From smelly flatulence to increased fertility, Ozempic has been linked to a number of unusual side effects.
But men are reporting what might be the most embarrassing yet: erectile dysfunction.
Reddit pages dedicated to Ozempic and other drugs used for weight loss are rife with accounts of men experiencing performance problems in the bedroom that are believed to be due to low testosterone levels caused by the blockbuster drugs. .
The safety leaflets included with the medications include a warning that sexual dysfunction could be a side effect, but the association has not been studied extensively.
TO study Earlier this year it found that the problem was a side effect in about one in 75 men taking weight-loss drugs, with many of them describing frustration and humiliation in the bedroom.
A study on the side effects of taking weight loss medications found that approximately one in 75 men who take them will experience erectile dysfunction and low testosterone levels.
Many men looking to lose weight on these drugs have been shocked by their loss of ability to perform sexually and have resorted to asking their peers on Reddit for advice on how to beat the side effect, with one saying: “I’ve been taking Ozempic for 3 months. The TT level went down very quickly and I am now undergoing treatment to fix it.
‘Has anyone had an experience similar to this?’
Another man, 23, who has been taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, for five weeks said he had never experienced erectile dysfunction before.
He said: ‘I recently started seeing someone and have now dealt with a complete loss of erection.
‘The first time it worked because I ended up getting and keeping an erection after an hour of failed attempts.
‘But the second time, I got an erection when we were about to do it and like that, that’s it.
“It’s a little embarrassing to have to solve this problem in front of a new partner.”
And another said: ‘Taking [Ozempic] 1.5 per week, he had complete loss of erection. The doctor prescribed Viagra and it didn’t work at all. Disrupted [Ozempic] alone, three weeks later working normally.’
Only a few studies have shown that men taking these medications were more likely to experience low testosterone levels, something that has baffled doctors because weight loss normally regulates testosterone levels.
Dr. Shauna Levy, an obesity specialist at Tulane University, told DailyMail.com that the side effect is “counterintuitive” because losing fat also leads to lower estrogen levels in men.
He added: “I don’t deny that it is happening, but the path is not immediately revealed.”
Weight loss is known to decrease circulating levels of estrogen, the female sex hormone, lower levels of which have helped many women at risk for breast cancer and those with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Meanwhile, weight loss has been associated with elevated testosterone levels; A study shows that weight loss can improve testosterone levels in overweight middle-aged men. by almost 50 percent.
Low testosterone levels alone rarely cause erectile dysfunction, which can often be attributed to other health problems, such as hardened arteries and high cholesterol.
But testosterone affects libido, and lower levels of testosterone could lead to reduced sexual desire, leading to erectile dysfunction.
The reason for the drop in testosterone among male Ozempic users has eluded doctors, including Dr. Levy, who said, “I can’t understand the mechanism why it might be like that” and SHE has found no patients on the system from Tulane who have reported this side. effect.
Dr. Brian Liao of the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, co-author of the study., saying: ‘Our findings [were] in the opposite direction to expectation, where we expected that weight loss would improve ED symptoms.’
That retrospective study found that more than 3.8 percent of men suffered from erectile dysfunction while taking the drugs, compared to less than two percent in the control group.
But Dr. Levy remains skeptical about the prevalence of the side effect even after speaking with Novo Nordisk’s medical liaison, a person at the company who acts as a liaison between drug makers and the doctors who administer those drugs.
She told DailyMail.com that the representative for Novo, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, had never heard of this connection: “That’s always a sign to me that it’s not the most common thing when the medical liaison has never heard of of it.” That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, it’s just not on their radar.”