Does Diabetes Cause Erectile Dysfunction? Yes it can, but there are things you can do for it by taking control over it. Prevention is the best way to begin. There are many treatment options as well. If you have diabetes, then one of the best things you can do is to control your blood sugar levels because this helps to prevent blood vessel and nerve damage that can lead to erectile dysfunction. Learn how to prevent this from occurring:
How to Stop Erectile Dysfunction from Happening
There are a number of other conditions that are common in men with diabetes such as heart disease and high blood pressure that can be linked to erectile dysfunction.
This can occur in men with diabetes sooner than men without diabetes. There’s the possibility that maintaining an erection might be an issue before receiving a positive diagnosis of diabetes.
Talking to your doctor early on about erectile dysfunction may be embarrassing but it shouldn’t prevent you from bringing it out into the open. You want to find out just what the underlying causes are and you’ll want the doctor to discuss possible medications and treatments. It will be very important to discuss your managing of your diabetes as well.
One thing you doctor may bring up is that certain medications that you are currently taking could be making your erectile dysfunction worse. This might especially be the case with medications used to treat high blood pressure and/or depression. Adjusting medications can be a step in the right direction.
What is one of the most common causes of erectile dysfunction? Yes, it’s diabetes. Men who do not have diabetes are 3 times less likely to develop erectile dysfunction than those who do have it or develop it.
And even if both groups wind up with it, the group with diabetes will most likely experience it from between 10-15 years sooner. Even though between 20%-70% of males who do have diabetes, do also have erectile dysfunction, but it can be controlled in the majority of the cases.
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How Does Diabetes Actually Cause Erectile Dysfunction?
Simply put, erectile dysfunction is caused from diabetes because it does damage to the blood supply to the nerves and the penis that form an erection. If you aren’t managing and controlling your diabetes properly, then this can lead to erectile dysfunction because of the effects it has on your bloodstream.
As a guy that becomes aroused sexually, you have a chemical that is released into your bloodstream called nitric oxide. This chemical communicates with the muscles and arteries allowing it to relax and this action lets more blood flow into the penis forming an erection.
The higher your blood sugar is, the less nitric oxide you will be producing and that results in an insufficient amount of blood flowing to your organ to form an erection.
So this narrowing and hardening on the blood vessels in the penis is known as atherosclerosis and is the actual cause of preventing the blood flow in and out of your favorite organ. 🙂 This causes erectile dysfunction. It’s important to control your blood sugars when you have diabetes because as you can see, it affects this condition too.
Symptoms and Signs of ED
- Problems and difficulties having an orgasm
- Unable to have or keep an erection
- Erections that are painful
- Any kind of pain during intercourse
- Issues with a normal ejaculation
- Relationship issues
Other Common Causes of Erectile Dysfunction
- High cholesterol
- Obesity
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Alcoholism
- Prostate disease treatment
- Radiation therapy to the pelvis
- Old age
Possible Drug Causes of Erectile Dysfunction
- Antidepressants
- Cancer drugs
- Hypertension drugs
- Hormone drugs
- Certain diuretics
- Prostate drugs
- Amphetamines
- Anxiety treatments
Lifestyle Changes
1) The best way with erectile dysfunction when you have diabetes is to control your blood sugars and that is vital for treating it or reducing the risk of it.
2) Smoking is not good at all and I’m sure that you know it. What’s more important, smoking or sex? I know what I would choose. Goodbye cigarettes and hello erection! 🙂
3) Eating healthy is what everything good revolves around, doesn’t it? Of course it does. So a high fiber and low saturated fat diet is what you should be following.
4) Exercise goes hand in hand with healthy eating and having a strong and better erection. This is a great way to have a better blood flow and increased testosterone level.
5) Amino acids- There are two amino acids known l-citrulline and l-arginine that are able to improve with erectile dysfunction.
6) Stress- Stress management is critical for managing your libido. There are way too many things that can stress you out and affect you both physically and mentally. You must do your best to find ways to de-stress and relax and veg out because it’s that important and it will improve your libido.
Check Out the Very Informative Video Below
about Erectile Dysfunction & Diabetes
Treatments for ED
1) Pill Form
The most common way of treating erectile dysfunction is in pill form. These drugs aid in increasing more blood flow to the penis thereby causing an erection. You should be taking these anywhere from one half an hour to one hour before intercourse and they do require some form of sexual stimulation to work effectively. They are: Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, and Spedra.
2) Counselling Support
Erectile dysfunction can sometimes be caused by certain psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, or other conditions where counselling may help the issue. Stress can play a huge role in affecting erectile dysfunction so it’s extremely important to keep stress levels to a minimum.
3) Hormone Therapy
Low levels of testosterone are not a good sign and testosterone replacement therapy might be a good recommendation for men with this problem.
4) Penile Injection Therapy
There is a hormone injection called alprostadil that gets injected directly into the penis before intercourse. This method is for men who aren’t responsive to to oral drug therapy. The result is an increased supply of blood to the penis that will result in an erection.
Natural Treatments for Erectile Dysfunction
1) DHEA
This is a natural hormone that your body produces with its adrenal glands. DHEA is converted into testosterone and estrogen in your body. This supplement is made from soy and wild yam and scientists have shown that low levels of DHEA were consistent with erectile dysfunction.
2) Yohimbe
This is a supplement that derives from the African yohimbe tree bark and has shown some positive results with sexual performance but there isn’t sufficient evidence proving that it definitely works (according to the American urological Association) because there may be complications as far as high blood pressure and increased heart rate. While this may not be the one choice, your decision should be based on what your physician decides.
3) Acupuncture
With acupuncture studies showed that there were many results that were positive to treat erectile dysfunction. In a study done just before the year 2000, it was determined that acupuncture was able to bring back the sexual activity in almost half of the participants and also improve the quality of an erection.
Acupuncture carries a low risk when administered by one who is licensed and also shows promising results for treating erectile dysfunction.
4) Red Ginseng
This is viagra of all herbs. It is also known as panax ginseng. Studies performed were done with dosages ranging from 600-1000 mgs up to 3x a day. The conclusions were that red ginseng is effective in treating of erectile dysfunction.
This also can improve the function of your lungs, has anti-inflammatory properties and also improve blood flow with other diseases and these are all factors in reducing erectile dysfunction.
5) Rhodiola Rosea
This herb may need further studies but there is an indication from research that it can increases sexual function, decrease fatigue and boost your energy.
6) Essential Oils
There are a few essential oils that can increase your libido and help to improve your blood flow circulation. They are rose, Sandalwood, and ylang ylang.
They will help boost your libido while providing great smells and these plant oils can be considered natural aphrodisiacs. It helps with erectile dysfunction and enhances your mood at the same time.
Foods to Improve Impotence
1) Brazil Nuts
These particular nuts are high in selenium. This is very important when it comes to keeping your testosterone levels at healthy levels.
2) Fiber
A high fiber diet is extremely important as I mentioned before but seeds, fruits, and vegetables are very supportive of detoxification and hormones and this improves erectile dysfunction.
3) Seeds
How vital are seeds to your sexual diet? Two of the more important seeds in increasing impotence are sesame seeds and watercress. Consuming these each and everyday can boost your libido.
4) Zinc
Foods high in zinc such as chia seeds, spinach, pumpkin seeds, lamb, and beef are excellent sources of zinc that increase your testosterone.
5) Vitamin E
Foods rich in vitamin E including green leafy vegetables and wheat germ will help you with blood flow and erectile dysfunction.
Foods to Avoid
Any of these foods can affect your sexual performance and make your erectile dysfunction issue worse for sure:
- Trans fats
- Packaged foods
- Excessive alcohol
- Too much caffeine
- Refined vegetable oils
Medical disclaimer
The information that I provide on my website is purely based on my own personal experience and subsequent research into the diabetes disease. It is not intended to take the place of medical advice,diagnosis and treatment. Care and investigation should always be sought from an appropriate health care provider. I am happy to discuss my own symptoms, diagnosis and history of my diabetes disease but want to stress that I am not medically trained in any way. All opinions on my website are my own. I have created this site as a way to share information and experiences.
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Final Thoughts
Does Diabetes Cause Erectile Dysfunction? I hope you learned just how can diabetes cause erectile dysfunction. I hope that you have the information you need now to help you with erectile dysfunction and diabetes. Make your changes now.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Rothchild, Sascha (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 336 Pages - 04/19/2022 (Publication Date) - G.P. Putnam's Sons (Publisher)
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Great information you have here! One of my hometown friends is diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes, and it took me the longest time to learn how to accommodate. He used to take insulin pins throughout the day to help manage his levels. This site really helps an outsider to have a better understanding of the process
Thanks Melanie 🙂 There are so many issues with diabetes and erectile dysfunction is one of them. It can be treated and as your blood sugar numbers improve, so does your diabetes and the issues with erectile dysfunction. Understand diabetes and take action to improve your sex life.
This is a great review that tackles two big issues, ED and Diabetes. I had no idea that they were linked to each other! I also love all the natural ways to help take control and even eliminate diabetes and ED. One thing that I would add to the essential oil section is that one needs to choose Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils instead of just the off the shelf oil. They are not the same. Also, I am about to publish a article about essential oils and diabetes, if you want, I can send it to you for you website. Just let me know. Great article though!
Greetings Tristin!
Thank you for reading. ED is a huge (pardon the pun) issue with diabetes. There are many guys who have this problem and diabetes is the cause.
Natural ways are always better in treating something as far as I’m concerned. They’re a better choice than medications.
I understand your concern about essential oils which is why I have an article posted about them here
Thank you for your comments and for passing this and my website on to others in need of lowering their blood sugar!
Cheers!
~Rob
Hi Rob!
Great info about diabetes and libido. I am a type 2 diabetic, high blood pressure patient. But I control my diabetes and high blood pressure through yoga and a healthy diet. Although I had some libido problems, now it is under control. Natural treatment is always wise to follow instead of other modes of treatment.You have given all types of treatment in detail and one can select whichever is suitable for him.
Thank for a great article.
Greetings Prabakaran!
Diabetes and high blood pressure are two factors in erectile dysfunction.
It’s really good that you are controlling them through a healthy diet and yoga.
There are methods you can follow to help with ED and diabetes.
Thank you for your comments and for passing this on to others who may need help!
Rob 🙂