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Erectile Dysfunction as a Sign of Diabetes Type 2

Diabetes type 2 is considered among the highest causes of sexual dysfunction in men. Research suggests that more than a half of the men suffering from erectile dysfunction are at a risk of suffering from this type of diabetes.

The study which involved about 90,000 men showed that men who have diabetes are three and a half times more probable to be having difficulties in maintaining an erection than men without the disease as per the report showed in Diabetic medicine.

The leading cause of erectile dysfunction is due to heart problems which go hand in hand with diabetes. This is because the hearts of individuals who have diabetes becomes weak and they are unable to contract well to pump blood all over the body. Doctors should, therefore, take sexual complaints from men as a sign of either diabetes or heart disease.

Dr. Damiano Pizzol suggested that erectile dysfunction plays a vital role in helping physicians in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus as it acts as an alarm for the other hidden complications. Although at times the issue of erectile dysfunction is common among men over the age of 40, it should not be assumed as a normal thing.

He added that many are times when lack of prevention measures, lack of physical exercises and taking unhealthy diets lead to a late diabetes diagnosis, but now people can take erectile dysfunction as an initial sign of diabetes.

This study showed that an overall of about 37.5% of men who have diabetes type 1 and about 66.3% of those who have diabetes type 2 had erectile problems. The rates were highest in South America and least in North America. It also showed that there is a possibility that the problem developed around 10 to 15 years earlier in those who have diabetes in comparison with those without the disease.

Diabetes has been approximated to reach an estimate of 322 million people by 2025, and erectile dysfunction is stated as the 3rd most frequent sign of diabetes. Raising awareness to people about erectile dysfunction will encourage more people to go for diabetes scanning as a routine assessment of whether they have diabetes or not.

Effects of Marijuana to the Penis

While most men are banging about how smoking weed makes them feel high, and how it makes them last longer, it turns out that weed does not have such positive impacts. Several animal studies have shown that marijuana has an inhibitory impact on particular receptors in the erectile tissues of the penis and this makes it hard for an erection to occur.

There is no any human research done yet concerning the phenomenon, but it is evident that weed is less of a sexual enhancer and more of an inhibitor.

Smoking weed can be relaxing, but at times the relaxing it offers is not the type that any man would wish. No person wants to be too much relaxed during sexual intercourse. Too much marijuana causes erectile dysfunction. The user may feel high while the dick stays low. Some people think that weed increase sexual pleasure since some patients from Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic said that smoking marijuana improved their sexual experience.

More about erection

An erection occurs as a result of relaxation of the corpus cavernosum muscles of the penis. When the muscle relaxes, it increases the blood flow, and this causes an erection. If the muscle is inhibited from relaxation, then there is an occurrence of an erectile dysfunction, and this is why one has to use drugs like Viagra to enhance the relaxation of the muscle thus prolonging erections.

Both the brain and periphery have cannabinoid receptors, which are activated by Tetrahydrocannabinol. When the brain receptors are activated, it makes you feel stoned, but the activation may have adverse effects on some body parts.

Corpus cavernosum has the cannabinoid receptors too, and Tetrahydrocannabinol does not discriminate it either. When you use marijuana, the enzyme makes into your blood stream which hits both the brain and the penis, and this inhibits the corpus cavernosum from relaxing.

The study suggested that for an erection to occur, cannabinoid receptors have to be activated since blocking the receptors prevents erection.

Viagra will create a positive impact since it enhances the relaxation of the muscles responsible for erection.

Viagra is somewhat pricey, but millions of men have been happy enough with its results to consider it a worthwhile investment. If you live in the United States, you won’t have any generic options available until the very end of 2017 at the earliest, and the drug won’t go fully off-patent until the year 2020.

That said, some doctors will help men who use the 50-mg dosage keep costs under control by prescribing 100-mg tablets (which usually cost the same as the 50-mg tablets) and advising patients to use a pill splitter to cut the tablets in half. Pill splitters are available at most pharmacies and big-box retailers for a few dollars.

The History of Viagra

In 1989, two British Pfizer scientists Albert Wood and Peter Dunn created a drug known as sildenafil citrate. They believed that the drug would be helpful in the treatment of high blood pressure and angina. This is a chest pain that comes hand in hand with coronary heart disease.

In 1990, several trials were made on the drug with the hopes that it would be used for heart problem treatment. However, the volunteers who used the drug in the clinical trials reported an increase in erections few days after using the drug. This was according to researcher Ian Osterloh.

This discovery that the drug could cause an erection was an unplanned event. Pfizer realized that erectile dysfunction was an unmet medical issue and realized that this was a great financial opportunity.

Nicholas Terret was named in 1991 as one of the users of Sildenafil for heart problems treatment, and he is therefore known as the father of Viagra since he discovered just how much use the drug would be for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

In 1994, Terret and his colleague Peter Ellis discovered that the drug enhanced blood flow to the penile region for those patients that suffered from ED as they investigated the utility of the drug as a heart medicine.

The drug was discovered that it had the ability to enhance muscle relaxation effects of nitric oxide, which is the chemical that is released when an individual is sexually stimulated. This relaxation increases blood flow and assists in the production of an erection.

FDA approved the patent name Viagra as the name of the blue pill for the treatment of ED in 1998. From then, Viagra is now the world’s favorite little blue pill that has revolutionized erectile dysfunction’s treatment. It has improved many men’s sex life and given a new ray of hopes to those suffering from erection problems. However, the pill does not work if one is not sexually stimulated.

At around $84.2 million per year, the Pentagon spends a significant portion of their annual budget on erectile dysfunction medication. This amount is huge compared to the estimated $8.4 million needed for gender transition-related health care for transgender military personnel.

With the recent ban on transgender military members, attention is on the massive military budget line item, recently approved by President Trump, for erectile dysfunction medication. A closer look reveals the budget line item is largely due to military retirees and psychological issues prevalent among post-Iraq and Afghanistan active duty military members.

Military Retirees

Equivalent to the cost of multiple fighter jets, the annual $84.2 million spent on erectile dysfunction medication is mostly due to older retirees. Millions of military retirees and their family members are covered by the Pentagon’s healthcare system. With a total cost of $52 billion in 2012, the massive healthcare system covers around 10 million people. More prevalent among older men, over 90% of prescriptions for erectile dysfunction are written for retired military personnel.

Psychological Issues

Though less than 10% of erectile dysfunction prescriptions are written for active duty military personal, the disorder has increased since the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts began. Psychological issues, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are a major cause of erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems.

From a study published by the Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2015, male veterans with PTSD are significantly more likely than their civilian counterparts to experience erectile dysfunction. The Rand Corporation also reported that one in five veterans, serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, suffers from PTSD or a similar psychological disorder.

An increasingly common condition, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure are all linked to erectile dysfunction. With an estimated 18%, as reported in 2007, of US men suffering from erectile dysfunction, it is unsurprising that a large amount of healthcare spending would be allocated for this prevalent disorder. Supplying healthcare to millions of men, both active duty and retired, results in huge amounts of money spent on male-specific health issues, specifically erectile dysfunction.

When a drug is made specifically to help men have stronger, more predictable erections, it only stands to reason that men will want to take it recreationally, even if they’ve never had erectile dysfunction. The reasoning is, “If it helps men get an erection when they can’t otherwise, maybe it will make my erection that much better!”

In general, it’s not wise to turn to Viagra to make a good night better.

That’s a little like taking your friend’s eyeglasses when you have perfect vision and expecting them to give you super-human vision. Here are some frequently asked questions about taking Viagra when you don’t have erectile dysfunction. Spoiler alert:

you shouldn’t.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recalled the Ultra Shop Supplement Super Panther 7X after the agency found that the product contained the active ingredients in Viagara (sildenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil). Since the packaging did not disclose that those two substances were included in the capsules, use of the product could cause serious health problems.

When used with nitrates, such as those found in prescription medications for diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease, both sildenafil and tadalafil have been known to lower blood pressure and even to cause heart failure and death.

Marketed as a “sexual enhancement capsule” that promises “7 days long action,” as well as, “longer and harder erections,” Super Panther 7X has been removed from all stores and online sales forums. Since the undisclosed ingredients make Super Panther 7X an untested and unapproved drug by the FDA, it is imperative that anyone who currently has the product refrain from use and contact the agency to report any adverse affects.

Interestingly, the original version of this product, Black Panther (no 7X), was recalled by the FDA in April 2015 because it was found to contain sildenafil but not tadalafil. The FDA website notes that:

This notification is to inform the public of a growing trend of dietary supplements or conventional foods with hidden drugs and chemicals. These products are typically promoted for sexual enhancement, weight loss, and body building and are often represented as being “all natural.” FDA is unable to test and identify all products marketed as dietary supplements that have potentially harmful hidden ingredients. Consumers should exercise caution before purchasing any product in the above categories.

Consumers who have purchased Super Panther 7X are encouraged to return the pills to their place of purchase for a refund. For those who purchased the product directly from Ultra Shop Supplement, the company can be reached at 888-246-9664 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Viagra, normally marketed under several trade names, is now being used to treat pulmonary hypertension because it boosts the levels of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator, which means it can lower blood pressure, especially when used alongside other similar blood pressure-lowering drugs such as nitrates — nitroglycerine and isosorbide.

However, I would reason that Viagra and other blood pressure-lowering drugs might act in an additive or synergistic way to influence the blood pressure. Thus, ensure that your physician is aware of other medications you’re on before you take Viagra.