Impotency Seek Help or Suffer In Silence
IMPOTENCE, ALSO KNOWN AS ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION is a consistent inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse. Medical professionals often use the term “erectile dysfunction” to describe this disorder and to differentiate it from other problems that interfere with sexual intercourse, such as lack of sexual desire and problems with ejaculation and orgasm.
Why does ED occur?
ED is very common, and it occurs for a variety of reasons and at different ages.
Teenagers and young men. The most frequent cause is anxiety, especially when they’re nervous about having sex, about causing a pregnancy, or about using a condom. A lot of men in this age group complain that they ‘can’t get on with a condom’ because as soon as they try to put it on, they lose their ‘stiffy’.
Middle age. Common causes in this age group are overwork, stress, guilt and bereavement. ED often happens when a widowed man tries to form a new sexual relationship. A few cases are due to diabetes.
Post-middle age. ED gets more common with increasing age. In a very high proportion of cases, the problem is due to deterioration in the blood vessels that carry blood into the penis. Research being carried out in 2007 suggests that in addition there may often be deterioration in the arteries of the brain or the heart. Therefore older men with ED should take care to protect themselves against strokes and heart attacks — for example by keeping their blood pressure and cholesterol down.
What should I do if I’m having potency problems?
If you have difficulty getting an erection, seek help. Don’t suffer in silence.
Consult your GP. If for any reason you don’t want to do that, then contact another medical/relationships agency. If you go to a doctor, he should take a full history of your problem, and then examine you to see if there are any physical causes for your ED. A therapist or counsellor isn’t able to do physical examinations, nor can they prescribe drugs. The doctor should also do a test for diabetes and possibly other lab tests as well. After that, he may well be able to give you some indication of the likely cause of your ED. If he can’t, then ask if can refer you to someone who can give you further help.
Talk to your partner about it. A lot of guys behave like this, and very often the result is that the other person decides that she is being scorned, or that ‘he doesn’t love me any more’.