ADHD and Its Impact on Sexual Health

Although ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is often considered a children’s disorder, it does affect adults as well. An estimated 5% of American adults have been diagnosed with ADHD – and many doctors believe that there are quite a few more who remain undiagnosed. Men with ADHD face a number of challenges, but most people don’t realize that there can be a penis care aspect to ADHD to consider. In some cases, ADHD may have an impact on a man’s sexual health.

ADHD

Just to refresh everyone’s memories, ADHD is, according to Healthline.com, “a condition that causes a person to have a variety of symptoms which may include impulsive behavior, hyperactivity, and difficulty paying attention.” It’s most often thought of as a disorder that causes kids (typically boys) to behave in a chaotic, loud manner. That is a vast oversimplification, of course, but it does pinpoint the fact that many view ADHD as a disruptive and difficult-to-handle disorder.

Those diagnosed with ADHD in childhood typically are treated through a variety of means, including medication and the learning of coping strategies. But adults who were not diagnosed as children do not have the advantage of years of this treatment, making the disorder even more challenging for them.

Sexual health

ADHD can have an impact on a person’s health in a variety of ways. One of these is on the sex drive, and the effects can be highly contradictory.

For example, in some people, ADHD is associated with a much diminished sex drive. This can in turn bring about some erectile dysfunction situations in men. But others find that they have a greatly heightened sex drive, to the point that they may be classified as having hypersexuality.

With hypersexuality, a person’s sex life is “manic.” They feel a heightened degree of arousal, often a high percentage of the time. In many cases, a man with hypersexuality will engage in excessive masturbation, often masturbating multiple times a day. He may also engage in excessive partner-based sex, indulging in behavior that would be classified as promiscuous and often taking multiple sexual partners.

The combination of ADHD and hypersexuality can thus cause a man to make bad decisions, such as participating in risky sexual behavior (unprotected sex, sex without determining “safety” of a partner, etc.). Often such a person is obsessed with sex, to the point that it interferes with the rest of their lives. They also rarely establish actual intimacy with their sex partners.

All of which can put an ADHD man with hypersexuality at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (and passing those STIs along to partners), obtaining a sore, painful penis due to rough handling and overuse, difficulty maintaining relationships, even of losing his job if he cannot keep his hypersexuality under control at work.

Adults with ADHD who find themselves with sexual health issues should contact their doctor and discuss these problems openly and candidly to determine the best path to take. It is likely to involve both medications and the inclusion of a mental health professional on the team to help the patient develop strategies to recognize hypersexual signs and behaviors and to learn how to cope.

Sexual health issues can impact any man, whether he has ADHD or not, and that’s why maintaining penis health is so important. Daily application of a superior penis health creme (health professionals recommend Man 1 Man Oil, which is clinically proven mild and safe for skin) is one excellent way to help maintain the organ’s delicate health. Look for a crème that contains both L-arginine and L-carnitine. The former is an amino acid that works to help the body produce nitric oxide. In turn, nitric oxide boosts the ability of penile blood vessels to open for expanded blood flow when necessary. L-carnitine, another amino acid, has neuroprotective properties, which make it a great help in maintaining proper penis sensation, even when the organ is roughly handled.

ADHD Drugs and Sexual Health

More and more men are becoming aware that matters affecting sexual health are not necessarily all related to the penis. (That doesn’t mean that proper attention to penis health is not a factor, of course; merely that the whole world of sexual health is bigger than just one organ.) For men with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, some common medications used to manage this condition sometimes may result in side effects, which can have an impact on sexual health.

Methylphenidate
 
As most people nowadays know, ADHD is a condition usually characterized by three symptoms: difficulty concentrating, having a need for an exceptional degree of activity, and a tendency to behave impulsively. As with any condition, it presents differently in different people. Some people may identify only with one or two of the symptoms, others with all three; the degree to which any one person exhibits any symptom can vary significantly from one person to another (and vary at different times even for the same person).

Because ADHD can create problems that impact a person’s ability to learn or complete work in an accustomed manner, many people with ADHD are prescribed medication to help manage the symptoms. Often this medication is methylphenidate (marketed under various brand names).

Although methylphenidate is often prescribed for people with ADHD, it also is used in treating other conditions, such as depression, Parkinson’s disease and narcolepsy.

Side effects
 
So how might methylphenidate affect a person’s sexual health? First, it’s important to remember that many people take this drug without any negative impact on their sex lives; some may find it even helps them, as it may make them feel more in control and less self-conscious.

But some people do experience sexual health issues while on methylphenidate which may be related to the drug. These issues may include a diminished sex drive, painful erections or, less frequently, priapism. (Priapism is a condition in which the penis remains erect for several hours. While this may seem like an ideal situation in theory, in practice it can produce erections that are quite painful. Of even greater concern, priapism can damage penile tissue to a degree that can have future impact on sexual performance and enjoyment. A man experiencing priapism needs to seek treatment right away to avoid potential long term damage.)

In addition, there could be other side effects which may not directly affect the penis but can contribute to sexual issues for a man. These include insomnia, nervousness, easy irritability, and high blood pressure.

What to do
 
If a man with ADHD is taking methylphenidate and believes it is causing sexual health issues, his first step should be to contact his doctor. The doctor and patient should review the reasons why the man believes there is a connection and o determine what steps they may need to take. Sometimes the doctor may recommend a different medication; other times he may recommend altering the dosage or the frequency of administration.

Sexual health can of course be affected by things other than the medication used to treat ADHD. That’s one reason why paying close attention to penis health via the use of first rate penis health crème (health professionals recommend Man1 Man Oil, which is clinically proven mild and safe for skin) is advised. When the penis is in its best health, a man is in a good position to more quickly overcome other factors affecting him. In selecting a crème, he should look for one that contains both alpha lipoic acid and acetyl L carnitine. The former is a potent antioxidant that combats free radicals and thereby protects the penis from dangerous oxidative stress. The latter helps protect an overused or roughly-used penis from peripheral nerve damage and the accompanying loss of sensation. The two ingredients have a synergistic relationship, so finding both in one crème enables them to work even better together.