Daddy's little pills

[bcguy42 38594]

The title is a nod to "Mother's Little Pills", the name by which Valium was known when doctors started prescribing it to housewives like candy.

 

Had my annual physical today. Doctor guaranteed me for at least another 30 minutes or 30 feet from his office door. I've been seeing this guy for longer than a lot of CERBites have been alive. One of the benefits of the long relationship is that he will actually sit and talk.

 

We chatted about the last year and what went well and what didn't and just how things were going. On one topic, he suggested I start ED meds. We discussed the various options, pros and cons, and how and when was I likely to enjoy the benefits of same.

 

To wit, I'm about to embark on the little blue pill adventure. We'll see how that goes.

 

Any suggestions, anecdotes, warnings or words of wisdom on the subject might prove interesting.

 

If I don't die of it, I'll be back to let you know how it goes after a suitable period of time.

 

The whole time we were talking about it, I was remembering the SNL skit with the line "If you get an erection that lasts more than four hours, call all your friends and brag about it." As if... :)

[SamanthaEvans 166766]

Welcome to seasoned maturity, bcguy! :icon_wink:

 

It's wonderful to know that you have such a fine relationship with your doctor. It sounds like you're able to have good, honest talks with him. That's the key ingredient for successful health care.

 

Okay, about ED medication. (ED stands for "erectile dysfunction," for those who don't know.)

 

Young men usually have strong erections easily with little or no stimulation. As men age, they are less able to have erections so spontaneously, but that is perfectly normal. Young men often can have many orgasms in a single day. Aging tends to reduce the number of orgasms a man can have in a 24-hour period, but it also tends to increase the length of time he can maintain an erection as well as his control over whether, or when, to have an orgasm.

 

If you're having trouble getting an erection or maintaining it until you're ready for an orgasm, you my have ED. If you have erections that are firm and durable, but you're having difficulty controlling when you ejaculate, you may have PE, premature ejaculation. The two conditions are not the same. ED often responds to medication. PE requires re-training your body to avoid ejaclulation; it doesn't require medication.

 

ED is most common among men over 40, and is a frequent issue for men in their 50s and older, because of health problems. Health issues that can cause or contribute to erectile problems include diabetes (35-50% of diabetic men have erectile dysfunction), smoking, alcoholism, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, being overweight, heart disease, atherosclerosis, vascular disease, and not getting enough exercise. Depression can also be a factor, whether in addition to any of these conditions, or on its own. Surgery can also cause ED.

 

The important thing to know is that ED is not inevitable or a natural part of aging. It's caused by other factors. The best way to avoid having ED is to have a healthy lifestyle. Eat properly. Get exercise. Don't smoke. Don't drink too much. Hypertension, diabetes and heart disease can cause ED and are often preventable. They're also treatable conditions. Many men find that, if they lose weight, exercise and keep their blood pressure under control, they will have little trouble with ED.

 

The medications used to control diabetes, heart disease and vascular conditions frequently also cause or contribute to ED. If you start taking medication to control your blood pressure and find that you have trouble getting or keeping an erection, tell your doctor. There are literally hundreds of drugs and combinations of drugs that will help relieve hypertension. Many people need to try different medications to find the one that's best for them. You don't have to put up with ED caused by blood pressure medication!

 

Medications for other conditions can also cause or contribute to ED. This is not something that drug companies talk about freely, though I'm sure that most know what's going on. Unfortunately, I don't think that drug companies take ED very seriously. It's one area where medical care for men is often very similar to care for women: if the drug company or the doctor doesn't have sympathy for the problem, that's a problem. Social attitudes about aging and sex are everywhere, so pay attention!

 

There are three medications useful for treating ED: Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. Viagra is the most commonly-prescribed and has been around the longest. Viagra takes about half an hour to work. Don't take it too far ahead of time or you may pass the point where it will be most effective. It's usually best to wait until you and your partner are getting ready for playtime. With Viagra, many men can go for two full rounds in two hours or less. The most common side effects are flushing--reddening of the face, head and/or upper chest--sinus congestion and headache. A 600 mg. dose of ibuprofen will usually help with the headache.

 

Cialis lasts a whole weekend, for most men. However, one side effect is that it can cause priapsim, an erection that lasts for hours. This is painful and unpleasant. If you experience this, you should go to the emergency room of your hospital.

 

Levitra is more like Viagra. It is the ED drug of choice for men who have diabetes. Diabetic men often have some degree of neuropathy--loss of sensation--in the penile tissues. Levitra seems to help with that.

 

If you take any of these medications before a meal, your response time will be delayed. However, some men will not respond at all if they take the medication with food. Alcohol can also have a dampening effect.

 

Don't take these medications if you don't need them! Some men in their 30s have been known to take the drugs to increase their performance. They may end up with much firmer, longer-lasting erections, but they may also become dependent on the medication, too. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

The last thing I want to say is that the drugs don't work for everyone, all the time. If you're not getting the results you should be with one, ask your doctor to try another. Just as important, expand your erotic repertoire. I think that, in the West, we have become obsessed with intercourse. Great as it is, it is not the be-all and end-all of eroticism. There are many, many other activities that are just as pleasurable, or more. It is perfectly possible to have a dynamic, rewarding and satisfying sex life without ever having an erection. All it takes is some imagination and good communication with your partner.

[bcguy42 38594]

Thank you Samantha for taking the time to post this. One of the charming and priceless facets of CERB is the provision of complete and accurate information on such a wide range of topics.

 

Now... Where is the "thankful hug" icon when you need it.

 

Sent from my BlackBerry using Tapatalk while I was supposed to be doing something useful.

[capitalman 3861]

Let's not forget the natural stuff too...."horny goat weed". It comes in pills with names like Vigor or V-max and stuff like that.

 

Don't under estimate it!! It's been used forever by asian cultures and works! Personally it gives me major headache so I don't use it, but know lots of guys that do with no headache.

 

Wondering where you can buy it? I know where. PM me.

[SamanthaEvans 166766]

You're welcome!

 

I should also say that it's completely possible to have an orgasm without an erection. Such orgasms may not feel as deep or complete as those that include erections, but your mileage my vary, as they say.

 

Another thing is, if you have better erections with one of the ED medications, but still not as firm and long-lasting as you'd like, consider using a cock ring. They constrict the blood flow into and out of the penis and can be very helpful! I wrote about cock rings here, just a couple of days ago.

 

Additional Comments:

Let's not forget the natural stuff too...."horny goat weed". It comes in pills with names like Vigor or V-max and stuff like that.

 

Don't under estimate it!! It's been used forever by asian cultures and works! Personally it gives me major headache so I don't use it, but know lots of guys that do with no headache.

 

Oooh, yes! Horny goat weed is terrific for many men.

 

Another that's great is Maca. A friend of mine is 59 years old and has type-2 diabetes. He's been taking 500 mg. Maca, 3x/day and loves it. He says it works better than horny goat weed and it's also less expensive.

 

Maca is good for anyone who is under a lot of stress, too. It helps both physical and mental fatigue. For diabetics, it helps support glucose levels, too.

[capitalman 3861]

Samantha, you are like an encyclopedia! You should be nominated as our resident nurse!! :bigclap: I'm gonna look into Maca...interesting!

[SamanthaEvans 166766]

Samantha, you are like an encyclopedia! You should be nominated as our resident nurse!!

 

LOL! Thanks. I've learned so much from being in this business. All my clients nowadays are in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

 

Gentlemen, just two things will help ensure that you're having great erections for the rest of your lives.

 

Quit smoking. Smoking causes all kinds of vascular problems, including high blood pressure and heart disease. Your blood pressure can return to normal within a couple of weeks if you stop smoking. Lower blood pressure means better cardiac functioning, too. And you'll lessen your chance of lung cancer. The most common type of lung cancer is usually found in people who have been smoking for more than 10, often more than 20 years, but even if you've only smoked for two or three years, you will be at increased risk for lung cancer for the rest of your life. And friends.... it's a nasty one! It can be undetected for a long time, but once it surfaces, most people don't live long. Even with a remission. It is very painful. It spreads to other organs and bones, and it almost always spreads to the brain, too. For your own well-being and for the sake of the people who love you, please quit smoking.

 

Lose weight. You know how much you really should weigh. Aim for that. Take a year to get there, longer if you're very heavy. You don't need to over-stress your whole body by crash dieting. Do something sensible. You can lose 50 pounds in a year and not feel like you've been horribly deprived of anything. If you find that you hate "diet food," look around for a private chef and spend a little money getting some help with food ideas. Several of my friends have done that and are thrilled with how it worked out for them. Overweight is just plain hard on your heart because it has to work harder to keep you moving around. It also zaps your energy and then what happens? You get hungry, because carbohydrates perk you up again. Go to the gym, if you like. Even better, get a dog--a decent-sized one, like a Labrador--and walk it every morning and every evening, no matter what the weather. Make one of those walks a good long one--two miles or so. You'll lose weight. You'll feel better, more energetic, and your mood will improve because you'll be getting outside, every day. You'll bond with your dog, and that's just plain good for us. Human beings and dogs have been together for almost 20,000 years. Your mind will be clearer. You will think better. You will sleep better. You will live longer. AND you will have better erections, too!

[xmy556 6095]

 

The last thing I want to say is that the drugs don't work for everyone, all the time. If you're not getting the results you should be with one, ask your doctor to try another. Just as important, expand your erotic repertoire. I think that, in the West, we have become obsessed with intercourse. Great as it is, it is not the be-all and end-all of eroticism. There are many, many other activities that are just as pleasurable, or more. It is perfectly possible to have a dynamic, rewarding and satisfying sex life without ever having an erection. All it takes is some imagination and good communication with your partner.

 

Well said Samantha. While ED drugs can treat the physiological conditions in men associated with the failure to sustain an erection, the ability to get the erection in the first place is often a psychological issue.

 

My physician placed me on Cialis a number of years ago, at my request. In doing so, we had a long discussion about it, and he cautioned me to manage my expectations about the results. True, sometimes it doesn't work as well as one hopes, but the failure is of psychological origin, not just the fact that blood flow from the erectile tissues of the penis were at fault. Mental distractions, stress, guilt, exhaustion, and mostly, thinking too much about the results (erection... ejaculation... orgasm.... ) cannot be addressed by ED medication.

 

It does, however, provide a man with greater confidence in his ability to sustain an erection. While this may be just a placebo effect, in itself this is a benefit for me.

 

As Samantha also suggested, overall physical health is a major contributing factor. For most men, being 10 to 20 pounds overweight, lacking cardiovascular endurance, or losing overall muscle mass, strength and tone is a big obstacle to a healthy and satisfying sex life. All the more incentive to get on that mountain bike and ride!