Posted by King Vultan on March 2, 2004, at 17:12:35
In reply to To all men with sexual side effects on Strattera, posted by liquidchakra on February 27, 2004, at 8:05:46
> It seems that alot of the problems down there are caused by its tendency to swell the prostate up; the prostate has loads of NE receptors apparently. Has anyone ever tried to take Saw Palmetto to fix this? I read before that it is nearly as effective as the leading prescription (Flomax), and one of the side effects of Flomax is priapism. I don't want that, but anything that has something to do with an erection as a side effect would be a great benifit to anyone on Strattera.
>Drugs that block NE reuptake often do this, and if they are also strongly anticholinergic (Strattera is not; most of the tricyclics are), it will exacerbate the problem. Any of the alpha-1 blockers will deal with the problem, but Flomax has the least effect on blood pressure. It is also the most expensive. I've used it with good results but am switching to something cheaper because I cannot afford the $50/month copay under my idiotic health plan.
IMO, it is silly to worry about the priapism associated with Flomax because it is only about a 1/50,000 chance. If you are taking an alpha agonist such as Strattera, anyway, your chances of getting priapism are further reduced (treatment for priapism consists of injecting alpha agonists into the penis). Any of the alpha blockers has the potential to cause priapism, and I believe this is also the major reason trazodone is associated with priapism, as this drug has a relatively strong alpha-1 blockade (and a fairly strong alpha-2 blockade, which will further increase arousal as yohimbine does).
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:318160
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040228/msgs/319441.html