Recently discovered ED

I recently developed an Erectile Dysfunction and to be honest there is a couple other issues going on.

I have diabetes and it seems I have developed a yeast infection which has resulted in a Urinary infection and subsequently has created a new problem which is both painful and unpleasant. I have a discharge that is creamy and smelly but also my foreskin seems either like it has shrunk or my penis head has swollen.

So not only can I not get it up properly it is painful and disgusting, I have to wait another week for a doctor appointment but think I may need to DOCTOR GOOGLE before then to see if there is over the counter assistance to fix it because it is not fun.

Did the ED happen before the discharge, or is that when you discovered it? And have you noticed if things still wake up in the mornings?

Snaga wrote:Did the ED happen before the discharge, or is that when you discovered it? And have you noticed if things still wake up in the mornings?

I only noticed the ED recently and the I think some of the issue is psychological and some is physical as I have noticed a lessened desire level as well.

I recently had an appointment with a local GP who has advised that the fact that I have not been sleeping well, have increased stress, along with existing health concerns have contributed to my ED problem which may be due to lowered testosterone levels. This happens naturally after 30 years of age but extra factors can speed this up and contribute to an early problem.

I am not young and I do have diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure which are all facts for reduced testosterone production!

Yes those all could contribute, I agree. Also don't discount psychological- I've had a lot of problems with that in the past and it is purely in my mind. Once a person gets to thinking about not staying hard, whew it's like a kill switch on the thing.

So I suppose the prescription is to reduce stress and try and keep things under control? I'm not sure what all medicines cause ED- only thing I've ever been on with a sexual side effect was Lexapro- for stress and anxiety- and it doesn't hinder erections, so much as making orgasm really hard to achieve. Like, really hard. While on it, achieving an orgasm was hard work and often run out of steam before getting there.

Thanks for that Snaga, I know that there are both the physical and mental issues for it.

I think a lot is to do with the mental blocking the physical .... as stress, anxiety and so forth are natural blockers for the production of testosterone. Which is what helps us get and stay hard!

My own mental health issues added onto of the stress from dealing with the loss of my mother and the seemingly callous disregard of my sister who has failed to help our father with her share of things added to the stress. I still have a lot of anxiety due to the fact that I am the one tasked with settling my mothers affairs and my siblings are sitting back quietly.

What adds to the anxiety is the fact my sister is too busy worrying about her cut from the will.... and not assisting those who are still living to deal with everyday life without our mother.

Sorry to hear about family- it's a shame when family doesn't step up to the plate.

I agree all those things can contribute to ED. And- well, for me, anyway- worrying about not being able to get hard, in and of itself can greatly exacerbate that very issue. Performance anxiety of a sort.

It turns out that some of the problem is to do with testosterone levels being too low, this happens naturally with age normally, but stress, anxiety and other factors can greatly disrupt the testosterone production in the body.

I had a GP offer to start me on Viagra, but I wanted to wait until after I have a better understanding of my testosterone levels as it might be easier to change a few things and tweak meals and supplements to fix it. I would of course prefer to go the non-medicated path especially after the issues I have had with a medication in the past.

A medication which is also affecting a good friend negatively as well. I do hope they get off this medication soon before it does too much damage to them. It certainly did some irreparable damage to some of my relationships.

I think I have heard of some medications permanently affecting performance. I sure hate that.

As far as supplements, well to be honest, while I don't consider myself Trans, I do have a strong autogynephilic streak in me, and my personality would have been better served in a female body. As part of that, sometimes I have tried to take supplements that are alleged to depress testosterone and promote feminization. I can't tell you what to take to boost T, but I can tell you herbs and supplements to avoid: White Peony, Milk Thistle, Hops, Fenugreek, Fennel, Green Tea, Reishi Mushroom. Also Cimetedine (Tagamet) should be avoided. Also Saw Palmetto that men take for prostate issues. And that also definitely includes Finasteride for hair loss and benign prostate swelling. All those have known effects on testosterone levels- either by blocking DHT, or in the case of White Peony in particular, promotes aromatase action that actively converts testosterone into estrogen... also while I'm thinking of it, stay the hell away from anything with pueraria mirifica- a very potent phytoestrogen. I've taken everything on that list except for the Finasteride and the pueraria mirifica, and I can't say they've been terribly effective in squashing T, though I'm also not megadosing on them. Still, I think I can tell a little difference- while I still have erections, I do think that when I'm taking them all at once, they affect ejaculatory volume, lowering it significantly in my experience.

So, yeah those are definitely things to avoid. While most of them you probably wouldn't be taking, people do drink green tea and drink beer, and those things do affect testosterone, if even just a little. And use fenugreek and fennel to season food. And of course, try to stay away from products containing Soy. So, yeah just a few little things you can avoid, to get every advantage you can grab hold of in order to keep from inadvertently lowering your testosterone.