Besides erections.
You’ve reached a certain stage in your life where you’re making more money and you have more things. You should be perfectly happy, but you’re not. You have erectile dysfunction and it’s not part of the good life. Or you may have had prostate surgery and now have a bit of ED as a consequence. Many causes of ED exist, but so do many treatments. It’s time to start finding out which one is best for you.
ED Treatments:
Low-intensity shockwave therapy (LiSWT)
Expect a treatment that is not painful, typically lasts for six weeks, with each session about 15 minutes. Expect the effects (ability to achieve an erection capable of having penetrative sex) to last about a year. Expect to pay several hundred dollars per session and don’t expect insurance to cover it. Expect to be pretty much on your own finding a provider, because the medical community in large teaching hospitals doesn’t use it. But you can still find a provider if you’re careful and ask the right questions. Read how in “This might be how to show your rebellious side.” and learn the ins and outs.
Medicine
Viagra® is not the only ED med, but of the five, it was the first and is the most famous. If you take it or one of the alternatives, Levitra®, Staxyn®, Cialis®, or Stendra®, expect to follow the rules for taking it, or it probably won’t work. You can experiment with which one meets your needs, both physically and economically. There is a wide range of prices and generics exist. While pills are easy to take, choosing the right one for you is more complicated. Read “ED meds usually work well.”
Penile implants
Expect to be pretty pleased with this ED treatment. Men who have had the surgery for it report the highest satisfaction rate of any treatment. While it requires surgery, it delivers results that are reliable. But you have to learn how to use it, so expect a learning curve at first. And you need to select one of two styles that is best for you: malleable or inflatable. Expect a thorough exam when you go to a urologist to learn if it’s the best option for you. Read Dr Dick’s advice on choosing and using a penile implant in “With great risk comes great reward.”
Self-injection
Expect to be surprised that an injection in your penis is not very painful. Expect to learn a lot about using and keeping needles, syringes, and injectable medication safe. Be pleasantly surprised that your partner can participate, if your partner attends training at the doctor’s office where you go to get the prescription. Expect to learn the warnings and cautions of this type of treatment, because you can get yourself in big trouble if you abuse it. Read on to see that it’s not as bad as you think: “Don’t be a weenie.”
Vacuum devices
The last of our ED treatments: vacuum constriction devices (VCDs), also called penis pumps, are low cost and low tech, but they work for some men. Expect to get yours from a urologist, not an online sex site. That’s the only way you can be assured of reliable and safe manufacturing. Read “A sex toy you get from the doctor” to read about the ups and downs of VCDs.