Thousands of commonly used medications often have a long list of side effects that can accompany them. People who take them may experience weight gain, fatigue or headaches.
But while millions of people know to expect this, some may not realize that the fine print also includes increased libido or hypersexuality.
Hypersexuality, or compulsive sexual behavior, is an intense focus on sexual fantasies, desires, or behaviors that are difficult to control.
These can cause stress, lead to health problems, and can interfere with your job or relationships, and can even lead to cheating.
Medicines can affect people in countless ways and everyone who takes them experiences them differently. A pharmacist has revealed to DailyMail.com which drugs can cause a spike in your libido.
Certain drugs can cause hypersexuality in people who use them, which can lead to an insatiable sexual appetite that can lead them to cheat on their partners
There are many factors that play a role when it comes to libido, including physical and mental health, lifestyle, and relationships. But biology—the body’s hormones and brain chemistry—play a major role.
Sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and oxytocin regulate libido. Hormonal changes throughout life, or medications that affect these factors, therefore contribute to the ebb and flow of sexual desire.
Dr Hussain Ahman, a consultant at Cick2Pharmacy, told DailyMail.com: ‘Some medications can have the side effect of increasing libido. This is because of the way they interact with the body’s chemistry.
‘Domania agonists, for example… work by stimulating dopamine receptors in the brain. And because dopamine is closely linked to the brain’s reward and pleasure systems, it can increase sexual desire.’
Stimulants – Adderall, Concerta, Vyvanse
In 2021, approximately 41 million prescriptions were written for Adderall (the most recent data available), and there were millions more prescriptions for other stimulants used to treat ADHD.
Adderall contains the stimulants amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which act on the body’s central nervous system to provide increased energy and concentration.
Stimulants increase the production of the feel-good hormone dopamine in the brain, as well as norepinephrine, which affects arousal.
While some users experience a decrease in libido, others report a dramatic increase in sexual desire.
Posters on Reddit complain of arousal that is so “relentless” and high that it gets in the way of work and can be “insanely uncomfortable and unmanageable.”
Others admitted to experiencing “crazy masturbation binges” and said their sexual urges “had become so intense that I was really worried about it and couldn’t find relief.”
A 2020 judgement of men taking stimulant medications found that these drugs were associated with hypersexuality and excessive masturbation.
A similar stimulant also prescribed to treat ADHD, called Vyvanse, has also been shown to be linked to hypersexuality.
Sertraline – Zoloft
Zoloft, the brand name for the drug sertraline, belongs to the class of drugs called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are used to treat anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In 2021, approximately 39 million sertraline prescriptions were written.
Although SSRIs are often associated with loss of libido, there is growing evidence that sertraline can cause hypersexuality. According to experts, sexual side effects are common but underreported in patients taking SSRIs.
A case report The article describes a 42-year-old man taking sertraline who developed an increased libido, constantly thought about sexual thoughts, and compulsively masturbated throughout the day, including a strong urge to masturbate at work.
The case report shows that his hypersexuality had a major impact on his marriage and career.
A separate report described in detail how a 55-year-old man taking sertraline experienced increased sexual desire and sex drive, “resulting in partner distress to the point of marital discord.”
There are several online forums discussing the spike in arousal, with one notable post titled, “Sex drive goes BOOM. Anyone else feeling hypersexual on Zoloft??”
Aripiprazole – Abilify
Approximately 8 million prescriptions for Abilify are written each year.
It is used to treat a wide range of mental disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, as well as Tourette’s syndrome and behavioural problems associated with autism.
The drug regulates dopamine levels in the brain and has a side effect of compulsive sexual desires.
The FDA warned in 2016 of impulse control problems in people taking aripiprazole – the active drug in Abilify.
The agency said: ‘The FDA warns that there have been reports of compulsive or uncontrollable urges to gamble, overeat, shop, and have sex when using… Abilify.’
An analysis of the FDA’s Adverse Reporting System and available medical literature found that five percent of side effects reported by people taking Abilify involved compulsive sexual behavior.
One Reddit user reported masturbating two to three times a day after starting the drug and engaging in risky sexual behavior, such as hiring prostitutes for sex.
Another said that about two weeks after starting Abilify, they noticed “significant, almost problematic sexual compulsion.”
They wrote: ‘I’m afraid that (Abilify) will make me do something I normally wouldn’t do.’
NDRI’s – Zyban and Wellbutrin
Zyban is used as an antidepressant and smoking cessation aid. According to the latest data, it was prescribed 29 million times in 2021.
Zyban and similar medications such as Wellbutrin are a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI).
Dr Ahmad told this website: ‘Unlike many other antidepressants that can dampen sexual desire, Zyban affects neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine and can lead to an improvement in sexual desire.’
It works by increasing the levels of these hormones in the brain and contains the active ingredient bupropion.
A patient on Reddit who used bupropion said the drug “increased my libido by 11.”
They added: ‘I was horny all the time to the point where I could barely walk down a hallway without exploding. I made some pretty risky decisions.’
Pramipexole – Mirapex
Pramipexole is a commonly used medicine to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS), a condition in which you are barely able to move your legs, and Parkinson’s disease. Pramipexole is a dopamine agonist, which means that it activates dopamine in the brain.
There is no data on how many people use the drug, but RLS affects 33 million Americans and 1 million Americans have Parkinson’s disease.
Some side effects include fatigue, nausea, and weakness, but serious side effects that people have reported include addictive and compulsive sexual behavior.
A study reported a link between the drug and compulsive masturbation, leading some users to masturbate up to eight times a day.
A patient described in a case study taking Pramipexole for RLS had to excuse himself from the dining table at home or in a restaurant or go to the toilet at a friend’s house to masturbate.
He also woke his partner up in the middle of the night ‘to satisfy his needs’.
Another patient taking the drug for Parkinson’s disease said He suffered from severe hypersexuality.
He spent $100,000—his life savings—on sex in one year, visiting strip clubs, watching porn obsessively, and hiring prostitutes.
The 60-year-old man indicated that his behavior had consequences for his relationship with his wife and children: ‘My behavior led to the breakdown of my marriage… My wife and I are now divorced.’