What is Erectile Dysfunction?

Previously known as impotence, erectile dysfunction as define by The National Institutes of Health is the consistent inability to achieve and/or maintain an erection satisfactory for the completion of sexual performance. Heard fondly joke and called ED as 'the pencil with no lead', 'the drop' or 'having the software but no hardware".

Is ED inevitable in the aging male?

By the time a man is 40 years old, 90 percent of them have experienced at least one erectile failure. This is a normal occurrence, but many men get "panic" at the first sign of erectile problems. They are likely to run to an urologist and ask for the highly publicized impotence pill, which they may not need and may or may not find effective. His lack of knowledge about the sexual aging process to set him up for performance problems and that might have led his wife to blame herself for his lack of interest in making love and caused her to withdraw from attempts to initiate sex. If he hadn't received good advice and reassurance from someone he trusted, one might have "worried himself into impotence."

When it is Not Impotence?

Most men, however, know that the occasional erectile problem is typically linked to fatigue, over consumption of food or drink, or a relationship issue. At midlife, a man may read a lot about impotence. He may see his future in a failed erection. How he and his partner handle these occurrences helps determine how frequent they will be. These common changes in sexual response at midlife aren't indicators of impotence: A man probably needs direct penile stimulation to have an erection, and he may no longer be able to get an erection just from thinking about sex or seeing his partner in an alluring pose. It may take him longer to achieve erection.He may require more time for ejaculation and may not need to ejaculate every time he has intercourse. After a period of intercourse, he may find his erection subsides. After ejaculation, he also may find his erection subsides more quickly than it did. His erection probably won't be as hard as it was when he was a teenager.

The recovery time of older a male between ejaculations are usually longer. These changes are gradual, and you shouldn't be frightened by them. Changing response patterns enable a man to be a better lover than he was because he is now responding at a pace more similar to his partner's. Lack of knowledge and refusal to accept the aging process as an erotic opportunity can prevent him from seizing the sexual moment. Anxiety also plays a major role in creating impotence dynamic. If a man misinterprets his responses and becomes anxious about his potency, he will be tense and fearful about lovemaking and convey those negative attitudes to his partner.Some men do experience erection difficulties that are much more serious than the normal. Psychological factors ranging from performance and stress issues to intimacy conflicts can contribute to erection disorders. Physical problems can also cause impotence. Illnesses such as diabetes, vascular disease, urological or neurological conditions, and others, can lead to impotence. Heavy smokers and alcohol drinkers may suffer extensive damage to the small blood vessels in the penis, again leading to impotence. For some men, impotence stems from a combination of physical and psychological factors. They need to be treated from a multi disciplinary healthcare perspective, with a therapist and medical doctors involved. Injections or medication pill alone won't solve their problem.

When ED is psychological.

"I was terrified at the thought of having a penile implant," says Sam. "but I'd been suffering bouts of impotence for almost a year and I thought it was probably time to do something about it, even if that turned out to be surgery." Sam and his partner, Mary, 50s, were very discouraged about his erection problems by the time he sought help from his doctor. Though he sometimes had morning erections and sometimes was able to get an erection for masturbation, he was increasingly not able to become erect during lovemaking. Once he did get an erection, he would lose it quickly. And Mary was convinced she could 'make' him get up and keep a good erection. Both of them became worried and "obsessed" with the condition of his penis. They spent so much time watching his penis whenever they try to attempt to make love, so much so they'd turned sex into a spectator sport.
Sam's "sometimes" experienced and his ability to get an erection "sometimes" during masturbation were indicators that his problem might not be entirely physical or, if it was largely physical, his condition probably wasn't as far advanced as he feared. Routine medical tests showed that he had very high cholesterol levels, no surprise given his diet rich in saturated fats and diary cholesterol. The same substances that clog the arteries of the heart, his doctor explained; also clog the arteries of his penis. The damage done by a poor diet and high cholesterol levels had caused some problems with impotence for Sam. His doctor prescribed a diet and medication to bring down the cholesterol and recommended several sex-therapy sessions both alone and with his partner.

The above is rather common in elder health group. Both Sam and Mary are suffering from performance anxiety. Sam's case of "sometime can" and "sometime can't" may be referred as primarily impotent. The primarily impotent man arbitrarily has been defined as a male never able to achieve and/or maintain an erection quality sufficient to accomplish successful intravaginal connection. If erection is established and then lost under the influence of real or imagined distractions relating to intercourse opportunity, the erection usually is dissipated without accompanying ejaculatory response. No man is considered primarily impotent if he has been successful in any attempt at intromission in either heterosexual or homosexual opportunity. As Sam's case illustrates, impotence has a psychological component even when the cause is physical.

Psychological impotent is usually found in the young adolescent male. It is erectile dysfunction in the mind. The young male usually try to make his 'first attempt' at his or her home, worried about his physics and performance, sometime religion background. Tried mounting into the vagina excitedly and clumsily. The fear of being caught by his parents and sometime rejection by his partner may cause him to lose his erection. The penis is weakening even before putting on the condom, thus, unable to penetrate the vagina successfully. This problem may happen again and again with the same or different partner. Technically, his unsuccessful attempts remain him as a virgin. This leave the poor young man feeling humiliated as resulted.

Fortunately, most young men whom failed to perform successfully during their initial coital exposure and for a considerable period of time remained sexually inadequate. But yet they have recovered from their experiences with sexual dysfunction without specific psychotherapeutic support and, as far as can be ascertained from corroborative histories of husband and wife, have led effectively functional heterosexual lives. Others manage to regain as time passes. They at least partially neutralize the negative influences that have accrued as a combination of their environmental backgrounds and the trauma of their initial failures.

If Sam and the young man, could learned how to make love without so much emphasis on an erection and intercourse. It's really better and more sophisticated. However, if this psychological impotent is not treated soon, it may become physically permanent.

Psychological factors: Depression, Sexual phobia, Religious beliefs, Performance anxiety, Attitude towards sex, Failure in relationship, Traumatic sexual experience.