Are you experiencing erectile dysfunction? Have you considered all factors other than what’s in your medicine cabinet? Well it is a high time to take a look into your medicine cabinet now. It is because there are medicines that cause erectile dysfunction. In fact, there are many over-the-counter and prescribed drugs that can cause this distressing problem for men.
Granted that these medications are potent to treat many other problems, but they leave us with a problem of erectile dysfunction, just because they interact with the men’s nervous system, hormonal system or the way blood circulates throughout the entire system. This causes erectile dysfunction or poses an individual at a greater risk for developing erectile dysfunction.
Antihypertensives and Diuretics are the first type of medications that cause erectile dysfunction. The generic and brand names of these medications involve Atenolol (Tenormin), Hydrochlorothiazide (Esidrix, Hydropres, HydroDIURIL, Inderide, Oretic, Moduretic, Lotensin), Labetalol (Normodyne), Spironolactone (Aldactone), Triamterene (Dyazide, Maxide), Verapamil (Isoptin, Calan, Verelan) and so on.
Antidepressants, antiepileptic and anti-anxiety drugs are the second type of medications that cause erectile dysfunction. The generic and brand names of these medications involve Amitriptyline (Elavil), Amoxipine (Asendin), Isocarboxazid (Marplan), Lorazepam (Ativan), Nortriptyline (Pamelor), Oxazepam (Serax), Phenelzine (Nardil), Phenytoin (Dilantin), Sertraline (Zoloft), and so on.
Apart from these two major types of medications that cause erectile dysfunction, there are some types as well such as Parkinson’s disease medications, Antihistamines, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, prostate cancer medications, chemotherapy medications and many others.
So it is important that you must seek doctor’s advice before you start these types of medications. You must be aware of the side effects that are caused by these medications. If you experience erectile dysfunction and suspect that it may be due to the side effects caused by some medications, you should not stop it abruptly. Rather you should seek advice from your doctor. If the problem continues, doctor may be able to advise you alternative options.
Apart from prescribed medications, sometimes, drug abuse for recreational purpose may also cause the same problem. These drugs are – alcohol, barbiturates, marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, opiates and nicotine. If you these drugs for a prolonged period of time, this may result in erectile dysfunction as well.