Treatment for Male Impotence

You can begin by discussing your impotence with your family doctor. Many primary care physicians are not treating impotence in their practices. If your family doctor does not treat impotence, he or she will probably refer you to a urologist.

The physician who treats your impotence should first determine the cause of your impotence and then help you choose the simplest, safest and most effective treatment option for you.

You should know that difficulties in getting or keeping an erection is a common problem among men. The following treatments for impotence may be considered. Your doctor will be able to discuss these treatments with you in more detail and advise you on the advantages and disadvantages of each.

• Talk to your partner. Impotence won't go away unless you face up to it. If you're in an ongoing sexual relationship, then being open and honest with your partner can help identify any anxieties that might be causing the problem.
• Sex counseling or sex therapy. This can be effective for the small percentage of men who have psychological impotence. Sex counseling or sex therapy is most often successful when you have a cooperative partner willing to attend sessions with you.
• Lifestyle changes. Cutting out alcohol, tobacco and recreational drugs can lead to significant improvements.
• Vacuum device. This technique uses a mechanical device which creates a vacuum around the penis and causes it to enlarge in a way that is similar to a natural erection. In order to maintain the erection, a tension ring (similar to an elastic band) must be pushed onto the base of the penis. This stops the blood escaping from the penis too quickly, and with the tension ring in place, the erection can be maintained for up to 30 minutes.
• Penile injection therapy. Medication is injected into the base of the penis, causing the penis to become hard almost immediately and the erection to last for one to two hours.
• Penile insertion (transurethral) therapy. This involves inserting an applicator containing a tiny pellet of medication into the end of the penis. Once the pellet is released, it causes an erection to develop over the next 10 to 30 minutes.
• Penile implants. This is a surgical procedure which involves the permanent insertion of a cylinder in the penis, which is connected by a tube to a pump in the scrotum. This procedure permanently alters the penis so that a natural erection will never again be possible.
• Drug therapy. Drug therapy for impotence (Viagra) has received a great deal of publicity. The drug works by opening up the blood vessels to the penis, so it may help patients who have trouble achieving erection due to lack of blood supply to the penis. It is not suitable for patients with heart problems.

  Hormone replacement therapy. In the form of testosterone injections can be effective for the 3-5% of men who are impotent due to a low level of male hormone.

Here are new drugs to treat impotency coming onto the market in the not-to-distant future.

Last updated: 8/05

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