Does gabapentin cause erectile dysfunction? It is a reported side effect, but an uncommon one. The Australian prescribing information for gabapentin (Neurontin) records impotence in 1.5% of people who took it in the epilepsy trials, against 1.1% of those on a placebo, and lists sexual problems — changes in sex drive, ejaculation and orgasm — among reports since it went on sale. The leaflet in the pack does not mention them, so if your erections change on gabapentin, tell your doctor rather than stopping it.
What do the Australian labels say about gabapentin and erections?
The two documents differ. The consumer medicine information, prepared in September 2026, lists dizziness, drowsiness, headache and tiredness among the common side effects, and nothing about erections or sex (Neurontin CMI). The product information for prescribers, revised on 17 September 2026, has more. In the placebo-controlled epilepsy trials, where gabapentin or a placebo was added to other epilepsy medicines, impotence was reported by 1.5% of the 543 people on gabapentin and 1.1% of the 378 on placebo. In the nerve-pain trials (821 adults with diabetic nerve pain or pain after shingles) it is not among the effects reported by 1% or more. Since gabapentin went on sale, "sexual dysfunction (including changes in libido, ejaculation disorders and anorgasmia)" has been reported, though "the data are insufficient to support an estimate of their incidence or to establish causation" (Neurontin product information).
Can gabapentin lower your sex drive?
It has been reported: changes in libido are among the sexual problems reported since gabapentin went on sale, with no figure for how often (Neurontin product information). A lower sex drive is a different problem from erectile dysfunction, which healthdirect defines as difficulty getting or keeping an erection, and which "does not include problems with" ejaculation, fertility or sex drive (healthdirect). Either is worth raising with your doctor.
Could the reason be the condition rather than the tablet?
It may be. Gabapentin is used for epilepsy and for "neuropathic pain, a type of pain caused by damage to the nerves" (Neurontin CMI), and nerve damage is itself a cause of erection problems: Australian Prescriber lists "spinal cord and peripheral nerve disorders (diabetic neuropathy)" among the risk factors, alongside diabetes and the anticonvulsant medicines, the group gabapentin belongs to (Australian Prescriber). The leaflet makes the same point about side effects in general: "It can be difficult to tell whether side effects are the result of taking NEURONTIN; of your condition; or side effects of other medicines you may be taking" (Neurontin CMI). A pinched nerve in the back is asked about separately: can sciatic nerve pinching cause erectile dysfunction?
What should you do if your erections change on gabapentin?
Tell the doctor who prescribes it, and keep taking it until they say otherwise. The leaflet is firm: "Do not stop taking NEURONTIN, or lower the dose, without checking with your doctor." Stopping suddenly "may worsen your condition" or bring on withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, difficulty sleeping, nausea and sweating, and coming off it "may take a period of weeks or even months" (Neurontin CMI). What a GP looks at is the timeline between starting a medicine and the start of the problem (Australian Prescriber). Erection problems are also often the first sign of cardiovascular disease, diabetes or high blood pressure, so they are worth a check in their own right (healthdirect).
Can you take Viagra or Cialis with gabapentin?
Neither label names the other: gabapentin is not on the Viagra leaflet's list of medicines that interact, and sildenafil is not on the gabapentin leaflet's (Viagra CMI; Neurontin CMI). The side effect they share is dizziness — common with gabapentin, and dizziness or fainting is among the rarer side effects of ED medicines (healthdirect — ED medicines) — and combining gabapentin with alcohol "can make you more sleepy, dizzy or light-headed" (Neurontin CMI). ED medicines need a prescription in Australia, so tell the doctor who prescribes one that you take gabapentin; the combination that is never allowed is an ED medicine with nitrates, the medicines for angina (healthdirect — ED medicines). If you take gabapentin for epilepsy, see can people with epilepsy safely take Viagra or Cialis?
The short answer
Erection problems are a reported side effect of gabapentin, but an uncommon one — 1.5% on gabapentin against 1.1% on placebo in the epilepsy trials — and changes in sex drive, ejaculation and orgasm have been reported since. The nerve damage it is often prescribed for can cause erection problems too. Talk to your doctor before changing anything. Other medicines are covered in our guide to which medicines and conditions can cause erectile dysfunction, among them can Zoloft or sertraline cause permanent erectile dysfunction? and does Wellbutrin (bupropion) cause or treat ED?
