Reports: Common weight loss medications “surprise” men with impotence!

A number of men on Reddit reported poor sexual performance after taking Ozempic and other popular weight loss drugs.

Safety labels included with the medications include a warning that impotence may be a side effect, but the potential link has not been widely studied.

Many men were surprised by the effects of the treatment on their sexual performance, and they resorted to asking their colleagues on Reddit for advice on how to overcome the side effects.

One of them said: “I have been taking Ozempic for 3 months. My sexual performance decreased very quickly. Has anyone else had a similar experience?” Another young man, aged 23, who had been taking the drug "Semaglutide" (the active ingredient in "Wegov" and "Ozempic") for 5 weeks, said that he had not suffered from erectile dysfunction before, and he suffers from it now.

Another said: Taking Ozempic weekly leads to complete loss of erection. The doctor prescribed Viagra, but it didn't work at all. I stopped taking Ozempic on my own, and my sexual performance improved after 3 weeks.”

A study conducted this year found that one in 75 men taking weight loss medications suffered from impotence.

A small number of studies showed that men taking weight loss drugs were more likely to have low testosterone, which puzzled doctors, because weight loss normally regulates testosterone levels.

Dr. Shauna Levy, an obesity specialist at Tulane University, said the side effect is "unexpected" because fat loss also leads to lower levels of estrogen (the female sex hormone) in men.

She added: "I do not deny that this happened, but it should be clarified."

Weight loss has long been linked to increased testosterone levels, with one study showing that weight loss can improve testosterone levels in obese middle-aged men by approximately 50%.

Low testosterone by itself rarely causes ED, which can often be attributed to other health problems, such as atherosclerosis and high cholesterol.

But testosterone affects sexual desire, and low levels can lead to decreased sexual desire, leading to impotence.