Do You Really Need ED Medication for Erectile Dysfunction?
“Can I get ED medication for my erectile dysfunction?” It’s one of the more common requests I get from patients. Unfortunately, that answer isn’t always straightforward.
The typical scenario goes like this: A guy comes to our clinic suffering from erectile dysfunction for a number of years. It’s affecting his sex life with his spouse to the point that he has to explain to his wife that it’s not her, but that it’s him.
His confidence is shaken. Her insecurities grow. Then it becomes a vicious cycle of continued erectile dysfunction causing more and more stress in the relationship.
His solution is to find a men’s health clinic like us to get ED meds like Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra.
But, what he doesn’t realize is that there are a lot of factors that go into causing ED.
Arousal Problems
The problem is the inability to become physically aroused or excited before sexual activity. I’ll often ask a man if he has trouble getting or maintaining an erection. Depending on his answer, that helps steer the direction for the remainder of the visit.
If it’s a problem with getting an erection, there could be problems with depression, anxiety, anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medications, or low testosterone.
Other reasons might include chronic health conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
It’s important to assess for all of these conditions.
Desire Problems
If a guy is lacking sexual desire or interest in sex (we call his low libido), then this might be more of a sign of low testosterone.
Treating a man with ED medications when the problem is low testosterone isn’t really treating the problem. It’s putting a temporary patch on the problem without treating the root cause. This is just one more reason to check testosterone levels with lab work.
Orgasm Problems
A delay or absence of an orgasm/climax is certainly a problem for some men. This will literally take the joy out of sex for men.
Men will feel like they’re able to reach the point of climax, but for one reason or another, they never progress past that point.
Most often the reason is mental/emotional. Whether it be an emotional disconnect with their partner, anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication side effects, stress, or fatigue. These can all weigh on a man’s confidence and leave him feeling as less of a guy.
If this happens once or twice, it’s usually not a problem. But, if it occurs more and more often, there might be some other underlying factors we need to look at.
Erection or Intercourse Pain
This is certainly all physical. Men that have penile pain with intercourse certainly need to be evaluated:
- Peyronie’s disease – scar tissue forms inside the penis causing a painful bend when erect. Normally, most men have a slight curve in their erect penis. A slight bend in the penis that does not cause any problems is normal and nothing to worry about. However, if this does cause sex to be painful, you should consult with a urologist.
- Phimosis – for men with foreskin that is too tight, this might cause pain during intercourse.
- Priapism is a long-lasting, painful erection and can cause permanent damage to your penis if it is not treated. Some cases may need hospital treatment to drain the excess blood from the penis. This is most often caused by taking too much ED medication causing a prolonged erection.
So, as you can see, there are plenty of reasons men may have erectile dysfunction that certainly doesn’t always require ED medication.
If you suffer from Erectile Dysfunction, certainly talk to your doctor or schedule a visit with us at Redefined Health Clinic for a thorough workup.
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