Adderall and effects on erections and libido

[ziggy1234]

I am new here, so I searched through all the previous threads to see if anyone had addressed the topic of adderall affecting the ability for a man to have an erection. Some people had brought it up, but the discussion always switched to a different topic.

Are there any other men on this board who use adderall and have these symptoms? I take 20mg of adderall only when I really need it. I have never taken adderall for more than three days straight, and plan to continue this method since it has proven effective. But when I do take a dose, I experience penis and testicle shrinkage. In addition, my penis becomes "hard" or "tight", and it becomes very difficult to become erect. It's hard to explain heh. But, after a day or so, everything down there goes back to normal. Anyone have any similar side effects and whether prolonged use of adderall has led to more permanent sexual problems? Thank you for your time

[Huh?]

I had the same problem. In my experience it gets better after taking it for a while, your body seems to get used to it. I talked to my doc about it and he prescribed viagra to counter the effects of adderall and lexapro. Works like a charm!

[ChinchX]

i'm just gonna be frank and brutally honest here..

i can tell you for sure that any strong stimulant, whether it be adderall/amphetamine, cocaine, or methamphetamine.. will cause your penis to shrink. it will also cause your scrotum (trying not to be offensive) to tighten up. it inhibits your ability to get an erection (or more likely, you will still be able to get one, just it won't get fully hard).

the physical/medical reason for this happening is that stimulants/adderall cause the body to remove blood from the digestive tract and "non-vital" organs. your penis being one of those.. and as we know, penis size and erection ability has to do with blood flow to the area. adderall engages the sympathetic nervous system. here is a rundown of the effects of the sympathetic nervous system and it's opposite, the parasympathetic. (from http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/auto.html)

The Autonomic Nervous System
Structure	Sympathetic Stimulation	Parasympathetic Stimulation
Iris (eye muscle)	Pupil dilation	Pupil constriction
Salivary Glands	Saliva production reduced	Saliva production increased
Oral/Nasal Mucosa	Mucus production reduced	Mucus production increased
Heart	Heart rate and force increased	Heart rate and force decreased
Lung	Bronchial muscle relaxed	Bronchial muscle contracted
Stomach	Peristalsis reduced	Gastric juice secreted; motility increased
Small Intestine	Motility reduced	Digestion increased
Large Intestine	Motility reduced	Secretions and motility increased
Liver	Increased conversion of glycogen to glucose
Kidney	Decreased urine secretion	Increased urine secretion
Adrenal medulla	Norepinephrine and epinephrine secreted
Bladder	Wall relaxed Sphincter closed	Wall contracted Sphincter relaxed

here is a visual for you:





i experience all three of these effects, and as any older guy who takes them knows.. they're just things you deal with.

they've got slang terms for those effects such as "speed d*ck" (for amphetamine) and "crystal c*ck" (for crystal meth)..

though most doctors won't admit or tell you that it will shrink your package up. they may tell you that it inhibits erection though.

as for libido.. it is supposed to increase your libido. some people become hypersexual and horny all the time. you will hear from guys who were on methamphetamine say how their libidos were raging on the drug.

i know adderall is not meth, but it is amphetamine, methamphetamine's little brother, so the effects are going to be the same (albeit to a lesser degree).

as for me, the adderall causes shrinkage.. but no change in libido. but every person is different.

as you said, once the drug wears off, you will return to normal.

does taking adderall cause long-term damage to the erection ability? there is some evidence that chronic administration of amphetamine can cause long-term erection problems, but i am not sure if that only is at high/abusive dosages or medical/prescribed dosages. maybe you can look the information up and let us know.

hope all that helped answer your questions.

[MattyB]

Chinch...I think you need to clarify when you say "Penis Shrinkage"....I'm pretty sure you mean the penis in its flaccid state. As far as being erect, I've no noticed no difference in my size since being on adderall.

To address the original poster's concern about getting an erection while on adderall...I've noticed that sometimes I think too much about what I'm gonna be doing (Sex) which seems to lead to performance anxiety sometimes. To counter this, I usually just lay off the adderall if I know I'm going to have sex, or I'll just take my time and go slower than usual and concentrate on her other areas until my mind gets on the right track.

[ChinchX]

yes, i do mean flaccid state when i'm talking about "shrinkage", but also it does not get fully erect as it used to. it's still usable, but it just doesn't inflate to the max. depending on the day, and the situation.. it usually probably only gets to 80% erect. i know that's probably TMI about my penis but.. *shrug*

to be honest it doesn't seem to return to normal when i go off the adderall anyways. the flaccid state returns to normal, but the erection doesn't work as great anymore.. but it could be due to anything.. i've taken a lot of medications over the years. it could have been due to things like paxil. i can't say the adderall caused it. i can't rule it out either.

here's some citations:

"Antidepressants and stimulants can control ADD disorder to certain extents. But, in the long run, it can lead to impotence."

"Studies on animals showed that amphetamines can decrease testosterone levels in the body. The levels of testosterone predict erections in men. A decreasing testosterone level is an alarm signal for men who are under anti-depressants as it increases the possibility of impotence in them."

"Drugs like Adderall can provide relief in treating ADD but in the process, it will impede the normal flow of blood and cause impotence in men."

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/12-8-2005-83453.asp


also check out this thread.. where one person says

"Extensive online research by Viktoria and myself came across a very unpleasant discovery. There is a published study or survey and I cannot remember where, that states ....85 percent of men taking significent levels of dex or similar related stimulant compounds, suffer sexual dysfunction at some level, or can expect to suffer sexual impairment/impotence if the medication is continued long term.

I also have read online somewhere, that high (whatever high is) levels of dex over a long period of time can lead to irrepairable loss of sexual function.

Naturally, the multi billion dollar pharmacutical companies manufacturing stimulants for ADHD, dont advertise these type of facts widely."

http://www.addforums.com/forums/arch...p/t-14240.html

so there is some merit to what i have said.

[Arthur86]

Originally Posted by ChinchX

yes, i do mean flaccid state when i'm talking about "shrinkage", but also it does not get fully erect as it used to. it's still usable, but it just doesn't inflate to the max. depending on the day, and the situation.. it usually probably only gets to 80% erect. i know that's probably TMI about my penis but.. *shrug*

to be honest it doesn't seem to return to normal when i go off the adderall anyways. the flaccid state returns to normal, but the erection doesn't work as great anymore.. but it could be due to anything.. i've taken a lot of medications over the years. it could have been due to things like paxil. i can't say the adderall caused it. i can't rule it out either.

here's some citations:

"Antidepressants and stimulants can control ADD disorder to certain extents. But, in the long run, it can lead to impotence."

"Studies on animals showed that amphetamines can decrease testosterone levels in the body. The levels of testosterone predict erections in men. A decreasing testosterone level is an alarm signal for men who are under anti-depressants as it increases the possibility of impotence in them."

"Drugs like Adderall can provide relief in treating ADD but in the process, it will impede the normal flow of blood and cause impotence in men."

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/12-8-2005-83453.asp


also check out this thread.. where one person says

"Extensive online research by Viktoria and myself came across a very unpleasant discovery. There is a published study or survey and I cannot remember where, that states ....85 percent of men taking significent levels of dex or similar related stimulant compounds, suffer sexual dysfunction at some level, or can expect to suffer sexual impairment/impotence if the medication is continued long term.

I also have read online somewhere, that high (whatever high is) levels of dex over a long period of time can lead to irrepairable loss of sexual function.

Naturally, the multi billion dollar pharmacutical companies manufacturing stimulants for ADHD, dont advertise these type of facts widely."

http://www.addforums.com/forums/arch...p/t-14240.html

so there is some merit to what i have said.

The exact same situation happens to me: it only goes up to ~80% of its size when erected, but it becomes about half its size when flaccid when using adderall. I have found though, that working out the day after you took it last takes care of the problem for the day after. Im guessing it takes quite a bit of workout to improve the blood flow down there if you have taken it a lot.
The problem gets really bad when a larger dosis of it is taken in which it wont even go up at all. I have seriously considered to stop taking it because I have to evade my girlfriend when I do.
Are there any other medications that you have tried that have worked for you as well as adderall has? Because I have tried Ritalin and Concerta and neither of them work for me, and I dont even feel like the doctor knows what he is doing either...

[amu_d]

How can any of you take adderall after hearing of such side effects?

[AJB187]

Ask your doctor for Levitra or Viagra, works great.

[jonquiljo]

Originally Posted by ziggy1234

But when I do take a dose, I experience penis and testicle shrinkage. In addition, my penis becomes "hard" or "tight", and it becomes very difficult to become erect. It's hard to explain heh.

I would suggest taking Adderall more regularly - and eventually your body will adjust. In fact, your body (at least in my case) seems to overcompensate after a while. Not only will you get your erections back - but more often. In fact, I'm in my 50's and it has "over-revved" my libido somewhat - a bit too much. Be prepared to find an outlet for your tension - perhaps a bad joke - but an important one. Good luck.

[AJB187]

I use levitra to counter that just in case it should happen at the wrong time, that's never a good situation... it's always good to have just in case... and you can likely get it free via samples from your doc.

[TangentBoy]

I'm with Jonquiljo, just take your meds everyday and your body will adjust to negate this side effect. If by any far chance it doesn't after you've been diligent with your meds for a while, mention it to your doc...

Also, something to keep in mind is that if your difficulty with an erection is strictly linked to the meds, which is what it sounds like...then once it is fully out of your system each day you'll be fine. So until your body adapts, just use a little judgement with timing....no hot broom-closet affairs at work 10 minutes after you pop a pill.

ChinchX, though your intentions are great and you're trying to provide info, I saw the article some of those citations came from; it was linked to from another thread on this board. That article was nothing more than 'click thru' marketing; basically a bunch of random ideas / scientific claims with no references thrown together into an article by some dunce. It was designed to get the readers to click links on the rest of the page for 'libido pills and herbal solutions' etc. I'm not saying that the 'big pharms' don't hide stuff; but people need to be very wary of medical 'info' on the web.

And just for a little humor: "Studies on animals" ??? After the government was done testing super-high concentrations of THC on mice it was safe to conclude that a woman who smokes pot and became pregnant might possibly eat her baby.

[AJB187]

Ziggy, I would go with the Levitra.. do not be embarrassed to ask... think of it this way.. what is more embarrassing :

1) Not being able to get it up for a girl you like.
2) Asking a professional doctor for impotence medication.

You cant assume once it leaves your body that you will be good to go, Adderalls effects on the males stuff is unpredictable.

When I was first using Adderall the first thing I noticed was that I really wanted sex.. and it just wasnt happening with the Adderall.

Having impotence medications in your possession is a real security blanket.. if you are feeling really anxious about this matter then you will never be able to get it back because you will convince yourself it does not work, its kind a downward spiral . If you have these medications you will never be worried about having sex again you will always be ready to go with all the confidence in the world.

[panthoot]

wow, I had no idea Adderall had that side effect in men (being female, I must have not paid much attention when reading about the possible side effects).

Wellbutrin is often prescribed off label to counter sexual side effects from SSRIs, so it might work for stims, too. I have a friend on ritalin who used viagra for erection issues, but quit using it completely when he started a low dose of wellbutrin for depression. He hasn't had any ED problems since then.

[texassweetpea]

My boyfriend has a complete different reaction to adderall. It makes him hypersexual and seems to make everything more intenses. Who needs viagra? lol

[KurtG85]

Me, lol.