I never thought I'd be here but I have to ask the community.

Has anyone here had personal experience with decreased libido/sexual desire that they can trace to their pain medication? If so, have you found any ways to address or even correct the problem?

I have taken dilaudid for my regular Sickle Cell pain (crisis pain or various types of pain due to skin ulcers). In 2021, I added methadone at a lower frequency but increased coverage of the pain. Both of them worked effectively together.

Fast forward to my current situation. I was on medical leave of absence from my last job. In January, the healing was going well so the pain had dropped significantly. I started taking the dilaudid sporadically. Within a day or two of not taking dliaudid, my morning wood returned. 

Once I noticed this and continued to stay off of the dilaudid, the morning wood became a consistent thing. Clearly the pain medication was suppressing my libido. (I started taking dilaudid in 2002 and never noticed a problem before.)

The lack of libido has caused a huge rift in my marriage, understandably. I never expected this to occur and wasn't prepared for it. I thought it was caused by something else but I had no idea where to start looking.

For those who take opioids of any sort, both men & women and especially if you take more than a single type of opioid (e.g. you take 2+ pain medications for better coverage), have you found any way to restore you libido? I mean, lifestyle interventions, diet interventions, herbs or natural supplements or even medications (OTC or prescription).

What, if anything, have you found that has worked to restore you libido/sex drive?

Thank you in advance community!