Impotence
Impotence
Cary Grant fathered a daughter at age 62. Clint Eastwood had a baby girl at 67. Charlie Chaplin had a son at 73. Tony Randall sired a daughter when he was 77. And Anthony Quinn had his 13th child at age 81.
“Men shouldn’t lose potency as a result of getting older. There are age-related diseases that men develop that can lead to difficulty in getting erections. But if men are healthy, they should be able to function all of their lives,” explains Drogo K. Montague, M.D., director of the Center for Sexual Function at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Normally, an erection occurs when there is increased blood flow into the penis and penile veins are compressed to make sure that the blood is sealed there, causing stiffness. Nerves in the penis provide pleasurable sensations and help retain the erection until ejaculation, Dr. Montague says.
A man, however, is not a machine. Almost every man fails to achieve an erection rigid enough for intercourse at some point during his adult life, notes Dr. Montague. And for up to 30 million American men, getting and maintaining an erection is a persistent problem. Commonly known as impotence, doctors now call this condition erectile dysfunction.
Estimates of impotence vary so widely that the statistics are nearly meaningless, which says something about truth in reporting when it comes to this delicate subject. By some estimates, only 15 percent of men over the age of 70 are impotent. Other polls put the number nearer 67 percent, which would mean that two out of every three men over the age of 70 are impotent.
Statistics aside, older men do seem to be more prone to erectile problems than younger men. In all likelihood, that’s because older men are more apt to have diabetes, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and other physical ailments that reduce blood flow to the penis. In fact, in men over 50, up to 80 percent of erectile dysfunction is caused by physical problems. But anxiety, depression, and other psychological woes also can contribute to the problem, Dr. Montague says.
Try This First
Fluff up the pillows. Impotence can be triggered by boredom in the bedroom, says Roger Crenshaw, M.D., psychiatrist and sex therapist in private practice in La Jolla, California. Take a few moments to think about your sex life. Are your nightly patterns with your spouse so predictable that it’s difficult to get excited about them? Have you used the same position for years? How do you feel about kissing and foreplay? Where do you have sex? In the bedroom? In the shower?
Often, just changing when, where, and how you have sex can be erotic enough to revive your potency, Dr. Crenshaw says. So experiment. Try with new positions. Touch your spouse in ways you never have before or try some role-playing games if your spouse is game.
Other Wise Ways
Ask for a healing touch. As men age, they need more physical stimulation to get and maintain erections, explains Dr. Crenshaw. So ask your spouse to take some time to touch and play with your genitals and other erotic areas of your body.
Turn off the pressure. If you do have difficulty getting an erection, don’t dwell on it, Dr. Crenshaw advises. Obsessing about impotence could make you worry so much that you’ll have performance anxiety, which leads to impotence, which makes you worry more, which leads to more anxiety. So break the vicious cycle and treat it casually. Shrug it off.
To relieve the tension, avoid having intercourse the next few times you and your partner are intimate, even if you get an erection, Dr. Crenshaw suggests. Instead, hug, kiss, caress, and do other things you enjoy. Satisfy your spouse but avoid touching each other’s genitals.
“If intercourse becomes an overarching goal, sex ceases to be fun. And when sex ceases to be fun, that’s when you get into trouble,” Dr. Crenshaw says.
Clear the smoke. Smoking kills erections, Dr. Montague warns. Each time you light up, you risk damage to arteries; you also restrict blood flow to the penis. And without enough blood, you’re not going to be a rocket man. Even if you’ve been smoking for years, quitting now can help restore your potency.
Stop wine-ing. Alcohol is a depressant that slows down reflexes, including sexual ones. Drink no more than one drink, which is a 12-ounce beer, 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1 1/2-ounce shot of liquor a day if you want to keep your erections as you get older, Dr. Crenshaw says.
Play hard. The fitter you are, the less likely impotence will be a problem, Dr. Montague says. Regular aerobic exercise such as walking and swimming helps keep arteries healthy and that includes the arteries that supply the penis, says Dr. Montague. Better yet, try to fit some running into your schedule, ideally, 15 to 20 minutes three times a week. Remember to check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise program, he adds.
| Managing Your Meds For decades, older men whose sex lives were limp, slack, or nonexistent because of impotence faced some pretty grim choices: go without, use cumbersome vacuum pumps, or inject erection-inducing drugs directly into their penises. Then along came the pill that recharged the sexual revolution among gray-ing Americans. As easy to take as an aspirin, sildenafil citrate (Viagra) quickly became known for its ability to restore a man’s erections even after decades of impotence. In its first three months on the U.S. market in 1998, doctors wrote more than two million prescriptions for this “miracle drug,” making it the most successful new pharmaceutical on record. Its soaring sales spawned a host of other drugs designed to help men who have erectile difficulties. The drugs work wonders for about 80 percent of men, stimulating blood flow to the penis and jump-starting long-lost erections. But for nearly one in three men, particularly those with diabetes and other health conditions that damage nerves in the penis, these medications may not help as much. Viagra has other downsides as well. Doctors say that you should never use Viagra if you are taking nitroglycerin or related nitrate-containing drugs. When combined, Viagra and nitrates can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure, and some men have died from this side effect, says Roger Crenshaw, M.D., psychiatrist and sex therapist in private practice in La Jolla, California. Other drug interactions may emerge as the drug is more widely tested, so be sure to let your doctor know about any drugs you are taking, including over-the-counter products, prior to taking Viagra. While Viagra is a much-touted cure for impotence, other drugs are notorious for causing impotence as a side effect. In fact, medications account for about one in every four cases of impotence and may be the single most common cause of sexual dysfunction after age 60, says W. Steven Pray, Ph.D., R.Ph., professor of nonprescription drug products at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. Among the common culprits are: • High blood pressure medications including beta-blockers such as propranolol (Inderal), pindolol (Visken), and metoprolol (Lopressor) • Digitalis preparations such as digoxin (Lanoxin), used to strengthen weak heart muscles and correct irregular heartbeats • Antidepressants like clomipramine (Anafranil) If your erectile dysfunction begins shortly after you begin taking a medication, consult with your physician. You may be able to alleviate the problem by cutting back certain medications or finding substitutes for them. But never reduce or stop your dosage of any drug without your doctor’s permission, Dr. Crenshaw warns. |
