Women love talking about personal issues, the more personal the better it seems. There are so many online support groups, Facebook pages and forums to gossip and give opinions on. For men, it’s slightly more difficult to open up about their sexual health, especially when it comes to anything manly, like testosterone and sexual performance. There are not as many support groups and men are generally worried about airing their problems in case they come across as less of a man. While this is a sweeping generalization, there is a lot to be said for the male ego when it comes to sex.
Many everyday factors can affect your sexual health, resulting in sexual dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction is used as an umbrella terms for men’s sexual health issues. Many articles out there talk about sexual dysfunction but do you know what the 3 main categories within this umbrella term? We don’t intend to get explicit but at the same time it is important that men understand what conditions are considered to be sexual dysfunctions. Many men walk through life thinking they are bad in bed or are “asexual” because they can’t get “turned on” without considering that they are suffering from a medical condition, aka sexual dysfunction.
These personal issues are almost always treatable if you understand the cause and get the right advice. There are 3 basic steps to recovery:
STEP 1
Realize that you have a sexual health problem
If you are worried about your performance in the bedroom then don’t panic. Realize what the normal boundaries are and analyze if you fit within them or not. Realizing and accepting that you’re bedroom issues are part of a larger medical condition is the hardest part. Sexual dysfunction can happen to anyone at any point in their life. Sometimes it is a passing phase, sometimes it can be there to stay. If you are bothered by your symptoms then do something about them! If you feel that they do not affect your quality of life then there is no need to seek treatment.
STEP 2
Open up, do some research
Here are the 3 main sexual health issues that men face and some links to helpful research facilities:
Low interest in sex – This is also known as low libido and low sexual desire. The failure to become aroused can be caused by hormonal imbalance (like low testosterone) or an underlying medical condition (like obesity, high blood pressure). Once aroused there is no problem getting or maintaining an erection.
Erectile dysfunction – This is when you cannot achieve an erection at all, cannot get hard enough to commence intercourse or cannot maintain the erection for enough time to complete intercourse.Men with erectile dysfunction normally have normal libidos and can become sexually aroused normally: the penis just doesn’t harden and react to the sexual desire felt. Erectile dysfunction can be caused by hormonal issues like having low testosterone levels, it can relate to underlying diseases (like Diabetes, high blood pressure) or it can be unrelated.
Premature ejaculation – This is when you ejaculate within 2 minutes and cannot control or prolong it. The man can become aroused when he wants to and can achieve an erection; he just can’t control the urge to climax. This condition has no link to low testosterone or other hormonal issues. In most cases, the penile skin is simply too sensitive and the sensitivity leads to climaxing very quickly.
STEP 3
Visit your Doctor and seek treatment for any sexual health issues
We advise against going online and buying a sexual enhancing drug like Viagra because you feel like you are having trouble becoming sexually aroused. It’s important to understand why your body is having this reaction. By visiting your doctor and having some blood tests you may find that there is an underlying cause to your problem. Before starting any treatment for sexual disorders it’s important to have your prostate and testes checked for signs of disease. You also need to check for hormone deficiencies. Underlying disease or hormone imbalance are the likely cause of trouble.
There are many treatments available to treat men’s sexual health issues. AndroGel or AndroForte topical testosterone therapy, testosterone pellets, Cialis and Levitra are just a few examples. If there is an underlying disease like Diabetes or Prostate cancer then these have to be treated promptly before using any hormonal or performance enhancing drugs.
Here’s a link to hormonal treatments available
Here’s a link to sexual performance enhancing drugs
Support for men
Below are some sources of support for men with sexual dysfunction. Support forums are often the best way to communicate feelings about personal issues as there is some level of disassociation that many people find comforting. There are also posts and comments for hundreds of people suffering from the same issues so you can see how other people feel and what they are doing about it.
http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Impotence-Erectile-Dysfunction/support-group
http://exchanges.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction-exchange
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/erectiledysfunction/support_groups.shtml
http://www.sexualadviceassociation.co.uk/
http://www.drugs.com/answers/support-group/erectile-dysfunction/