Erectile Dysfunction

[seyek]

For 5 months I have been intimate with a 55 year old man that has frequent ED. He is about 10 pounds overweight, does not exercise, drinks 2-4 drinks per day, eats a very poor high fat, processed-food diet, and he has just quit smoking. He can achieve erection but can not maintain it during intercourse. Lately he has begun taking Viagra, against my wishes because of the possible side effects. Even with the Viagra he seldom achieves orgasm.

He takes Lipitor each day. Several years ago his total cholesterol was about 250 and his doctor prescribed Lipitor. It is now about 150. He says the doctor never suggested exercise or improving his diet or warned him about drinking alcohol while taking this drug. Two nights ago, after running out of Lipitor and missing one dose, we actually had intercourse for approximately 60 minutes, without Viagra. He still could not achieve orgasm, but he was erect. We were both happily surprised.

I suspect the Lipitor may be causing the problem. I would like to try to convince him to stop taking this drug and now that I read about all the other horrible side effects I feel very scared, but I think he will be resistant to both my interference and afraid he'll have a heart attack. I have noticed what I consider pretty severe short-term memory problems and one of his co-workers commented about it as well. I think now that problem could be associated with this drug too.

Can anyone offer suggestions/advice

[cjbrooksjc]

I would ask if this problem was experienced pre-Lipitor just to have that answer before saying the Lipitor is the direct and only cause; however, ED IS one of the side effects. Use the SEARCH function at the top of the screen and search for ED or Erectile Disfunction. Loss of libido is another Statin side effect.

Another monster is fear of failure. If he continues to fail to perform, he will develop a 'brain worm' - and begin to fear (during the act) that it WILL happen, and that becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

The list of Statin side effects is staggering and it sometimes hard to say with certainty that a Statin is the primary cause because so many other problems exhibit similar side effects. It is probable, but not certain, that Lipitor is the culprit. You should also look for other signs that the Lipitor is having a negative effect. If he is willing, he could stop (diminish) his Lipitor Rx over a couple weeks until he is taking none and then see how he feels/performs after a month. You should check with his Dr. before he does this. Personally, I will NEVER take that poison again!

Best,

Brooks

[cjbrooksjc]

Seyek: here (below) is another partial post from one of our members (Biologist). The post is helpful and the following link may provide you some useful information. The full post is in the Neuropathy and Statins section under the thread 'Carnitine or L-Carnitine'

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If one suspects low testosterone levels, which is a REAL GOOD bet for statin victims (particularly those who have not completely recovered inside a year), I would recommend doing two saliva tests ordered from one of the major online supplement suppliers. Initially, one would want to order a test for TOTAL TESTOSTERONE and one for ESTRADIOL (E2). Generally they are about $50 per test. You spit in a test tube they send you and then mail it to them. They test it and send (e.g., email) you the results with their comments/diagnosis -- you will be able to compare your results to the standard averages for "healthy" men your age. These two tests are a good indicator of whether you need to look further, and it is enough evidence on its own to get the attention of even a general practitioner. (But run, don't walk from any GP, they're dangerous, as are most urologists and endocrinologists, as I will probably explain in a later post.) For those interested, after reading the book I mentioned above, read the two hyperlinks found here:

*http://www.allthingsmale.com/index.htm
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Best,

Brooks

[Brian C.]

As a follow on, are there specific health risks associated with low testosterone?

Brian.

[cjbrooksjc]

Seyek: Apologies, here is the correct link:

*http://www.allthingsmale.com/publications.html

Remove the * before you use the link. Also Google TESTOSTERONE for more info.

[seyek]

Thank you cjbrooksjc for all of the information.

I am afraid to ask about before me and before the Liptor. Seems silly, but it is such a sensitive topic. I have tried to be very supportive and not create that 'brain worm'. I do think that exercising and drinking less would have a great effect on his health, but no luck on this front yet.

I have not mentioned any of this to my friend yet, but yesterday he told me he was intrigued by how much better he felt when he forgot his Lipitor. He said he checked the internet and there was nothing to indicate that there was a link between ED and Lipitor. He said he found some posts from "crazy people" but no "legitimate" claims. I asked him what he had read and he said he'd checked Pfizer's info... We are both scientists. You'd think he'd understand the multi-million dollar potential for Pfizer (and the other drug companies) to misrepresent this product. The extent of brainwashing that the American public is subject too from the drug companies is amazing to me and it is very sad. I think it is reaching crisis mode. I don't think the national health care situation would be so critical if we all accepted more responsibility for our own health and quit depending on some other person and drugs to make us feel better. We always pay in the long-run.

Sorry, I am ranting. I will check on the other sites that you all mentioned and keep trying to make a difference. I'll be reading if you post more later. Thanks very much.

[seyek]

The more I read the more I learn. I didn't connect the two until after reading other posts, but he is always tired and yawning, frequently takes a pill to go to sleep because he jerks and twitches at night so much, and he takes a pill for back pain, and one for acid reflux. This seems so much more serious now. It is overwhelming actually. It could be the Lipitor or just plain old prescription drug abuse... I like a few minutes alone with his doctor!

[cjbrooksjc]

seyek: You are most welcome. Sorry, I assumed you had previous (to Lipitor) experience in this situation. Your concern is touching and not silly in the least.
Yes, we all tend to trust that medics of all stripes have our best interests at heart. Discouraging to find that trust so horribly misplaced and naive.

Hope your situation improves.

Best,

Brooks

[seyek]

After 3 Lipitor free days, it does seem to be causing some of the problems. Maybe it is just less tiredness without the drug, or the suggestion of things being better without it, but there is a noticeable difference. Now my friend is talking about cutting back to one pill every other day.

Does anyone have suggestions about how to quit? Just stop them all or cut back or change the dose? I wouldn't trust his doctor to help much with advice on how to quit drug dependency. Definately a new doctor is needed too, but that may take some time. I doubt there are any local doctors here who advocate a healthy lifestyle. Come to find out my friends cholesterol is only about 230 and his LDL/HDL ratio is very good. There certainly never was a need for the medication.

[Allen1]

Hi there seyek,

I personally stopped taking statins cold turkey but I believe that the best way would be to take half a tablet per day for a week or so then a quarter for another week and possibly one eighth for the next week or so to wean your man off the drug with the least noticeable problems or shock to his system.

The time period could also be altered to suit if he finds he is having problems. The cold turkey method also works well but at the time I did that I also had a change in BP medication and ACE Inhibitor and really was a bit of a mess, so I would try the weaning process rather than cold turkey as this will allow his body to get used to the lack of statins a little slower and not become such a shock to his system.

There are loads people who have stopped using either method and hopefully more of them will help you by letting you know what was good for them ok.


All the very best,

Allen. :)

[cjbrooksjc]

I quit 'cold turkey' and don't remember what negative reaction; if any, I had, but if I had it to do over again, I'd follow Allen's advice.

Best,


Brooks

[pgrimm]

Sorry to butt in here seyek , just wanted to add my two cents on the quitting. In this case it was lovastatin, but after actually quitting cold turkey on his own, my guy Bill checked with at least two doctors who agreed, stop taking them, period. I can't imagine a good reason for titrating down on "poison". It's not adding anything good, it's stopping a natual process that needs to start back up! Eliminating the good cholesterol and coenzyme Q10 is just bad!

Please have your friend try the internet again. Only this time, direct him to this page: *https://www.statineffects.com/info/
This is regarding the research of Dr. Golomb at UCSD; it includes the side effects, and also healthy ways to protect your heart without using medication. It's weird, how does the medical field convince us that doing something unnatural is always the first line of defense?

Can you get him to read this forum? I would think that all these folks here could convince him!
Good Luck.

Pam