With virtually any medication, you run the risk of some unwanted side effects. Semaglutide injection medications, including Ozempic, are no different. Patients taking Ozempic and other brands have reported experiencing severe gastrointestinal problems, personality changes, and painful rashes, among other bothersome conditions. Now, some men taking semaglutide report sexual side effects, mainly in the form of erectile dysfunction (ED).
RELATED: Doctor Says Ozempic Increases Certain Health Risks by Up to 900%
Several Reddit threads are full of discussions about experiencing ED while on weight loss medication, with men sharing their experiences and consulting each other for advice. One Redditor, a 61-year-old man who says he never had ED issues in the past, shared his frustrations about semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy. (Ozempic is only approved to treat type 2 diabetes, not chronic weight management, but is often prescribed off-label.)
“Now after 6 weeks on semaglutide, my compass is pointing south. ED is not listed as a common side effect online,” he wrote on Reddit.
A poster in his early 40s shared similar concerns, writing: “There have been a few times in the last few months since going to 1mg. [of Ozempic]when my partner has been in a mood and I haven’t been able to perform or maintain the performance levels I was once capable of.”
A 23-year-old poster said he had also had problems after increasing his dose of semaglutide.
“It’s kind of embarrassing to have to sort this out in front of a new partner,” he wrote.
Scientific evidence lends some weight to these claims. A study published in February aJournal of Sexual Medicine found that men without diabetes on Ozempic and Wegvoy had a higher risk of developing ED and testosterone deficiency.
During a presentation at the North American Society of Sexual Medicine’s Annual Fall Scientific Meeting late last year, Brian Liaolead study author and medical student at the John Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, cited these results as surprising.
“Our findings [were] in the opposite direction of expectation, where we expected weight loss to improve erectile dysfunction symptoms,” Liao said, per Urology time.
RELATED: Ozempic Patients Reveal Major Side Effect When You Stop Taking It
As a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, semaglutide works by mimicking a hormone to delay gastric emptying and make you feel fuller for longer. But GLP-1s can have other effects.
“Studies have shown that GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide, can have an impact on testosterone levels in men.”Steven BatashMD, a board-certified gastroenterologist and weight loss expert at Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss, said people. “Testosterone is a hormone that plays a crucial role in male sexual function. Reduced testosterone levels can lead to decreased libido as well as other sexual problems such as [erectile dysfunction].”
Although research in this area is still limited, some men taking semaglutide were able to combat sexual side effects by reducing the dose or stopping its use.
The poster who shared that his ED issues were “embarrassing” posted an update, writing that he spent a week on semaglutide before starting a new dose of 0.075 mg. She said she experienced “zero ED problems” after that and didn’t need to resort to taking ED drugs like Viagra or Cialis.
“Everything is back to normal and is ‘on command’ like before,” she wrote, noting that she also introduced daily growth hormones into her routine.
One patient who took Ozempic to treat his type 2 diabetes said he went from “completely normal sexual function to finding it impossible to get or maintain an erection,” even with the help of Cialis and Viagra. But although her doctor said the treatment shouldn’t affect her ability to perform, after two weeks off she said she was “back to normal sexual functioning”, although with higher blood sugar levels.
“I will return to Ozempic because I understand the importance of staying healthy [blood sugar] levels and I guess we’ll say goodbye to sex again,” the Redditor concluded.
Low sex drive and ED are not listed as side effects of Ozempic or found in the drug’s prescribing information. In response to a request from Better LifeNovo Nordisk declined to comment.
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