Key factors in how you and your doctor decide to treat your ED include the cause of the dysfunction, your overall health, other medications you may be taking, and the ease with which you can tolerate various treatments.
If the cause appears to be psychologically based, you may have to spend some time with a psychiatrist or psychotherapist to work through the hangups and anxieties that are interfering with your ability to achieve an erection.
For the vast majority of men, the first line of attack against ED is drug therapy, which involves taking one of the FDA-approved PDE5 inhibitors, which temporarily increase blood flow to the penis and allow erection to occur.
If drugs don’t work or are inappropriate, your doctor may suggest that you use a vacuum constriction device (penis pump) or penile injection therapy. Finally, there is surgery, which sometimes can restore normal nerve and vascular function in the penis or implant a device that makes it possible for you to have an erection when appropriate.