Erectile Dysfunction

Is your sex life making you unhappy? Are you too embarrassed to talk about your sexual performance with a doctor?

At the WellMan Clinic, we believe that a healthy love life is achievable by the majority of our patients.

STRESS AND ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION

Stress is always associated with anxiety – physically manifested in high blood pressure and heart rate. This can be acute or chronic.

  1. Acute stress results in a surge of hormone production allowing the body to respond promptly to an urgent event. Adrenaline is famously associated with flight, fright and fight, but few appreciate that testosterone levels are also boosted temporarily. This may well account for the increased sexual activity in Olympic Villages.
  2. Chronic stress, however, causes a fall in testosterone levels as the capability of the glands (the “hypothalamic – pituitary – gonadal axis”) is overcome by incessant demands. The results of chronic stress can be profound – not only erectile dysfunction, but also suppression of the immune system, insomnia and daytime fatigue. The psychological and physical manifestations of chronic stress adversely affect performance in the workplace and at home, and can explain increased sickness rates. One in four visits to GP’s is attributable to stress.

PERFORMANCE RELATED ANXIETY

Actors suffer from performance related anxiety, “stage fright”, but all men tend to have a similar concern about the sex act. This is often precipitated by a distressing failure – failure to achieve or maintain an erection or early or premature ejaculation. If the failures become relatively frequent, each occasion reinforces the problem, and a “conditioned” reflex is created. Failure breeds on failure, and the risk of failure is avoided. Cure the cause for failure, and the conditioned reflex will decay – the anxiety is forgotten.

CAUSES AND TREATMENT OF ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (ED)

Erectile dysfunction is associated with an array of medical conditions:

  1. High blood fats
  2. High blood pressure
  3. Diabetes
  4. Obesity
  5. Smoking
  6. Alcohol
  7. Many medications
  8. Recreational drugs
  9. Low testosterone
  10. Neurological diseases
  11. Sleep and endocrine disorders

Before appropriate and successful treatment can start, a careful diagnosis must be made in any combination. No matter what the causes of the problem, there is rarely a case that cannot be treated successfully.

How can WellMan help?

Two consultations, lasting a total of one and a half hours, with one of our experienced male doctors which includes:

  1. A clinical history of the condition
  2. A thorough physical examination
  3. Investigations including haematology, biochemistry and hormone profiles.
  4. Prostate screening
  5. Discussion of appropriate treatment options

Please also see our page on Viagra treatment options HERE. 

 

Further reading:

‘It’s a porn-demic! Could your online viewing habits be causing your erectile dysfunction?’

‘All you need to know about erections’

 

ABC of Erections

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