Will kidney disease affect my sex life?

A normal and moderate sex life is not only conducive to coordinating the relationship between husband and wife and ensuring a happy marriage, but also can improve health and delay aging. Whether kidney disease will affect sex life is a question of great concern to many young and middle-aged patients and their families. In fact, the impact of kidney disease on sex life mainly includes two aspects: kidney disease itself and treatment drugs.

01The impact of kidney disease itself on sexual life

Chronic kidney disease and the renal insufficiency that occurs on this basis, due to the slow progression and long course of the disease, some patients have been accompanied by it for decades, and the impact of kidney disease on sexual function is directly related to the severity of the disease. Generally speaking, if it manifests as simple hematuria or simple proteinuria, and there is no special discomfort in the body, there is no obvious impact on sexual function, and a normal life can be maintained.

As the disease progresses, or some patients already have moderate to severe renal dysfunction at the onset of the disease, sexual dysfunction may occur to varying degrees, affecting the normal conduct of sexual life. Untreated chronic renal failure patients have particularly significant sexual dysfunction, most of which manifest as decreased libido, impotence, or inability to maintain a sustained erection in male patients, and vaginal mucosal atrophy and lack of interest in sexual life in female patients. After renal failure enters the dialysis stage, sexual function will improve to a certain extent, and the improvement will be more obvious after kidney transplantation.

Kidney diseases with a rapid onset and rapid onset, such as acute glomerulonephritis, rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, acute renal failure or nephrotic syndrome, are serious and have obvious symptoms. From the perspective of the condition, in addition to receiving effective drug treatment, a good rest is also one of the important basic treatment measures. Therefore, sexual intercourse is not advisable during the acute phase.

02The impact of therapeutic drugs on sexual life

Different kidney diseases will have very different treatments. Patients with simple microscopic hematuria or a small amount of proteinuria do not need special treatment with drugs; most patients with massive proteinuria or nephrotic syndrome need to use glucocorticoids (prednisone, methylprednisolone, etc.), and some need to use cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine A, cyclamate, tripterygium wilfordii and other immunosuppressants in combination. Hypertensive patients must use a variety of antihypertensive drugs to control their blood pressure at an ideal level. When renal failure occurs, multiple drugs need to be added to replace some of the functions of the kidneys after the decline in renal function. Different drugs will have different adverse reactions, as follows:

01Glucocorticoids

It can cause high blood pressure, steroid diabetes, obesity, etc. When taken in large doses, it can interfere with male sexual desire and female normal menstrual cycle;

02Immunosuppressants

Especially cyclophosphamide and tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides, which have obvious adverse reactions of suppressing gonads and affecting sexual life;

03 Antihypertensive drugs

Long-term use of antihypertensive drugs by patients with hypertension may affect normal erections in men and cause premature ejaculation. For example, the use of methyldopa and guanethidine may cause anejaculation or difficulty in ejaculation. For women, there are obvious adverse reactions such as decreased libido and loss of orgasm.