Erectile Dysfunction: What It Is and How to Treat It Successfully.

Erectile Dysfunction:

ED facts.

However, it is impossible to start talking about ED without mentioning the widely known blue pill at least once. Exactly Viagra has become the medication due to which most people have become aware of erectile dysfunction as a common medical condition rather than just a delicate problem. During more than 15 years that the medication has been on the market all men affected have finally accepted the fact that they can and should talk about their problem more openly; at least with their physicians. And not only talk but look for ways, options and methods that can help. As a result, the condition has become more discussed than ever before. This is certainly a step forward because the more the issue is being talked about, the quicker and in a more effective way it can be solved. That's why we present a precise set of ED facts and features that we've tried to explain to everybody indifferent and affected.

What Is Erectile Dysfunction?

Even without a definition that explains the condition it is clear that an inability to function well when it comes to getting an erection is being implied. This means that when a sexually aroused man should be firm enough, which usually occurs at rather personal moments, an erection cannot be either achieved or sustained. Here we are not talking about a failure or two experienced occasionally, but about a problem persistently coming up again and again during weeks and even months. Disappointment like this redoubled with a terrible thought screaming ''impotence'' (the word is though used but considered pejorative) hinders clear thinking. And you do not know whether you are being under a heavy burden of ongoing stress and as a result the problem with erection stays unsolved in your brain or… Or there is some underlying condition that might have probably caused that inability of getting an erection required for penetration in particular and completing an intercourse on the whole. You understand that something has gone wrong. And that is where you start thinking about a way out, where your very first thought will be that about medications intake.

What Causes Erectile Dysfunction?

Sexual arousal in men is a complex process where the brain, emotions, nerves, hormones, muscles and vessels are equally involved. Interference with either of these or a combination of several may cause the problem that we know as ED. In terms of specific factors these are subdivided into psychological and physiological. Except for diseases the latter category also includes bad habits commonly referred to as an unhealthy lifestyle and side effects of the medications taken. On the whole, causes that may affect your erectile function are rather numerous. The most common, however, are the following:

1. Psychological causes:

Stress connected with emotional problems, financial issues or work on the whole.

Relationship problems like fear of intimacy caused by e.g. pressure from a partner.

Mental health conditions like anxiety, mood, personality and psychotic disorders, etc.

Depression, low self-esteem, widower syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder, etc.

2. Physiological causes:

Diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases (e.g., stroke), arteriosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, essential hypertension, Parkinson's disease, Peyronie's disease, etc.

Obesity and metabolic syndrome that usually involves increased blood pressure, high cholesterol, high levels of insulin and excess body fat around the waist.

Hormonal disorders like testosterone deficiency and a number of thyroid conditions like hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) and hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).

Surgeries and injuries to the spinal cord and the pelvic area where the former may include prostatectomy, surgery for benign, cystectomy, prostatic enlargement, etc.

Smoking that aggravates atherosclerosis, alcohol abuse that causes nerve damage and lowers testosterone levels, and substance abuse that also causes nerve damage.

Antidepressants, tranquilizers, appetite suppressants, antihistamines and medications used to treat hypertension can also cause erectile dysfunction.

Generally, there is no single cause that may result in erectile dysfunction; as a rule there is a combination of at least two. Besides, these can be intertwined and following one another. Thus, e.g. diabetes aggravated with arteriosclerosis and neuropathy may also cause myopathy. That in its turn causes decreased compliance of the muscles in your corpora cavernosa, the tissue that enlarges. For you that will mean an inability to sustain an erection. However, the younger you are, the better prospects you may count on when that will come to treatment.

What Should Be Done When There Is Fear and Embarrassment.

On the whole, a healthy erection involves everything that is healthy: 1. Due to arising and increasing sexual arousal your healthy nervous system will make electrical signals called nerve impulses in your brain, spinal column and your penis. 2. While your healthy not affected by arteriosclerosis arteries within your corpora cavernosa will relax facilitating the blood flow to your penis, the veins close up. 3. Once blood is in your penis, pressure will trap it within your healthy smooth muscles and healthy fibrous tissues that your corpora cavernosa consists of. 4. This will expand your penis and hold a firm erection that would be enough for penetration and completing a sexual intercourse. If any stage within the entire process is somehow being affected, an erection problem occurs. For some reason most men, if they suspect anything, always think about the psychological nature of the problem. Thus, it is most likely that your first thoughts will be about relationship or money troubles, guilt or some anxiety, or perhaps some failure and so on. You will wait until the problem that has caused the disorder ends on its own. Thus, by the time when you are ready to admit that there is something really wrong, there can be weeks and even months of even more failures, fears, worries and anxiety. That is how absolutely most men usually go through the condition they refuse to accept. As soon as you are ready to visit your doctor, you are ready to deal with the problem and tackle it. And here you should remember that your doctor is hardly a magician so he won't immediately understand exactly what caused the trouble. You'll go through a thorough check-up, a series of necessary analyses and all kinds of tests (e.g. a postage stamp test and the Poten test) and so on, and only after that there will be a diagnosis and treatment. Your task here is to provide your physician with every single piece of information on every single thing bothering you and seeming relevant.

Treatment Options Can Be the Following.

There are a number of treatment options offered for dealing with erectile dysfunction. These range from the least interfering like counseling to the most drastic like surgery. However, in most cases and as a typical first-line treatment you will be recommended to take PDE-5 inhibitors, where the famous blue pill, Viagra, will be the very first to mention and prescribe. Other options include various mechanical (vacuum) devices and, as we've already said, surgery that will come in the form of a penile implant. This, however, is usually recommended in the rarest cases and when there is no response to more traditional medical therapy that works in 90% of all cases. Remember, if you are not 80 years old yet, where there is also a way out, you may reverse the process that has already affected your entire life. In a majority of cases erectile dysfunction is fully treatable. This has been proved by the drug that once started as a heart pill but turned out to be the most effective solution to one of major concerns of all men affected. If you have a problem, turn to your doctor as soon as possible. He/she will be able to help you not only to come back to a healthy life, but perhaps save your life. When you talk to your doc about your broken sex life, you might prevent a broken heart.