What to Do About Erectile Dysfunction

 

What to Do About Erectile Dysfunction
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What to do About Erectile Dysfunction

The advent of safe, easy-to-use pills to treat erectile dysfunction (formerly known as male impotence) heralded a trend that's been dubbed a second sexual revolution, the first being the advent of birth control pills. Both medications fostered major changes in sexual behavior and the ways in which people think and talk about sexuality. But oral medications to treat erectile dysfunction are just part of the story. Lifestyle changes, such as losing weight and stopping smoking, can also help. Medications aren't effective for everyone. Luckily, several non-drug treatments are available as well. This report offers a comprehensive review of the many causes of erectile dysfunction and the most effective male impotence treatment options. It also includes information on sex therapy and involving your partner in treatment, as well as a special section on "Creating a better sex life."

Prepared by the editors of the Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Michael Philip O'Leary, M.D., Senior Surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. 38 pages. (2009)

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Contents

  • Understanding erectile dysfunction
    • What is erectile dysfunction?
    • What causes erectile dysfunction?
    • How common is erectile dysfunction?
  • How an erection occurs
  • Causes of erectile dysfunction
    • Vascular disease
    • Neurological problems
    • Metabolic syndrome
    • Diabetes
    • Prostate cancer
    • Benign prostatic hyperplasia
    • Medications
    • Hormonal disorders
    • Psychological factors
    • Weight control and exercise
    • Smoking
    • Alcohol and substance abuse
    • Other culprits
  • Diagnosing erectile dysfunction
    • Providing your medical history
    • The physical exam
    • Tests
  • A questionnaire to evaluate erectile dysfunction
  • Treating erectile dysfunction
    • Including your partner
    • Counseling
    • The PDE5 inhibitors: Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis
    • Injections
    • MUSE therapy
    • Yohimbine (Yocon)
    • Devices to help achieve or maintain an erection
    • Vascular surgery
    • Surgery for Peyronie's disease
    • Hormone therapy
    • Surgical implants
  • Creating a better sex life
  • Resources
  • Glossary

Excerpt

Little more than a decade ago, people rarely discussed erectile dysfunction (ED) openly. Widely known as impotence, the condition was more often invoked as a rueful punch line than viewed as a problem affecting millions of men and their partners. While treatments existed, practically none was simple to use and discreet.

This changed forever in 1998 when the "little blue pill" called sildenafil (Viagra) reached the market, ushering the issue out of the bedroom closet and into the doctor's office. Viagra was safe, effective, and easy to use -- so much so, physicians have written more than 230 million prescriptions for it worldwide. In 2003, the choices for treatment expanded when the FDA approved two chemical cousins of Viagra, the medications vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis). Now Cialis even comes as a daily pill, erasing time restrictions built into conventional ED medications.

Today, it's virtually impossible to turn on the TV or flip through a magazine without seeing ads extolling new potency and pleasures reaped by couples using one of these drugs. Undoubtedly, this welcome new openness has added joy to many lives. What's more, recent research on ED may benefit men in other ways by spotlighting closely related health issues. For example, increasing evidence indicates erections, which rely on robust blood vessels, serve as a barometer for overall cardiovascular health. Through other studies, we're learning more about the roles of hormones and the natural progress and remission of erectile dysfunction in men at different ages.

There's more good news. Simple steps that greatly improve all-around health may ease, or even reverse, some cases of erectile dysfunction. Better sex and better health? Truly a duo that's hard to beat. When neither these steps nor the widely available ED drugs aren't sufficient, a number of other options described in this Special Health Report may fill the bill.

It's true that ED is a troubling issue, one that saps self-esteem and steals joy from life. But it's also true that the odds of finding a solution that works for you are greater than ever.