ED tied to Low T - Seeking Information

[DrBlick]

Just wanted to share some information, as a Prosthetic Urologist who specializes in Penile Implants myself...hopefully it's helpful with your question regarding Low T and ED.

Interestingly, it is a common myth that low testosterone is a very common cause of ED. Low T only causes Erectile Dysfunction in about 20% of patients. Therefore, testosterone replacement therapy does not improve ED in most cases.

So while it is always a possibility that Low T is causing your ED, the probability that it is being caused by something else is much higher. In my own practice, I always do diagnostic testing in order to confirm the medical cause of the ED before I recommend any treatment options.

[Flannigan]

Just wanted to share some information, as a Prosthetic Urologist who specializes in Penile Implants myself...hopefully it's helpful with your question regarding Low T and ED.

Interestingly, it is a common myth that low testosterone is a very common cause of ED. Low T only causes Erectile Dysfunction in about 20% of patients. Therefore, testosterone replacement therapy does not improve ED in most cases.

So while it is always a possibility that Low T is causing your ED, the probability that it is being caused by something else is much higher. In my own practice, I always do diagnostic testing in order to confirm the medical cause of the ED before I recommend any treatment options.

Dr. Blick,
Thank you very much for your reply. I truly appreciate it. I have been desperately seeking some answers and the possible root cause of my ED for at least the last 3 months and I feel like I have been spinning my wheels and throwing a lot of money away. I have had lost of blood work done recently thru my GP. My cholesterol levels are fine. I am in pretty good shape. 6'1" 220 lbs. Exercise 3 times a week. Was always athletic. Don't smoke. Drink maybe 5 drinks a week. Not on any other meds besides Viagra, Anastozlone, and now Androgel. I also take Ambien once in a while.

My T level before I started treatment was 225. After a month of Anastozlone I am up to 510 and now on Androgel. Night time erections are now almost always there and I can still obtain an erection through heavy stimulation but I still have trouble in the bedroom.

Went to a men's clinic on Sat. Did the doppler sonogram and blood flow was good. Injected me with a low dose Trimix and it was too effective. After 2 shots of antidote I was able to walk again without a 3rd leg. Tried a very low dose again on Tuesday night and almost had to go to the hospital. Not sure if I really need that stuff or if I want to keep using it.

Can you please tell me what other things you and any other good urologist would check ?

Thank you
Flannigan aka Brian

[dcmusc]

Flannigan,

My last self administered Trimix did send me to the hospital. Since then, it has been difficult to get an erection. Saw the urologist and, complicating things, she changed my HRT protocol. So libido took a nose dive.

Yesterday had my doppler. And told I have great blood flow (a teenagers she said). Dismissed my concerns that HRT had caused my ED issues, which I had also come to that conclusion. She wanted me to see a psychologist, which I am doing. Seeing Kramer on the 18th for second opinion.

I have read posts were guys get a positive doppler evaluation, but ED persists. The conclusion being it is psychological. Well, I am going to give the analyst a chance to weigh in, but I am not convinced.

In the end, I am not looking to spend a bunch of time trying to figure out the causes. I want a solution. This urologist said she would not put an implant in because she was sure I would length and girth. That is a concern for me, but doesn't seem to be that much of a concern on here. I will discuss with Kramer.

[Flannigan]

Flannigan,

My last self administered Trimix did send me to the hospital. Since then, it has been difficult to get an erection. Saw the urologist and, complicating things, she changed my HRT protocol. So libido took a nose dive.

Yesterday had my doppler. And told I have great blood flow (a teenagers she said). Dismissed my concerns that HRT had caused my ED issues, which I had also come to that conclusion. She wanted me to see a psychologist, which I am doing. Seeing Kramer on the 18th for second opinion.

I have read posts were guys get a positive doppler evaluation, but ED persists. The conclusion being it is psychological. Well, I am going to give the analyst a chance to weigh in, but I am not convinced.

In the end, I am not looking to spend a bunch of time trying to figure out the causes. I want a solution. This urologist said she would not put an implant in because she was sure I would length and girth. That is a concern for me, but doesn't seem to be that much of a concern on here. I will discuss with Kramer.

Dcmusc, thanks for the response. These kinds of responses do help to give me some possible clues into my ED issue. I went to see a endocrinologist yesterday. He was very thorough in looking over my bloodwork over the past 5 years. He seems like a very good doctor. He thinks that I might have metabolic syndrome or possibly even pre diabetic I am going in for more bloodwork today and I will revisit with him in a couple weeks. I am not convinced that is the cause of my problem but it might be. When it comes to ED I think we all have a psychological component. When we start to experience ED for any reason than it most certainly is going to mess with your head. It's a tough thing to shake mentally when you are always concerned it's going to happen. It become a self fulfilling prophecy.

I am curious to know about your last Trimix experience. I am going to try mine again tonight but I still have some concerns. Last one lasted 4 hours so I will only take a little more than half the dose tonight.

Cheers
Flannigan

[Nocturne]

So, my T was damn low (125 or so) at the age of 41, when my dick abruptly gave up the ghost. Had my very first ED experience in a hotel with my wife, and from that moment on... Well, my life has never been the same.

But it did get better, at least in the erectile department.

I have come to believe that at least part of my severe ED issues were psychological, because of the shock of the initial incident and worries about it. But not all. I am certain the low T also played a part, and equally certain that my redonkulous crazy cartoon level of lipoprotein (a) and resultant trashed endothelium played a major part. But I didn't know about that at the time.

Back to low T. First, I highly recommend the forum at http://www.peaktestosterone.com -- they are a great bunch of guys who have a wealth of info.

Understand that low T can cause venous leak, and restoring normal T levels can mitigate or even more or less fully cure venous leak that was caused by low T. This can take a long time. For me, it took months -- over a year, I'd say -- before T restoration restored me to the functionality I have now. It was a gradual process. Sometimes I think I am still improving, but some of this is due to further monkeying with meds -- I dropped Anastrazole recently and have noticed a positive change (I take Clomid, which raises my T to the high 400s).

But all told, I went from being unable to perform more than half of the time, and able to only weakly perform the rest of the time (all while taking 5mg Cialis every day) two years ago, to generally acceptable (sometimes even very good) erections all the time with only 2.5mg Cialis every OTHER day. Last week, I had sex with my wife twice before we got out of bed in the morning.

I know I've got permanent damage, that will only get worse, and that eventually I'll need an implant. But not for a while, and when the time comes, I'm just going to take the plunge. With my heart, and my Lp(a) levels, waiting just doesn't make any sense.

[Flannigan]

Nocturne, thanks for the reply. We are all here to help each other and responses like your offer me some possible clues into the root cause of my ED. I finally have a good endocrinologist that I am working with so I hope to have some more clues soon.

ED affects us all and our relationships in so many ways. I don't people really fully understand what a toll it can take on your overall quality of life. I think all men in your younger years go around thinking we are impervious to ED and that it will never happen to me. Then when it does we all go into a bit of shock and denial. I didn't really bother looking into it for years since I was only dating and Viagra was working fine. But now I have a great girl and she needs sex as much as she can get it. Twice a day everyday is what she wants. It's been hard for me to tell her I am just not capable of that. It's really weird trying to work thru these issues with a partner that may not fully understand what we men are going thru. I am determined to get it figured out and fix it if possible. She is worth keeping.

I also stopped using Anastrozole a few days ago. I think the side effects were catching up with me. I am not just using the Adrogel. My T level started out at 225 and I am interested to see where it's at today. What were you doing to get your T level up besides the Anastrozole ? Were you self injecting T shots ? I am thinking of going that route because the Androgel is pretty expensive.

Good luck and keep up the fight.
Flannigan

[DrBlick]

Just wanted to share some information, as a Prosthetic Urologist who specializes in Penile Implants myself...hopefully it's helpful with your question regarding Low T and ED.

Interestingly, it is a common myth that low testosterone is a very common cause of ED. Low T only causes Erectile Dysfunction in about 20% of patients. Therefore, testosterone replacement therapy does not improve ED in most cases.

So while it is always a possibility that Low T is causing your ED, the probability that it is being caused by something else is much higher. In my own practice, I always do diagnostic testing in order to confirm the medical cause of the ED before I recommend any treatment options.

Dr. Blick,
Thank you very much for your reply. I truly appreciate it. I have been desperately seeking some answers and the possible root cause of my ED for at least the last 3 months and I feel like I have been spinning my wheels and throwing a lot of money away. I have had lost of blood work done recently thru my GP. My cholesterol levels are fine. I am in pretty good shape. 6'1" 220 lbs. Exercise 3 times a week. Was always athletic. Don't smoke. Drink maybe 5 drinks a week. Not on any other meds besides Viagra, Anastozlone, and now Androgel. I also take Ambien once in a while.

My T level before I started treatment was 225. After a month of Anastozlone I am up to 510 and now on Androgel. Night time erections are now almost always there and I can still obtain an erection through heavy stimulation but I still have trouble in the bedroom.

Went to a men's clinic on Sat. Did the doppler sonogram and blood flow was good. Injected me with a low dose Trimix and it was too effective. After 2 shots of antidote I was able to walk again without a 3rd leg. Tried a very low dose again on Tuesday night and almost had to go to the hospital. Not sure if I really need that stuff or if I want to keep using it.

Can you please tell me what other things you and any other good urologist would check ?

Thank you
Flannigan aka Brian

Depending on the origin, there are different methods of analysis and treatmentfor ED. On one hand, there is a 10-20% chance that a case of ED is due to psychological factors. It could possibly be a barometer of lifestyle stress and psychological baggage that has accumulated over a patient's lifetime. In these cases I normally start by asking a handful of questions in order to break down any possible psychological causes, which in most cases can be treated by a well-trained sexual psychologist.

However, about 80-90% of the time ED is due to a more medical origin. This could be due to a vascular issue, neurological and endocrinological disorders due to nerves and hormones, pelvic trauma, or the use of psychotropic drugs, narcotics, and anti-hypertensives. At my practice in Phoenix I perform a very detailed patient history and physical, and I evaluate a panel of Men’s Health Blood Tests to possibly reveal reversible causes of the ED. I also perform a DDUP to check for any blood flow problem in the arteries and/or veins.

We also use this test to assess the risk of heart disease and any need for future cardiac assessment. Oftentimes Erectile Dysfunction has a Cardiovascular connection because ED is now recognized as one of the earliest signs of coronary artery disease, showing up as early as 3-4 years before a heart attack or stroke. This is why I suggest that men with ED who have no prior history of cardiovascular disease should be evaluated by a primary care physician or cardiologist for cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and lack of physical activity.

[Nocturne]

Flannigan, I take 25 mg Clomid eod, which raises my T from 125 or so to 475 or so. That's still not a great number, but it's what I got. I expect that eventually I'll need to start T shots, but for now I'm OK.

Note that you only need one of the two isomers found in a Clomid pill to raise your T. The other one is actually poison to us in that it jacks up our Estrogen, which we generally do not want. A company has even trying to get a pill past the FDA that contains only the isomer we want, but so far the FDA has been blocking them for some reason. Why? Surely they know that plenty of men are already taking the isomer along with another one they do not need and sometimes require a third chemical (Anastrazole) to counteract. Could it be that men's health issues just don't mean bupkiss to the FDA? Maybe there are some withered prune feminists at the FDA who secretly get off on prolonging the suffering of males. I'm sure I can't think of a GOOD reason for them to keep playing "keep-away" with Androxal.

Note also that until relatively recently (the 80s or so), it was believed that the vast MAJORITY of ED was caused by "psychological causes". How many men were sent home by their docs after essentially being told it was "all in their head" when in fact it was not? Do you really think that every time a man is told "psychological causes" today, there are no physical causes? Or could it be that when medicine doesn't know the answer yet, it just starts throwing the word "psychological" around to make itself feel better? The truth is, sometimes the docs just don't know what caused someone's ED. And in the end, we don't care what caused it so much as how we can fix it. In the end, the Final Solution is an implant.

[Flannigan]

Thanks for the reply Nocturne. You are so right. When I first started having issues in my mid 40's my doc said it was all in my head since I seemed pretty healthy. He would not even give me a prescription for Viagra. For a while I even believed him that it was in my head. Then as you said, I had to take matter into my own hands and just went out and got some Viagra and that was a quick fix. Unfortunately I just can't deal with the side affects anymore and must look deeper now into the root cause.

I can still achieve and erection naturally but only with a lot of heavy stimulation. Just call me gorilla grip Unfortunately my GF's sweet spot is not as tight and neither is her grip. Perhaps I should try and loosen up a bit So I am not quite ready for the implant route. Just started using the Trimix and trying to get it dialed in. The first 3 times have been interesting to say the least. Trying to get the GF to not be so weirded out by a 4 hour rock hard cock. After I have used it a few times I still need to strap it to my hip so I can just go get something to eat. It's definitely an experience but I will live with it for now.

One thing I know for sure is that this is not in my head but at this point I am sure some of it is psychological. How could it not be. When your dick won't get hard anymore for a smoking hot beach blonde with an amazing body and a sopping pussy then something is definitely wrong I am on a mission to get this figured out one way or another. I guess I probably need to start considering an implant at some point. The injections are not that convenient.

Cheers
Flannigan

[Larry10625]

Hello Mates,

I am 53 now and have been dealing with this ED bullshit since I was about 45. I recently learned that I have Low T. 225 ng was my reading a few months ago. I don't know how long I have had Low T but I suspect it's been several years.

I am now taking Anastozolone and Androgel to increase my testosterone level. I just had it check again and last week it came in at 433. I have noticed that recently (last 3 weeks) that I have hard erections for what seems like almost all night long. Because of this I thought I had been cured and was ready to put the wood to my hot girlfriend. Unfortunately though I still could not get my meat bat to step up to the plate and I had to resort to taking more Viagra which is now giving me major side affects.

I am wondering if there are any of you fellow ED brothers that had been cured or somewhat cured of your ED issue when you were put on testosterone replacement therapy ? I have heard that it's possible but I have not seen any other postings anywhere of success stories.

So are there any success stories out there with TRT ?

Cheers
Flannigan

Sorry Bud.. I took testosterone injections but it was because I just didn't have the desire. It worked for me for that.

Larry