Why do painkillers mess up my sexdrive???

I have been taking painkillers (Vicodine) ever since my surgery 3 days ago. Since I have been taking them, I don't feel like having sex, and would probably have trouble getting it up even if I wanted to. Before I started taking them, I wanted to have sex all the time. Now I don't have much feeling in my penis. Has this happened to anyone else out there???? I'm worried about it.

Vicodine is an opiod based analgesic, opiods in general are depressants, they act by attaching themselve to receptors for pain known as mu receptors, unfortunately these mu receptors are located in the area of the brain that deals with respiration, circulation and yes, your sex drive... at therapeutic doses barely perceptible decreases are noted, but then again, these side effects are dose dependent with some feeling the effects more than the others... you could try switching to NSAIDS ( non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ) such as naproxen, ketoprofen, ibuprofen or if you have no history of heart disease or hypertension you could try the newer COX2 drugs ( celecoxid, parecoxid etc... ) consult with your doctor first...

P.S. im a M.D. in the philippines but i trained in the U.S., while there i noticed it was very difficult for patients like you to ask their doctors simple questions like this... and thats not good, not good at all... thank you and hopefully i was of some help to you...

Pain killers lessen sensation...that is how they kill the pain. So, of course you are not going to be able to get it up because you don't have as much feeling. Once you are off the meds, you will be back to your normal horny self. Don't worry about it.

BTW, if you are in so much pain that you need Vicodine, then you don't need to be having sex anyway. ;-)

you had surgery three friggin days ago. and you are on vicodin and both of those things stall out your drive for a little bit. don't worry about it. jeez.

Hasn't happened to me personally, but my boyfriend was on pain killers for a couple weeks and he had mentioned that once he took the pills, not long after he was completely not in the mood. He said it was almost as if he was turned off by the thought of sex because he had lost his drive just that much.

painkillers, if strong enough can make you drowsy and also it may thin your blood as well, and as you know, an erection is caused when blood rushes to the penis, so i'm sure once you have no use for the painkillers, you'll be back to normal

Cause they make you mellow....this is normal, in about a week after you take your last pills, you will be 100% again nothing to wory about!

From a woman's point of view, I would be looking at recovering from the surgery. You will get off the meds, your sex drive will return and then you can carry on being a typical guy who thinks with his dick first.

Yikes.

When taking pain killers it relaxes your nerves and your muscles. This is why you don't have a sex drive. My husband had to take them and we talked to a Dr. That is what he told us. After the pain med gets out of your system, you should be back to normal.

Hey,
Painkillers mess with your brain chemistry, much like anti-depressants. They increase your seratonin levels, thereby lowering your sex drive. That's where you get the numbness.
A great way to combat this (no kidding...this is important!) is to exercise and increase your endorphin levels. This will help your pain as well, so you might not have to take as many pills. I know you just went through surgery, but ANY exercise will help.
Good luck...hope this helps.

Medication can also affect libido.

Blood pressure tablets, antidepressants, medication for treating psychosis, hormone therapy and PAINKILLERS have all been documented as causing loss of libido.

Painkillers don't just dull the pain, they dull everything. All feeling in your body. Your penis is no exception.

An erection is the result of a coordination between nerves, hormones, blood vessels and psychological factors. This means there are many areas where things can go wrong.

Medicines that have a physical effect on the blood vessels in the penis, those that act on the brain or interfere with hormone levels (particularly testosterone) or affect the transmission of nerve messages, can all cause impotence.