Hello from Australia, long term ED

[touchthemetalrod]

Hello guys,

I am 33 and have had a long history of ED to varying degrees of severity basically since around 19 till the present day. I personally believe the reason to be the fact that I was vegan from the ages of 13 to 17 and consuming large amounts of soy products on a daily basis which I believed this fucked around with my puberty somewhat. I also developed gynecomastia during this time (I got the surgery years later though) and my penis didn't develop very much and is noticeably thinner than it should be.

My issues got much worse during my late teens/early twenties do to porn addiction and chronic masturbation, especially the fact that up until the last year I never used to use lube. At many points my addiction was so bad that I would still masturbate with a totally flaccid penis. This is something which has resulted in minor peyronnies, which I have since resolved somewhat my using castor oil. Since that time I have greatly reduced my porn consumption and only masturbate using copious amounts of lube which isn't physically damaging my penis anymore. I also notice that erection quality when masturbating without lube is considerably poorer.
Up until the last year I had a very poor diet and indulged heavily in alcohol and drugs, but I have since cleaned up my lifestyle completely and now eat a healthy diet. One of my major symptoms of shitty erectile health is that I hardly ever have morning erections, and this has been the case my entire life except for my teen years. When masturbating my erection strength varies, I'd say between 70%-85% for the most part. I have only had sex a few times in my life with a few escorts, and in all but one of those encounters I used large doses of Cialis. Sometimes it worked great, other times only a little bit and in some it didn't make any difference at all.

I had hoped that after I had finally completely stopped drinking alcohol and eating a healthy diet that I would experience much greater sexual health, but I think I'd say I have only seen about 15% improvement in my case. If I actually had an IRL sex life it would be a big problem. Recently I have been experimenting with a penis pump in hoping to both improve my erection quality and hopefully to add some girth as well. I have only just started pumping for ten minutes every other day because I have read that I really need to start slow and build my way up. I am very paranoid about making things worse, but I really want to try something.
I have been to a few doctors before, but it was mostly in regards to getting my hormone levels checked, because I thought this was mainly a low t issue. But apart from trying to optimize my hormone levels, I haven't tried much else to address my ED issue alone, but I really want to change that. I have been on TRT before a couple times, but it didn't really seem to change things in terms of my erectile function or sex drive. I may be interested in trying it again in the future, but I'd like to try other more direct approaches.

Thanks for listening to my story and I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give me.
What also might be worth mentioning is that I have a varicocele on my left testicle. I actually had surgery to try and get rid of it about ten years ago but it didn't work and I still have it. I don't know if that also plays a role in my problems.

[Martin6469]

I'm a vegetarian+fish guy and drink soy milk. I have zero natural testosterone and rely on the synthetic. I once asked my doctor if soy milk messed with my testosterone since it contains estrogen, and he said "No - you'd have to drinks gallons per day - your problem is not diet." I'm no doctor or nutritionist, but it doesn't seem like a vegan and soy diet in puberty would have the effect you posit. I think getting testosterone up to a normal level is the first thing to do when having ED, because if it's low, you can't think straight. You haven't mentioned seeing urologists recently; if I had your problems, that would be the second thing I'd do. Good luck and keep us posted.

[touchthemetalrod]

Hey,

Thanks for replying to my post. I'm curious about exactly what you would consider to be low testosterone. My levels are currently 490. I have considered getting back on TRT but in Australia there any chance of getting a doctor to prescribe my TRT with those levels as they are insanely strict here, I can get the necessary medication off the black market and do it myself, as that's what I did previously, but I have been keeping that as something as a last resort. I'm curious how I should approach seeing a urologist, as I've never been to one before. Just show up to the appointment and tell them I have ED?

[BrokenPiston]

Pretty much. Urologists see tons of patients with ED. You'll be in good... hands. Don't be embarrassed (not that you are).

A couple other thoughts from your original post. You don't mention exercise along with your healthy diet. If you want to raise your T you need to hit the weights. Intensive muscle-depleting exercise will raise testosterone. I'm 56 and the only reason I have T that is near the top end of a normal range for 19-39 yo men is because I go hard at the weights. I don't do it to raise my T. Anyway figure out a way to introduce that exercise if you're not. Crossfit and maybe even HIIT could help (I haven't researched what exercise regimes can help, free weights absolutely). You could also try taking Boron, that will boost your "free testosterone" but not sure if it will raise the levels in your blood test.

[Martin6469]

rod: Good advice from BrokenPiston. Normal testosterone levels are approximately 200-1000ng/dL, depending on the doc and his lab, so you're right in the middle, if that 490 is recent. If it's more than a year old, you might consider getting another reading, since your first post indicated low readings. If those are true, I would see an endocrinologist to try and get an idea of why T varies. With a rocky health history, you might want to get a hormone checkup from an endocrinologist anyway. So call a urologist's office and when the receptionist says "What is your problem?" you say "Erectile dysfunction." As BrokenPiston says, don't be embarrassed, they see 15 guys my age every day with ED, and a few in their thirties! It's a common problem for young and old. And don't be embarrassed to be nude below the waist with female nurses. A female nurse showed me how to inject my penis with Trimix. They're all there to help you.

I'm wondering if you have a venous leak, which prevents a full erection. Ask the doc if he doesn't mention it. I don't have this, but I think it's diagnosed by giving you an erection by injecting your penis with Trimix or something similar, and then getting an ultrasound picture.

I wouldn't mess with black market drugs - you don't know what's in them. Again, keep us posted; lot of experienced guys here.