The Effects of Blood Pressure Medicine & Testicle Pain

Taking high-blood pressure medication can lead to poor seminal production and testicular pain.

Case #: 339

Concern：

I enjoy sex. I, like any man, enjoys the euphoric feeling I gain from an ejaculation. I feel relieved—I would even go as far as saying that I feel at peace when I ejaculate. Now, my desire for sex seems to have diminished—mostly due to the pain I feel after sex. Each time I ejaculate, I experience pain in my testicles. When I do ejaculate, I notice that I experience little to no semen fluid. Please note, I do take medicine for high blood pressure. Could my medication be the cause for my pain?

Discussion：

Yes, sex is enjoyable as you mentioned. It is relieving, and it is relaxing. Judging from your condition, it may be safe to say that no external issues are causing the pain or low semen production. It has been known that high blood pressure contribute to penile and testicular pain. But certain high blood pressure medication can influence the production of prostaglandin that involved in inflammatory pain responses. Therefore, your problem may stem from the high blood pressure medicine.^[1]

Never Skip On Your Medication!
Each of your doctors will vehemently proclaim that you must always take your medication. Yes, your medical doctors are correct—do not skip out on your medicine. Except you too want to be mindful of the effects drugs can have on the body.

Blood pressure medications can lead to two side effects: pituitary-testicular functional disorders and androgen hormone deficiencies. The former issues can lead to pain in the testicles while the latter can deplete testosterone and cause low sperm levels.

Your testicles help produce two main hormones: testosterone and DHT. Both are necessary in the production of semen. When levels dip, often due to poor diet or medication, the result can be low sperm count. Meanwhile, the pain you feel may be caused by the increase of prostaglandin E-2, an inflammatory hormone that causes hot or cold pain in the testicles.

Pain Be Gone
Here’s the catch-22: your high blood pressure medicine keeps your blood pressure stable, but the medication causes you pain and low semen production. Your solution: improve your diet. Changing your diet will help keep the blood pressure low, while exercising will ensure your heart and body remain fit. Aside from keeping a healthy diet and exercise regiment, you may want to stabilize your blood pressure with all-natural herbs that do not cause pain or low sperm count.

Reference
^1 Kawabata A., Prostaglandin E2 and pain-an update., Biol Pharm Bull. 2011;34(8):1170-3.