Sex and sexuality

Could epilepsy have had an effect on me during puberty?

Having epilepsy doesn’t usually affect puberty (when your body changed from a boy to a man). However, if you had epilepsy as a child, there’s a chance you went through puberty later than other boys of the same age. There’s more chance of this if you took more than one type of anti-epileptic drug (AED). If you took AEDs from a very young age, you might not have grown quite as tall as men who don’t have epilepsy.

Will I have seizures when I’m having sex?

It’s not unusual to worry about this. The fact is, you’re no more likely to have a seizure during sex than at any other time.

Will epilepsy make me lose interest in sex?

Your epilepsy may not have any effect whatsoever on your sex drive. Or, you might be less interested in sex than some other men. One reason for this is that some men with epilepsy have lower testosterone levels than men who don’t have epilepsy (see next question). Testosterone contributes to your sex drive, so the lower your testosterone levels, the lower your sex drive.

A low sex drive can happen to anyone, not just men with epilepsy. Some men don’t find this a problem and are happy with things as they are. If you’re concerned that you lack interest in sex, speak to your family doctor. They can look for ways to help or refer you to see an epilepsy specialist. The specialist can see if they can make any changes to your anti-epileptic drugs, to see if that can help.

How can having epilepsy affect my testosterone levels?

Epileptic activity in your brain may reduce the levels of the hormone testosterone in your body, particularly if you have temporal lobe epilepsy.

Some anti-epileptic drugs, including phenytoin, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, phenobarbital, primdone and topiramate, may also play a role in lowering your testosterone levels. These drugs make your liver work harder than usual which, in turn, reduces the amount of testosterone that’s available to circulate in your body.

Can epilepsy cause impotence?

At some point in their life, most men experience impotence (difficulty getting and keeping an erection). There are many reasons for this, including stress, tiredness, illness or alcohol.

Sometimes, low testosterone levels (see question above) can make it more difficult to get an erection. And, some anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) can increase the risk of impotence. These include carbamazepine, clobazam, clonazepam, gabapentin, phenobarbital, pregabalin and primidone.

If you experience impotence, speak to your family doctor. For most men, a treatment can be found, which might include counselling or taking medication. If your family doctor thinks impotence might be connected to your epilepsy or AEDs, they’ll usually refer you to see an epilepsy specialist. They may try changing your AEDs, to see if that can help.

November 2008

More in this section:

• Introduction
• What is epilepsy?  
• Living with epilepsy
• Treatment
• Visiting your doctor
• Sex and sexuality
• Becoming a father
• SUDEP
• Support