DOCTORS DON’T ALWAYS KNOW ABOUT SUBJECT OF ERECTION

Friday, March 27, 2009 5:51

Posted in category Men's Health-Erectile Dysfunction

Surprisingly, even many physicians don’t have a good grasp of the subject of erection, although they’ve been exposed to some basic physiological facts. Nowadays, many medical schools include some information about human sexuality in their curriculum, but doctors already in practice may not have received such training. And they may not be comfortable with the subject. The end result of all this can be a physician susceptible to the myths about erection.

Just a few years ago, most physicians were taught that the vast majority of impotence cases were caused by psychological factors. Now that we know more about erection and researchers have begun studying the effects of illness on erection, it’s thought that at least 50 percent of all impotence has a physical cause or a physical contributing factor. But this information has been slow in reaching many physicians and other health care professionals already in practice. Doctors who don’t specialize in erection problems may remain ignorant of the new information.

For example, one internist who sees a lot of elderly patients told us she thought most cases of impotence were caused by psychological problems. And although sexuality was a concern of her patients, she didn’t think much could be done to help men with erection problems.

Thinking like that can cause a lot of needless unhappiness and confusion. Take, for example, Bill’s experience. About a year ago, he began having a problem with potency. At the age of 49, happily married for the second time, Bill felt secure in his relationship with his wife, Janice. Still, he sometimes could not get an erection, although he felt very aroused and wanted to make love. Bill had never had a problem with sex before, and he was puzzled and troubled. So was Janice.

They didn’t know what to do. Bill felt rather uncomfortable about asking anyone about his problem. But, in what he regarded as a fortunate circumstance, he became ill and had to go see his family doctor. There, he mustered his courage and told the doctor matter-of-factly: “I can’t get an erection like I used to.” The physician responded, “Well, you’re not as young as you used to be.” And that was that. Bill was too embarrassed to say anything else. But he was angry: 49 was far too young to put sex on the shelf. He didn’t think Janice wanted to live without sex, either. Bill believed there had to be more to his problem, and after some anxious and uncomfortable weeks he decided to find another doctor.

Bill was right to doubt his doctor. His age was no explanation for the changes he was experiencing. It would be normal for it to take Bill a little longer to get an erection than it did ten years before. But even with direct stimulation and allowing plenty of time, Bill just could not get an erection.

Fortunately, Bill searched persistently until he found a urologist who specialized in sexual potency. The doctor was able to find—and treat—the cause of his difficulty.

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