Erectile dysfunction can be side effect of statin drugs

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 wasn’t 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. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (61 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. C-8, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

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.

Q. When I picked up a prescription from the pharmacy, the pharmacy label had a “use before” date of 09/04/10. The manufacturer’s label, under the pharmacy label, had an “expiration” date of Dec 2012. Why is this?

A. It is more convenient for the pharmacist to put a one-year computer-generated “use by” date on the prescription label than to hunt for the manufacturer’s specific expiration date. In some states, the pharmacist is legally required to display a one-year use-by date.

As you discovered, this does not represent a true expiration date. If you request this information when you submit your prescription, the pharmacist could take a little extra time and provide it for you.

Q. Shortly after moving to Charleston, S.C., in 1988, I developed very uncomfortable itching over much of my body, including my armpits, groin and chest. A physician diagnosed it as “Charleston Crud” and recommended Zeasorb-AF, an anti- fungal body powder.

The anti-fungal ingredient is miconazole. I used it while working in boiler plants and equipment rooms.

It’s wonderful. I apply it to my underarms and other trouble spots. Jock itch can be carried in clothing and cause re-infection, so I iron my underclothes with a hot iron.

A. Thanks for sharing your experience. Miconazole is an effective anti-fungal drug that was once available only by prescription. It is now sold over the counter to treat athlete’s foot, jock itch and other fungal infections.

XIn their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of The Vindicator or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Favorite Home Remedies From The People’s Pharmacy.”

2009 King Features Syndicate Inc.