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Does Lipitor Lower Libido?

Q. My husband has high cholesterol, despite a very healthy lifestyle and weight. His doctor put him on Lipitor. After the dosage was increased, I started noticing that he wasn’t as enthusiastic about our previously very active sex life. He was having difficulty maintaining an erection and uncharacteristically not initiating lovemaking.

When I asked, he said he just wasn’t feeling aroused and that he’d noticed his usual morning erections weren’t occurring. He asked his doctor if the Lipitor might be responsible, and the doc said to stop it for a month and see what happened.

Within a week his libido returned big time! For a few weeks he was as interested as when we first got married in our early 20s (we are in our early 50s).

Now our sex life is back to normal, as it was before Lipitor. He takes niacin, eats oatmeal every day and exercises regularly, but he is unwilling to have his cholesterol checked. He is afraid the doctor will prescribe Lipitor again. Your thoughts?

A. In searching the medical literature we found an article in Drug Safety (July, 2009) confirming that some statin-type drugs (Crestor, Lipitor, Zocor) are associated with reports of erectile dysfunction. Although this side effect seems to be rare, men may underreport it. We are sending you our Guide to Cholesterol Control and Heart Health for many other ways to get cholesterol down besides statins.

Cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease and your husband should not simply ignore it. Working with his doctor to find an acceptable way to control cholesterol would be better.

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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