Did Cholesterol Drug Take the Joy Out of Sex?

Q. I am a healthy 53-year-old man with high cholesterol. I take atorvastatin to keep it under control.

Soon after starting on this drug I noticed that my erections were softer. Cialis solved that problem and I have no difficulty with arousal, libido or erections. I do, however, have difficulty achieving orgasm.

My girlfriend and I make love for an hour. She is very happy, but I am frustrated because I rarely achieve climax. Could my cholesterol drug be responsible?

A. There is nothing in the medical literature about statins causing anorgasmia, though other men have also reported an inability to climax. This complication does not appear to have been studied rigorously.

Other medications are notorious for causing this side effect. Antidepressants such as fluoxetine, paroxetine and sertraline may lead to anorgasmia in a third of patients (CNS Spectrums, Aug. 2006).

The prostate medications finasteride (Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart) can also interfere with sexual satisfaction (Journal of Sexual Medicine, Nov., 2012). The sexual consequences of these medications can sometimes be very long lasting.

There is not much motivation for researchers to study sexual side effects. Unless they examine this aspect of statin medications, we may never know whether atorvastatin is responsible for your anorgasmia.

Ask your doctor about other ways to control your cholesterol, however, and you may be able to conduct your own personal experiment. If you do, please let us know the results.