What is Erectile Dysfunction (ED)?
Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is the inability of the male partner to achieve or maintain a penile erection during sexual intercourse. This can lead to stress, relationship issues, and ultimately impact ejaculation in the female which leads to trouble in conceiving naturally.
What are the symptoms of Erectile Dysfunction (ED)?
- Difficulty in achieving an erection during sexual intercourse
- Difficulty in maintaining an erection during sexual intercourse
- Reduced libido
What causes Erectile Dysfunction (ED)?
Erectile Dysfunction (ED) can be due to several different psychological or physical conditions such as:
- Relationship issues
- Stress or anxiety
- Depression
- Fear of intimacy or past sexual regressions
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Metabolic syndrome
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Multiple sclerosis
- Atherosclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Treatments for prostate cancer or enlarged prostate
- Hormonal imbalances- thyroid disorder and low testosterone levels
- Surgeries or injuries that affect the pelvic area or spinal cord
- Peyronie disorder- scar tissue forms under the penis causing painful erections
Erectile Dysfunction (ED) can also be caused of other environmental/ lifestyle conditions such as:
- Alcohol use
- Tobacco use
- Substance abuse
- Obesity
- Sleep disorders
- Some prescription medications
How is Erectile Dysfunction (ED) diagnosed by doctor?
The doctor will ask you to get blood tests done to check whether you have diabetes, imbalances in hormone levels, heart conditions, or any other health conditions and may also conduct a physical examination or do an ultrasound of your genitals. These tests are to determine whether your ED is due to an underlying physical condition or if there is a psychological component involved.
How is Erectile Dysfunction (ED) treated or cured?
The doctor will first treat any underlying medical conditions you may have like metabolic disorders or diabetes, etc. other treatment options include;
- Oral medications to help with an erection
- Exercises
- Reducing stress- meditation and yoga
- Counselling
- Avoiding tobacco, alcohol, and substance use
- Maintaining weight and having regular sleep cycle
- Penis pumps or implants
How does Erectile Dysfunction (ED) cause Infertility?
In Erectile Dysfunction (ED) the male partner is not able to maintain the penile (penis) erection, which leads to trouble in conceiving naturally.
For some men even the medication may fail to cause an erection or sustain it long enough for semen (sperm) ejaculation but these medication for erection can cause sperm damage & make the sperm abnormal.
It is very common for men with poor sperm quality & Azoospermia (No sperm in semen ejaculation) to have Erectile Dysfunction (ED) thus making it even more difficult to get pregnant naturally
How can a Erectile Dysfunction (ED) become father or have their own child?
The fertility treatment for Erectile Dysfunction (ED) with poor sperm quality are;
- SFA (Sperm Function analysis) test – SFA test can be done to analyze the health of the sperm.
- Sperm DNA fragmentation Index test – Sperm DNA test can be done to analyze the sperm DNA damage.
- Advance IUI – The semen sample can be taken & processed in the IVF laboratory & transferred back to female partner.
- IVF/ICSI – The semen sample is collected & best healthy sperm can be selected & manually inserted in the egg (oocyte) to form embryos, these embryos can be transferred back to female partner.
- Erectile Dysfunction (ED) with Azoospermia – TESA/MicroTESE can be performed to surgically extract sperm.