Re:Priapism

Here are some replies to your question from Sexnet, a list of sexologists to which I belong.

Priapism--like erection that precedes but does not cede--is a complex physiological (or patho...) that is in fact far too complex for our poor psyches to induce. Its causes are legion--but most commonly are idiopathic or iatrogenic (self-injection of prostaglandin E formats), hemodynamic or neurological, with drug-induced and illness-induced priapism fitting into those categories (ie, decreased serum viscosity, leukemias and lymphomas, spinal cord lesions--all rather dramatic and usually not detectable, so that most cases are idiopathic).

It is, of course, a surgical emergency--although sometimes a rather rigid procedure can do the trick (or undo it, as the case may be). Trazodone leading to priapism in an elderly man--and one with arterial disease--would be extraordinarily unlikely. On the other hand, Trazodone or Viagra or other erection-enhancers in a cocktail format could be a cause. Or a combo of alpha adrenergic blockade, a few emboli (highly unlikely), and a lot of bad luck.

Coumadin ought to help prevent it, if any effect exists at all.
--William G. Reiner, M.D.

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A comprehensive review of Priapism is to be found in
Lundberg PO. Priapism Scand J Sexol 2000;3:13-24.
I do not know what Cumadin is, but it sounds like dicoumarol. If it is so there may be a connexion. Trombolytic agents are known to give priapism. However, it may also be the disorders that was the reason why the drug was prescribed.
--P . O. Lundberg, MD, Ph D

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Coumadin's generic name is Warfarin.
--Jack Drescher, MD

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The WHO database on Adverse Drugs Reactions contains a couple of reports on priapism in patients taking warfarin. The mechanism is not known.
--P . O. Lundberg, MD, Ph D

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Maybe it's when they FORGET to take the drug that they experience priapism. Wafarin (Coumadin) is an anti clotting agent.
--Carol Hegstrom

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