Furious Seasons

June 09, 2009

Seroquel Gives Man 55-Hour Erection

So reports the New York Post in an article on a former prison inmate named Dawud Yaduallah who had his daily Seroquel dose upped by 25 percent while in jail in New York State (the article doesn't say why he was taking Seroquel). He soon developed what is described as a painful erection, went to see a jail nurse for help, was ignored (one has to wonder why), and had an erection for a reported 55 hours before being taken to a hospital.

Yaduallah, who's out of jail now, has permanent damage to his penis and is suing the nurse for cruel treatment.

This side effect of Seroquel was unknown to me--I thought I'd heard them all--and is not listed in the drug's PI, but according to Drugs.com:

"Seroquel may rarely cause a prolonged, painful erection. This could happen even when you are not having sex. If this is not treated right away, it could lead to permanent sexual problems, such as impotence. Contact your doctor right away if this happens."

Geez. And doctors are giving this drug to little boys?

Posted by Philip Dawdy at June 9, 2009 12:01 AM

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Comments

It's called priapism, and while rare, is a known side effect of several medications. One for example, is Trazadone (Desyrel).

It's very unfortunate, but there is no such thing as risk free drugs. It's always a matter for a doctor to balance the benefits versus the risks.

Posted by: David Smallwood at June 9, 2009 03:24 AM

Prison priaprism at the Morningwood correctional facility.

Posted by: Dan at June 9, 2009 05:28 AM

That sounds positively awful. Man, I never cease to be amazed at the different ways in which these drugs can mess you up. And the many ways in which medical professionals are totally oblivious.

Posted by: Sara at June 9, 2009 08:20 AM

Re: "And the many ways in which medical professionals are totally oblivious".

Its funny (not really) how ignorance can’t get you out of a traffic ticket but it can sure get a doctor out of responsibility. I don’t even buy it anymore. If a doctor has been in the practice of prescribing these meds for a few years, they’ve seen the traffic signs.

Re:"It's always a matter for a doctor to balance the benefits versus the risks".

I bet most doctor's would weigh those benefits and risks A LOT more carefully if they were treating their own children.

Posted by: Damaged at June 9, 2009 01:35 PM

I guess we will have many surprises on the way.
SSRIs can be used to treat sexual deviant behaviour?
According to this hipothesis:

"In recent years SSRIs have been used to reduce sex offenders' deviant sexual thoughts and fantasies. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, plays a role in regulating sexual drive, depression, obsessions, compulsions, anxiety, impulsiveness and anger. SSRIs are antidepressants that are also approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety. Although double-bind placebo controlled trials are needed, studies using self-report measures or PPG have found that these medications do reduce some repetitive sexually deviant fantasies..."

more:
http://justana-justana.blogspot.com/2008/10/ssris-to-treat-deviant-sexual-behavior.html

It's amazing!
People at SSRI-sex group are reporting that they lost their ability to have sexual fantasies after years off the drug.
Nobody seems to care about this side effect.

Side effects are being used as treatments?

Wow!
The more I read the more confused it gets.

Posted by: Ana at June 9, 2009 01:58 PM

Ana said: "Side effects are being used as treatments?"

Viagra is such an example.

I remember a few emails: UK-blahblah Oral Treatment for Male Erectile Dysfunction

Endless laffs and puns ensued. All I could think was is there a drug involved here?

Posted by: Paul at June 9, 2009 07:02 PM