The short answer … it depends
There are many different causes of erectile dysfunction – some can be cured, some cannot. The good news, however, is that certain types of treatment can often improve symptoms of erectile dysfunction.
So what are the treatable causes of erectile dysfunction?
First, there are “reversible” causes of erectile dysfunction. These are causes that can be stopped, such as drugs that cause erectile dysfunction, cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol as a side effect. Erectile dysfunction can also be caused by obesity, stress, or relationship problems. While these causes are harder to eliminate, your erectile dysfunction will likely go away if you can successfully lose weight, relieve stress, or find ways to cope with relationship difficulties.
There are other causes of erectile dysfunction, which we will call “treatable”. These are conditions that cannot be cured (eg, hormonal imbalance, depression, anxiety, high cholesterol), but can be improved with treatment, and the erectile dysfunction they cause is often improved.
What are the incurable causes of erectile dysfunction?
These are causes of erectile dysfunction that cannot be reversed or treated, but can be safely and successfully treated with erectile dysfunction drugs. Finally, there are several causes of erectile dysfunction that cannot be cured and cannot be treated with erectile dysfunction drugs. In these cases, other treatments, such as surgery, implants or injections, may be possible.
What is erectile dysfunction and who should be affected?
Erectile dysfunction is defined as a common problem with getting or maintaining an erection for satisfying sex. Here the keyword is “common”. It is normal for men to have problems from time to time, but when a successful erection is the exception rather than the rule, or when it no longer occurs fully, it is called erectile dysfunction, and it can. to be a sign that something else is happening. Inside. .
In some cases, this is a cause or condition that you can do something about. Eliminating the cause (whether it’s a drug, a drug you’re taking socially, you’re overweight, trying to quit smoking, or a toxic relationship) can help you correct erectile dysfunction without having to treat it. It can be that simple. Treating the cause (whether it’s a hormonal problem, depression, or anxiety) takes a little more time and effort, but it’s worth it. You can see how your erectile dysfunction dramatically improves or goes away completely to treat the underlying problem without the need for erectile dysfunction drugs such as sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis).
However, sometimes erectile dysfunction is caused by a combination of different factors. Stopping one cause or treating another may not completely resolve erectile dysfunction if other factors are involved. In these cases, your doctor will want to dig a little deeper to find out what is going on.
Complete answer
Erectile dysfunction or ED is a common problem in getting and maintaining an erection sufficient for satisfactory sex.
Achieving and maintaining an erection is a complex process that involves blood vessels, nerves, muscles, brain messages, and psychology. With so many stages, it is no surprise that problems can arise during the trip. But until this happens to you, you might not realize how common this is. Fortunately, not all causes of erectile dysfunction are permanent, and not all are serious.
Let’s take a look at some treatable causes of erectile dysfunction. By curable / cured we mean the causes of erectile dysfunction which, if avoided or treated, will improve erectile dysfunction forever without the need for erectile dysfunction drugs, surgery, injections or implants.
Curable causes of erectile dysfunction
Medication side effects
Drugs that can cause erectile dysfunction as a side effect account for at least 25% of all cases of erectile dysfunction. The main authors are a group of blood pressure medications called diuretics, some antidepressants (including SSRIs and SNRIs), some medications for individual.
Obesity
Obesity and excess fat around the waist can cause erectile dysfunction by increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, all of which are causes of erectile dysfunction. Did you know that obesity also lowers testosterone levels? Low levels of testosterone also affect your desire for sex and your ability to maintain an erection. More on that below.
If you are overweight, losing weight through a healthier diet and regular physical activity has many benefits for your mental and physical health, especially improved erectile dysfunction.
Hormonal imbalance
Low levels of testosterone, high levels of prolactin, abnormal levels of thyroid hormones, and abnormal levels of cortisol can cause erectile dysfunction.
Treating hormonal imbalance can improve symptoms associated with erectile dysfunction. For example, a 2004 study of 51 men with erectile dysfunction due to high prolactin levels showed that sexual function and low testosterone levels improved when their high prolactin levels were treated for 6 months.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
Erectile dysfunction is more common in men with OSA than in men without OSA (69% vs. 34% in this 2009 study with 401 German men). Researchers aren’t sure why, but it seems to be linked to low levels of oxygen in the blood at night.
Erectile dysfunction caused by obstructive sleep apnea can be reversed. This confirmed that a 2013 study of men with OSA and ED showed that night mask treatment (CPAP) to increase low blood oxygen levels improves sexual function.
Psychological or emotional causes
The brain plays an important role in controlling the physical processes that lead to erections. Therefore, performance anxiety, past traumatic experiences, relationship issues, stress, anxiety, and depression can all cause erectile dysfunction. In many cases, erectile dysfunction is due to mental and physical health issues.
Ways to treat these problems and subsequently improve the symptoms of erectile dysfunction include counseling, psychotherapy, and treatment for stress, anxiety, and depression.
High cholesterol
Too much cholesterol in the blood can damage blood vessels, including the penis, and cause erectile dysfunction.
There is some pretty compelling evidence that if you can lower your high cholesterol, it can improve symptoms of erectile dysfunction as well. According to a meta-analysis of 11 clinical studies in 2014, men with hypercholesterolemia and erectile dysfunction who took statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) such as atorvastatin, simvastatin and rosuvastatin had a 25% improvement in function. erectile regardless of their age.
Cycling
Cycling is considered a possible (reversible) cause of erectile dysfunction. The theory is that a prolonged stay in the saddle of the bicycle can put pressure on the nerves and blood vessels that supply the penis, which can cause numbness and sometimes erectile dysfunction.
If you cycle a lot and suffer from erectile dysfunction, simple changes to the saddle of the bike can improve your erectile dysfunction symptoms. Serious cyclists with erectile dysfunction should choose wide, noseless seats and make sure the seat is at the correct height and not tilted. Research confirms this: A German study from 2002 showed, for example, that wide stools are better than narrow stools at maintaining blood flow to the penis, although the padding does not appear to be important.
In summary
Erectile dysfunction can be cured, but it depends on the cause. Some causes of erectile dysfunction are easier to cure than others. But with the right diagnosis, support, and treatment, erectile dysfunction can go away without the use of erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra (sildenafil) or Cialis (Tadalafil).
How do we decide
To answer this question, we performed a thorough review of all known causes of erectile dysfunction. We then looked at the amount of evidence available for these causes and identified which ones met the following criteria:
It is known to cause erectile dysfunction
Can be returned or processed
Old age and common health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and depression are risk factors for erectile dysfunction.
The Massachusetts Aging Study for Men (MMAS) was the first large-scale study that clarified the prevalence of erectile dysfunction. Between 1987 and 1989, 513 men aged 40 to 70 were studied and again between 1995 and 1997. He calculated total erectile dysfunction at 52% in all age categories and found the age to be the highest. most important risk factor for erectile dysfunction. He also found strong links to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, certain medications, smoking, anger, and depression.
A similar study in a much larger group of American health professionals in the United States, a follow-up study of health professionals, looked at 43,235 men aged 53 to 90 years from 1986 to 2000. ED increases with increasing frequency. age: 12% younger men. Men aged 59 said they had moderate to severe erectile dysfunction, 22% of men aged 60 to 69 and 30% of men aged 70 and over.
Although these studies were primarily based on white men, they laid the groundwork for many follow-up studies looking at the causes and compounds of erectile dysfunction.
Medication is a common and treatable cause of erectile dysfunction.
Medications, especially high blood pressure medications and antidepressants, have been known to cause erectile dysfunction since the 1980s. A key study examining the effect of blood pressure medications on erectile dysfunction was treatment for dysfunction erectile. Mild hypertension, published in 1997, but still informative in clinical practice today. A 2-year study of 557 men aged 45 to 69 with mild hypertension found that the group of men who took a blood pressure medication called a diuretic (or “water pill”) had twice more erectile dysfunction than the placebo group.
Antidepressants are also significantly involved in the cause of erectile dysfunction. Researchers do not yet fully understand how this happens, but do know that it is linked to higher doses of antidepressants and believe it may be linked to an individual’s genetics. There is a lot of evidence for a link, especially between the use of SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). A 14-week, multicenter, prospective study in adults with depression (STAR * D study: Sequencing of treatment options to relieve depression) showed that of 574 men aged 18 to 75 years treated with citalopram (an SSRI antidepressant ), 37% reported having an erectile dysfunction. In another study of 704 men in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands who had recently started taking an SSRI or SNRI antidepressant, almost 50% of the men examined reported sexual dysfunction.
What this means in the long term and how best to treat it is less certain, however. In some people, erectile dysfunction associated with depression is actually improved by antidepressants. In others, erectile dysfunction may be triggered or exacerbated by antidepressant treatment. For some people, this may decrease over time, or they may find that lowering the dose of their antidepressant helps to improve things.
A systematic review of 15 randomized controlled trials with 904 people found that the evidence for the treatment of erectile dysfunction associated with antidepressants is rather limited. In this study, the authors examined 29 psychiatrists “experts” in sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressants. They found common approaches including waiting (2 to 8 weeks to see if ED adjusts when antidepressants have reached steady state), reducing the dose of antidepressants, switching to another antidepressant (such as a SSRI or another drug than an SSRI). such as bupropion or mirtazepine), adding an antidepressant other than bupropion (Zyban), or starting treatment with an erectile dysfunction medicine, such as sildenafil (Viagra).
Obviously, this should always be done under the supervision of a doctor.
Excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and drug abuse can cause erectile dysfunction.
Alcohol has a complicated connection with erectile dysfunction: small amounts can help build self-confidence, but ultimately alcohol has a negative effect on sexual desire and more than 3 drinks a day can lower it. testosterone levels in men. It is not known whether alcohol has additional effects on erectile function or not, and a new meta-analysis of 11 studies found no clear link, but the water is cloudy.
Likewise, smoking has been a known risk factor for erectile dysfunction since the Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS) in the late 1980s, but the link is also unclear. Smoking is closely linked to heart disease, high blood pressure and blood vessels (atherosclerosis), as well as erectile dysfunction, so the direct link between smoking and erectile dysfunction is more difficult to identify. But we do know that smoking damages the lining of blood vessels. And we know that this damage to the blood vessels causes erectile dysfunction. An extensive review of the available scientific evidence linking smoking to erectile dysfunction from 2001 indicates the following: Smoking increases the link between erectile dysfunction and risk factors such as heart disease and high blood pressure and doubles the risk of moderate to complete erectile dysfunction. What is especially important when thinking about drugs to treat erectile dysfunction is that the degree of erectile dysfunction is the same in former smokers as in non-smokers, suggesting that the effect of smoking on erectile dysfunction is reversible. Good news.
Opioids, both prescription and recreational, cause sexual dysfunction by lowering testosterone levels. This 2009 study of 701 addicts (mainly heroin, amphetamines and MDMA or “ecstasy”) in a drug treatment center showed a higher degree of erectile dysfunction than the control group, as well as other effects on sexual function.
For other substances, the reference is less clear. For example, this comprehensive review of 92 meta-analyzes showed that the evidence that marijuana causes erectile dysfunction is unclear.
Treatment that is high in cholesterol can improve erectile dysfunction.
In a “first of its kind” systematic review and meta-analysis in 2011, researchers focused on the role of cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. They collected data on 750 men with erectile dysfunction in 6 clinical trials in 4 countries (United States, Italy, Nigeria and Iran) between 2004 and 2010, focusing in particular on preventable risk factors. The evidence was startling: All studies showed erectile dysfunction improved with lifestyle changes aimed at reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (weight loss, exercise, a healthy Mediterranean diet, and cholesterol-lowering drugs).
Counseling therapy can help if erectile dysfunction is caused by mental and emotional stress.
Finally, when we looked at the evidence for psychological therapies for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, we got lucky. This is exactly what the Cochrane systematic review does. The reviewers analyzed the results of 11 studies from 1975 to 2005, which included 398 men with erectile dysfunction. The results show that the target group therapy after sex reduced erectile dysfunction compared to men who received no treatment and men who received only sildenafil (Viagra).
There is also some evidence that pair therapy improves outcomes for 70% of couples with erectile dysfunction.