Treating Impotence
If you have Impotence, you should contact your doctor or urologist and schedule an appointment immediately to perhaps prevent this temporary problem from becoming completely permanent. A physician should be able to find the source of the problem through tests and a personal interview of the patient to find out a full medical history. If you take prescription drugs, it could be as simple as changing your medication to prevent erectile dysfunction from occurring. There are many different types of treatments depending on the medical history of the patient and a variety of other factors. You and your doctor can decide best what treatment is the best for you.
Lifestyle Improvements
Quitting smoking, exercising regularly, losing excess weight, stopping excessive alcohol consumption, controlling hypertension, and optimizing blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes are not only important for maintaining good health but also have been proven in the course of research to improve erectile function. Several studies suggest that men capable of making lifestyle improvements often experience increased rates of success with oral medications to help eliminate ED.
Sildenafil (Viagra)
This was the first Impotence drug approved by the FDA in the United States. It is likely that you have heard this name before. Sildenafil, marketed under the name Viagra, works by enhancing the flow of blood to as well as within the penis. It doesn’t increase a man’s appetite for sex (“libido”), and it only causes an erection if the person is sexually aroused. In a recent study of 267 men conducted at Johns Hopkins University, 65 percent of those taking Sildenafil said they were pleased with the results. Unfortunately, this satisfaction rate drops dramatically in the category of men who stated they suffered from severe Impotence (41 percent), most often stemming from nerve damage caused by diabetes (21 percent), or had resulted from prostate surgery (27 percent).
Sildenafil, although a life saver for many men with erectile dysfunction, can be dangerous for people with heart trouble. This makes sense, as this drug helps to increase blood flow. Increased blood flow necessitates that the heart pumps quicker. For a patient with heart problems this can be a very severe problem. While this is a valid risk, a recent report in the American Journal of Cardiology says most heart patients are able to safely take this medication without any increased risk of heart problems. The only patients who should not, under any circumstances, take Sildenafil are those whose treatment involves medications made up of nitrate (most often used in treating heart trouble). Mixing Sildenafil with nitrates can lead to dangerously low blood pressure in patients. In addition, men should use Sildenafil with caution if they are currently taking certain hypertension medications, suffer from coronary ischemia (blockage of an artery leading to the heart), or have a combination of congestive heart failure and low blood pressure.
For heart patients who get little or no exercise, the rigors of sex may be more dangerous than Sildenafil. In some cases, doctors will examine a patient’s heart during a stress test before prescribing the drug to make sure that it is safe for the patient. In any case, should you have any type of pre-existing heart condition you should consult with a doctor before purchasing Sildenafil.
Other Drugs
Men now have two more oral drugs to choose from — Vardenafil (Levitra) and Tadalafil (Cialis). Both function much in the same way as Sildenafil, increasing blood flow to the penis allowing the patient to achieve and maintain an erection. However, every drug can cause certain unwanted side-effects. Reports of sudden vision loss have been the most serious side effect reported by patients taking this drug. However, no firm link between these drugs and vision loss has been established. The FDA advises that should you experience any serious problems while taking this and all drugs that you should contact a doctor immediately. Most recently, the FDA reported that all three erectile dysfunction drugs — Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra — may also cause sudden hearing loss. While hearing loss is a common problem among older people, with only 29 cases of sudden hearing loss related to the drugs having been reported to the FDA, the agency emphasizes that “sudden hearing loss is an uncommon event at any age.”
Other drugs used to treat Impotence require the patient to do more than simply take medications. Drugs such as papaverine and phentolamine can cause near-instant erections, but they have to be injected into the penis, which can be painful both physically and mentally for the patient. Aside from this problem, some men develop priapism, or quite simply put: an erection that simply will not go away. Most often medical assistance is needed to get the penis to go back down to its normal size. Should you experience an erection for more than 4 hours please go to your nearest hospital immediately as prolonged erections can cause damage to the penis. Men now also have the option of a new needle-free device to insert a pellet of the drug alprostadil into the urethra. Erections usually occur eight to 10 minutes later and last 30 to 60 minutes. The treatment, however, can cause pain in the penis and testicles and is not a favorite among those with Impotence.
Testosterone
When erectile dysfunction is caused by low levels of testosterone, a permanent hormone patch might be a quick cure. However, there is not clear link that increased testosterone levels can help patients with severe ED.
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo leaf extract can reverse erectile dysfunction caused by anti-depressants in the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor category (SSRI), including Fluoxetine (Prozac) or Sertraline (Zoloft), according to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. Some psychiatrists have also prescribed Ginkgo for other types of erectile dysfunction. Check with your doctor before taking it as Ginkgo can cause a bad reaction if used with other drugs.
Psychotherapy
A lack of a physical cause to the problem often precipitates a doctor to suggest counseling for the patient and their partner. A psychotherapist can teach you techniques to help stay relaxed and responsive during intimate moments. Psychotherapy can also be valuable to men who are trying to overcome non-psychological erectile dysfunction. It is always best to try all treatments that do not currently involve medicines as the side effects can sometimes be serious.
Vacuum devices
Though these gadgets may look strange, they can be helpful for some patients. The devices consist of a plastic cylinder that fits over the penis and a pump that creates a partial vacuum. The vacuum functions by pulling more blood into the penis, causing an erection. The man removes the device and places an elastic band around the base of his penis to maintain the erection during sex and removes it after so as to not inhibit any further blood flow.
The success of the vacuum device varies from patient to patient. Though many times the device is successful, the psychological battle proves to be too much. In studies performed in Australia and The Netherlands, a majority of men gave up the use of the pump even though it was proven to allow them to achieve an erection.
Surgery
In the case that erectile dysfunction is caused by an injury, surgeons can often times cure the condition by reconstructing the arteries that carry blood to and from the penis. This works best in younger men with minor pelvic injuries. Surgeons are also able to block the veins that drain the penis, although some experts question whether this is a reasonable long-term solution to erectile dysfunction, as well as what it might implicate in the future of the patients health. However, older patients, and patients with severe Impotence who have not experienced some sort of injury are not candidates for this type of surgery. This surgery can only repair the injured arteries that at one point in time were functioning properly. For those patients with ED caused by another reason than an injury, it is evident that the problem was not in the arteries, but in the blood flow to the penis. Please consult a doctor to learn more if you think your arteries could have been damaged.
Finally, as perhaps the last resort, doctors can insert implants into the penis making it possible to achieve an erection. The implant might be a semi-rigid rod that can be bent into a shape or an inflatable cylinder. The patient can then fill the cylinder with fluid by squeezing a small pump that’s embedded in his scrotum. Thanks to these recent advances, today’s implants are very effective and carry only a small risk of infection and mechanical breakdowns. However, as with all treatments, please consult your doctor to learn about all the advantages and side effects before making a decision.
