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Erectile Dysfunction treatment – symptoms, causes, and treatments of ED

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Mahlagha Homayouni

DATE

November 19, 2020

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Erectile Dysfunction occurs when a guy can not achieve and maintain an erection firm/long enough for sex. Its aberrative is ED. ED is the same as impotence, but it is used more often referring to this common condition.

Hundreds of millions of men suffer from ED. It happens from time to time for most men and is not necessarily a serious problem. Many men experience it during stressful times.

But if ED becomes an ongoing problem, you know, it can cause mental damages such as stress, affects your self-confidence, and makes many problems in your relationship or sex life. Fortunately, some Erectile Dysfunction treatment is available, and it could be addressed by a professional.

In this guide to Erectile Dysfunction treatment, we introduce its symptoms in their various forms. After that, we try to introduce its different causes, its common physical and psychological causes. In this section, we try to tell about various health problems that could lead to ED.

Then we will switch on its various treatments. The number of treatments of ED should be equal or more than the number of its causes, which is a long list. We will present a long list of various treatments of ED, whether via changes in lifestyle or adding some ingredients in your dietary regime, or even medical drugs that temporarily could surprisingly help you.

Introduction

Various problems in different stages of the erection process could result in Erectile Dysfunction. To achieve an erection one needs increased blood flow in his penis. This usually will have stimulated eighter by sexual thoughts or direct physical contact with his penis.

When someone is sexually excited, his penis muscles become relaxed. With increased blood flow inside its chambers, the penis can grow rigid. From this, we can see how various diseases can contribute to Erectile Dysfunction.

There are many factors involved in male sexual arousal, and many organs are involved in this process, such as Brian, emotions, hormones, nerves, muscles, and blood vessels. A problem with any of these could lead to ED. Mental health problems and stress are other causes of ED, and they also can worsen this problem.

As you can see there are both mental and physical factors that can have a link with ED, but they’re also could be a combination of these problems. For example, it would be natural to have a minor physical problem, but when one focuses on this problem he would feel some anxiety about maintaining an erection. And this anxiety is what would be the cause of Erectile Dysfunction.

What is Erectile Dysfunction?

As we mentioned earlier, there are many stages involved in a normal erection. Some problems could occur in achieving an erection, while there are other problems in keeping an erection as long as enough for intercourse. In the following sections, we will describe different stages of this problem, which is necessary for Erectile Dysfunction treatment.

Trouble getting an erection

Having trouble getting an erection after many glasses of alcoholic drinks at a party is a common experience in some lifestyles. If it happens from time to time and nobody has any serious complaint about it, you don’t need to even take it seriously. However, the best Erectile Dysfunction treatment for this temporary problem is to stop drinking alcohol. There are many other causes that could lead to having trouble getting an erection.

Causes of Trouble getting an erection

– Recreational Drugs and Alcohols:

when we talk about recreational drugs, we mean even light drugs such as weed. If you care about the health of your sexual life, maybe you should reconsider about consuming these drugs and even alcohol.

– Exhaustion:

this one is something more serious and dramatic. To have an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse, one needs an energetic or relaxed mood. When someone is under multiple pressures, long hours of work, in short when someone is exhausted, most of the time he can not even achieve an erection.

– Certain Medicines:

Do you use anti-depressants like Zoloft and Prozac, anti-anxiety pills, or even high blood pressure pills? Then it should be something very difficult for you to have a firm enough erection.

– Stress:

This factor has a direct impact on one’s sexual performance in many ways. It is obviously a mental factor and should be addressed by a therapist.

– Performance Anxiety:

This experience is something serious and you should appear in your best possible condition?! Relax! This anxiety can lead to ED!

– Smoking:

firm enough erections are related closely to the health condition. As you know smoking has many proven damages to our health. One of its cons is to make it hard to achieve an erection.

– Relationship problems:

Mental factors have a decisive role in successful sexual intercourse. When there are some serious problems in your relationship and you spend most of the time in fighting, there is a little chance to have a strong erection in the first place.

– Other health problems:

Many physical diseases can contribute to Erectile dysfunction. Sometimes ED is a symptom of an underlying disease like Diabetes or developing heart diseases.

Trouble keeping an erection

What we said in the last section was just a part of ED symptoms. There are many people suffering from troubles in keeping an erection long enough for sexual intercourse.

Problems like delayed or premature orgasms are related to this kind of ED symptoms. Erectile Dysfunction treatment should be considered seriously when one finds himself in this problem. Trouble keeping an erection in old men is related to narrowing blood vessels which occurs in old ages.

In young people, most of the time it is related to mental and emotional factors in combination with a physical problem.

This trouble is caused by many physical problems and various diseases. Almost any problem with the nervous system or blood vessels can reduce your ability to keep an erection. As we mentioned earlier, there are many organs and systems in the male body involved in arousal. A disease or health problem in any of them could lead to troubles in keeping an erection.

Symptoms of Erectile dysfunction

However, some of the most important causes of this trouble include:

– Heart problems:

clogged arteries and high blood pressure can contribute to this trouble

– Diabetes:

ED can be a sign of diabetes. Because high levels of blood glucose can cause trouble keeping an erection

– Anxiety and depression:

these mental issues can cause problems in erection.

– Neurological problems:

MS, Alzheimer, and Parkinson can lead to ED

Reduced sexual desire

Low libido or reduced sexual desire is the last symptom of ED. This problem occurs when one feels no attraction to make sexual intercourse. It is a multi-dimensional problem and a complex group of problems can contribute to it.

Relationship problems, exhaustion, anxiety, stress, sexual problems, depression, and coming to age are a few causes that can lead to low libido levels, which make men disinterested to begin sexual intercourse.

When someone suffers from reduced sexual desire, he gets trouble in both getting an erection and keeping an erection. This problem is a serious one and can lead to patient isolation and self-esteem problems. So it should be addressed to a therapist as soon as possible.

Depression alone has an important role in the occurrence of this trouble. People in depression can not enjoy doing things they used to enjoy. They will lose interest in doing these things and sexual desire is among the first symptoms of depression.

These kinds of problems are also made by physical and psychological causes or a combination of these elements. It should be noted that it’s a serious disease that should be consulted with the therapist, to do Erectile Dysfunction treatment. Otherwise, it would have many unavoidable consequences on your personal and relationship life.

– Heart problems: clogged arteries and high blood pressure can contribute to this trouble

– Diabetes: ED can be a sign of diabetes. Because high levels of blood glucose can cause trouble keeping an erection

– Anxiety and depression: these mental issues can cause problems in erection.

– Neurological problems: MS, Alzheimer, and Parkinson can lead to ED

Reduced sexual desire

As we mentioned earlier, many causes can lead to ED. What is confusing is that ED in its turn leads to some other diseases, which make it a serious problem to try to solve. For example, stress can lead to ED, and ED can worsen the stress level in the patients. Major physical diseases have an obvious impact on patients’ chances to experience ED.

However, there are many Erectile Dysfunction treatment methods that one can choose in these situations. In this section we will introduce various physical causes of ED, then try to show some lifestyle causes of this problem.

By physical causes, we simply mean physical diseases that have a known contribution to Erectile Dysfunction. These are many diseases in this category and physical problems like these are the most common causes of ED.

Hence, it is very important to take this problem seriously, if it occurs regularly it could be a symptom of an underlying problem.

In this section, we will list various physical causes of Erectile Dysfunction and show how these diseases can lead to this problem. The vascular system in the body is one of the most influential parts of this process.

Various problems in this system can lead to ED. In the next sections, you will be more familiar with the effects of various physical problems on men’s sexual performance.

Physical causes of erectile dysfunction

Erectile Dysfunction sometimes is the result of a process which is the most common cause of heart diseases, in its first stages. In other words, ED could be considered as an early sign of current or future heart disease. Patients who treated this disease also recover their sexual performance. So this link is very obvious and when one has any heart disease, should try to treat it in the right manner.

How Heart Disease and ED are linked?

There are two believes about this linkage. The first one is that plaque buildup reduces blood flow in the penis, making it difficult to have an erection. However, this idea belongs to the past and now it is somehow not valid anymore.

Now experts believe that ED preceding heart problems are more related to dysfunction of the inner linings of blood vessels, and smooth muscle. This disease causes inadequate blood supply to the heart and lowers blood flow to the penis, and leads to the development of atherosclerosis.

How strong is their linkage?

It is not true to believe that always erectile dysfunction has something to do with heart problems. But after many considerations, research suggests that men with ED without any obvious cause, such as trauma, and who have no symptoms of heart diseases should be tested for hearing problems before any hospital treatment.

Erectile Dysfunction treatment for heart diseases caused problems

As we mentioned in the previous section, the cardiovascular system is involved in this sexual problem, and any organ in this system if contributes a crucial role in the process, could be treated by its own treatments. One of the most important symptoms of heart disease occurs in chest pains with exercise and stress.

If this problem is not treated in the right way, could lead to more serious risks like a heart attack. If it happens in an artery in the brain, it can cause dementia, memory loss, and even strokes.

Research also suggests that a problem in arteries supplying the penis could prevent the increase in blood flow required to start or keep an erection. Blood vessel problems in various parts of the body are the leading medical and physical causes of erectile dysfunction. That’s why many professionals believe that sexual performance can be seen as an overall health measure in our life.

Erectile Dysfunction treatment for heart diseases caused problems

Erectile Dysfunction treatment is fortunately available for various causes of this disease. One of the most effective treatments for heart disease-related ED cases is changes to lifestyle. As we mentioned earlier, many ED patients also suffer from overweight problems, smoking cigarettes, use drugs (even light drugs such as marijuana), and don’t have enough exercise per week.

These lifestyle habits have an obvious contribution to heart problems as well as ED. So if you suffer from this combination of problems, fortunately, you can treat it with some changes in your lifestyle.

Eating habits also have a contribution to both problems, so it is nice to try to eat natural ingredients and healthy foods, and also avoiding eating unhealthy foods such as fat-saturated foods, different fat and unnatural fast foods, and items which have no benefits for your body.

In previous section, we talked about heart problems that lead to ED, this section looks the same problem from another point of view. While the former was a little bit general, this one is a somehow more particular problem. Clogged blood vessels have an important contribution to erectile dysfunction. When your brain stimulates by a sexual desire, more blood flow runs to your penis that is required for an erection. That is a mechanical procedure, and when there is a problem in blood vessels this process would not perform in its natural order.

Causes of atherosclerosis

Clogged blood vessels or atherosclerosis is a known medical condition that should be treated under certain procedures, and it has an obvious role in ED in men. Some health problems and bad habits in turn contribute to atherosclerosis or make you more likely to get this disease.

Causes of atherosclerosis

Some of the most important ones of these include:

– Genetic:

if your family members suffered from this disease, you are more likely to experience this problem, too.

– High Cholesterol:

High levels of cholesterol in your blood has an impact in clogging your blood vessels.

– High blood pressure:

this disease also has a known role in the patient’s chance to get atherosclerosis.

– Diabetes:

this disease is an important cause of both clogged blood vessels and erectile dysfunction.

– Obesity:

being over-weight can lead to some ED problems, but obesity as being fat would lead to worse types of ED as well as atherosclerosis. Obesity can cause many health problems and if you suffer from this unease, you should try various possible treatments. However, obesity has also an important and obvious role in ED.

– Smoking:

smoking cigarettes and using street drugs can lead to clogged blood vessels as well as ED. If you use any of these, then you should take it seriously and remember that maybe its results are not clear yet, but eventually, you can feel them if you don’t try to stop.

Erectile Dysfunction treatment for atherosclerosis caused cases

Although atherosclerosis has an obvious role in ED, so far, there is no proof that treating it would improve Erectile Dysfunction. In other words, there are separate treatments for these interlinked problems. The temporary known Erectile Dysfunction treatment is with medical drugs such as Viagra (Sildenafil), Levitra (Vardenafil), and Cialis (Tadalafil).

These drugs temporarily help to improve blood flow into the penis. Obviously, they can treat even temporarily the underlying cause of ED. They are also useless in treating or preventing atherosclerosis in other parts of the body.

The only and effective way to reduce atherosclerosis is by reducing its risk factors, which is possible by changes in lifestyle, routines, and habits. Smoking and eating fatty foods have a known effect on this problem, so you can avoid it by stopping smoking and eating fatty foods.

This is also true about other associated problems like obesity. Doing enough regular exercises can improve both your weight and erection potency. What is important is that you should note that even you don’t care about your sex life, this problem can be a sign of a more fatal problem that should be tracked under medical procedures.

Erectile Dysfunction treatment for atherosclerosis caused cases

High cholesterol is another physical cause of ED, with direct and indirect impacts on this condition. Its indirect impact relies on its role in the most prevalent cause of ED, meaning atherosclerosis. As you might know, high levels of cholesterol in the blood can lead to clogging blood vessels. The direct link between high cholesterol and ED is under research yet, it is known as Hypercholesterolemia, which leads researchers to use cholesterol-lowering drugs for Erectile Dysfunction treatment.

High Cholesterol Causes

Many high cholesterol causes are the same causes of atherosclerosis, which means these risk factors should be considered seriously harmful to our health. Some of the most common causes of high cholesterol levels in the blood are as the following:

– Poor diet:

saturated fat and trans fats are the main causes of this problem in the body. Eating these ingredients in a regular manner can lead to high cholesterol problems. High cholesterol foods such as full-fat dairy products and red meat will increase the cholesterol level.

– Obesity:

being fat and undifferentiated about the bodyweight can lead to high cholesterol disease. Obesity is a non-medical condition that has many harmful impacts on health.

– Lack of exercise:

inactivity is a common cause of many health problems. Regular exercise helps your body to turn your LDL or bad cholesterol to HDL or good cholesterol, which is very effective to solve this problem.

– Smoking:

this unhealthy habit contributes to an important role in high cholesterol disease. Smoking damages the walls of blood vessels, making them more likely to have fatty deposits. It also lowers the level of HDL or good cholesterol.

– Diabetes:

High blood sugar can lead to dangerous kinds of high cholesterol disease. It also damages the lining of the arteries.

– Age:

older people are more likely to find themselves in this problem. That’s because the body chemistry changes with age, so the risk will be increased.

High Cholesterol Causes

High Cholesterol treatment

High cholesterol is a disease that can lead to various health problems. There are some changes in the lifestyle that can improve this condition. As we mentioned earlier, bad diet regimes can contribute an important role in this disease. However,

some of the most effective treatments available are as the following:

– Eat a low-salt diet with a lot of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains

– Limit animal fat in your diet and use good fats in low amounts

– Lose weight and maintain a healthy condition

– Stop smoking

– Exercise regularly for 30 minutes on most days of the week

– Take practical steps to manage stress

There is a proven link between high blood pressure and sexual problems in men. As you might guess, vessels are also involved in this problem, as blood pressure can damage the lining of the vessels making them harden or narrow, and limiting blood flow, which means less blood can flow to the penis. For many men who have high blood pressure, to achieve and maintain an erection is something difficult.

This is exactly what we mean when we talk about Erectile Dysfunction. However, this problem is fairly common. High blood pressure can lead to all the symptoms of ED, and sometimes even its medicines can lead to the same issues.

Side Effects of high blood pressure on sexual performance

Some of the most well-known medicines used in high blood pressure problems have obvious side effects on the sexual performance of men. When someone has ED associated with high blood pressure, hardly can manage all aspects of his life. Some of these medicines and their side effects on sex include:

– Beta-Blockers: these medications, especially those old famous beta-blockers like propanol (Inderal), are commonly associated with erectile dysfunction. To manage these side effects, one should consult with his Doctor to find the best possible options.

– Water pills: diuretics can lower blood flow required to have a firm enough erection for sex. They are also involved in decrease zinc in blood, which is necessary for the generation of the sex hormone testosterone.

Obviously, these medicines are very effective drugs in managing high blood pressure risks, and one can not stop using them on his own, because it can lead to critical conditions. However, there is an alternative Erectile Dysfunction treatment available for these patients. The best options could be chosen to consult with professional medical advisors.

Side Effects of high blood pressure on sexual performance

High blood pressure caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

The most important factor in dealing with this combination of physical and sexual problems is, to be honest with doctors. When you have high blood pressure it’s a common problem to have erectile dysfunction. Some men avoid telling this problem and this can lead to further issues. Professional Doctors are trained to handle these diseases and the patients should feel comfortable talking about their problems.

Besides trying medical solutions, many overall health factors can contribute to the treatment of this problem.

Some of the most effective lifestyle changes include:

– Not smoking cigarettes or using tobacco

– Limiting alcohol consumption

– Eating healthy foods

– Avoid using high amounts of salt in the food

– Exercise in a regular manner

– Managing overweight problems and losing extra weight

Another disease that is considered a common cause of ED is diabetes. Most often, this disease is associated with some other health problems like high blood pressure, making it a combination likely to get or worse the problem. However, as we mentioned earlier this trouble could be managed properly if it is addressed to an expert.

Diabetes occurs when one has too much sugar circulating in his blood.

Diabetes

There are two main types of diabetes:

– Type 1 Diabetes: prevalent in 10% of diabetes patients

– Type 2 Diabetes: prevalent in 90% of diabetes patients

People with diabetes are two to three times more likely to suffer ED. Ed itself can be seen as a sign of type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes role in Erectile Dysfunction

As you know people who have diabetes have more sugar in their bloodstream. This sugar can tighten and harden blood vessels and also affects the nervous system. This could lead to less blood flow than what is required to the penis, which makes it hard to achieve and keep an erection. The nervous system also has an important role in men’s erection, and when one deals with diabetes, it can function not properly in this process.

Diabetes Caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

As we mentioned in the previous sections, many physical causes lead to ED by lowering blood flow in the body, and diabetes is one of them. These physical causes can be prevented by choosing a healthy lifestyle in the first place. But when high levels of sugar affect one’s sexual performance, it could not have healed simply by lowering sugar level. In such positions, Erectile Dysfunction treatment should be done to supply the required blood flow for an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse.

Risk factors that can lead to ED are the same for this trouble, too.

Some of the most important risk factors are as the following:

– Stress

– Poorly managing blood sugar

– Anxiety

– Depression

– Poor diet

– Inactivity

– Obesity

– Smoke

Changes in these factors can contribute to the improvement of sexual performance.

Diabetes Caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

Obesity or being overweight is not a medical condition itself, but it increases risks for several diseases and conditions, like erectile dysfunction. Obese men have a higher risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and high cholesterol, all of which can lead to ED on their own.

But when these causes are combined with obesity, there is a very high chance to suffer ED.

Obesity Caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

Fortunately, obesity can be controlled and one can lose weight to recover his sexual performance. More than 30% of men who answered a study about this problem, said they regained normal sexual function after losing weight.

To achieve this, one does not need to undergo surgical procedures or any pharmaceutical options. Eating 300 fewer calories per day, and increasing weekly activity can help obese men to lose weight and regain sexual function.

However, as we mentioned earlier, obesity is a very dangerous condition that can lead to serious health problems. Increasing weekly physical activity will help these people to back in a healthy condition. Eating unhealthy foods and high calories foods are also very dangerous. To have a healthy body with proper function, one needs to have regular exercise and physical activity in a weekly routine.

Obesity Caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

A condition involving increased blood pressure, high insulin levels, body fat around the waist, and high cholesterol. Metabolic syndrome is a common name for all metabolic risk factors in one person. It is also defined as a multidimensional risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

In developed countries, metabolic syndrome is very prevalent and up to 30% of the population suffers it and this number expected to increase in the next years. This disease has resulted in the whole arterial system including those arteries that bring blood to the penis.

In short, the relationship between metabolic syndrome and CVD (cardiovascular disease) could be drawn just like the relationship between CVD and ED.

Metabolic Syndrome Causes

Metabolic Syndrome Causes

As we mentioned in the previous sections, some diseases are themselves a combination of other diseases. Metabolic syndrome is one of these kinds of diseases. It is closely related to overweight or obesity and inactivity. Again, we talked about these problems’ effects on erectile dysfunction.

Metabolic syndrome is also related to insulin resistance, a condition in which cells don’t respond naturally to insulin, and glucose hardly can enter the cell. It will increase the sugar levels in the blood. Now on, you can see the effects of high sugar levels in the blood on the erectile dysfunction.

However, its risk factors include:

– Age

– Obesity

– Diabetes

This disease also can lead to two other diseases:

– Type 2 diabetes

– Heart and blood vessels disease

As you saw in the previous sections, both of these diseases have obvious links to ED.

Metabolic Syndrome Caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

A healthy lifestyle for a long life may prevent the conditions that cause metabolic syndrome.

These factors are the most important ones in a healthy lifestyle:

– Regular exercise and doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day

– A diet full of vegetables, fruits, protein, and whole grains

– Avoiding saturated fat and salt in your foods

– Maintaining a healthy weight

– Avoiding to smoke

Sexual dysfunction is common in patients with Parkinson’s disease, it plays a major role in the quality of life of these patients and their partners. Loss of desire and dissatisfaction with his sexual life is a common feeling in male patients. Hypersexuality, Erectile Dysfunction, and ejaculation problems are found in male patients.

Parkinson causes and risk factors

Research about Parkinson disease is an ongoing project, and the cause of this disease is unknown, but several factors seem to have a role, including:

– Genetics: studies showed that some specific genetic treats can cause PD. But these cases are very rare, in families with many members who have Parkinson’s disease.

– Environmental triggers: certain toxins in the body or environmental factors can increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease, however, this risk is relatively small.

– Lewy bodies: some specific substances within brain cells are markers of Parkinson’s disease. These microscopic markers are called Lewy bodies, and it is believed that these bodies can show the cause of PD.

Parkinson causes and risk factors

As you see, the chances to get Parkinson’s disease are relatively very low.

There are also some known risk factors which can play an important role in this disease:

– Age: it is a rare disease in young people. Most of the time, it starts in middle or late life, around age 60 or older. So, chances to get it increases with age.

– Sex: men are more likely to suffer PD

– Heredity: genetic properties can play an important role. But it is limited to those families with more than one patient of Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson disease caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

As we mentioned earlier, the cause of Parkinson’s is unknown, so its proper treatment and preventions remain a mystery. However, some research has noticed that regular aerobic exercise can reduce its risk. Other research has noticed that drinking coffee or caffeine drinks reduce the risk to get Parkinson’s disease.

Men who have MS commonly suffer Erectile Dysfunction in various ways. Multiple sclerosis can cause ED in multiple ways. Some of these ways include:

– MS nerve damage: as you know, the erection process is a complicated interaction nerve. MS damages the nervous system, and when these pathway nerves are damaged, they can not bring brian’s signals, which means their erection does not last long enough for sex or, may not occur at all.

– MS symptoms: many MS symptoms can make it hard to get or keep an erection long enough for sex. For example, when one has pain or numbness in the genital area, potentially pleasurable sensations for him could become uncomfortable. Reduced concentration and depression also can lead to ED in MS patients. Fear of symptoms can also contribute to this problem.

– Mental or emotional issues: unfortunately, MS can lead to various psychological problems. It can easily destroy one’s self-confidence or self-image, or affect how he thinks his partner looks at him. These reasonable doubts can undermine his ability to enjoy sex and make it difficult for him to make or keep an erection.

Multiple sclerosis

MS caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

As you might know, there is no known treatment for MS disease. But men who have MS caused erectile dysfunction, can temporarily treat this problem by using a class of drugs known as PDE5 inhibitors, if you don’t know this name, don’t panic! Some familiar drugs of this class include:

– Viagra (Sildenafil)

– Vardenafil (Levitra)

– Tadalafil (Cialis)

– Avanafil (Spedra)

Several drugs that are usually prescribed for certain diseases can lead to Erectile Dysfunction. These are over-the-counter drugs that may cause ED. In other words, ED is a side effect of these drugs, which means they result in ED or increase its risk. Harvard research shows that about 25% of all ED is a side effect of drugs.

These drugs include a long list of various types of OTC drugs. There are many legal drugs that affect your nerves or vascular system, and that can lead to experiencing ED problems.

One reason that Erectile Dysfunction chances increases by age are that regular drugs are prescribed for older people.

Here are the general types of drugs that can lead to this situation:

– High blood pressure drugs

– Certain psychological drugs, such as Antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and antiepileptic drugs

– Antihistamines

– Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

– Parkinson’s disease medications

– Antiarrhythmics

– Histamine H2-receptor antagonists

– Muscle relaxants

– Prostate cancer medications

– Chemotherapy drugs

Certain prescription medications

As you saw in the section of physical causes of Erectile Dysfunction, high blood pressure problems and ED often go hand in hand. Men who have ED are 38% more likely to have a high blood pressure than those who don’t have ED. Blood pressure plays a very important role in male erection.

Common risk factors of high blood pressure, such as smoking and being overweight, also increase the chances to experience ED.

More or less, all types of blood pressure medications can cause. Diuretics and beta-blockers are more likely to increase this chance, whereas alpha-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and angiotensin-receptor blockers have fewer impacts.

Some patients might experience a psychological effect of using these drugs. This could happen when they research blood pressure drugs’ side effects and relate this information to their own sex life.

However, if you use some medications that you suspect has an impact on your sexual function, then you should consult with your doctor about this problem, to substitute another medication or lower the dose to reduce its side effects. Erectile Dysfunction treatment in this case happens days to weeks after stopping to take these drugs.

Certain psycho drugs, such as Antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and antiepileptic drugs, all can lead to Erectile Dysfunction. These drugs affect differently in the body, and they can result in different forms of ED. In the following section, we will introduce those psychological medications that increase the chances to get this problem.

Antidepressants, anti-anxiety, and antiepileptic drugs

One of the most known side effects of antidepressants and these drugs is sexual dysfunction, but some of them even have a greater impact on sex life.

The following medications are the most problematic medication you may take when you visit a therapist:

– Citalopram

– Duloxetine

– Escitalopram

– Paroxetine

– Fluoxetine

– Sertraline

How antidepressants cause Erectile Dysfunction?

Most of these psychological medications raise the levels of serotonin in the body, which leads to a feeling of calm and less anxiety. However, exactly this sense of calmness could lower the level of libido in the patient’s body. These drugs prevent the hormones that transmit nerve messages to our body, which are responsible for our sexual responses.

Antidepressants and psychological drugs caused ED Symptoms

Common sexual effects of these drugs include difficulty to get an erection and decreased libido or sexual desire. Some patients also might experience trouble keeping an erection. Delayed or blocked orgasms are other forms of sexual dysfunctions caused by antidepressants. They also can reduce the time of ejaculation in intercourse to nearly zero, like Celexa.

How to manage psycho-meds caused Erectile Dysfunction treatment

There are some steps you can pass when you experience the side effects of a serious medication that can not be replaced so easily. These steps include:

– Adjust your dosage: antidepressants can cause ED in any dose, but if you consult about it with your therapist or Doctor, she/he might use the alternative drugs, or lower your dosage.

– Timing: you should consider about two kinds of timing. The first one is about the medications: you should give it a few, about 2 weeks, to show its permanent effect on your body. The second one, on the other hand, is about your sex life timing. As you know, everything in this respect could be improved or worsened over time. Then you can improve your sexual performance only by timing and planning.

– Reassess the prescription: time to time dysfunction occurs even in young people. But when it lasts more than two weeks and lowering the dosage didn’t improve its side effects, then maybe the solution is to change its brand. In short, don’t give up, there are many things you can do to improve your regular sexual function.

Antihistamines, which are used to manage allergies, are another group of medications that can lead to ED. They can cause temporary erectile dysfunction.

Some types of these drugs have a greater impact on the erectile system, include:

– Cimetidine

– Dimenhydrinate

– Diphenhydramine

– Promethazine

If you use one of these medications and feel it has something to do with your erection, you should tell your Doctor and seek its treatment. Sometimes they should simply lower the dosage of these drugs, and if this condition resists, change the prescription. However, this can be possible only when the patient is willing to consult his Doctor. Most of the time, patients don’t feel enough comfortable with their Doctor to consult about such medical conditions.

Many pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs can cause mild to moderate ED in men. Several pieces of research show that these drugs are associated with erectile dysfunction and should be checked for this kind of side effect.

These drugs are used for various pains in different parts of the body, but according to some research, their correlated pains also have contributed to ED. In these situations, the ED seems to be a fixed part of the patient’s problems.

However, if you use any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and feel it has anything to do with your erection, you should consult with your medical Doctor. As we mentioned in earlier sections, they know how to manage this problem without the need to change treatment.

Erectile Dysfunction is one common side effect of Parkinson’sParkinson’s disease medications. These medications also have other side effects which in turn theses effects can decrease sexual performance in men patients. However, these medications are somehow especially to help Parkinson’s disease symptoms and they can not be changed easily.

Most of the time, Erectile Dysfunction treatment in these patients should be done using drugs that can improve sex performance in men. These medications could be used for men who have Parkinson’s disease without any further problems.

When ED is associated with Parkinson’s disease medications, one should ask treatment from his Doctor. Most of the time, they can reduce the dosage or change the prescription to improve the sexual function of the patients. it should be noted that most of these procedures take at least 2 to 4 weeks to show their effects. Meanwhile, you can confront with erectile dysfunction in a more realistic manner and try to manage it without the need for supplementary medications.

These special antihistamines also can cause ED in men. However, this problem is not as common as other variations of these medications. When one feels a linkage between his prescribed medications and Erectile Dysfunction, he should simply consult with his Doctor to use alternative medications or other dosages of it.

These kinds of side effects, however, are contemporary and one recovers easily his previous sexual function after reducing their consumption.

Some pain killers and muscle relaxants have some side effects that result in ED. These side effects are temporary and are caused because of their effects on the nervous system of male patients. They should be noted under medical supervision and one can seek treatment from his Doctor. As we saw in the previous sections, these problems could be solved over time and one needs to be patient to make a progress from this situation.

Smoking has many effects on health, and it is not something untold. It can lead to a combination of health problems including heart disease, heart attack, and even stroke. These diseases can lead to ED without any other risk factors. Smoking also has an effect on arteries and blood vessels in the body, and it can cause involved arteries to be disrupted and damaged. This could directly decrease one’s ability to get or keep an erection firm enough to have sexual intercourse.

It also offers some effects on the male libido. People who smoke cigarettes are more likely to experience a reduced desire for sex. These conditions are not temporary and if the patient does not stop smoking, it can lead to permanent ED problems.

It is recommended to stop smoking cigarettes before these complicated effects show up. However, stopping smoking always would be helpful to recover from these conditions. Smoking will activate many diseases that can lead to ED. Erectile Dysfunction treatment for this problem can be done after that the main factor diminishes with stopping to smoke.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

This physical cause of ED is itself a sexual disease. It includes the growth of fibrous scar tissues around the penis and causes a painful and curved erection. When this problem occurs, men would experience very hard conditions in their sex life. These patients will suffer when their penis becomes erected and this can lead to decreased sex desire in them.

Peyronie’s disease will cause significant pain in the patients which will make it harder for them to try to make sexual intercourse for pleasure because they experience something really painful. It also would cause more stress and anxiety for most men. These side effects can make it even more complicated to maintain their sex life.

This disease rarely would heal on its own. It should be treated under medical conditions. In most men, it would worsen over time. Early treatment can prevent this disease to go worsen and even can prevent its symptoms.

In many cases, patients try to hide this problem, which can worsen it and lead to some unpleasant consequences in their personal and sexual life.

Peyronie’s disease risk factors

It should be noted that this disease is somehow a rare medical condition that would bother some patients with scars on their penises. Its cause is unknown and there is not enough information about this problem’s source.

However, some risk factors of this medical condition are known, which include:

– Connective tissues disorder

– Heredity: the chances to get Peyronie’s disease will increase when other family members suffer it

– Age: Risk factors to get this problem to have a relationship with age. Typically, men in their 50s and 60s are more likely to develop this problem.

As we mentioned in the previous sections, many lifestyle habits can lead to ED. These include poor diets, lack of exercise, and substance abuse. Many studies show an obvious link between these lifestyle habits and reduce sexual functionality in men. Recreational drugs also have a clear result in Erectile Dysfunction problems. These drugs include illegal street drugs, as well as some prescribed or OTC drugs.

Recreational drugs with proven effects on experiencing ED include:

– Amphetamines: they can cause blood vessels to tighten, preventing required blood flow from reaching to the penis

– Barbiturates: decreases desire to have sexual intercourses

– Cocaine: also can lead to narrow blood vessels, and prevent required blood flow to have an erection

– Marijuana: it can prevent smooth muscle in the penis from relaxing to get enough blood flow in the next stages of erection

– Heroine: decreases levels of testosterone in a person’s body and also decreases his interest in sex

Avoiding to use these drugs can improve sexual function in men. However, these drug effects can worsen over time and should be managed before going in a developed phase.

Alcohol drinking also lowers the levels of hormones in the body. It also damages some cells in one’s testes and gonads. It is a fair common cause of temporary ED cases and its continuing usage can lead to some permanents conditions. However, one can prevent these problems simply by using moderate amounts of alcohol drinks.

Sleep disorders can impact the levels of hormones and oxygen in the body. That can lead to ED, and the research shows that it is very prevalent in men with sleep disorders. So it is known that men who have sleep disorders are more likely to get Erectile Dysfunction, and vice versa.

Statistics tell that almost 69% of men who suffer sleep disorders, experience temporary or permanent conditions of ED.

Testosterone is a hormone that is responsible for sexual desire and function. Sleep disorders can increase the level of this hormone in men who suffer this problem. it can also decrease the levels of oxygen in the patient’s blood.

Both of these, testosterone and oxygen, are required at proper levels to have a successful erection in men. So, sleep disorder playing an important role in the chances to get ED. Sleep disorders caused by Erectile Dysfunction treatment can be done with the treatment of the main problem. However, various problems and health conditions can lead to sleep disorders, which make it treatment a little bit harder.

Prostate cancer or enlarged prostate is involved both directly and indirectly to ED, as a sudden ED can be a sign of this medical condition, its treatments can also lead to this Erectile Dysfunction.

Surgery for prostate cancer can harden some nerves and arteries involved in erectile function. Men who undergo these surgeries are more likely to develop ED, and their recover rate varies from 25% to 80% according to different studies.

Other treatments for this kind of cancer can also lead to Erectile Dysfunction. About half of men who use these kinds of treatment get trouble to make or keep an erection. Other treatments like hormone therapy are also responsible for developing ED in men.

As you guess, this cause of ED is a really dangerous cause that can not be eliminated so simply, at least in short term. What is important in these patients is trying to keep hopes to find a suitable treatment after a while. However, Erectile Dysfunction treatment temporarily would be available for these patients, and they can use these drugs in consultancy with their Doctors.

Treatments for prostate cancer or enlarged prostate

Spinal cord injury is a life-changing, traumatic event that is usually associated with ED. Its treatment is achievable by undergoing surgeries in this region. This also can lead to erectile dysfunction and suitable treatment is necessary to regain previous sexual function. These surgeries increase many risk factors that are involved in ED, such as stress and other psychological factors involved in sexual function.

However, this kind of ED is limited to those who suffer spinal cord injuries, which is relatively not a common cause for the problem. Patients who have this disease can seek consultancy with their professional Doctors to find suitable ways to improve their sexual performance.

But these problems are most of the time fatal problems which are considered more important than their side effects like ED. Temporary Erectile Dysfunction treatment would be available for these patients in consultancy with professional Doctors or Surgeons.

Testosterone is known as the male sex hormone. When someone has low levels of testosterone that can lead to various problems in his sexual life. his sex drive can go down and decreased, as well as he would be more likely to develop ED.

There is an obvious link between testosterone and sexual function in the male sex, but however, this link is more complicated than what it seems. Many men with lower testosterone levels than normal levels have successful sex life and erections.

Because of these unknown reactions, its direct effect on ED is under research yet, but what is clear is that low testosterone can also lead to other diseases that are responsible directly for Erectile Dysfunction, like type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases.

Many psychological problems can lead to ED. These problems can affect one’s sexual function in various ways. Some of the most important psychological causes of ED include:

– Stress: stress can lead directly to ED. Its causes are various conditions that should be managed properly, like the job, money, and economic conditions.

– Anxiety:

the second important psychological cause of ED is this problem. Once a man experiences an ED problem, he would be overly worried about its repetition and this would lead him to a problem known as performance anxiety or fear of sexual failure.

– Guilt:

when a man can not satisfy his partner, he would likely develop the guilt sense in himself. This would lead to a worsening situation.

– Depression:

this disease can, directly and indirectly, affect one’s sexual life. It causes a decrease in sexual desire and various sexual function problems by itself. Many drugs used for its treatment, however, can also lead to ED.

– Low self-esteem:

this problem can be caused by sexual experiences in which the patient feels inadequacy. It also might be lead to other experiences and problems.

However, all men in their life experience erectile dysfunction, especially this kind of psychological caused problems. Fortunately, there are many possible treatment options for these cases. What is very important is to keep one’s mental health and trying to find Erectile Dysfunction treatment.

Psychological causes of erectile dysfunction

In the previous sections, we discussed the physical causes of Erectile Dysfunction. As you saw, many physical conditions lead to ED and its various symptoms. In this section, we will introduce various available treatments for this disease.

Probably the most important and effective treatment procedure for Erectile Dysfunction treatment is lifestyle changes. These changes could happen to commit a healthy lifestyle in various aspects.

Some of the most important changes in lifestyle toward a healthy life include:

– Regular exercise and doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day

– A diet full of vegetables, fruits, protein, and whole grains

– Avoiding saturated fat and salt in your foods

– Maintaining a healthy weight

– Avoiding to smoke

As you saw in the previous sections, these habits contribute an important role in getting and worsen ED. Thus a change in these habits can prevent or even stop some symptoms of this problem. This method of Erectile Dysfunction Treatment is the most natural and effective treatment that one can undergo in such situations.

Anxiety can contribute a very important role in the ED. When a man experiences an erection problem in his relationship with his partner, most of the time he will likely develop anxiety about the next occurrence of this problem, which leads to an ED case known as Sexual performance anxiety or performance anxiety.

This condition can not be treated easily or by the passage of time. These patients should seek advice from therapists to regain their sexual function and become more self-confident about their adequacy. So, Erectile Dysfunction treatment for these cases could be done via professional psychological consultancy.

As we mentioned in the previous sections, stress has a great contribution to this disease. Many different causes can lead to stress, whether physical or psychological causes. Stress will affect the nervous system and make it difficult for this system to bring Brian’s messages to various parts of the body involved in sexual performance. In such a circumstance, one will suffer to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse.

There are many available treatment options for stress. This can be done in consultancy with a professional therapist. Lifestyle changes also can reduce stress levels and bring back these patients to normal life. Medication options are also available for this kind of ED.

Watching porn has many disadvantages for one’s sexual life. It offers various behavioral and psychological biases and problems to its audiences. It also can lead to Erectile Dysfunction with various symptoms. To prevent these problems one can simply stop watching porn. This would be not so easy for so-called porn addicted persons.

Watching porn can render one’s sexual phantasies far away from reality, which leads to dissatisfaction with his sex life. However, one can avoid this kind of problem with a few changes in his lifestyle options.

In various sections of this study, we mentioned various risk factors that will be increased more likely with physical inactivity and lack of regular exercise routines. These include various obesity and overweight problems, lack of hormones involved in sexual activity, and other problems.

Managing to do exercise routines regularly can decrease ED symptoms and help one to achieve his sexual function. To achieve this, one needs to do at least 30 minutes of exercise and physical activity per day in most days of the week. This also helps to gain suitable mental conditions and increases self-confidence in sexual situations.

Poor diet contributes to an important role in ED. To maintain a healthy sex life, one should avoid excessive usage of some ingredients like salt, fats, eat foods with high amounts of vegetables, fruits, and required proteins.

Smoking is another important risk factor for ED and various disease problems. Nicotine can circulate in the blood and damage blood vessels. This can directly lead to ED because the blood flow required for an erection can not be provided.

However, smoking cause other health problems that also can lead to ED. These include the lack of hormones and oxygen required to have a successful erection. Erectile Dysfunction treatment for this problem is simply to stop smoking. After a while, this helps you to recover your sexual function and coming back to a healthy lifestyle.

Sleep disorders contribute an important role in ED and should be avoided to gain a successful erection. If this problem is treated by medications, especially psychological medications, it should be noted that these medications also have side effects that can lead to Erectile Dysfunction.

The best treatment for this problem is to change your lifestyle to gain more time to sleep. It can be done in consultancy with a professional therapist.

As we mentioned earlier, many dietary ingredients can affect sexual performance in men. In this section, we will introduce the most effective ingredients that help to have a proper sexual function in the male sex.

Cinnamon is a helpful ingredient that helps to reduce blood sugar and LDL cholesterol, which preserves penile arteries that are involved in erection. As you saw in the previous sections, high levels of sugar in the blood can lead to vascular caused ED problems. To reduce these levels, one can simply use more cinnamon in his diet.

Garlic is another food with proven effects in improving erectile dysfunction. It contains high levels of allicin, which improves blood flow in our body. As you know, many ED problems are linked to a blood flow problem. That’s why many people believe garlic could be known as a natural viagra. Eating four cloves of raw garlic in long term can even improve ED problems, which is shown from a study on the long-term effects of garlic in Erectile Dysfunction treatment.

Seafood is the healthiest source of fatty acids and high-quality proteins, which has very proven effects on our general health and also sexual health. Fish oil and seafood are well known for their improving effects on brain function for empowering nerves. As you might know, this helps in one way to improve erection in ED patients. Research shows that it can have neuroprotective action, because it improves blood flow to the brain, lowers the levels of brain inflammation, and also has an anti-aging activity.

Fish oil has uncountable benefits in cardiovascular health. It improves blood flow not only in the brain but also in other organs of the body. It also helps to keep blood vessels more flexible. It is also helpful in lowering blood pressure. As you know high blood pressure has an obvious impact on ED.

These features make fish oil and other kinds of seafood containing omega-3 very good natural treatments for ED. Erectile Dysfunction treatment using omega-3 is a natural healthy way to gain back sexual function.

Onions

Onions are another food that helps to improve sexual performance. Its benefits are almost like garlic benefits; both of them improve blood pressure which is a very important part of ED problems. Onions help in the generation of hormones that relate to our alertness, stamina, and sexual function. It increases sexual energy and libido, making it a helpful food for those who feel lack these features in their body.

In the previous sections, we show various treatments for different causes of ED. In this article, we tried to show more natural solutions to this problem. However, many medicines are available to improve one’s to get and keep an erection firm enough for sex. In this section, we will introduce medicines and medical devices used for Erectile Dysfunction treatment.

Medical Devices

A vacuum constriction device (VCD) is a pump that men with ED can use to get and keep an erection. This pump helps the penis to become erect with its vacuum feature, and it has a band to help maintain an erection.

This device is a solution for ED patients with physical causes. About 50% to 80% of patients are satisfied with this device. Patients who suffer from the following problems can use this device to gain back their sexual function:

– Those who have ED because poor blood flow into the penis

– Those who have ED because excess blood flow out of the penis

– Those who have ED because of damage to nerves involved in erection

Consider Using a PDE5 Inhibitor

These drugs are the most effective drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction. They are the standard pharmacologic treatment for ED. Several drugs are built under this group of drugs that are used for various ED cases with different causes. They are prescribed by medical Doctors who have considered all aspects of the patient’s problem and health conditions. Because these pills can make changes in our body processes, they should not be used without the supervision of a professional doctor or therapist.

These drugs usually are helpful in releasing nitric oxide (NO) by vascular cells. This in turn interacts with vessels in a way that leads to suitable blood flow required for an erection firm enough to have sex.

Three types of most well-known pills in these medications are available as the following:

– Viagra (Sildenafil)

– Levitra (Vardenafil)

– Cialis (Tadalafil)

Erectile Dysfunction is a fairly common problem in men, which happens more likely with aging and various health conditions. To have a normal sex life, one needs to have a healthy life in general. Many physical conditions or diseases can lead to various symptoms of ED. In this article, we introduced these physical causes of erectile dysfunction.

They have different symptoms and should be treated with different mechanisms. In this article, we tried to show various aspects of this problem and also tried to show their correlated treats. Erectile Dysfunction treatment can be done to achieve both temporary and permanent treatment.

Sexual performance in men is a very complicated process involving many organs and systems in the body. It is a combination of interactions between various organs. A healthy heart, cardiovascular, nervous system, and blood flow required to make an erection. Many health problems, including diseases in these organs, can lead to different problems to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse.

Erectile Dysfunction is a common name for a complex of problems in male sex function. It should be addressed by a professional doctor or therapist who has enough knowledge and experience in helping such patients. Trying to commit a healthy life can improve sex performance.

What is Sexual Performance Anxiety

FAQ

What is the fastest way to cure erectile dysfunction?

Exercise regularly, lose extra weight, stop smoking, drink less, and do not abuse drugs. Consider a medicine to boost erections. Certain medicines increase blood flow to the penis if taken an hour before sexual activity. They are sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra), and tadalafil (Cialis).

What is the main cause of erectile dysfunction?

The most common physical causes of erectile dysfunction are related to circulation and blood pressure. Heart disease, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol and high blood pressure can all impact the amount of blood flowing to the penis. Diabetes contributes to ED by damaging your nerves and blood vessels.

Is Erectile Dysfunction Curable?

So erectile dysfunction can be cured, but it depends on the cause. Some causes of ED are easier to “cure” than others. But, with the right diagnosis, support, and treatment, it's possible for ED to go away without the need for ED medications like Viagra (sildenafil) or Cialis (Tadalafil).

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