Erectile Dysfunction - Diabetes

How diabetes affect Erectile Dysfunction

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a failure or reduction in the body's ability to tolerate glucose (sugar). It has become an increasingly common disease in modern times. The biggest problem with diabetes is the failure to diagnose it – it is estimated that only about half the people who currently have diabetes are diagnosed.

Most people have Type 2 diabetes or ‘adult diabetes’ as opposed to the insulin-requiring Type 1 diabetes which afflicts younger patients. Many people also have ‘impaired glucose tolerance’ which is a milder precursor to Type 2 diabetes.

Erectile dysfunction implications for diabetics

Diabetes can cause erectile dysfunction in men as young as the early 40’s, affecting as many as 64% of all diabetic men. Although it's not clear why diabetic men are more prone to ED, medical experts believe it's because diabetes can adversely affect blood flow, particularly to the body's extremities, including the penis.

Why does diabetes induce erectile dysfunction?

Two of the basic physical requirements for producing an erection are healthy blood vessels and healthy nerves in the penis. Because both the blood supply and nerve endings are affected by diabetes, the chances of getting and sustaining an erection are reduced in diabetics.

For reasons that are not completely understood a high glucose level, if present for years, can damage the function of muscle fibres within blood vessles and vascular tissues, including the erectile tissue of the penis, and of the small nerves and arteries throughout the body. Thus ED can affect many men with diabetes, with some studies reporting that up to 60 per cent of diabetic men will eventually develop the problem.

Although the chances of this occurring are reduced by good treatment of the diabetes they cannot be reduced to zero. A further and increasingly common problem is that the type of diabetes commoner in older people (called Type 2 or non-insulin dependent diabetes) can be accompanied by relatively few symptoms in the early stages, which mean that many people with Type 2 diabetes already show some damage to the nerves and arteries by the time they have their diabetes diagnosed.

Diabetes erectile dysfunction treatment

The good news is that there are now a number of very effective medications and treatments available for erectile dysfunction caused by diabetes.

The most suitable treatment for diabetes impotence depends on a number of things, including your general health and wellbeing, the severity of your diabetes, and your personal choice.

It has been discovered in people with type 2 diabetes, that both mental and physical stress may cause blood sugar levels to rise. In addition, diabetics undergoing stress may not take care of themselves as well as they did previously. For example, they may drink more alcohol or exercise less. They may not check their sugar levels or attend properly to their diet.

NHS treatment is free

Don’t be afraid to approach your local doctor…

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