woman and man in bed

Cocaine's Effect on Sexual Stamina

By

Sober Recovery Expert Author

woman and man in bed

Cocaine is a dangerous drug that can affect just about every area of the body, including sexual stamina. Cocaine users usually take the drug because of the extreme high they briefly experience, but they come crashing down and feel pretty miserable once it wears off.

Some users also use cocaine because of its known effect as an aphrodisiac, significantly increasing sexual drive. In the long run, however, cocaine can actually negatively affect an individual's sexuality.

You might have heard that cocaine enhances sexual experiences, but the truth is that cocaine can really be a downer when it comes to sex and other areas of life.

When someone uses cocaine, the drug immediately affects the person’s heart, brain and emotions. Whether it is snorted through the nose or smoked in crack cocaine form, it makes its way straight to the brain and delivers an euphoric yet dangerous rush within seconds throughout the body.

Let’s take a closer look at exactly what goes on.

The Brain

When cocaine enters the brain, it acts as a central nervous system stimulant that boosts dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter responsible for the sensation of pleasure. This dramatic dopamine hike can make the user feel high and cause the user to want to increase doses and frequency of cocaine use, thus leading to addiction. The increase in brain activity can also trigger strokes and bizarre behavior.

The Heart

As the drug’s effects spread throughout the body, the heart’s arteries constrict, causing a heart rate and blood pressure increase — a potential recipe for a heart attack. It can also cause a dangerously abnormal heart rhythm referred to as arrhythmia.

The Lungs and Respiratory System

Smoking cocaine causes a number of lung and breathing complications. For example, the technique of inhaling and holding one’s breath to maximize the amount of cocaine absorbed can result in a collapsed lung. The residue from using pipes heated with butane lighters or matches can also cause chronic bronchitis and non-bloody, black phlegm. At the same time, snorting cocaine can cause various problems in the nose and sinus cavity, such as nose bleeds, perforated septum and loss of smell.

Sexual Function

Many people think that using cocaine will give them a sexual supercharge as it creates euphoria and a surge in both energy and sensory awareness. While it may get a user revved initially, this initial rush wears off and tends to have negative consequences in both male and female sexual function. For men, this can include a loss of sexual desire, erectile dysfunction and priapism, which is a persistent and painful erection that needs to be treated with medical attention. It also lowers testosterone levels, causing a decrease in sperm count and motility. In women, however, this lack of sex drive and possibly inhibited orgasm becomes a multifactor problem that takes a toll on emotional intimacy, relationship satisfaction and other aspects of relationships.

The combination of drugs and sex usually never has positive outcomes. With all things considered, using cocaine does not actually help sexual stamina. It may perhaps excite and stimulate the user in the beginning, but in the long run can actually make the user unable to finish what they started—whether through difficulty reaching orgasm, impotence or perhaps other deadlier side effects to the body’s systems.

If you or someone you know is seeking help from addiction, please visit our directory of treatment centers or call 800-772-8219 to speak to a treatment specialist.

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