Author: fitness-expert
Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) is the presence of an enlarged prostate gland, a condition which is more prevalent in older men. Men who suffer from BPH experience many of the same symptoms as prostate cancer; however, BPH is non-cancerous and the presence of this condition does not mean that a man is more likely to develop prostate cancer in the future. What is Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH)? Although BPH is common in older men, many may still ask “What is BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy)?” BPH is the inflammation or enlargement of the prostate gland. The risk for developing BPH increases…
Q. I’m 32, and for six years I’ve had a continuing loss of libido. In the last two years, I don’t think of sex or get an erection without serious coaxing from my partner. A hormone level test came back normal. My doctor gave me Viagra, which gives me an erection, but what’s the use when I have no urge to use it? Some time ago, when I lifted weights, I tried androstenedione and noticed that it increased my libido dramatically. I stopped taking it for health concerns, but lately I’ve tried it again to see if I could reproduce…
Hair loss is a part of your daily life, whether you realize it or not. A typical strand of hair lives four or five years and then falls out and is replaced by a new one — in fact, the average person loses up to 100 hairs a day. But when this loss is not followed by replacement, a once-thick head of hair starts to thin out — and in some cases, go bald. So why does this happen? Most people’s hair thins gradually with age — in both men and women — a natural phenomenon called involutional alopecia. Hair…
Q. My cardiologist prescribed Atenolol (25mg) for six months as a precaution after a false positive on a nuclear stress test. (I must have moved while the scanning machine was taking the images.) Could taking Atenolol for six months cause erectile difficulty? I have been off the medicine for three months now, and I still have ED problems. If this medicine was the cause, should this problem correct itself? How long will that take? A. Atenolol belongs to a class of medication called beta blockers, whose side effects include erectile dysfunction. However, at the low dose of 25mg, I would…
Q. Are erectile problems reversible when the cause has to do with diabetes? A. Unfortunately, diabetes has multiple effects on sexual behavior and particularly the ability to achieve erections. Diabetes may interfere with erections in any of three ways: Diabetes can damage the blood supply to the penis. Damage to the blood supply results from early atherosclerosis (“hardening” of the arteries) and fibrosis of the small arteries of the penis. Diabetes can damage the nerve supply to the penis. This occurs when high blood sugar damages the nerve fibers, and impulses that promote erections do not get transmitted to their…
Q. My friend is trying to quit smoking. He has started having problems getting and maintaining an erection. Could this be related? A. Quitting smoking would not cause him to lose erections, unless perhaps he is suffering from stress or depression that has been aggravated by his efforts to quit. On the contrary, smoking itself is more likely to cause erection problems. Smoking is a major cause of atherosclerosis (clogging of blood vessels), which affects the function of the penis. Most of the men I see in their 40 and 50s with erectile dysfunction are smokers. I insist that they…
Q. My boyfriend is 46, and over the last few years he’s started having trouble maintaining an erection. His doctor says there’s nothing medically wrong and has prescribed Viagra, but he’s nervous about using it. Are there any diet or lifestyle changes he could make that might make the drug less necessary? A. Yes. When I was in medical school, I was taught that the major cause of impotence is psychological. We now know that it is mostly physiological. For many men, it’s not in their head, it’s in their arteries. The arteries in your heart aren’t the only ones…
Q. Chronic use of alcohol is often given as a cause for the inability to maintain an erection. If this is the cause in my case, how long would I have to abstain before I could expect to experience an improvement? I am 50 years old. A. Men with chronic high-level alcohol consumption typically experience a decrease in the number of sperm as well as a decrease in sexual drive. Researchers believe that the alcohol lowers the level of the male hormone testosterone, both by decreasing the production of the hormone and by increasing the speed at which the body…
Q. Local doctors don’t seem to take my problem seriously, and I don’t know who else to ask. For the last year or so I’ve had erection problems. I seldom wake up with an erection. This affects my social life because I’m afraid I won’t be able to perform. I also have no force behind my stream when I urinate. If I pee outside, I barely miss my shoes! And when I am done urinating, I have to shake and dance a great deal to get it all out, and it still leaves a spot in my pants! Sometimes I…
Q. I am 54 and have been diagnosed with type II diabetes for seven years. I have been experiencing erectile dysfunction for the past two years. I initially thought it was due to a circumcision I had performed five years ago, but I now understand that it may be due to the lack of blood sugar control I had during the early stages of my diabetes. I have been in control for the past two years, and lately I have began to experience some slight erections during the mornings and sometimes during the day. Would you please tell me if…