Diabetes Type 2
Sexual problems
Many people with diabetes type 2 will experience sexual problems. According to Diabetes UK, more than half of men with diabetes may be affected and the possibility of problems increases with age. Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is thought to be twice as common in women with diabetes. Diabetes in men can cause erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence. Some men may experience ED before they know they have diabetes, but generally it tends to occur later as the disease progresses.
Lawrence noticed occasional erectile problems before he was diagnosed with diabetes and thought they might have been caused by stress.
Lawrence noticed occasional erectile problems before he was diagnosed with diabetes and thought they might have been caused by stress.
In fact it started it started, that was probably one of the early symptoms but I didn't understand or didn't associate it then because, I started having erectile problems earlier on before my toilet runs increased. And I thought maybe it was just fatigue or stress or whatever, so I didn't put much to it, and it didn't occur on a regular basis it was, you know, once in a while. So you know, then I understood that I had an erectile problem and then when the diabetes picture then came in and then I put one and one together and I realised that okay that's what it is. But, you know, you come to, to understand that that's what it is and you get a choice of how you want to deal with it, either you go into abstinence or you use medication so, you know, we've gone the medication route and we, and that's what's helped us yeah.
Sexual dysfunction in men means that they cannot get and/or maintain an erection. In women it means that they lose desire, suffer from vaginal dryness or experience pain during sex and cannot reach orgasm. Sexual dysfunction is more likely to occur when someone's blood glucose levels are not being well controlled which means that nerves and nerve endings become damaged and physical sensations are reduced.
It is not always possible for doctors to know exactly what causes erectile dysfunction; it may be the result of diabetes or other health conditions such as hyperthyroidism. Also, some medications such as beta blockers which slow the heart rate may affect the ability to have erections.
Andy thinks that his erectile dysfunction may be a side effect of Prozac which he takes for depression.
Andy thinks that his erectile dysfunction may be a side effect of Prozac which he takes for depression.
The one thing that he warned me about there are side effects with a number of the drugs, medicines sorry, that I'm taking, can cause depression. And I could see on occasions like this black fog coming down, and I knew it was depression, and I fought it and I fought it and I fought it and I wouldn't let it get to me. I had a bit of a bad time a work and next thing I know is [clicks fingers] I'm depressed. And I could recognise it but there was nothing I could do about it. I didn't want to do anything about it actually. I suddenly went from, I am going to fight this to, I've got it and I don't care. I didn't care. I didn't not care either. I didn't do anything'
Eventually I kind of, yeah alright, I'll go and see the GP. Made an appointment and he asked me all these questions. There was ten questions he asked me, to do with state of mind and what you're thinking and stuff and. 'Yep', he said, 'You're depressed', [laughs]' So he put me on Prozac. Again I reacted, quite upset tummy and stuff for the first few days I was taking that. And there's a bit of spark back to me now.
Are there side effects with Prozac?
Well there are side effects to everything. Most the worst side effect to everything is erectile dysfunction. I was struggling anyway with my bad back because of the damage to my disc and lower back, so there was a problem anyway. But the combination of all these tablets in my system has just finished everything off. So that's a contributor to depression for a bloke particularly.
The tablets, I think it's the tablets that were sort of, because depression, as I understand it, is a chemical misbalance in the brain, and I could kind of see that it was there and I'm pretty sure that the tablets were contributing to that; mucking up the chemical balance, so it was kind of there but I was fighting it off.
Sexual dysfunction in men and women with diabetes may also happen when someone is depressed about how diabetes is affecting their lives. Several people said that diabetes had affected their self-confidence and caused depression and mood swings.
Gugu says that diabetes has affected every part of her life including her interest in sex and relationships.
Gugu says that diabetes has affected every part of her life including her interest in sex and relationships.
' I think neglect. I would say neglect of' And you know, like I said to you at the beginning, the warning signs and they were just sort of' They were easier to ignore. But when you have the diabetes now, I can try and ignore it, but it's not easy any more because its impacting on my day-to-day life, I mean it's impacting on everything. I mean even in terms of relationship, libido, everything it's just like, do you know... You just don't know. I just had no idea of all the things that, you know, it can sort of enter every part. It's not just a health thing it's...
Tell me about the libido because a lot of men have talked to me about that, but not so many women.
Well, for me, whilst I was, before I separated' I mean it was just like' it's the tired. You see the thing is maybe it was a bit of both with the thyroid thing going on and the, so I don't know which, which came first, you know what I mean, so. But yeah, just feeling, just not ever wanting to have sex again, and it's quite strange for someone who wanted a child, not to be, do you know what I mean? Even for that I just lost my appetite for it completely. But then also, I also acknowledged that I had, sort of like, heavy bleeding for two months and obviously it all goes to have an impact on relationships, you know what I mean, and the mood swings from both, or from all three things really, you know, so.
Most men said they were not as yet having any problems about sex, but felt that if they did experience ED it would be a serious worry for them that could well affect their relationship with their partners but would also affect their sense of masculinity. Those men who admitted to having experienced ED at some time said that even though their masculinity was affected it would probably not diminish their long-term relationship with their partners.
Lawrence describes how he and his wife have coped and how the GP helped them sort things out.
Lawrence describes how he and his wife have coped and how the GP helped them sort things out.
Is the medication route viagra basically?
Yeah it's viagra I wasn't sure whether I should use the name or not but, but yeah it is viagra and, and I think also [name] the other thing that helps is both the husband and wife's attitude towards it. Because, you know if, if you take it as a loss it, it can create so much stress in your marriage, and, and it can cause complications in terms of the relationship between the two of you, the emotional response to it because you know, as a man, you know, [laughs] you measure your manhood in terms of your sexual prowess and so forth, for want of a better word. And so when that's taken away, that's like taking an engine away from a car, it can't operate, but because my wife and I, you know, discussed this and came to an understanding about what is going to happen and how it's going to affect us, we took a positive approach to it, in terms of well this is what we have, how can we get around it, or how can we get by with it?
And I spoke to my doctor and he said, 'Look there are options.' And back then I thought viagra was just something, but he says, 'Look you, you've got an option of viagra.' Which I discussed with my wife and we said, 'Yeah well let's go for it.' So that's the upturned side. But you know, even now I don't necessarily need it all the time it's just, you know, periodic that once in a while that I get to use it but, that's also helped, and, and of course just being positive about it, yeah.
Very few men had ever discussed the possibility of sexual dysfunction with anyone face-to-face, including the GP. Most men took the view that as long as everything was going fine they didn't particularly want to talk about ED, and that they hoped they would never have any sexual problems. Some men said they only knew about erectile dysfunction because they had read about it on the internet, or in articles in the media. One man said he first read about ED in Balance, a magazine produced by Diabetes UK. A few men had attended lectures that had mentioned erectile dysfunction at a diabetes support group.
People approached sexual dysfunction in different ways, and not everyone had yet discussed the problem with their partners. Those who had experienced ED on several occasions and had gone to the GP for advice, were pleased to discover that something could be done to help. One man had changed his anti-diabetes medication, and another had been prescribed Viagra (sildenafil).
Last reviewed March 2016.
Last updated March 2016.
Copyright © 2024 University of Oxford. All rights reserved.