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Suggest Life Style Modifications To Be Made For Erectile Dysfunction

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Posted on Mon, 13 Apr 2015
Question: Hi,
I've been using Cialis 5mg for some 9 months now, and it works very well. Of course, I would prefer to get back my strong erections and avoid medication. My health is generally fine, I'm good on Cholesterols/TG, normal BP, Blood tests OK. What would you recommend in terms of life style improvement or specific medical support? I assume that ED is a symptom of health issues and that motivates me to work on my general health. I hope you can give me some advice what would be the right steps here.
By the way:
One side effect is that at times that I use Cialis, my morning erections are much more regular and stronger than when not on Cialis. Sometimes I do have strong natural morning erections, but that has become quite infrequent since 1-2 years. Just wondering if this gives any indication of specific health issues? Will be glad to share any information that would help you get a better picture.
Thanks!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho (9 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Erectile dysfunction could have several causes.

Detailed Answer:
Hi, I have gone through your question and understand your concerns.

Erectile dysfunction could have several underlying conditions as cause and these include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis, neurologic diseases, sleep disorders, alchoholism, tobacco use, stress and depression, hormonal changes, prostate disease and treatment.

Since your blood tests and blood pressure are ok, diabetes, heart disease, and neurologic diseases are not the cause of ED in your case.

Lifestyle modifications include stop smoking and alchohol use, loose wheight if you are overweight, regular exercises every day, dealing with psychological and stress issues.

One important test about ED is the measure of blood testosterone level.

If testosterone is low, it can be replaced.

Cialis is a good treatment and can be used in long term treatment for ED.

Best thing to improve ED if no serious underlying disease is causing it, is to improve lifestyle habits and fight stress.

Hope this answers your question. If you have additional questions or follow up questions then please do not hesitate in writing to us. I will be happy to answer your questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho (29 hours later)
Thank you for your very clear comments. Here are a few more items I wanted to ask you about:
1) I attached three sheets from my recent health check. Could you please look into this information and comment if you see any figures that might indicate a condition that could cause ED symptoms? I have more test results, also hormonal, please indicate if any other info would be needed to assess;
2) I was diagnosed of benign prostatic hyperplasia with prostate enlargement within the expected range for my age. I have no urination problems or other symptoms. Can BPH cause ED symptoms?
3) You did not comment on my remarks in the first message, regarding my morning erections....is this irrelevant when looking into ED?
4) On stress, I've been working on reducing and avoiding stress, with beneficial effects on my sleep quality etc..Just wondering which possible other "psychological issues" I should try to be aware of, as you mentioned in your answer? Examples?

Thanks for your help!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Reports are okay regarding to ED.

Detailed Answer:
Hi again and thanks for the info you provided.

1. I examined carefully your test reports and don't see any deviation of found values related to ED.

2. BPH ( benign prostate hypertrophy) can affect erection by three possible ways: a) it is thought that changes locally at sympathetic nervous system can affect erection, this is related to severity of urinary symptoms. b) medications used to treat BPH interfere with those used to treat ED. c) psychological stress caused by this condition.

3. Morning erections present indicate that stress is a good part as cause of ED, since during sleep stress fades away. In the other hand, infrequency may indicate hormonal changes.

4. Working on stress means first to identify the cause of it. Causes of stress may include relationship problems, too much concerns about BPH for example, work related stress, etc.

Blood tests that may help are testosterone level, thyroid function tests, pituitary function tests.

Hope I helped you. Best regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho (47 hours later)
Hello, thank you very much for your clear explanations, they are really helpful and motivating me.

On the thyroid/pituitary hormones, testosterone, cortisol, SHBG etc, that has been tested several times and was quite ok, with only Testosterone at the lower borderline. With no other symptoms, I now intend to make a next step in loosing weight. I was at BMI of almost 30 for quite some years, and managed it sustainably down to 27,5-27,9 for the last 8 months.
I think I need to take a next major step here and move to a BMI value below 26. Hope this further suppresses my ED issues.

One more question wrt. the use of Cialis:
My ED issues have been relatively mild. I've been using "Cialis Daily" because it is so easy and comfortable. Recently I noticed improvement, probablybecause I try to sleep more and avoid stress if only controllable. Would you recommend that I reduce the use of Cialis only to incidental/as needed? And is recommended to switch to another medicine from time to time (like Levitra)? I am perfectly fine with Cialis but want to the risk that it looses effectivenes if constantly used...

Thanks again!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho (13 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
You can use Cialis occasionally.

Detailed Answer:
Hi again.

I'm happy to see you are in the right track, so there's no need for any explanation about weight, sleep and stress.

It is no necessary to use Cialis daily, you can use it when needed.

In this way you can prevent and any tolerance that may develop, despite this is very rare.

Cialis, Viagra and Levitra belong to same pharmacological group and have same mechanism of action, so there is no need to switch drugs.

Best regards. Keep staying healthy.
Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho

Neurologist, Surgical

Practicing since :2004

Answered : 4493 Questions

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Suggest Life Style Modifications To Be Made For Erectile Dysfunction

Brief Answer: Erectile dysfunction could have several causes. Detailed Answer: Hi, I have gone through your question and understand your concerns. Erectile dysfunction could have several underlying conditions as cause and these include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis, neurologic diseases, sleep disorders, alchoholism, tobacco use, stress and depression, hormonal changes, prostate disease and treatment. Since your blood tests and blood pressure are ok, diabetes, heart disease, and neurologic diseases are not the cause of ED in your case. Lifestyle modifications include stop smoking and alchohol use, loose wheight if you are overweight, regular exercises every day, dealing with psychological and stress issues. One important test about ED is the measure of blood testosterone level. If testosterone is low, it can be replaced. Cialis is a good treatment and can be used in long term treatment for ED. Best thing to improve ED if no serious underlying disease is causing it, is to improve lifestyle habits and fight stress. Hope this answers your question. If you have additional questions or follow up questions then please do not hesitate in writing to us. I will be happy to answer your questions.