Can Opioids Cause Performance problems? The opioid crisis continues to be a hot button issue in the news, as the United States and other countries grapple with how to make this pain killer available for responsible medical use while at the same time limiting its availability for misuse and abuse. There have been numerous articles about the problem of abusing opioids in general – but too few men may be aware of the fact that opioid misuse could potentially lead to male performance problems. While the opioids issue is bigger than this one concern, it’s worthwhile for men to know more about this potential impact on their intimate lives. What are opioids? People are talking about opioids and the opioid crisis, but what exactly are opioids? Basically, opioids are a kind of narcotic pain reliever that are intended to be used when mild pain relievers don’t get the job done. They work by reducing the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Opioids are not available over the counter and require a prescription. Some of the more commonly-known opioids are codeine (often found in prescription cough medicines), morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone and hydrocodone. Further, opioids are often classified in two categories – short-acting and long-acting. Short-acting opioids are intended to provide relief for six hour or less; they release their medication more quickly. Long-acting is intended to last at least hours, and the medication is released more quickly. Reproductive effects Many animal studies have noted that opioid use has the potential to create reproductive problems in both male and female test animals. Some studies in humans have also noted this problem. One 2017 study looked at other studies which had focused on men who had undergone opioid therapy and men who had not. By combining the data from these studies, the authors found that men who had used opioids were www.man1health.com