The Impotence Scare
Men with diabetes have similar sexual health issues as people
without diabetes. However, there are some concerns which are
magnified by diabetes.
For men with diabetes, sexual health involves the main issue
of impotence.However ,impotence does not occur in all diabetics
and impotence is not confined to diabetics alone.Millions
of people suffer from impotence,when they can seek effective
treatment options for the same.Fear and lack of knowledge
often stops many men from dealing with this common problem.Men
hear so much about impotence and diabetes that they may expect
it to happen. The very fear of impotence can be enough to
cause the problem.
If you worry about impotence, facing your fears may be the
best thing you can do to change and improve your life.Impotence
occurs among 50 to 60 percent of all men with diabetes over
the age of 50.
What does impotence mean ?
Impotence is not just
an occasional failure of erection
premature ejaculation
a decrease in sexual desire
a failure of ejaculation
a failure of orgasm.
Impotence means that all or most of the time, the penis does
not get hard or stay hard enough for sex. a person can't have
or keep an erection.
Causes of Impotence
The most common causes of impotence in men with diabetes
are physical problems like blood vessel disease and nerve
disease.
If you have either of these side effects of diabetes, you
may have to deal with impotence at some time. But there are
tests to find the cause of the problem, and there are treatments
for nearly all men who want them.
The first step in the treatment of impotence lies in identifying
whether the impotence is psychological or physical.
How is Diabetes responsible
Impotence in men with diabetes can be due to side effects
from diabetes. Nerve disease is a common cause. When nerves
are damaged, the walls of the small blood vessels don't relax.
This stops the blood vessels from growing larger to accomodate
the flow of blood that makes the penis erect.
Blood vessel damage is another diabetes-related cause of
impotence.There are tests to find out whether the lack of erection
or limited response is due to the larger blood vessels being
blocked.
The other common causes for impotence are lack of testosterone
and certain medications used to treat high blood pressure,
anxiety, depression, and peptic ulcers. If you have signs
of impotence and take drugs for any of these problems. you
can discuss other treatment options ,if available,with your
health care provider.
Excessive alcohol intake can also cause impotence.Smoking
can further complicate or advance impotence as it makes blood
vessel damage worse and also slows down blood flow.
Risk reduction
The first step to reduce your risk of impotence is keeping
blood glucose levels under check.Good diabetes control can
help you avoid diabetic nerve and blood vessel disease ,which
play a major part in physical impotence.
Take your doctor in to confidence about any changes or problems
in your sex life, an early diagnosis often nips the damage
in the bud.
Treatment options
Impotence due to Physical problems, there are a range of
treatment choices. It is important to choose an option that
suits your and your partner's needs and desires.
a)Injection of drugs like Papaverine and phentolamine into
the penis. erections caused by drug injections last for about
30 minutes to an hour. Side effects may include bruising and
prolonged erection.
b)vacuum pump treatment, in this a container pump is placed
around the penis. The pump pulls air out of the container.
The vacuum that is created causes blood flow to the penis,
which results in an erection.
after removal of the container the errection has to be maintained
by putting a rubber band around the base of the penis. This
works for about 20 minutes. the penis may be bruised if the
rubber band is kept on for more than 20 minutes.
c)Penile implants may help some with problems ,however take
care to discuss every details about the surgery and the safety
of the implants before you go in for any of them.
d)Those with deficient testosterone levels,can take hormone
shots,about every three or four weeks.
In case of impotence due to psychological causes like fear
,stress ,tension etc,a consult with a therapist may help.
Because impotence is complex and can have more than one cause,
you may be helped most by a program that involves several
forms of therapy.
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