Erections Hard to Come By for Diabetic Men

By Trevor Thieme

If you have diabetes and erectile dysfunction, getting the former under control is the first step toward relieving the latter.

Diabetes robs some men of erections, but managing the disease can bring them back. RODALE NEWS EMMAUS, PA—As if an increased risk of heart disease, kidney damage, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease weren’t enough, men with diabetes must also contend with disproportionately high rates of erectile dysfunction (ED), according to a recent analysis of diabetes studies in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. Diabetic ED is also frequently more severe than nondiabetic ED, making proper diagnosis and treatment crucial.

THE DETAILS: The researchers reviewed more than 130 studies that investigated the link between erectile dysfunction and type 2 diabetes. They found that ED was three times more common, and typically occurred 10 to 15 years earlier, in diabetic men than in nondiabetic men. What’s more, up to 12 percent of men who seek help for ED also have previously undiagnosed diabetes, suggesting that ED can be an early warning sign for the disease. In all, up to 90 percent of men who have diabetes also have erectile dysfunction, and their ED is often more resistant to treatment than that of nondiabetic men.

WHAT IT MEANS: If you have diabetes, the severity of your erectile dysfunction is directly related to how well you manage your disease. “ED is a thermometer of the condition,” says Ridwan Shabsigh, MD, director of the division of urology at Maimondides Medical Center, in Brooklyn, and author of Sensational Sex in 7 Easy Steps: The Proven Plan for Enhancing Your Sexual Function and Achieving Optimum Health (Rodale, 2007). “The more you have it under control, the more responsive your erectile dysfunction will be to treatment.”

If you’re coping with ED as well as diabetes, monitor your glucose levels diligently, take your medication as prescribed by your doctor, and follow these additional steps:

• Check your testosterone levels. Type 2 diabetes in men is often associated with a deficiency in testosterone. “Healthy testosterone levels are essential for achieving and maintaining erections,” says Dr. Shabsigh, “and many doctors overlook that aspect of the diabetes diagnosis.” Which is unfortunate, since such a deficiency (known as hypogonadism) is easy to amend with hormone-replacement therapies.

• Shed some pounds. Losing just 10 percent of your body weight through diet and exercise will not only reduce your symptoms of diabetes, including erectile dysfunction, but also your risk of having a heart attack. “For an erection to happen, you need healthy blood vessels, nerves, and hormone production,” says Dr. Shabsigh. “Losing weight will help improve all three.”

• Tipple in moderation. Alcohol damages blood vessels and nerves throughout the body, including those in the penis. Add that to the nerve damage that diabetes can cause and you have a sexual death sentence. “That doesn’t mean that you have to abstain from alcohol entirely,” says Dr. Shabsigh, “but if you have diabetes, only drink during social occasions, and cut yourself off after the first round.”

This article was first published here.

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