Like any other area of your health, your sexual health is complex, and many conditions can affect your sexual performance. In the line of fire are your libido and your ability to achieve and maintain an erection, which can be separate problems.
At No Mercy Sports Medicine in Miami, Florida, Dr. Moisés Irizarry-Román and our team specialize in men’s health, and we understand the importance of maintaining a healthy and active sex life.
For the purposes of this blog, we’re focusing on two areas of your sexual health — libido and erectile dysfunction (ED) — and how we go about treating these issues to improve your sexual health.
ED affects more than half of men in the United States and the problem tends to increase with age — 40% of men in their 40s and 70% of men in their 70s. ED is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough for intercourse. While an erection may seem like a simple process, in reality, it’s rather complex as it involves your:
A problem in any one of these areas can ultimately lead to ED, but the most common cause of ED is poor blood flow to your penis.
If we find that your circulation is the underlying cause of your declining sexual health, we can turn to spot treatments, such as ED medications or injections, as well as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. Also called the P shot, our goal with PRP therapy is to provide your penis with the resources it needs to create a healthier network of blood vessels and nerves.
If your sexual health issues stem from a loss of libido, or sex drive, this problem may be altogether separate from ED. While a loss of libido leads to fewer erections, the decline in your sex drive may stem from lower testosterone levels (low T).
Men naturally lose testosterone as they age, but the loss is incremental and fairly small. Some men, however, experience a more significant decline, and loss of libido is often just one symptom of many. Others include:
To determine whether your hormone levels are irregular, we perform a simple blood test. Based upon our findings, we may recommend hormone replacement therapy to help regulate your hormones and remedy your symptoms, including that loss of libido.
The bottom line is that we understand that your sexual health is important to your overall wellness, and we can work with you to find solutions. If your sexual health just isn’t what it once was, please contact No Mercy Sports Medicine for answers.
