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Dear listmembers, The topic sex and parkinson meds is in the picture as long as sinemet is used. I have read about it on the list and talked about it with a few people. It can not be denied that dopamine increases libido though probably only for a minority of Park patients. This is the same in man and woman. It is in accordance whith other things we know about hormones, neurotransmitters and libido. Libido is dependent on the level of testosterone in women as well as in men. So testosterone is not an exclusively male hormone. Next to that sexual functioning needs activity of the parasympathetic system. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter for this system. So it is to be expected that Parkinsons disease itself diminishes sexual functioning and sinemet may have an increasing effect The question is why so few PWPs report an increase in libido. Activity of the parasympathetic system is mutual exclusive with activity of the sympathic system, which rules things as the fight -flight reaction. So if anxiety or anger are activated sexual feeling diminishes. Sexual arousal is also dependent on external stimuli. So it is not only if a person is afraid or angry, but too if he closes himself for sexual stimuli, that the does not feel libido at all and therefore no increase too. An other reason might be that people are too embarrassed by their sexual feelings to report it. Of course I cant be sure, but my impression is that some people simply dont have the libido stimulating reaction on sinemet. The aphrodisiac effect of sinemet (and of some agonists too as was reported) is not always a gift Especially not because the motor disturbances may spoil all pleasure. For me the dyskinesia has often done this mean trick. I have worked as a psychotherapist in an outpatient setting from 1972 til 1984 Next to treating patiens I did intakes. In this setting I did not frequently see people for whom sexual problems were the first reason to ask for help, but frequent enough to see a change. During my first years people whose main problem was sexual used to have this problems many years. Their reason for asking help now was often that they wanted a child . During my last professional years in the eighties, people asking this help were much younger and often not yet married. So I saw the blessing of the diminished taboo. But nevertheless, thinking about the reaction of Dennis Green , I do sympathise with him too. To protect ones own privacy and that of ones spouse is a sound thing to do. What belongs to ones own private psychological territorium, one can only decide for oneself. We must keep in mind that the clearing away of taboos can lead to the same tyranny as the upholding of taboos. Ida Kamphuis, 53/12+ , Holland [log in to unmask]