[HN Gopher] Suicides among Swedish men decreased after Viagra be...
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       Suicides among Swedish men decreased after Viagra became more
       affordable
        
       Author : hheikinh
       Score  : 119 points
       Date   : 2021-10-10 18:58 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (sapienjournal.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (sapienjournal.org)
        
       | canjobear wrote:
       | Time series correlations like this have next to no evidentiary
       | value.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | mertd wrote:
         | Read the paper maybe? There is a clear regime shift in the
         | suicide data. Maybe there is some other trigger. But the
         | argument of the paper is not without merit.
         | 
         | [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8159839/
        
           | spindle wrote:
           | I don't agree with this paper's statistical analysis, and I
           | think there's probably a different trigger for the change
           | _BUT_ I came here to say that I strongly agree with you that
           | the paper has to be taken on its specific merits. It 's
           | perfectly possible to have good epidemiology based on time
           | series data.
           | 
           | (I feel like I should cite something. It's been a long time
           | since I was a professional epidemiologist and I'm way too
           | lazy to look up anything recent, but Oli Miettinen's book
           | "Theoretical Epidemiology" is an example of how some
           | epidemiologists are very clever and very careful.)
        
         | erosenbe0 wrote:
         | Right. I use the example that the number of circulating guns in
         | the USA always increases.
         | 
         | So you pick a ten year period where per-capita homicide rate
         | went up or down to 'prove' whatever correlation you want about
         | guns and homicide.
        
         | delaaxe wrote:
         | Just reading the title reminded me of
         | https://i.redd.it/4h8emlr5z3c41.jpg
        
           | mhh__ wrote:
           | Well, internet use -> computer use -> better economics +
           | indoors more often.
           | 
           | Contrived but not ridiculous
        
       | mam3 wrote:
       | How long before we see the "suicide dropped when lsd, magic
       | mushrooms and MDMA are legalised"
        
         | rc2634 wrote:
         | After we see "mental illness increased when lsd, magic
         | mushrooms and MDMA are legalized"
         | 
         | These drugs have huge potential to mess up a person's brain if
         | not taken with caution and under direct supervision of experts.
        
           | mam3 wrote:
           | You really need to abuse for a super long time some lsd to be
           | messed up. I know a wide bunch of people in the party scene
           | who absolutely abuse MDMA but they dont have more mental
           | illness than the avetage smoker
        
         | aaaaaaaaaaab wrote:
         | Well, the hangover after rolling can be pretty scary for
         | someone who's already prone to depression.
        
           | mam3 wrote:
           | Well you need to educate people for sure..
        
           | uoaei wrote:
           | Pre-load 5-HTP for a week
        
           | adflux wrote:
           | I once accidentally took about 500mg (tested). Felt depressed
           | for weeks. Everything felt wrong on my skin. It gave me an
           | understanding of what it means to be depressed. Few weeks
           | later I was fine again. But definitely a scary experience. I
           | began to hallucinate parts of conversations. Then the muscles
           | (?) In my ear started to feel really painful. Then I realised
           | I had actually taken too much
        
             | mam3 wrote:
             | 500 is way too much (even if you are from the UK lol).
             | 
             | Its 5 times the fun dose. Try doing that with some other
             | drugs and it can be life threatening..
        
             | tayo42 wrote:
             | hallucinating on mdma is wild, no one seems to mention it
             | really
        
           | ArtB wrote:
           | Yes! I wish this was known. Mine lasted a couple of days.
           | Thought I'd never feel joy again.
        
             | beebeepka wrote:
             | It's a well known problem. Finishing the night with any
             | kind of actual sex (not masturbation) greatly mitigates the
             | depression stage.
        
       | zie wrote:
       | Yet more proof men are obsessed with their genitals.
        
       | agumonkey wrote:
       | Does viagra affect the brain too or is it (as I assumed) mostly a
       | mechanical booster (more blood to your genitals) ?
        
         | Traubenfuchs wrote:
         | PDE5 inhibitors improve dementia, so they definitely do
         | something good to the brain. Truly wonderdrugs.
         | 
         | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6705107/
        
           | agumonkey wrote:
           | from a quick glance it seems PDE5 are mostly part of the
           | cardiovascular system metabolism, I was more wondering about
           | direct neurological effects.
        
         | aaaaaaaaaaab wrote:
         | It can make your vision blue: https://gizmodo.com/why-viagra-
         | tints-your-vision-blue-168517...
        
         | klyrs wrote:
         | I've heard that it can give horrendous headaches, bad enough to
         | put a fellow off the mood.
        
           | praptak wrote:
           | I guess it's the increased blood flow to the head. Same
           | reason the porn industry aren't huge fans of Viagra - it
           | tends to make the face red.
        
             | aaaaaaaaaaab wrote:
             | For most porn stars Viagra et al is useless, because you
             | still need to be "in the mood" for it to work. Most male
             | talent are so desensitized to sex, that they must resort to
             | other substances that they inject directly into the penis,
             | like Papaverine [0]. Of course that comes with its own set
             | of challenges, like the risk of prolonged erections, called
             | priapism [1], which sometimes can only be stopped by
             | surgically draining the stale blood from the penis.
             | 
             | [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaverine
             | 
             | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapism
        
               | agumonkey wrote:
               | I'm looking for research into the neurological basis of
               | arousal (not necessarily erection, which is only a small
               | part of it). If anybody knows, spam me.
        
               | faeyanpiraat wrote:
               | I might have something related which might interest you,
               | also looking for info on your topic. How can I get in
               | contact?
        
               | agumonkey wrote:
               | check my profile, it should list my mail
               | 
               | thanks already
        
               | eurasiantiger wrote:
               | Bullshit.
        
               | ianhawes wrote:
               | What a terrible day to be literate.
        
         | Flow wrote:
         | It affects blood flow by relaxing muscles that constricts blood
         | vessels. It was originally intended as a blood pressure
         | medication.
        
       | Traubenfuchs wrote:
       | Sildenafil (Viagra) is old and busted. Tadalafil (Cyalis) has a
       | longer duration of action and less side effects (17 vs 4 hours
       | half life) due to a lesser reduction of PDEs besides the targeted
       | PDE5.
       | 
       | Additionally, studies show that daily tadalafil is much better in
       | managing or even "curing" ED.
       | 
       | Want a little extra boost? Consume 6g of L-Citrullin a day. One
       | of the few proven, freely and cheaply available substances that
       | improve erections. L-Citrulline gets converted to L-Arginin and
       | is better that L-Arginin supplementation.
       | 
       | If you want to increase the half life, consume pomegranate juice.
       | 
       | Warning, L-Citrullin and PDE5 inhibitors potentiate each other.
       | 
       | Need even more arguments? Daily PDE5 inhibitors are
       | cardioprotective and cardioregenerative.
       | 
       | Studies used 5mg Tadalafil daily, I am on 20 -why not?
       | 
       | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7261690/
        
         | tzs wrote:
         | Careful with pomegranate juice if you take any prescription
         | medications. It doesn't get along with several, including some
         | popular blood pressure medicines.
        
         | PrincessJess wrote:
         | Maybe just stop jerking off so much, dude. Jesus.
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | adflux wrote:
         | 6mg? I think you mean 6g.
        
           | Traubenfuchs wrote:
           | correct
        
         | koboll wrote:
         | Yeah I'm not really sure why anyone uses Viagra when Cialis
         | exists.
         | 
         | As long as you don't have heart or blood pressure problems,
         | it's perfectly fine for healthy people to take, and even if you
         | don't have ED it elevates you to a sex god. Truly amazing
         | stuff.
        
           | kabes wrote:
           | I tried both and get headaches from both. So I'd prefer a 4h
           | headache vs a 24 hour headache
        
         | vagrantJin wrote:
         | Im not entirely at that point in my life yet but here here -
         | I'm going to be buy 10 litres of Pom juice and recording the
         | data. Hopefully recording useful data.
        
           | Traubenfuchs wrote:
           | There is only weak evidence it increases sildenafil half life
           | -I shouldn't have mentioned it.
        
         | dillondoyle wrote:
         | Does anyone have experience supplementing L-Citrulline for
         | sports performance?
         | 
         | I tried beta-alinine and I couldn't do it; made me have this
         | horrible uncomfortable pin pricking/itchy reaction for over an
         | hour each dose.
        
           | AdrianB1 wrote:
           | Are you asking about amateur or profesional sports? I
           | competed in amateur mountain bike races for a number of
           | years, but I never took any medication to improve performance
           | and I see no point in doing that. As an amateur, going to
           | competitions every couple of weeks and getting in the top
           | quarter was the purpose, not winning it; it was a strong
           | enough motivator to do sport - the atmosphere, the tracks and
           | the views in the forests were a great reward.
           | 
           | For profesional level, medics can tell what is allowed and
           | what is not. I am not a doctor, but most performance-
           | improving drugs are forbidden.
        
             | nradov wrote:
             | Citrulline isn't on the WADA prohibited substances list.
        
             | redis_mlc wrote:
             | > I never took any medication to improve performance and I
             | see no point in doing that.
             | 
             | FYI: for a small percentage of participants, the only
             | reason to compete is to win.
             | 
             | Most of the stars you've heard of (Tiger Woods and Michael
             | Jordan come to mind) simply wouldn't play if they couldn't
             | win. Tiger actually said that in an interview, and
             | Michael's coach said the need to win was the secret to his
             | success.
             | 
             | So the reasons behind PEDs are:
             | 
             | 1) to maintain competitiveness with people on them
             | 
             | 2) to ensure wins if that's the reason you're there.
        
           | Traubenfuchs wrote:
           | What kind of performance?
           | 
           | We always got our all star creatine.
           | 
           | I didn't notice any changes in workout performance from
           | tadalafil or l-citrulline and I consumed insane amounts of
           | them.
        
             | dillondoyle wrote:
             | I would assume protein synthesis from what I've read?
             | 
             | The research on creatine does seem like it's not total BS
             | in some specific cases. For instance I'm pescatarian and it
             | seems like that I might get an actual benefit with lower
             | non-meat creatinine. At first I definitely felt what was
             | probably psychosomatic but I can't tell if it's helping
             | still.
        
             | Scarbutt wrote:
             | Doesn't tadalafil affect your sleep? Also, it doesn't feel
             | nice if you take it and seat in front of the computer for
             | four hours doing focus stuff.
        
           | fierro wrote:
           | I use it for bodybuilding. Helps with the pump. It's in a lot
           | of pre-workouts.
        
             | dillondoyle wrote:
             | 'the pump' would be valuable to me if that means reducing
             | lactic acid or enabling you to push further (I'm a
             | climber)!
        
         | faeyanpiraat wrote:
         | Do you happen to know any drug or supplement which helps
         | Preventing an erection?
         | 
         | (Serious question)
        
           | Redoubts wrote:
           | HRT
        
           | the_lonely_road wrote:
           | Not exactly what you are looking for but maybe it will help
           | you anyway, assuming you are trying to prevent erections
           | literally and not sexual desire. Grip your thigh muscles
           | together as tight as you can, like you are trying to squeeze
           | an imaginary grape centered at the middle of each thigh and
           | hold the grip for a minute. Wording it a different way make
           | sure you are flexing the thigh muscles as hard as you can.
           | 
           | For some reason I have no explanation for , this does wonders
           | to almost immediately eliminate unwanted erections. I'm an
           | old man with chronic prostatitis and tons of urine related
           | issues including frequent unwanted erections with no
           | connection to arousal and have never had the gumption to talk
           | about this with anyone else im real life so it may not work
           | for everyone. Good luck to you either way.
        
           | Traubenfuchs wrote:
           | So many come to mind, I could write a whole article about it.
           | 
           | None of them have an acceptable side effect profile, many of
           | them can potentially cause persistent inability to have sex
           | to the point where not even megadoses of pde5 inhibitors
           | help.
           | 
           | I strongly advise against ever taking SSRI or 5ari for this
           | purpose. They are now known to cause persistent ED in
           | susceptible individuals.
        
           | throwaway902109 wrote:
           | If your issue is Sleep Related Painful Erections (SRPE), then
           | Baclofen works well.
        
           | adventured wrote:
           | Drugs that lower testosterone will typically accomplish that
           | outcome. Men that go through prostate cancer treatment for
           | example will often have erectile dysfunction (due to hormone
           | therapy targeting testosterone - androgen deprivation
           | therapy).
        
             | Traubenfuchs wrote:
             | Pretty much every drug that lowers your T or DHT to the
             | point where you can't get an erection anymore can
             | permanently ruin your (sex) life.
        
           | jnwatson wrote:
           | SSRIs tend to reduce libido. That's not exactly the same
           | thing, but they are connected.
        
           | AdrianB1 wrote:
           | There is a widely circulated rumor that in the Romanian army
           | they used to put a small quantity of bromide (sodium or
           | potassium? don't know) in the evening tea; it is not supposed
           | to prevent an erection, but total lack of sexual desire. This
           | was 30-40 years ago, I was not able to find any official
           | documents related to that, but any men over 50 years old is
           | telling that story.
        
             | orbital-decay wrote:
             | This legend circulated across the entire Eastern Bloc in
             | general, and possibly beyond it. It's not based on
             | anything.
        
           | Trias11 wrote:
           | Great way to get PM's from girls :)
        
       | boopmaster wrote:
       | I took wellbutrin for depression once, and I tolerated that for
       | less than two weeks. Can confirm: no release valve = even worse
       | depression.
        
         | zdragnar wrote:
         | Most antidepressants really do take several weeks (4-6) to
         | "work". I use quotes there because we don't really understand
         | how or why they work, and there is more to alleviating
         | depression than taking a pill. Cognitive behavioral therapy,
         | developing a healthy routine, and alleviating environmental
         | stressors are also important.
         | 
         | That said, I do so much better with all of that plus lexapro
         | that I dont know if I'll ever stop taking it.
        
       | manux wrote:
       | A more nuanced take on this:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21NxJS_zYDY
        
       | DantesKite wrote:
       | The CIA used it to bribe tribal leaders in Afghanistan too.
        
       | abdel_nasser wrote:
       | and divorce rates skyrocketed right before a swedish divorce
       | reform of some kind went through which made it less financially
       | beneficial for women to initiate the divorce. and this surge of
       | divorces was, as always, almost all women initiating.
        
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       (page generated 2021-10-10 23:01 UTC)