The National Institute of Health defines erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence as the inability to achieve or sustain an erection for satisfactory sexual performance. In the United States, Erectile dysfunction affects an estimated 30 million men. Many medications on the market today can have an effect on a man's ability to sustain an erection.
Blood Pressure Medications
According to the Mayo Clinic, medications used to treat blood pressure such as Catapress may cause sexual dysfunction in men. This is also true of Beta Blockers such as Lopressor and Diuretics such as Aldactone. In order to create and maintain an erection the penis requires a certain amount of pressure created by blood flow. Blood pressure medications control blood pressure by regulating the volume of blood flow. This often means a lack of pressure to maintain an erection. While you should never stop your medications abruptly, if you feel it may be causing sexual side effects, speak to your health care provider about alternative treatments.
Antipsychotics
Rispirdol and Haldol are used to treat the mental illness schizophrenia. Both medications carry the side effect of erectile dysfunction. This can cause patients to become non-compliant with their treatment regimen In 2003, a study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology by AJ Cutler, stated that the sexual dysfunction caused by these medications seemed to occur, in part, due to the blocking of dopamine receptors in the brain and an increased serum prolactin level. The study also showed that the use of atypical antipsychotics such as Seroquel did not cause the increased serum prolactin and therefore had a lessoned risk of sexual dysfunction. Many physicians are now creating plans where their patients are given a "drug holiday" in which their medications are stopped for a length of time, whether it be a day or a week, to allow patients to return to a normal level of sexual functioning.
Antidepressants
Tricyclic antidepressants such as Sinequan and Elavil have been shown to have a greater incidence of sexual side effects. This is also true for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) such as Lexapro, Celexa, Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac. As with antipsychotic medications, erectile dysfunction often causes patients to become noncompliant with their medication regimen. The Mayo Clinic suggests speaking with your health care provider about possibly adding or switching to an antidepressant that will counteract these effects such as Wellbutrin.
Cimetidine
Cimetidine (Tagemet) is often prescribed in the treatment of gastroesophogeal reflux disease (GERD) and has been shown to cause erectile dysfunction. eMedTV.com states that the incidence of erectile dysfunction seems to occur most often in patients taking high doses of the medication, with the highest incidence coming from patients who take the drug as treatment for a pathological hypersecretory condition known as Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome. Often, if physicians are made aware of the side effect they may be able to decrease the dosage or offer another alternative.
