Quinton Cancel, MD, a urologist with Mission Urology, talks about the different options available for men who have erectile dysfunction.
(video transcript)
The definition of erectile dysfunction is the difficulty in achieving and maintaining an erection sufficient for intercourse. Most men, unfortunately if you live long enough, will experience erectile dysfunction. And the good news is that there are plenty of opportunities to help.
There’s a lot of medicines and techniques and devices and surgeries that can aid in achieving your erections and getting that back. We know that erectile dysfunction not only affects the man, but affects your partner. So, we’re treating two people at the same time when we’re treating erectile dysfunction.
My message is know that you’re not alone, and know that there is help. And, you just have to seek it. One of the easiest things to do for erectile dysfunction is just to check your lab work just to see if your testosterone is low. Many times, when our testosterone is low, we don’t respond well to stimuli. The first and foremost thing that I would recommend is to check your testosterone, because if you have low T then that could be easily treated.
The second thing is we can treat ED with medications. Everyone’s heard of Viagra or Cialis and Levitra, and there’s a few others. Those drugs are meant to create blood flow to the pelvis, so you have to be stimulated for them to work. But, in mild and moderate cases, just having the pill will work. Sometimes you have to be treated first with your low testosterone to get that up, an oftentimes it’s a synergy between the two. The combination of testosterone therapy and the pills will help.
But, for men whose erections are more severe, or erectile dysfunctions are more server, there are pumps that can be used. They are a little mechanical, but they work well if you know how to use them. There are direct injections that one can do directly into the corporal bodies that will give you an erection within minutes. And, the erections can last anywhere from half an hour to two hours. There are suppositories that can be inserted into the urethra.
And, there’s actually a surgery that can put a device in the penis to achieve erections. I always say that there’s always a way. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And, if you’re serious and you want to do what you can to be healthy and to be whole to restore that part of your life, we can certainly help you.
Quinton Cancel, MD, is a urologist with Mission Urology.
