedroom Issues?
Some of the common medications that you may be taking to treat certain medical issues may cause erectile dysfunction. If you think your issues are caused by something you are taking, speak with your doctor about drugs that may not result in this side effect.
Normal sexual function in men takes a coordinated effort between nerves, hormones, blood vessels, as well as psychological factors. Because of this, there are many areas where things can go wrong.
Medications that have a physical effect on the blood vessels, those that act on the brain, interfere with testosterone levels or affect the transmission of nerve messages from the brain, can all cause erectile dysfunction. There are about 200 drugs that have impotence as a possible side effect.
Drugs such as finasteride (Propecia) and dutasteride (Avodart) can create significant side effects in some men. These may include a loss of libido, erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction and even depression. These drugs are frequently used to treat lower urinary tract problems due to an enlarged prostate, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. Finasteride is commonly used to treat hair loss in men. Although the adverse side effects of these drugs are not believed to be very common, the magnitude of adverse effects on sexual function, development of breast tissue in men, depression, and their quality of life because of these things may be considerable.
Some common medications associated with erectile dysfunction are:
Antidepressants, antipsychotics or tranquilizers such as:
- Diazepam (Valium)
- Fluoxetine (Prozac)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
- Lorazepam (Ativan)
High blood pressure medicines and diuretics
- Atenolol (Tenormin)
- Furosemide (Lasix)
- Chlorthalidone (Hygroton)
- Bumetanide (Bumex)
- Metoprolol (Lopressor)
Other common medications
- H2 blockers (Tagamet, Zantac, Pepcid)
- NSAIDs (Ibuprofen, etc.)
- Orphenadrine (Norflex)
- Prochlorperazine (Compazine)
- Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed)
More studies on cholesterol-lowering drugs are still needed to determine if a patient’s erectile dysfunction is actually due to the high cholesterol in the blood vessels or the drugs to lower the high cholesterol.
Most over-the-counter medications won’t cause any problems unless you go much more than the recommended dosage for an extended period of time, which is particularly the case for anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen.
Do not just stop taking a prescribed medication before talking with your doctor. Some medications may lead to life-threatening reactions if they are not carefully and slowly stopped or changed.
Adequate sexual expression is essential to many human relationships and provides a sense of physical, psychological and social well-being. Side-effects from prescription drugs that involve sexual problems are often not reported to doctors because of embarrassment. This means the actual rate of sexual dysfunction caused by medicines may be higher than reported.
Whether your enlarged prostate is the result of natural causes, or as a side effect of certain medications, it is normal for your prostate gland to become somewhat enlarged as you age.
Early symptoms of BPH may take many years to become bigger problems. In most cases, these symptoms may point to an enlarged prostate, but they may also be a sign that other, more serious conditions that require prompt attention. If you are experiencing these early symptoms, it is a good time to see your doctor.
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