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Have you experienced any symptoms of physical sexual dysfunction as a result of having diabetes?
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Guess I’ll bite.
Prior to diagnosis I was an extremely heavy drinker, it had it’s consequences. That slowed my sexual “activities,” after diagnosis even although I all but stopped drinker (3-4 beers are a lot now) I’ve made a lot more solitude life. I made other priorities (taught myself automotive repair/small engines/appliances, rescued 19 dogs/kept 10, Mother and 3 brothers lived with me through the years, 2 nephews, got a few folks from shelters, and mentored neighbor kids). Basically kept myself too busy.
I checked “unsure” because ummm… everything seems to work okay but work literally destroys my body (at 62 I have 20 year olds that have threatened to quit so I had to slow down). While I’ve dated kept it more in the “friend zone,” even if ummm…
Everything seems to work okay so I clicked “unsure. “
High sugar while having sex kills any chance of having an orgasm
Dyspareunia. Very painful. Went to a therapist specializing in that area to try to get those muscles to relax, but she moved to Ohio. Current doctors ignore problem with the attitude that I am old and should be glad not to do such things anymore.
Owner of penile prostheses
I felt so bad before diagnosis that I had no interest in sexual activity. Frozen shoulders from high sugars also depleted interest. My older husband was supportive and understood all too well.
Married 49 years to same guy . We are still active in that department. Not as often as he would like, but it’s fun once he initiates it. A glass of champagne before sex is a ‘must have’ for me. Woo hoo!
joie de vivre!
I was fine until menopause hit. I don’t recall the diabetes ever being a factor.
Everything works except my husband. He’s 85 and wishes he could but that ship sailed ten years ago. Back in the day, between hip surgeries, I had to watch dropping blood sugars.
No sexual dysfunction but we have definitely had some funny stories that involve my diabetes hahahaha and with my new tandem pump we have had some moments haha
Interesting and uncomfortable topic… but after 18yrs T1D I believe I’m okay. It’s only when I’m LOW I have trouble “enjoying” the moment. But introducing chocolate syrup to raise blood glucose isn’t a horrible idea.
I think all the medications I have been on have significantly decreased my libido. My husband is very understanding, though he would prefer if I had more interest.
I am grateful for how honest people are being. I marked unsure because I don’t know if it was menopause or diabetes. But at some point right before a hysterectomy for a football sized non-cancerous tumor, it all went to pot. No interest, pain. Doctors don’t want to talk about it and I’m not sure I do. The doc who did my hysterectomy I may have been able to talk to but he was stripped of his medical license for cocaine use. Lots of my friends experience the same thing. It’s a problem.
Soon after my late-in-life diagnosis was the last time I had a proper erectile function. The doctors just threw the blue pill at me but I never liked the way it makes me feel and it never really worked anyway.
I would have to agree!
Absolutely! I’ve been totally impotent (suffer from erectile dysfunction) since the age of 27 … I’m 63 right now.
Initially, I spoke with a medical doctor who was the Medical Officer for clients at the Home for Elderly, Mentally Infirm clients (that’s people suffering with one or more types of dementia [organic brain failure], and he laughed at me, presumably believing me to ‘having a laugh’ with him.
As a Social Worker, I later referred myself for Sexual Health Counselling [Counseling] and they tried all sorts of combinations of Vitamin B compounds, hoping that that would ‘do the trick’. It didn’t. I asked to be referred on to see a Genito-Urinary Specialist who went on to carry out physical examinations, x-rays, intravenous injections with a ‘dye’ included that would show up if there were ‘leaking’ blood vessels, etc.
I began having intracavernosal injections … the first of which was only approved, in the UK, for veterinary use on horses. I was also given a letter to carry around with me in case I was admitted to hospital for any reason and detumescence was required.
Although this was, in my humble opinion, mildly effective I was still disappointed with the results. Further appointments were made to see a number of different ‘specialists’ who tried intrapenile implants (MUSE), oral medications, such as sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra, Staxyn), tadalafil (Cialis). I have not tried avanafil (Stendra) which MIGHT offer something that the other oral medications didn’t.
I’ve tried vacuum therapy, but had an experience where one of the constriction bands snapped off at the ‘pull tab’ where it’s removed. I ended up anxiously using a scalpel to cut the damned thing off as I was too embarrassed to attend my local hospital and have it removed by someone that has more experience with using scalpels. 😉
Although I still ‘get the urge’, nothing happens.
Oops! I meant to add that I had considered a surgical implant but doctors here were reluctant to carry out the procedure due to me having diabetes and not having the best diabetes control.
I believe the answer is yes, but I couldn’t say for sure. No doctor has ever asked and I’m too mortified by the topic to bring it up myself.
Then there’s the problem that _generally_ speaking doctors treat women in general like hypochondriacs and older women in particular get this treatment. So, even when I had the guts to bring up things like menopause etc, my concerns were pretty much dismissed.
Hard to tell. I’m 69 years old. I’m not the same as I was decades ago. Age or diabetes or expectations or all three?
Yes, but not all from diabetes. I’m not in great shape, and I take a few antidepressant medications that contribute.
I still enjoy sex with my spouse, but my body feels nothing. This physical capability disappeared more than ten years ago (still not close to menopause), but I am on many medications unrelated to diabetes that could have caused this unwanted side effect.
To be honest, blunt and frank – yes. In my younger years I enjoyed sex without experiencing any physical symptoms of distress or discomfort. As I aged and lived with diabetes for 40, 50, and almost 60 years intercourse became uncomfortable and painful because of vaginal dryness.
Most health care professionals (mostly older males) in my experience never discussed the topic, nor ever mentioned possibility of sexual discomfort or dysfunction being a possibility of peripheral neuropathy in the process of aging, especially with long term type 1 diabetes. It wasn’t until I was under the care of a (1) female gynecologist and (2) a female endocrinologist that the issue was properly addressed and problem solving solutions were advised.
To be fair, for us long-time T1Ds the medical professionals treating our diabetes in earlier days were limited in their knowledge about consequences, particularly of various peripheral neuropathies, stemming from advanced duration diabetes in the body. They just didn’t know then what they know now about how long duration diabetes affects the various body systems, including the nerves and organs of sexual function.
Yes, at age 47 – 36 years after diagnosis. I tried all known therapies known to man and nothing happened – except when using injections. They worked but I could never get the dosage right and after 4 trips to the hospice due to erections lasting more than 4 years and becoming extremely painful.
Oops – not hospice – hospital. It was bad but I didn’t think I was dying!!! LOL
I marked unsure, but how much inability to get an election is due to old age (77) less testosterone and how much is due to T1D for 62 years? When younger I was sexually active. Diabetes didn’t interfere. But in last 3 years, I’ve had just one orgasm. Two different pills didn’t work at all. This is why I’m considering Longevity Medical Clinic (near Seattle) and testosterone ointment applied for only 8 hours out of 24 hour day. They’re very open about how they treat men and women with sexual (or other) problems based on latest medical research. I’d keep my my present health plan coverage, and would have to pay out of pocket for such an extra….about $4,000/year. No, I’m not talking about hormone injections or oral anabolic steroids.