Since the invention of Viagra, which by the way was completely accidental, there hasn’t been a lot of progress in erectile dysfunction.
At least as far as drugs are concerned.
But in this newsletter, I want to alert you to some drug alternatives that you may not be aware of, and that you may want to discuss with your doctor.
This is especially useful for men who feel low sex drive, or who suffer premature ejaculation, or who go soft in the middle of things.
Let’s talk about the lack of libido first.
One of the most common complaints that I hear is the lack of sex drive.
I hear this especially about girlfriends and wives having lowered sex drives, and I hear it from their men.
But I also hear about it a lot from men about their own sex drive.
Many men assume that as they get older, they won’t need as much of a sex drive and that it’s natural for their sex drive to drop.
But that is not the case.
It is quite common and normal for healthy men to have a full sex drive and feel like having sex for his entire life, even if he reaches 90 or 100 years old.
Another complaint is about premature ejaculation, going soft, etc.
Premature ejaculation and going soft in the middle of things is often a combination of desensitization and to physiological changes in the dopamine pathways.
In fact, the dopamine pathways are related to virtually all erectile problems.
Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra work by inhibiting the breakdown of nitric oxide in the penis.
But these other drugs and supplements work by increasing and enhancing dopamine pathways.
So what is dopamine, anyway?
Dopamine is a hormone that creates want.
When we want something– something to eat, something to drink, someone to have sex with– Dopamine is the hormone that increases in our brains.
And dopamine is so much more than just the hormone responsible for desire.
Higher dopamine levels also make you feel better.
And dopamine increases will lower serotonin levels in your body.
And surprisingly, increasing dopamine also helps “rockiness.”
Decreasing dopamine means RAISING serotonin, and this is the reason the antidepressant drugs such as Zoloft suppress sexual function, lower libido, and create miserable erections.
They INCREASE serotonin and LOWER dopamine — exactly the formula for lower libido and lower sexual functioning!
Serotonin receptors are integrally involved in sexual function. This is most evident in reports of the effects of serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors
(SSRI’s) on orgasm and ejaculation.
In fact, if you suffer a premature ejaculation, one of the treatments are SSRI drugs.
There is no question that SSRI drugs work to retard ejaculation.
Doctors already know that if we want to SUPPRESS ejaculation, we can use SSRIs. As in this study:
In this study, they gave 26 married couples with a premature ejaculation problem the drug known as Celexa or citalopram.
They found that men who had the Celexa were more likely to become more satisfied with their sex life because the Celexa helped them delay their ejaculation.
The evidence is fairly good for this approach to premature ejaculation.
However, it comes at a steep cost.
Because this treatment raises serotonin and lowers dopamine, we already know that it’s not going to be great for overall sexual function.
In fact, the reason that SSRIs work to slow down ejaculation is that they slow down the overall rewards from sex.
When you lower dopamine, the rewards of everything go down.
Including sex.
And this is the reason why men with premature ejaculation who take drugs such as Celexa can extend their sexual time before ejaculation.
It’s because they just aren’t feeling as much… talk about taking the fun out of sex!
Surely there is a better approach to these kinds of problems?
So let’s go back to increasing dopamine instead of lowering it.
It turns out that these are some of the drugs that raise dopamine, and therefore can improve libido and perhaps overall sexual function:
If you read studies on these drugs and sexual behavior, you’ll find all kinds of incredible and amazing observations.
Male rats go crazy when they are given these drugs.
Female rats go crazy for more sex.
They are quite amazing in releasing libido and increasing sexual activity.
But do they work in humans?
They certainly do.
Although you can’t get some of them very easily, the most common drug on this list that’s easy to talk to a physician about is bromocriptine.
Bromocriptine lowers serotonin, and so we can expect it to raise dopamine.
Bromocriptine also lowers prolactin.
Prolactin suppresses sex drive… so bromocriptine removes it as a block to libido.
So it can easily be seen that bromocriptine increases interest in sex and sexual function in general — it works for many men and even for women.
Now, Bromocriptine is a drug, and so it has side effects.
It should not be taken for a long time.
You should only take it (or any other drug) when prescribed by a physician who monitors you for any of the side effects.
Bromocriptine is actually a common drug these days for type II diabetes sufferers, as it lowers blood sugar in some cases and minimizes the cardiovascular complications associated with diabetes.
And there’s one more drug that you may want to talk to Dr. about.
Nicotine.
Chronic use of nicotine is associated with higher dopamine levels, and therefore lower depression and maybe better sex.
We don’t really know if nicotine itself really helps erections.
We do know that a lot of cigarette smoking will increase the chances of getting erectile dysfunction, but maybe it’s not just about smoking.
Maybe it’s that people who smoke a lot also have a lot of other risky factors such as eating a lot of donuts and PUFAs.
But there is substantial evidence that nicotine itself certainly alleviates depression.
It’s also proven that it increases dopamine which is good for the sex drive and overall erectile quality.
If you are going to experiment with this, talk to your doctor first.
You may want to start with the nicotine gum or the patches instead of smoking.
Start with a very low dose.
And remember that there is evidence that nicotine can be extremely habit-forming.
So be careful out there.
I hope this newsletter has given you some directions that you may want to explore in fixing erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation and low sex drive.
Citations
Molecular Pharmacology of the Dopamine Receptors
https://books.google.com/books?id=3pK1-LxtFV4C&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=common+d1/32+agonists&source=bl&ots=SC51xEM9-G&sig=wz7WAtVs-mwOY0q7YGXE2loJLy0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnhJTb64bMAhUIHT4KHdVPA_0Q6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=common%20d1%2F32%20agonists&f=false
Central neuropharmacological agents and mechanisms in erectile
dysfunction: the role of dopamine
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10880821
The efficacy of citalopram in the treatment of premature ejaculation: a placebo-controlled study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12494286
Chronic nicotine treatment increases dopamine levels and reduces dopamine utilization in substantia nigra and in surviving forebrain dopamine nerve terminal systems after a partial di-mesencephalic hemitransection.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2342600
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