Sex and Parkinson's

A national survey of seniors published in the New England
Journal of Medicine has shown that most people ages 57--85
view sexuality as an important part of their lives, and that the
frequency of sexual activity, for those who are active, declines
very little from age 50 to 70. Many men and women stay sexually
active and engage in vaginal intercourse, oral sex and masturbation
into their 70s and 80's.

Staying active sexually has been found to be important to physical and
mental health and at the same time it is a reflection of overall
health.

For Parkinson's patients past the early stages, sexually activity can
be more difficult because of PD symptoms and the side affects of PD
medications. Tiredness of the patient or spouse/partner/caregiver may take away the energy needed to initiate or complete the sexual act. Because of the on/off phenomena of dopamine medications it may be best to have sex in the morning or early afternoon.

Parkinson's disease effects the the autonomic nervous system that
sends signals to control a man's erection and his ability to get achieve and maintain it. Changing anti-parkinson's medications or doses may help this issue.

Exercise daily so energy and mobility are at their their best. Eat balanced meals, get plenty of sleep. While this may seem like the common “take 2 asprin and call me in the morning,” for Parkinson’s patients, timing can be everything.

With a doctors advice, Viagra is a common treatment for male patients.