What Treatment Is Available For Erectile Dysfunction?
During the time he had erectile dysfunction, a friend told me he and his girl decided they could get round the problem by spending a lot of time giving her oral sex so that she had plenty of orgasms.
In return she was happy to stimulate his penis with her mouth, which was very pleasurable even though he wasn’t erect – though it’s not the same as fellatio on an erect penis to orgasm, obviously, as my mate pointed out!
It is actually possible to reach orgasm with enough stimulation to the flaccid penis – and the sensations are pretty good! But….and it’s a big but….this is nothing like intercourse. And after a while, he said, it became all too clear that what she really wanted was intercourse with him inside her. And he had erectile dysfunction. Oh dear.
Now I know that women regard sex as a very obvious statement of love. I’m not saying that sex can’t just be fun – it obviously can – buy I think as men we often forget how much sex can mean to a woman. In terms of love, that is. You see, from the days when little girls start playing at princesses, the underlying drive is to learn how to make a man fall in love with you. And of course the physical expression of that is making love, sexual intercourse. So where does that leave a woman if a man is impotent? Feeling unloved, I suspect. After all, the keystone of loving relationships between men and women is that sense of love, expressed physically.
Which is is no doubt why my friend’s erectile dysfunction caused him to feel both anxious and depressed, like a failure…. feelings that will be familiar to most men with erectile dysfunction. It’s just possible that if you don’t treat your erectile dysfunction your partner may seek sexual satisfaction with someone else. But if you and your partner don’t mind your erectile dysfunction, and you don’t think it’s affecting your relationship, then please don’t feel that you need to do anything about it!
In the much more likely event that you want to cure your erectile dysfunction, it, so you can enjoy a normal sex life again, the starting point for treatment should be a visit to your doctor who can assess you for any organic, physical causes such as hyperlipidemia, diabetes, or high blood pressure. The next step will be to engage in a course of self-help treatment (assuming you don’t want to see a professional sex therapist). For example, self help for erectile dysfunction.
In fact the treatment on this website consists of a series of enjoyable exercises which you will do with your partner, a relaxation program to relax you when you have sex and reduce your anxiety, and a series of techniques which will allow you to keep an erection once you have one, so that you need have no fear of losing it during sex. In addition, you may like to try Viagra, provided that your doctor has prescribed it and regards it as a useful adjunct to your treatment.
General notes about erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is very common. And hardly anything could be more troubling for a man than losing his erection, his ability to penetrate a woman in the act of lovemaking.
The loss of erection means he feels emasculated, much less of man, not able to show his potency – which naturally affects his partner as well, who may wonder if it is her lack of attractiveness which is putting him off sex. (And who will be frustrated by the lack of sex.) Many cases of erectile dysfunction are due to emotional or psychological stress such as depression, anxiety, or relationship troubles. The penis is a good indicator of what is going on in a man’s mind, and if it flops unexpectedly, there could well be some significance to that fact.
How is erectile dysfunction treated?
Most doctors would like to see a combination of treatment approaches – lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, losing the excess pounds, and increasing one’s level of physical activity may be enough for a man to get his erection back. Of course, reducing any prescription or non-prescription drugs that may have a role in erectile dysfunction is necessary.
Psychotherapy
A good approach to the treatment of erectile dysfunction which lies in psychological effects is to use any psychotherapy technique which reduces anxiety around sex, relationships or intimacy. A man’s partner can help with the treatment techniques of sensate focus, which involve gradually increasing levels of intimacy and sexual stimulation. These approaches are also useful when anxiety that arises from physically based erectile dysfunction is being treated.
Drug Therapy
Viagra (sildenafil), Levitra (vardenafil hydrochloride) and Cialis (tadalafil) have all been approved for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. They belong to a group of drugs called phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors, which work by enhancing the effects of nitric oxide (the chemical that relaxes smooth muscles in the erectile mechanism of the penis), or rather preventing its breakdown, thereby allowing it to continue its effect of increasing blood flow.
The advised amount of Viagra as a starting dose is 50 mg, though 25 mg or 100 mg may be required. Levitra and Cialis start at 10 mg, and the doctor may adjust this dose to 20 mg or 5 mg as required.
None of these phosphodiesterase inhibitors is to be taken more than once a day and nitrate-based drugs such as nitroglycerin for heart problems can be seriously affected by them. Also, combining a phosphodiesterase inhibitor with an alpha-blocker may result in a drop in blood pressure.
Testosterone can effectively reduce erectile dysfunction in a large number of men with lowered levels of their own testosterone, and men have claimed that other oral drugs such as yohimbine hydrochloride, or the more esoteric dopamine and serotonin agonists are effective, but scientific evidence is lacking.
Vacuum Devices
Mechanical vacuum pumps induce an erection by producing a partial vacuum, the effect of which is to help suck blood into the penis, so it engorges and expands. These are not penis enlargement pumps, they are medical devices which include an elastic band, which, when fastened around the base of the penis, will ensure the erection is maintained when cylinder is removed, so that a man and his partner will be able to have sexual intercourse.
Alternatively, a stiff rubber sheath may be placed on the penis before it becomes erect and if left in place can help to enable penetration and intercourse.
Erectile dysfunction must be given full care by both the patient and his doctor, because it may be a sign of high cholesterol or diabetes. When a man has erectile dysfunction caused by high cholesterol, he is at considerable risk of a heart attack within two or three years.
This raises the question of treatment: how is erectile dysfunction best treated? The ideal way of approaching treatment is for a man with a loving partner to start by improving his physical health, eating a more balanced diet, taking more exercise and having all the test for low testosterone; then, for the man and his partner to work together on the exercises which will specifically address his erectile dysfunction.
You may want to consider Viagra if you are under the care and supervision of primary care physician. Viagra has very much short-circuited the treatments for erection problems, and this is especially true in the physical cases, where the cause is organic (i.e. in the body) in origin.
While Viagra may not be a complete cure, it can be a great asset in overcoming the problem – even for men whose problems are psychosomatic (e.g. in cases of performance anxiety, Viagra can help overcome this anxiety by providing a confidence boost).