Every drug has its own profile of strengths and weaknesses. While a pill may be hailed as the miracle cure of the moment, the substance will, inevitably, house a less than desirable downside. Because of this, physicians must weigh the risk-to-benefit ratio before they prescribe any medication.
Each year, doctors in this country write more than 1.5 billion prescriptions—about six per person. Although many men are simply not aware of the fact—and this often includes their physicians as well —scores of the most commonly prescribed drugs have been implicated, or at least strongly suspected, in either the development or worsening of ED. In fact, of the ten most widely prescribed drugs in use in the United States today, I have seen eight either produce or increase ED. A list of these most widely prescribed drugs was published in the November 23, 1997, issue of The New York Times; they are: Prilosec, Prozac, Zantac, Zocor, Epogen, Zoloft, Paxil, Norvasc, Vasotec, and Procardia. Only Epogen and Prilosec are not known to inhibit sexual function.
There is a simple explanation why a prescription drug taken to control an allergy, depression, or hypertension gives a man erectile problems. Those medications, which affect the vascular system, including blood pressure, the heart, and the respiratory organs, will have an impact on any blood-delivering system in the body. Some hamper the blood vessels in the penis by constricting them, thereby making it virtually impossible to achieve an erection. Others affect the nerves which activate penile responsiveness. Then there are the medications which strike the areas of the brain where desire and sexual pleasure are centered, resulting in a severe decrease in sex drive.
But even if you are taking a medication that you think may be causing your ED, it’s imperative that you consider other possible contributing factors as well. Many times ED turns out to be the manifestation of a complex interaction among several elements, all of which need to be examined. They include:
• what the drug is for, and what dosage is being taken
• your psychological state
• the status of your relationship with a partner
It’s also very important to remember that every drug affects the person taking it differently. Taking a medication at one point in a man’s life may not induce ED, while it might very well at another juncture. That’s why it’s crucial that you personally consider, and talk to your doctor about, all the contributing factors listed above. Also, you must give the drug a chance to work and see if its side effects are temporary or not. As a rule of thumb, I recommend using the medication for several weeks before assessing its role in any ED that might develop.
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