Author: edquestions

There’s no definitive figure for how prevalent erectile dysfunction is at 50 or any other age. That’s because there’s no universally agreed-upon criteria for what exactly qualifies as erectile dysfunction.

Is erectile dysfunction inevitable with age? Far from it!

If erection problems prevent sexual activity more than half the time, and this situation lasts for three months or longer, a doctor will probably diagnose erectile dysfunction, either by itself, or as part of a constellation of physical conditions. For example, erectile dysfunction is more common in men with obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels.

That said, a 2003 study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine found the following correlation between age and erectile dysfunction:

Age Percentage of men reporting first ED experience
Under 40 ——02%
40-49 ——–04%
50-59 ——–26%
60-69 ——–40%

One of the most eye-opening findings of this study was that in men age 65 to 79, chronic disease and unhealthy lifestyle habits (like smoking) had the most pronounced effect on the presence of erectile dysfunction. Older men who exercised at least three hours per week had a 30% lower chance of having erectile dysfunction compared to sedentary men in the same age group. Overall, the study concluded that erectile dysfunction affects up to 20 million American men across all age groups.

Following are some of the most frequently asked questions about age and erectile dysfunction.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes a person to have pauses in breathing, or very shallow breathing during sleep. Some of these breathing pauses can last for longer than a minute, and when normal breathing starts again, it often starts with a loud snore or a choking sound.

When you have sleep apnea, you sleep lightly and have difficulty moving into deep sleep. In other words, sleep quality is terrible when you have sleep apnea, and it makes you tired during the day. Furthermore, it can lead to heart problems, and in rare cases, even death.

Sleep apnea is also associated with erectile dysfunction. Men who have erectile dysfunction are more than twice as likely to suffer from sleep apnea as men who do not have erectile dysfunction. Conversely, over 60% of men who have severe sleep apnea also have erectile dysfunction. When oxygen levels repeatedly drop during sleep because of sleep apnea, endothelial dysfunction results.

Endothelial dysfunction means that blood vessels (including blood vessels serving the reproductive organs) have difficulty regulating blood flow, and inadequate blood flow is the primary reason for erectile dysfunction. The good news is, treating the sleep apnea effectively can also improve erection health.

Not at all! If you have unhealthy lifestyle habits like smoking or chronic health conditions like diabetes or high cholesterol, addressing these can often improve erection strength without your having to take medication. That’s because smoking and chronic health conditions like diabetes are associated with narrowed, clogged arteries, and restricted blood vessels are a major contributing factor to erectile dysfunction. Better circulation equals better erections, and whatever you can do to improve your circulation will help.

The healthier your everyday lifestyle, the less likely you are to have erection problems. Of course, these remedies aren’t as convenient as taking a pill, but they have countless other benefits as well, such as helping you shed excess weight and increasing your stamina, both of which can boost confidence in the bedroom. And even if you take prescription medications for erection problems, taking the additional steps of improving your lifestyle can help them work better than they would on their own.

On the contrary, many men find that sex gets better with age. With young couples, the speed with which a man becomes aroused can make timing a bit difficult. But after age 50, many couples find that their sexual urges and pace become better harmonized as erections become a bit slower and less insistent. People say that age is just a number, and to a great extent that is true.

Remember: It’s not how old you are, but how you are old.

If you’re healthy physically and mentally, you’re more likely to enjoy an active and satisfying sex life than if you suffer from physical or mental disease. The good news is that most medical problems that exacerbate erectile dysfunction can be successfully treated medically.

Erectile dysfunction is more likely with age, and if you’re in the 50 to 64 age group, you should know that about one-third of your peers experience erectile dysfunction. Though common, it’s far from inevitable, and you have significant control over the health of your erections. Your doctor isn’t just trying to make you feel guilty by telling you to ditch the cigarettes, eat more fiber, and get out there and exercise more. All these steps affect your health overall, and more specifically, they affect the circulatory system which, after all, supplies your sex organs as well as your heart and brain.

Erectile dysfunction may become more common with increasing age, but there’s no reason to accept it as inevitable. Doctors know far more about the condition, its causes, and treatments now than ever before in history.

It’s a complex connection. Creatine contains a substance called ATP, which helps the body produce the energy needed for muscle contractions. But when a person relies upon creatine on a daily, long-term basis, it can affect the body’s normal hormonal production system.

Basically, long-term overload of creatine can stress the kidneys’ and liver’s detoxification systems. In turn, these systems produce less of the enzymes necessary for hormone synthesis. Once hormone production slows, to things happen: the body has a harder time sending brain signals needed for producing an erection, and sex drive can fall. The almost inevitable outcome of this situation is erectile dysfunction. In other words, while creatine can help performance in the weight room, too much of it over too long a period can hinder performance in the bedroom.

It’s a complex connection. Creatine contains a substance called ATP, which helps the body produce the energy needed for muscle contractions. But when a person relies upon creatine on a daily, long-term basis, it can affect the body’s normal hormonal production system.

Basically, long-term overload of creatine can stress the kidneys’ and liver’s detoxification systems. In turn, these systems produce less of the enzymes necessary for hormone synthesis. Once hormone production slows, to things happen: the body has a harder time sending brain signals needed for producing an erection, and sex drive can fall. The almost inevitable outcome of this situation is erectile dysfunction. In other words, while creatine can help performance in the weight room, too much of it over too long a period can hinder performance in the bedroom.

As many men have discovered, it can be more difficult to uncover the reason for diminished sexual performance than simply getting a prescription. The symptoms of erectile dysfunction may be caused by any number of underlying physical and mental disorders that affect your ability to get and maintain an erection during sex.

Erectile dysfunction, also known as “impotence”, or simply, “ED”, is a problem that most men fear, and that many men experience at one point in time. However, the symptoms of ED don’t necessarily mean that you need to be treated for ED. Here are some ways that your doctor can help you discover the underlying cause for your erectile issues.

What Is ED, Really?

The National Institute of Health provides the accepted consensus definition of the disorder, describing it as the “inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance.” Where “impotence” describes the inability to achieve erection in a romantic instant, “erectile dysfunction” is a persistent issue with erectile behavior.

This is the key to teasing out the reason for the impotence that you may be experiencing. If you’ve never experience impotence in the past, and you suddenly become unable to get an erection, it probably isn’t ED, which describes the chronic inability to perform.

So What Can You Do to Find Answers?

The definition of ED implies that you should be on high alert for impotence that persists or worsens in nature. If it happens only on one occasion, it probably isn’t ED. If it happens over and over, and you find yourself becoming less and less able to perform, it may be.

If you’re experiencing the symptoms of ED, you should consult your doctor immediately. Often men that start to become unable to achieve erections begin to internalize the problem and add an additional layer of stress and anxiety to sexual performance in general.

A simple discussion about your health, your psychological condition and some details about your life may give your doctor all the information he needs to be confident about a diagnose, but more likely, he’ll want to run some diagnostics. Here are some tests your doctor will probably want to run to tease out the underlying cause of your impotence, whether it really is erectile dysfunction or some other medical condition:

Vital Checks: Basic tests determining the health of your vital bodily functions can go a long way towards discovering the source of your impotence. These tests include blood pressure measurement— high blood pressure can lead to improper blood flow and in turn, poor circulation and blood flow to the penis —as well as tests that measure the function of your heart and central blood vessels.

Blood Tests: Blood tests can tell you whether you have insufficient testosterone, high bad cholesterol levels or whether your thyroid is functioning properly. These issues can all lead to the symptoms of ED.

Physical Exam: A doctor may want to personally inspect the penis to see if there are any malformations in or near it that may be affecting its ability to function properly.

Mental Exam: As many as 20% of erectile problems can stem from psychological disorders, from as simple as work or relationship related stress to more serious issues such as anxiety and depression. The medications used to treat these conditions can also cause hormonal imbalances, which may adversely affect your testosterone levels.

Ultrasound or Other Imaging: Imaging of the penis can allow doctors to study the blood flow to the area and look at tissue behavior as arousal occurs. While “insuffiencent blood flow” is usually caused by some other physical condition, it can allow professionals to narrow down the probably causes.

MRIs and CT scans can determine whether or not you have fatty plaque clogging your arteries, a condition that restricts blood flow known as “atherosclerosis”.

Urinalysis: Analysis of a urine sample can lead to conclusions not available through blood testing. Proteins and excretions from your kidneys and liver are present in urine, and can suggest other disorders that may be keeping you from maintaining maximum sexual potency.

Overnight Erection Test: The overnight erection tests involves a breakable band placed onto the shaft of the penis, intended to measure the occurrence of nocturnal erections. The reason for this test is that men with ED generally don’t have normal nighttime erections like those of otherwise healthy men.

Is It ED or Just a Circulatory Issue?

Improper blood flow is, by and large, the most common cause of the symptoms normally associated with ED. Many of the causes of insufficient circulatory function is, however, not as easy to discover, and may involve some major lifestyle changes to remedy.

Other factors may include a serious accident that jeopardizes the pelvic region, or normal factors of aging, sometimes called “manopause” that can begin as early as 40 years of age.

Your doctor is the only person qualified to tell you if you’re in sound body and mind, and help you seek the answers for the reasons why you may be experiencing some of these issues. The human body is a very delicate system, and a simple change in hormonal balance, psychological status or physical health can throw what seemed like a constant function totally out of whack.

If your doctor determines that your problem is genuine erectile dysfunction, don’t panic. There are numerous options for treatment of the disorder, including oral medications like Viagra, Levitra and Cialis, physical treatments like penis pumps and penile implants and a whole array of herbal and homeopathic remedies on the market.