Erectile Dysfunction Treatment & Medication

Once erectile dysfunction has been diagnosed there are many different ways of treating and medicating this condition. However if your GP has found that your erectile dysfunction is caused by another underlying medical condition such as heart disease or high blood pressure then this will be treated first before any medication is given for your erectile problems.

Self help Treatment

If you find that your erectile problem is not caused by underlying medical issues then the first area of treatment that you should look into is how you can help yourself. This should be done first as with all drugs and medicines there are side effects and risks that could further affect your health, and helping yourself naturally is a much safer way of solving your erectile problems.Self help treatments include changing your lifestyle to make it a healthier one by seeking help to stop smoking, exercising regularly and trying to reduce stress and anxiety levels and avoiding recreational drugs.

Treatments for Physical Problems

Hormone therapy will be used in your treatment if you have an imbalance of hormones, especially if your testosterone levels are low as this is the hormone that affects your erections. This treatment works by prescribing you either testosterone tablets or injections which are administered into either the arm or the buttock to raise the level of testosterone. Even though this procedure is an effective way of treating erectile dysfunction, only as little as 4% of the men that suffer from erectile problems have this testosterone imbalance and can be treated by hormone therapy.

Penis pumps may also be used to treat the physical problems of erectile dysfunction as the pumps can help you to be able to get and then maintain an erection. Drugs and medicines such as Alprostadil may also be prescribed to help with erectile dysfunction.

If these simpler measures prove to be ineffective then more intrusive treatments like surgery may be considered. Surgery can be used to repair arteries to increase the blood flow to the penis and to also block off veins that may be causing leaks through the penile tissues. Another surgery that may be used is an implant within the penis.

Treatments for Psychological Problems

The most popular treatments that can be used to treat psychological erectile problems are psychosexual counselling and cognitive behaviour therapy. Both of these treatments try to reduce the anxiety and stress that can possibly be surrounding sexual intercourse. Also it is advised that if you are struggling with erectile dysfunction within a relationship that both you and your partner are treated together so that both the people in the relationship know how best to handle the condition.

If you are suffering from depression that is not directly associated or has been caused by your erectile problems then anti-depressant medication may be prescribed to try and solve your problem.

Erectile Dysfunction Treatment on the NHS

There are various treatments for erectile dysfunction that are available on the NHS although it does depend on your own individual circumstances. An appointment with your GP is the first step to getting these treatments. At this assessment both your past medical history and your present health will be looked at. This has to be assessed so that the GP can understand why you are having erectile problems and what will be the best place to start when trying to treat it.

Some treatments for erectile dysfunction will only be available to you in certain circumstances. These circumstances include if you have heart disease, Parkinson’s disease or severe stress and anxiety because of your erectile problems. With all the following treatments it is important for you to realise that there is no quick fix to erectile dysfunction and that it may take several attempts with lots of treatments to be able to solve your problem. The NHS also strongly advises never to buy medication off of the internet if you have not been previously assessed by your GP or a medical expert.

Here are some of the treatments that are available on the NHS;

• Expert help from Dieticians and Nutritionists about how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
• Anti depressant medication if the erectile dysfunction is a psychological one.
• Help with alcohol and/or substance abuse.
• Vacuum Pumps – which draw blood into the penis allowing you to have and sustain an erection.
• Tablets – oral tablets like Viagra which again improves blood flow into your penis.
• Hormone Treatments which are used to ensure that you have enough testosterone within your body to enable you to have an erection.
• Penile implants or rods which are inserted into the penis to allow you to have a more rigid erection.

To be able to have any of these treatments on the NHS the first thing you have to do is to book a consultation with your GP and to diagnose your individual problems.

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