Flomax Sexual Side Effects

During clinical trials that studied Flomax sexual side effects, there was one reported sexual side effect: abnormal ejaculation. This problem can include decreased amounts of ejaculate, inability to ejaculate, or retrograde ejaculation. This side effect occurred in up to 18.1 percent of men who took a high dose of Flomax (0.8 mg daily). For those who were taking the lower dose of 0.4 mg daily, abnormal ejaculation occurred in up to 8.4 percent of men.

 

An Overview of Flomax Sexual Side Effects

Flomax® (tamsulosin hydrochloride) is a prescription medication that is used for the treatment of an enlarged prostate. As with all medicines, Flomax has possible side effects. Some of these side effects can affect a person's sexual well-being. In the case of Flomax, there has been one sexual side effect (abnormal ejaculation) that was reported in clinical trials.
 

What Is Abnormal Ejaculation?

Abnormal ejaculation is a term used to describe several problems with ejaculation. These problems can include:
 
  • Not being able to ejaculate

 

  • Decreased amounts of ejaculate

 

  • Retrograde ejaculation -- ejaculate enters the bladder instead of leaving the body through the penis. This problem is usually painless and harmless. Men with this problem may notice cloudy urine after sexual intercourse.
     

How Common Are Ejaculation Problems With Flomax?

Before medicines are approved, they must go through several clinical studies where thousands of people are given a particular medicine and are then compared to a group of people not given the medicine. In these studies, the side effects are always documented. As a result, it is possible to see which side effects occur, how often they appear, and how they compare to the group not taking the medicine. Side effects are then usually separated into those side effects that occur in more than 1 percent of people and those that occur in less than 1 percent of people.
 
For Flomax, the sexual side effect of abnormal ejaculation occurred in up to 18.1 percent of men who took the higher dose of Flomax (0.8 mg daily). For men who took the lower dose (Flomax 0.4 mg daily), 8.4 percent of men experienced abnormal ejaculation. Up to 1.6 percent of men stopped taking Flomax due to this side effect.
 
(Flomax Sexual Side Effects Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;