Unfortunately, many important prescription drugs have negative side effects; one of which is decreased libido and testosterone levels. The most common drugs to affect libido are anti-depressants and anti-seizure medication, but there are more too. This is not to be taken lightly. Low libido affects relationships and so it’s important to understand the issue and try to get help. Did you know that prescription drugs affect libido? It’s one of those side effects that often gets ignored or glossed over while ready up about prescription side effects.
Anti-depressants and low libido
Many anti-depressants or SSRI drugs such as Prozac or Celebrex can kill libido. While this is an extremely common side effect, it isn’t referred to much. It might seem counterintuitive to take a drug to stop depression when it’s going to negatively affect your sex life, but it has been shown that the drug’s influence to increase serotonin can also lower your sex drive. You might need to look into alternative anti-depressants to see which one works for you. Every drug has a slightly different effect on each person and so you might find your sex drive is less affected by a different drug. You might also want to try doing more exercise. Exercise has always been well known for its ability to improve libido and doing exercise before sex might actually improve performance in the bedroom.
Opioids and Statins
Opioids are pain relievers (codeine, morphine, Vicodin, Percocet, etc) that have been shown to lower testosterone levels and, in turn, lower libido. According to research conducted by The Clinical Journal of Pain, 74% of men taking long-acting opioids had low testosterone while 34% of men had low testosterone levels while taking short-acting opioids. Yes prescription drugs affect libido! Don’t ignore it! You have to decide if killing the pain is worth numbing the rest of your body as well. There is no easy answer and many people who use opioids to kill pain would much rather do that and kill their libido, than suffer from constant chronic pain. Opioids are serious medications and are considered controlled substances. Regardless of it causing low libido and low testosterone you should be very careful when using them long term. They are also highly addictive.
Statins (Crestor, Lipitor), which are used to lower cholesterol, have also been linked with decreased testosterone levels. More research is needed in this area to investigate the full effects of statins on testosterone and libido, but if you have found your libido has plummeted while on this medication then this could be the reason why.
Antihistamines
Antihistamines help your allergies, but few people realize that this comes at the cost of low libido. Prescription drugs affect libido? So do some over the counter meds. It is recommended to think about the timing of taking an over-the-counter antihistamine since the drug doesn’t generally remain in your body for more than about eight hours, meaning that the side effects only last that amount of time too. Taking antihistamine in the early morning will mean that by the evening your levels of libido should be restored.
Beta Blockers
Propranolol and metroprolol are common beta blockers that tens of millions of Americans use to lower blood pressure. The downside of using certain beta blockers is a reduced sex drive. Once again, it is crucial to try finding a drug which doesn’t affect your libido.
How to solve the problem
As we have discussed, prescription drugs affect libido but not everyone suffers from the same side effects. Changing your medication could help eliminate side effects. For example, Prozac might lower your libido but Celebrex might not have any effect at all. Always make sure to discuss any side effects you are experiencing with your doctor to ensure that there aren’t other reasons that you might be suffering from a low sex drive. And make sure to ask whether changing your medication could work for you to see if it reduces the side effects.
If you don’t want to change your medication or if the doctor doesn’t recommend it, there is another solution. Many men benefit greatly from testosterone therapy or sexual performance drugs. Testosterone therapy, like AndroForte for men and AndroFeme for women, help increase the levels of testosterone in your body which is the main hormone responsible for your sex drive. Since long-term medication can negatively affect your testosterone levels, it might be beneficial for you to restore your levels so you can enjoy a better sex life.
Another advantage of increased testosterone levels is improved mood, strength and energy. Mood swings, low levels of energy and endurance are other common complaints from people taking long-term prescription medication. While these side effects might be a direct result of prescription drugs, they could easily be caused by low testosterone, which was caused by the prescription drugs.
So, no matter which way round you try to look at it, it seems that prescription drugs affect libido. You can do something about it though! Just because you’re taking long-term prescription medication, it doesn’t mean you have to suffer with reduced testosterone levels and low libido. There are many options available to help you get the best of both worlds – all is left for you to do is to find the best treatment that works with you and your body.