We’ve talked before about how the practice of medicine has been changing, and the effects this can have on your getting the care you need. Most physicians are challenged with too little time and too many patients.There is a tendency to “prescribe a pill” to take care of just about any complaint.
For many situations, this can have pretty good results for the medical condition you currently have.
But, there are often side effects of these effective meds that can sorely impact your ability to experience sexual desire.
And, unless you read all the fine print on the information sheets accompanying your prescription, you may not notice your new source of relief for one condition is sabotaging satisfying senior sex.
Over 200 commonly prescribed drugs are known to cause or contribute not just to diminished desire but even erectile dysfunction include many antidepressants, tranquilizers, sedatives, as well as high blood pressure and heart medications.
These are just the prescription medications. Lower desire and impotence is also a common side effect of many over the counter medications.
How do these meds affect your sexual functioning?
Some will interfere with the hydraulics of sexual arousal. They’ll interfere with the flow of blood that is needed to obtain and maintain an effective erection, or they’ll prevent the engorgement and arousal women need to experience to have an orgasm.
Others will interfere with the chemistry of arousal. You may not experience the feelings and excitation of desire. The hormones in your body will not respond to support the thoughts you have of “wanting a little love’n.”
What’s a senior to do when faced not just with new meds that the doctor suggested, but how to use the ones you routinely take?
First, DO NOT stop taking prescription medications until you have consulted with your physician. There may be another medication that doesn’t have side effects that you may be able to take.
Reconsider the over-the-counter meds that you have prescribed for yourself. Some of them may be habit forming, and you’ve continued to take them without thinking about whether you really need them. If you realize this is you, talk with your doc about the best way to wean yourself off of them.
When you self prescribe a new o-t-c med, talk with your pharmacist about the side effects and the correct dosage for your condition. They can be a font of information that will help you get the relief you want, without compromising your great senior love’n.
And, seriously consider cleaning out your medicine cabinet. Most of us have both out dated prescriptions and o-t-c meds that really need to be discarded.
