Erectile Dysfunction: Solving Trouble Getting It Up

Erectile Dysfunction: Solving Trouble Getting It Up

ED or erectile dysfunction is often mocked and joked about as if it wasn't a serious issue. I’m sure many sexually active women reading that have found themselves in a situation where the man has had an issue getting hard and may have been frustrated or angry at the situation.

There are many factors that can cause a man to not be able to get an erection including nerves, which sex and can cause a lot of especially in less experienced men. 

You have to understand that this is a difficult subject for men to deal with but it also significantly affects the entire relationship and in cases the entire family unit. 

Frequently erectile dysfunction is the determining factor when sex stops in a relationship, however, this does not need to be the case as there are several remedies and solutions that may cure ED fast, and save the day.

Before we get into some solutions let’s quickly cover the details on what exactly erectile dysfunction is, symptoms you can encounter, causes, and treatments.

What is Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile Dysfunction is the most common sex issue that is reported by men to their health care professional. It affects as many as 30 million men in the US alone. Erectile Dysfunction is defined fairly broadly as “ trouble getting or keeping an erection that’s firm enough for sex”. 

It is important to note that ED should not be confused with the occasional trouble getting an erection. An erection is actually a very complex system and requires several body systems to actually function correctly.

If one of these systems is not sending the right signals then unfortunately the man might end up a bit deflated. 

How does Erectile Dysfunction Happen?

When it comes to ED, it is a lot more common than most people think. It is estimated that mild to moderate ED affects more than 50% of the male population and increases by up to 10% each decade over 40. Erectile Dysfunction can have many causes and speaking with a healthcare professional to rule out the causes is the best place to begin. When speaking to a healthcare professional you can go over the most common reasons such as :

  1. 1
    High Blood Pressure is the most common cause of ED. When blood pressure is too high, those vessels can’t effectively supply blood since the constriction of these vessels means less volume of blood can be exchanged between any given place.
  2. 2
    Prescription medication side effects are another common issue and sometimes affect the male’s ability to get an erection. Oftentimes, blood pressure and antidepressant medications can cause temporary ED. Many people have these side effects and become more manageable with time but it is not unheard of for people to ask for a change of medication if dysfunction is significant.
  • I’ve personally had experience seeing somebody begin antidepressant medication and have difficulties with erections. The issue was worse during the first month but by month four or so it was nearly normal.
  1. 3
    Chronic substance abuse such as alcohol or narcotics.
  • I’m sure you have heard the term “whiskey dick” when guys drink too much and then have an issue getting it up. Excessive smoking for years on end can also contribute to ED. Honestly, cigarette packs should lead with that if they want to have effective warnings.
  1. 4
    Less common but still prevalent issues for ED can include sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, poor diet, as well as lack of exercise. These causes are kind of boring since they tend to be included in all health issues, but that’s entirely because many people don’t take care of their bodies and some system or other inside their body ends up malfunctioning.
  •  Middle-aged men tend to suffer ED most from personal and professional stresses such as relationship trouble, or work issues. 
  •  Older Men’s ED is most typically caused by physical impotence, however, other scenarios such as the loss of a partner can cause stress and loneliness leading to ED as well. 

As mentioned before, getting an erection is very much both a mental and physical process. Don’t jump the gun and think your own gun doesn’t work so well anymore for what might be a transient issue. If your issues don’t go away month after month though, you should move to the next step in the process here.

Visiting Your Healthcare Provider

The first and most important thing you should do if you or your partner is experiencing consistent ED would be to talk to your local health care provider. Ultimately your health care provider is someone you can talk to about sensitive issues like this without any kind of worry of embarrassment or the like. Most doctors and nurses have likely seen much worse on a daily basis, you needing a bit of help in your intimate life is well within what they got into their line of work to help you out with. Embarrassment not required!

Once you have made the step and are going to see a professional you should be prepared to answer some personal questions so they can understand what treatment options will best fit into your lifestyle based on how your symptoms present.

Health Questions:

The question most healthcare staff want to know from patients is whether or not they take any blood pressure medication. Since most immediate release solutions involve an abrupt change in how blood flow is regulated, it’s important to make sure all relevant factors are accounted for.

The rest of the questions are basic medical history and the whole process doesn’t take that long. The questions aren’t all that intrusive, I’d like to emphatically remind people that there’s nothing to be ashamed of here. Staff very legitimately exist to help you with issues with your body and are covered by privacy laws because of the privileged information they are trusted with.

Erectile Dysfunction Questions:

  • How long have you had these symptoms?
  • If you have erections, how hard are they?
  • Is penetration difficult?
  • Do u ever wake up with an erection?
  • Do your erections change intensity at different time (ie oral, vaginal, or masturbation)
  • How aroused do you get?
  • Do you have issues climaxing?
  • Are your erections painful?

Strategies To Solve Erectile Dysfunction

In what should be a big surprise to nobody there has been a lot of research put into ED with a few different treatment methods out there to get satisfactory results. Long term solutions tend to cluster around lifestyle changes requiring an active shift in habits or simple supplementation while the spot-treatments for ED tend to be medication based.

Improving Your Physical Health

Since we’ve established the cardiovascular system is the main culprit here, it stands to reason that keeping your heart healthy is one of the most straightforward ways to keep your erections as powerful as they can be.

Bum ticker, bum dicker. That also means being heart healthy in your dietary choices can improve your circulation enough to alleviate erectile dysfunction. These improvements will be gradual over time, but might be enough to return your life to a more natural functioning level.

The best way to begin improving your cardiovascular health is to begin an exercise routine. A combination of both weight lifting and cardio work or HIIT (high-intensity interval training) for a well rounded exercise regime works best. In the end, it all starts with just remembering to go for a run or pump a little iron until you have a proper routine established.

In general, the hardest but most rewarding path to fixing most ailments is to figure out what parts of your lifestyle can be optimized to lower their overall toll.

Improving Mental Health

People readily accept the existence of “stage fright” preventing someone from getting an erection while at the same time not being accepting of the toll depression or other mental health conditions can have on the reproductive system.

This makes it easy for a lot of men to mistake a problem with their big head for a problem in their little head.

Erectile dysfunction can occasionally be caused by nerves, stress, and in some cases a cyclical stress loop. These issues are often most prominent in young men and often fade quickly. Beginning to sexually explore each other in the early stages of relationships is another common time temporary ED occurs.

Believe it or not, simply openly talking and communicating to create an open and comfortable environment is the best and simplest way to solve that problem. Many young couples don’t realize that most people feel similarly and bottle up their feelings. Open up and talk, share your thoughts and emotions! Nobody can read your mind after all.

Other Solutions

There’s no beating around the bush about what people often reach for to treat their ED. The medication is often a target for scammers online so it doesn’t have the sunniest reputation among the general population. Sildenafil is the most commonly used active ingredient across ED medications, with tadalafil being a close second.

All these pills directly interact with PDE5 enzymes to relax blood vessels in no more than an hour’s time total. I have heard others in my life describe it as “a Tylenol for erectile dysfunction” because of its convenience and fast acting nature.When there’s a need for relief on an as needed basis for quality of life, it’s pretty much expected that the prescription ED pills will be there front and center. That’s the key term, prescription. Any site telling you no doctors are required simply aren’t following regulations and are likely not sending your pills at all.

Thanks to the whole global digitalization thing we’ve been experiencing for the past decade or two, there are sites like ForHims that offer online consultations with medical staff to determine if your case fits the typical cases best resolved with sildenafil as well as a whole bunch of other typical male health solutions worth checking out for yourself.

Most people who are too embarrassed to tell their family medical practitioner find the ability to speak with someone solely focused on issues with your erection quality can end up making them comfortable enough to go through with the process. Even if you aren’t a good candidate for the pills, access to qualified people who will hear you out specifically is very accessible thanks to providers like ForHims.

Final thoughts On Solving Erectile Dysfunction

Whether we’re willing to admit it or not, ED has a laundry list of negative effects on someone’s life and the lives of people around them on a very frequent basis. It’s one of the great pleasures of life, it’s normal for us to want to hold on to it as long as we biologically can.

The second most important step is to be as upfront and honest as possible with your answers to awkward personal questions. Remember those parts of being an adult people always said you had to do even if you hated them? This is one of those times.. 

Under the guidance of your healthcare professional, the large majority of men will find a solution to their erectile dysfunction woes by using one or a combination of solutions. Don’t make any decisions in a panic without talking to somebody qualified.

Be sure to take the advice of your medical professional and follow their directions as best as possible so you can get back to the sack with a smile on your face and a tent pitched. 

About the Author

Hi! I’m The Gritty Woman. I'm the writer, photographer, and creator of thegrittywoman.com, a leading sex blog, where I share my personal experiences and knowledge on sex, sexuality, body positivity, BDSM and kink.