Pain meds and sexual side effects.

Has anybody had their pain medication give them sexual side effects? I have been married for almost 2 years and I think my medication might be causing problems. I have not used any form of birth control nor my wife during the whole time we have been married, I don't understand how she has not gotten pregnant. We both have no history of infertility, so whats going on? I am getting older and my wife is in her mid thirties. I would say we are sexually active and there are not any performace issues, so do pain medications have any impact on fertility? I did ask my pain management Dr. do any of the medications that I am taking (Lyrica, Morphine, Promethazine, and Amitrpyline) have any side effects that can cause sexual problems, he said no. Is he incorrect or am I not asking the right person. We are trying to have children and I do have 3 kids from my previous marriage, she does not have any. She is healthy and takes no medications, so I am not sure where the problem is. any suggestions or ideas?

If you asked your pain doc about "sexual side effects" specifically, he most likely answered in relationship to erectile problems. You might ask about pain medication and fertility. It's really simple to have a sperm count done to check, also.

I have been taking morphine for almost nine years now.I've fathered two kids so I know that I have had viable healthy sperm in the past.It was about two years ago when I had my dosages raised to over 400mg/day that I started to notice my already low libido drop off the scale to zero.I could physically perform the deed,just didn't feel like it.Anyway, I knew something was wrong so I talked to my Dr. about it and it turned out that my testosterone levels were in his words " in the basement".I now must get 200mgs injections of testosterone every two weeks (probably for life).Within a little better than a month,my libido was back to my pre-injury state. I feel much better and stronger now.I have read numerous articles that claim that chronic opiate use can interfer with thyroid hormones too and I am proof that that is probably the case because my thyroid levels dropped out of whack after about 2 to 3 years of steady morphine use and now I have to take syn-throid to replace that hormone.Lab tests for testosterone levels are not cheap so Dr.'s may not order them unless there is really obvious symtems or you insist and are willing to pay for them. My wife and I are in our fifties now so kids aren't a thought but my Dr. told me that my sperm count is likely very low now because of all the medications I take.Low testosterone levels can cause all kinds of problems including bone marrow and blood composition problems and must be dealt with.I'm glad I went in to the Dr. to complain when I did.Best of luck Crohnie and May God Bless You.

Thanks for the posts, I just had a remicaid infusion yesterday, so another day I don't feel good, and my pain level goes off the charts for a few days. I think the remicaid is a powerful drug and it has it's own side effects too. So I will keep trying, maybey I will get lucky soon.

From a girls' perspective, I find it almost impossible to achieve an orgasm. And the antidepressant killed my libido. Course my hard working husband never comes on or asks me for sex. He always waits for me to initiate so I try at least once a month. That is so sad.