Why Men with Diabetes Can Still Have a Happy and Satisfying Sex Life
Several studies conducted have found that sexual dysfunction among is one of the complications of diabetes. Because the human sexual system involves the normal functioning of the other bodily systems, it is common to find people with long-term diabetes to be experiencing sexual problems such as decreased interest, pain and discomfort, and for men, impotence or erectile dysfunction.
A study by the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium (published by the American Diabetes Association), showed that men and women are at an increased risk of sexual dysfunction. Furthermore, this study showed that for men, sexual dysfunction with diabetes is related to somatic and psychological factors and are easily treatable. As many as 50% of men with diabetes reported to have experienced sexual dysfunction more particularly erectile dysfunction but the good news is that studies conducted show that more than 95% of these cases can be treated successfully.
If the sexual dysfunction in men is found to be more psychological than physiological, men might found counseling beneficial. This might have resulted from the fear and low-self esteem that are caused by the symptoms and complications of diabetes. This is because physical and lifestyle changes including medical treatments might trigger the fear of becoming impotent and thus making the reason of the dysfunction more psychological. Achieving a well-gratifying sexual life requires a lot of factors such as normal sex drive, proper emotional make up, and a healthy and stress-free relationship between the spouses. It is thus important that he partners talk it out openly and seek medical consultation with their physicians, urologist, and sexual counselor.
But with the physiological side of the problem, impotence in diabetic men might well be a result of blocked or damaged nerves that are responsible for penile erection. Like any other patient with diabetes, good blood sugar level control may decrease the problem. Kidney problems as a complication of diabetes may also pose a risk of possible impotence so it is very important that the kidneys stay healthy.
As such, men with diabetes who encounter sexual dysfunctions should immediately consult professional medical help to determine whether it is psychological or physical (resulting from diabetes complications). With continuing medications to treat the complications of diabetes including sexual dysfunction, other steps can help prevent and treat it such as avoiding cigarettes and other tobacco products since smoking causes blood vessels to narrow contributing to blockages that run higher risks of achieving erection. It also means avoiding excessive alcohol intake. Other good health practices such as a healthy and balanced diet, regular exercise and adequate water intake could also help in keeping normal and unobstructed bodily functions including the sexual and reproductive system.
If left untreated, sexual dysfunctions in diabetic conditions can cause serious damage not only to a man’s health as he treats diabetes as a whole but also to his healthy relationship with his partner. Frustrations and stress resulting from it can lead to serious depression that can derail a man’s successful treatment of his diabetes. Men and their partners don’t have to suffer diminished sexual satisfaction and live with it along with other complications of diabetes. With a supportive environment that includes an expert medical team in diabetes control and men’s health, a loving, understanding and supportive partner, and a bunch of friends who should keep the positive spirits high, sex should never be impaired.
Around 20 to 85 percent men with diabetes are estimated to suffer from sexual dysfunction. Erectile Dysfunction is a condition of constant inability in men to achieve an erection firm enough to have sexual intercourse. This condition varies in severity from man to man. Some have total inability to have an erection, some are not able to sustain an erection even if they manage to get one, or it can be occasional inability to have or sustain an erection. A current study finds that about 5% men with this condition have undiagnosed diabetes.
Chances of men having this condition are 300% more than men who don’t have diabetes. Also, men who have diabetes usually can suffer from erectile dysfunction as much as 10-15 years earlier than men who don’t have diabetes. So it is obvious that diabetes and sexual dysfunction in men have a proven co-relation.
Diabetes is not the only medical condition that can lead a man toward sexual dysfunction. Other medical conditions that can lead men toward sexual dysfunction are blood pressure, alcoholism, kidney disease, and blood vessel disease. Side effects of medications, smoking, psychological factors, and hormonal deficiencies can also lead to sexual dysfunction.
In general, there is no cure for erectile dysfunction which is commonly known as ED. However, there are ED pills like Cialis, Viagra, and Levitra (also known as Vardenafil) which can treat ED and give you an erection.
People with diabetes are far more likely to suffer from sexual problems and the anxiety and frustration that come as part of the territory. But you don’t have to suffer in silence.
Cialis, Viagra, and Levitra (vardenafil) are 3 major FDA approved medications that treats ED but there is no cure for this yet.
“I first noticed my erection problems about two years ago,” says Paul, 38, who has had Type 2 Diabetes for five years and needs to use insulin five times a day. “My partner and I have always enjoyed a loving and active sex life. At first I questioned our relationship. Did I still find her attractive? Had the relationship changed in some way? Through sheer process of elimination, I came to realise the problem was mechanical.”
Paul is one of half of all men with diabetes who experience erection problems or Erectile Dysfunction (ED) at some stage in their lives. ED is a common complication of diabetes and is caused by damage to the nerves in the penis – with your risk increasing as you get older. And unfortunately, ED often triggers anxiety and confusion, which makes matters even worse.
“In the past, I have never had any problems getting an erection. So it came as quite a surprise,” says Paul. “Luckily, my partner and I talk freely about everything and we were able to discuss the problem without too many inhibitions. I reassured her it was nothing to do with her and that I thought it was linked to my diabetes.”
He was right. Men with diabetes are three times more likely to experience ED, and unlike men who don’t have diabetes, over 80 per cent of cases are caused by physical rather than psychological factors.
Twenty five per cent of all women with diabetes and about 50 per cent of men will experience some kind of sexual problems or loss of sexual desire as a result of their condition, and like men, women with diabetes report significantly more problems with sexual dysfunction than women without diabetes.
Paul was lucky to be part of such an open and understanding relationship, as many couples shy away from talking about the problem due to embarrassment, frustration or feelings of guilt, especially if the cause is not understood. Research has shown that 30 per cent of men with diabetes don’t know that ED is a common complication, while almost half do know, but believe that ED is inevitable with age and that there is nothing they can do to prevent or treat it. Plus, a recent international study for the British Journal of Urology revealed that five per cent of men with erectile dysfunction also have undiagnosed diabetes - over 750,000 people in the UK currently have diabetes but don’t yet know it.
But for men with ED, there is no reason to suffer in silence, as effective treatment is readily available.
“I have a light-hearted relationship with my diabetes team so I didn’t have a problem speaking to them about it. The next time I was due for a doctor’s appointment, I told my GP about the erectile problems,” says Paul. “She was very helpful and gave me a list of the drugs available and I opted for Cialis.”
It didn’t take long for Paul to get used to the tablets. “I take one about half an hour before I think we might have sex,” he says. “More than 50 per cent of the time I can do without the tablets, but it’s good to know they are there as a back up. One tablet lasts for about 36 hours. I haven’t suffered any side effects and although it slightly takes the spontaneity away, our sex life is as active and healthy as ever.”
Source: Keep the Doctor Away, UK
Diabetes appears to harm sperm and may decrease a man’s fertility, says a British study in the journal Human Reproduction.
Many men having diabetes for a long period of time are sufferuring from Erectile Dysfunction which is commonly known as ED. Cialis, Viagra, and Levitra (vardenafil) are 3 major FDA approved medications that treats ED.
Researchers analysed sperm samples from 56 men and found that 52 percent of men with diabetes had fragmented sperm DNA, compared with 32 percent of men without the disease, BBC News reported.
The diabetic men also had higher rates of DNA deletions in the mitochondria, which produce energy for cells. Defective sperm DNA can cause male infertility, pregnancy failure and miscarriage, BBC News reported.
The study also found that the diabetic men had significantly lower-than-normal semen volume, but showed no differences in sperm concentration, structure or movement.
While it’s not clear whether diabetes actually affects male fertility, the researchers said their findings are troubling given rapidly rising rates of diabetes. They recommended further research, BBC News reported.
A new study sheds additional light on how erectile dysfunction (ED) interacts with diabetes. The study is another step in uncovering the link between the two disorders, and may lead to improved efficacy in treatments.
Cialis, Viagra, and Levitra (vardenafil) are 3 major FDA approved medications that treats ED but there is no cure for this yet.
The study, “Lack of Central Nitric Oxide Triggers Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetes,” was conducted by Hong Zheng, William G. Mayhan, and Kaushik P. Patel, Departments of Cellular and Integrative Physiology; and Keshore R. Bidasee, Department of Pharmacology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. The results appear in the March 2007 edition of the American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, one of 11 peer-reviewed scientific publications issued monthly by The American Physiological Society (APS).
Background
Sexual dysfunction is a well-recognized consequence of diabetes mellitus in men. Erectile dysfunction, retrograde ejaculation and the loss of seminal emission have all been described by such patients. This study examined induced penile erection, yawning and stretch in diabetic rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes were used as they exhibit sexual and behavioral symptoms similar to those found in diabetic men with sexual dysfunction.
The researchers focused on the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, located in the brain, an integration center between the central and peripheral nervous systems. The site is involved in numerous functions, including erectile function and sexual behavior, and is a primary site within the forebrain that has been implicated in penile erection. The investigators also examined central nitric oxide (NO within the PVN) which plays an important role in the neurotransmission of normal penile erection.
Penile erection is a behavioral response that occurs in response to the administration of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) within the PVN. At the same time, inhibition of NO synthase with NG-monomethly-L-argining (L-NMMA) prevents NMDA-induced erection. The researchers hypothesized that the blunted NMDA mediated responses in diabetes reflects an impaired NO mechanism within the PVN. The involvement of an NO mechanism in the NMDA mediated behavioral response was also explored.
Methodology
The rats were exposed to a light/dark cycle, with standard temperature and humidity levels. The animals were randomly selected to receive chemical injection of the streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes. Those rats that did not receive STZ (vehicle injected) served as controls. The experiments began on each of the rats four weeks after the injections.
Four experiments were conducted. Experiment one examined the effect of L-NMMA on NMDA mediated behavioral responses in normal rats; experiment two measured behavioral responses to NMDA or sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an NO donor in both control and diabetic rats; the third experiment observed the effect of diabetes on nNOS protein in the PVN; the fourth experiment measured NMDA mediated behavioral responses in diabetic rats after restoring the nNOS protein in the PVN using viral gene transfer.
Results
The researchers found that:
Conclusion
The researchers conclude that erectile dysfunction in diabetes is due to a selective defect in the NO mechanisms within the PVN. This defect is a loss in the synthetic enzyme for the production of NO within the neurons of the PVN. Restoring this synthetic enzyme may have a significant therapeutic value for diabetic patients with ED.
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JOURNAL PUBLICATION INFORMATION: American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comprehensive Physiology – March 2007.