Male Impotence

SURE, it's a night you'll never forget--for all the wrong reasons. It had been a hectic week. You'd been working hard on that proposal, and never once made it home before midnight. Tonight, you were going to make it up to your beautiful wife.

For a start, you bought red roses. For her part, she uncorked your favorite wine. After dinner, when you took the phone off the hook, she slipped behind you, kissing your neck in that way of hers that always drives you crazy.

Everything seemed to unfold according to plan. Everything, that is, except a certain part of your anatomy--a certain crucial part. And that left you to wonder: what in heck is going on? Is this going to happen the next time?

A shattering, terrifying experience for the male ego is how the authors of A Joyful Meeting: Sexuality in Marriage, describe male impotence. The degree and intensity of this feeling appears absurd to everyone except the poor fellow who is impotent. But to him it's very real. Failure here can produce a deep and abiding fear of repeated failure.

The Male Impotence Cycle

So instead of being relaxed and joyous, sexual intimacy becomes a series of demands, a time of testing--full of fears and misgivings. Instead of an erection being an automatic reaction, it becomes a job, something he must work to produce--and he's not at all sure that he can produce. The more he worries, the worse it gets. The harder he tries, the softer it gets.

Impotence should not be confused with premature ejaculation, loss of libido, or absence of orgasm; in all of these cases, satisfactory erection may be obtained. Impotence can occur at any age, although it's more common in older men.

In the past, impotence was a taboo subject, but attitudes are changing. Today, more and more men are seeking help, particularly as large segments of the population age. In addition, physicians now have a better understanding of causes of impotence.

Male Impotence Classifications

Impotence is classified as either primary or secondary. Primary impotence is expressed early in adolescence as a fundamental inability to achieve erection; secondary impotence is more common and consists of an onset of erectile inability during adulthood, after a period of normal erectile ability.

The most common psychological factors contributing to impotence are stress in a man's life or difficulties in his sexual relationships. For example, if a man has suddenly lost his job, his feeling of failure may lead to temporary impotence. It is possible to tell if the cause of a man's impotence is solely psychological; if he still experiences normal erections during the time he is sleeping, there is unlikely to be any physical reason for his impotence when conscious.

However, in some cases a physical condition that is not severe enough to produce impotence on its own may make a man more likely to develop impotence if minor psychological factors are also present.

Alcohol and cigarettes also decrease sexual drive. Alcohol, a nervous-system depressant, inhibits reflexes, creating a state that is opposite of arousal as commonly seen in a condition known as "Brewers Droop". Nicotine found in tobacco can be a blood vessel constrictor. A study showed that inhalation of cigarette smoke "blocks erection by inhibiting the smooth muscle relaxation of the erectile tissue."

Other causes of impotence have to do with physical conditions, disease, or trauma. Chronic diseases of the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, nerves, arteries, or veins can lead to impotence.

Recently, it has been noticed that erectile dysfunction is a signal to underlying heart problems.

Atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries," can also prevent adequate blood from entering the penis. In some men, low levels of hormone testosterone may cause impotence. Men suffering from diabetes are most likely to develop impotence.

Regardless of the cause of male impotence, treatment is available ... and so is hope.

Drew Voight