Erectile Dysfunction

There is a huge pressure for a man to satisfy his partner in our society. High school locker rooms are often filled with male gossip about who did his girl first and whether or not she reached climax. It is often considered “girly” if a man cries, and if a man has problems in bed, he believes that his friends will find something wrong with him. The guilt and frustration from male impotence, or erectile dysfunction, can lead to depression and relationship problems.

Fortunately society has become much more understanding about the reality of erectile dysfunction. It has been estimated that at least one in ten men will have trouble in bed at one point in their lives. Sometimes it is caused by a physical problem, while other times it is caused by a psychological problem.

There are some pretty strict guidelines that doctors go by in order to officially diagnose erectile dysfunction. Just having one or two bad experiences is not enough to classify a man has having the condition. A man needs to have a repeated problem either getting, or maintaining, an erection before a doctor will start trying to diagnose why the problem exists. There are a number of medical tests that can be done, but first a doctor will try to distinguish if it is a psychological problem, or a physical problem. If the man has never had an erection, it is very likely that there is a physical problem. If the man has been able to have an erection at some point, it could be caused either physically or psychologically.

If a doctor feels it necessary, he will run tests. One of the first tests is called a duplex ultrasound and is used to make sure that blood is able to get to the penis. Another test is a penile nerve function test, where the doctor will test to see if the nerves in the penis are working or if they are damaged. There are a number of other tests which can be done to discover why the penis is not behaving normally. There are a number of different treatment options that are available to a man with erectile dysfunction, and we strongly advise men to seek treatment rather than continue to suffer in silence.