ED – Causes (others than Peyronie’s)

[SSmithe]

I am on a quest to regain AM erections.  Many on this board believe it was integral to helping with their Peyronies Disease.  Below is my theory about my ED and why my AM erections may have vanished at 24 years old.

Growing up I definitely had issues with premature ejaculation.  As a result, I spent most of my late teens and early 20's trying to hold back my ejaculation so I could last longer at sex.  Now at 30 I have Peyronies Disease, some ED problems, and continued loss of AM erections.

Here is my theory:  In my frequent attempts to delay ejaculation, I was basically developing mental and muscle habits that attempt to subdue erections and ejaculation in hopes of lasting longer in bed.  Once these habits are developed, perhaps a pattern in your erectile functioning develops and you have "taught" your body to avoid erections.  Learning to hold back ejaculation requires developing mental and muscle control over what naturally is a spontaneous event controlled by the Autonomic nervous system. (like heart beats, meaning we cannot consciously control it) Could it be possible that over time and with enough effort, one could override their autonomic nervous cues that cause erections?   Could one learn to control smooth muscle when one shouldn't?

I have noticed:
• I experience more pain and inflammation when I "hold" my erection for a duration, than when I simply progress to ejaculation.
• I also find my ejaculation to be weaker when I "hold" an erection when compared to progressing straight to ejaculation.
• I am more inclined to want to become erect again when I do so quickly the first time.  If I "hold" and erection, after ejaculation my penis feels tired and less inclined to want to become erect again.

This is just a crazy theory of mine.  I would love to hear thoughts from anyone about this.  I am going to try to have more frequent but shorter duration erections.  Perhaps unlearning to prolong ejaculation will encourage more erections.  After all each new erection comes with fresh blood which can only help.
Thanks,
SSmithe

[hb]

I don't think your body can be taught to avoid erections. So much of an erection is simply the various body chemical reactions to external stimulus. I had the premature ejaculation issue, too. But as I aged, it went away. I developed hypertension as a result of genetics, which required that I use the ED drugs. Those drugs eliminated all premature issues, since they all make you so hard and insensitive. I would never ejaculate in less than 15 minutes once I started using the drugs.

My Peryronies was a result of using too tight constriction rings with a VED. The theory of trauma causing it, was totally correct.  

[LWillisjr]

SSmithe,

It is s documented fact the the time for orgasm in men is different than women. Many men learn to delay orgasm in order to match that of their mate. In doing so, you are not overriding the autonomic nervous system. You learn how to trigger the PDE5 enzyme that is the natural way to subdue an erection. You can do the same thing by holding your breath and temporarily letting your CO2 levels rise in your blood. A common trick or teenage boys. Recall that drugs like Cialis and Viagra simply inhibit the PDE5 uptake process.

In my opinion your delay of erection and orgasm has little to do with your symptoms.

[skunkworks]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

Alcohol is long regarded as a risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED), but epidemiological evidence has been equivocal. We aimed to investigate the ED risk associated with various levels of alcohol consumption by meta-analysis. We searched for population-based studies on ED through Medline, PubMed, PsychInfo, and scanned through reference lists. Eleven cross-sectional studies were included and analyzed with random effects model. We reviewed the results from one cross-sectional study and two cohort studies. Regular alcohol consumption was negatively associated with ED (odds ratio (OR)=0.79; 99% confidence interval (CI), 0.67-0.92; P<0.001). Consumption of 8 or more drinks/week significantly reduced the risk of ED (OR=0.85; 99% CI, 0.73-0.99; P=0.007), but consumption of less alcohol (1-7 drinks/week) was not significant (OR=0.73; 99% CI, 0.44, 1.20; P=0.101). Begg's test and Egger's test detected no significant publication bias. Our estimates (in sensitivity analyses) were rendered nonsignificant when International Index of Erectile Function definition was used and when statistical adjustment was made only for age. Meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies yielded a protective association of alcohol on ED, but the two cohort studies did not demonstrate any significant findings for alcohol consumption. More research is needed to confirm whether alcohol is protective or is unrelated to ED development.

[Skjaldborg]

Long story short: drinking in moderation won't hurt and probably helps given the usual caveat of "as long as you are not an alcoholic." I am not in the least surprised by this particularly because of the association of moderate drinking with good cardiovascular health (it is a vasodialator after all). It would be interesting to know if they factored in income and standard of living with these numbers.

Bottoms up!

-Skjald

[skunkworks]

There is never enough detail in these things. 8+ drinks a week could mean 8 or 9 or 50. Will 50 drinks a week help or hinder ED? This study can't tell me.

[Sargonnas]

SSmithe, I only know I have had some degree of ED since 18 that I injured my penis with Penis Enlargament exercises, and I used to take all kinds of aphroidisiacs, for example, Horny Goat Weed assured stiff morning erections, which were uncomfortable back then. But YES I agree nocturnal and morning erections are mandatory to cure Peyronies or for healing the penis in general so if I were you I would try the HGW or Arginine + Pycnogenol etc Personally all those theories of psychology, habits or whatever regarding the penis function are BS to me and I have experienced improvements only providing my body with needed support. Others use Cialis with success. I used the low dose daily and it made me have weak AM erections as well, but that stuff was sooo expensive.

[Barbaraaltman]

Here are some possible causes of ED

Following are the causes for erectile dysfunction. Here I am excluding Peyronie's Disease

1. Testosterone level
2. Physiological Depression
3. Accidents
4. Diabetes
5. Hyper tension
6. Taking drugs for hair loss or an enlarged prostate

Treatment:

1. Viagra/ anti-impotence Medicine
2. Healthy life style
3. Nutritious Diet
4. Exercise daily
5. Quit smoking


Thanks HawK, with your suggestion I have modified my post

[Hawk]

Barbaraaltman,

Your post should have read "Here are some possible causes of ED"

You did not mention many medications, or nerve damage.  Nerve damage from prostate surgery or radiation treatment are a leading cause of Peyronies Disease and often resulting in total ED.  Testosterone on the other hand is seldom independently responsible for ED.

[MattFoley]

Hawk, while I will agree with you that Low-T is not a common cause for ED, it still is a cause. So, why not test for it? And, for us here, it's not only about ED, it's also about a better well-being and the empowerment to give our bodies a better chance to heal.

If you have Peyronie's and don't do a testosterone check, you are simply robbing yourself of the opportunity to determine whether higher testosterone levels would be appropriate for you. Again, I posted the info regarding the fact that the average Peyronie's patient has lower testosterone than other men at the same age. Correlation? My urologist believes so and has given me T-Replacement therapy. And as a result, I feel better, my libido is up, and my erections are firmer. As for the Peyronie's itself, it's too early to say but I'm hopeful.

God bless us.

[LWillisjr]

Well then isn't it odd that the recognized Peyronies Specialist noted on this forum don't required "T" testing? If there truly was a correlation I would think they would all be testing and suggesting "T" therapy.

[MattFoley]

First, sorry, but I don't know who you're talking about.

Second, the medical study I posted several times indicates a correlation. Doctors don't often encourage T-Replacement therapy because they either don't understand it or they don't like prescribing a controlled medication.

Third, based upon what my urologist told me I'm going to keep recommending to people that at the very least they get their testosterone levels checked as well as other blood work to determine their androgen levels.

Lastly, there's a reason we get morning erections: It's called testosterone. If you're not getting morning wood, you may not have enough of it. Again, there's no harm in getting it checked.

[skunkworks]

Second, the medical study I posted several times indicates a correlation. Doctors don't often encourage T-Replacement therapy because they either don't understand it or they don't like prescribing a controlled medication.

Could you post that study again? Couldn't see it in your last 50 posts, only one clinicaltrial which hasn't published results yet.

[MattFoley]

Sure. It was in my third post but a little hard to find. Here it is:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19473459

God bless you.

[skunkworks]

Severity of curvature was greater for men with TD compared with men with normal T (54.3 vs. 37.1 degrees, P = 0.006). Men with low FT had greater penile curvature than men with normal FT (37.5 vs. 55.9 degrees, respectively, P = 0.003). Severity of penile curvature correlated significantly with FT (r = -0.314, P = 0.016) and estradiol/T (r = 0.476, P = 0.0001) but not TT (r = -0.199, P = 0.138).

That is very interesting for sure, and does merit people having their T levels checked. Obviously there is still an element of the chicken or egg about it though, ie another possible explanation would be the greater the injury the more stress (cortisol) it causes, leading to lower T.

[MattFoley]

The cortisol issue I would think is a separate matter of us looking at our penis and thinking, "Oh dear God, why me?" and then freaking out. I've seen nothing to indicate that cortisol in of itself is caused by the Peyronie's as a chemical reaction. Yes, cortisol will kill, and I mean murder, your libido so it's important to maintain a calm composure throughout.

Frankly, I can't stress it enough, please, please get a full panel of blood work done especially if your health plan covers it. You can't lose and maybe T-Replacement is the thing your body is begging you for. And, as I said, take a look at my supplement list as well as exercising and high protein.

Anything I can do for you, please let me know. We're in this together.

[skunkworks]

That the cortisol is created via an emotional reaction in no way changes the effect it would have on the body.

[MattFoley]

Yes, of course, a negative emotional response would generate higher levels of cortisol in the body and effect your health in a negative fashion.

[Noway]

SSmithe

Holding back your semen can cause major problems as you probably know it can damage your urethra and damage blood vessels that hold your blood or pop vessels it is very dangerous it also puts alot of pressure on the penis. Other causes of ed other then peyronies disease mental, eating habits, medications, certain surgeries, smoking, injuries, bicycling, damage to the nerves of the penis.

[Hawk]

You cannot pop blood vessels by delaying climax.  You might be able to do that by squeezing your penis hard enough to stop ejaculation while you are having an orgasm but no one is talking about anything like that.

[LWillisjr]

And Noway is once again responding to a post that is 2 years old.

[funnyfarm]

And Noway is once again responding to a post that is 2 years old.

I hope the guy has not been holding back his semen since June 2010 waiting for a reply.  Talk about blue balls !

[MattFoley]

LOL.

[Noway]

@lwillisjr

so what if I am mind your own business I seriously don't care buddy. You guys can ban me from this forum if I respond to a post two years old I really don't care. I look around so does other people. Im saying this in a nice way. funnyfarm I don't even know why your talking you wouldn't even know what blue balls is anyway you should be PDS Newbie this is your category from the post ive seen! your a really helpful guy....

[funnyfarm]

You are having a bad day.  I get it.  Believe me I have them too.  We are all here to support each other though so there is not need to get upset and curse one another.  

[LWillisjr]

@lwillisjr

so what if I am mind your own business I seriously don't care buddy. You guys can ban me from this forum if I respond to a post two years old I really don't care. I look around so does other people. Im saying this in a nice way.

I'm having a great day, so I'll say this in even a nicer way. Some of your responses are fine. but many or your responses are off topic, not relevant, or don't make any sense. Which I don't understand because you have been here for some time. Consider yourself warned.