Best Treatments for Erectile Dysfunction

Karl Marvin Tan MD

November 13, 2022

Erectile dysfunction, or ED, is when a man can’t keep an erection going. There are many reasons why men can’t get or keep an erection, but the most common ones are related to other health problems in the body that can cause ED. These include poor blood flow, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and heart disease. All of these affect blood flow, but proper blood flow is needed for sexual function.

Men often have trouble getting an erection, but not being able to get one regularly is considered a medical problem. On top of the emotional toll it takes, ED can be a sign of a more serious health problem.

Treating Underlying Health Conditions to Treat ED

Most of the time, the best way to treat erectile dysfunction is to treat the underlying medical problem. Let’s talk about some of the most common reasons why ED happens, so that both problems can be treated:

Obesity

Too much weight in your body can hurt your sexual performance because being overweight lowers testosterone levels. Being overweight also lowers the amount of other sex hormones that help move testosterone through the blood. So, being overweight makes it harder to get an erection.

When treating erectile dysfunction in very overweight men, doctors should think about whether or not the man is obese. Talk to a doctor or nurse to find out if this could be a factor in your case. If your doctor thinks that your weight is making your ED worse, he or she will come up with a plan to help you lose weight.

Smoking

ED can be caused or made worse by smoking. It has been shown that smoking cigarettes hurts the blood vessels. This can lead to erectile dysfunction, which is caused by poor blood flow, because the blood vessels are also hurt.

Heart Disease

When coronary heart disease is present, the heart doesn’t get as much blood as it should. As plaque builds up on the walls of an artery, it makes the artery narrow. This, of course, changes how blood flows through the body, and ED is caused by a lack of healthy blood flow. Because of this, treating a man’s heart disease can help ease his ED symptoms.

Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has been strongly linked to ED, since high blood sugar will damage blood vessels as well as nerves (which allow us to feel sensations). If groin-area nerves and blood vessels are damaged due to diabetes, this can cause a man to experience erectile dysfunction.

Men find it hard to talk about erectile dysfunction, even with their doctor. If you’ve had or are having ED, don’t be afraid to talk to an experienced urologist who knows how to fix the problem about it.

Dr. Karl Tan will look at your symptoms and try to figure out what’s wrong with you. Then, a treatment plan will be made to deal with the problem of erectile dysfunction and the cause of it.

There are new ways to help this condition using new shockwave treatment. If you want to know more book a consult now.