If the marketing campaigns are any indication, it would appear erectile dysfunction (ED) is the sole domain of men in their later years. While your risk for ED does go up as you pass into your 60s, 70s, and beyond, the fact is that ED can strike at any time, even during what are supposed to be your most virile years.
At Men’s T Clinic®, we treat men of all ages who suffer from an imbalance in their hormones, namely low testosterone, which often leads to ED. At our seven Texas locations in Dallas, Frisco, The Colony, Houston, Cypress, Pearland, and Pasadena, our goal is to bypass the myths and misinformation surrounding erectile dysfunction and provide our patients with real solutions. ED is a quality-of-life issue at any age, and we’re here to help.
If you’re a young man suffering from ED, read on to learn more about what may be behind the problem and what you can do about it.
Before we get into some of the causes of ED, it’s helpful to understand the many factors that go into an erection. While an erection may seem simple enough, it’s really a rather complicated process that involves a host of different players, including your:
A misfire in any one of these areas can cause ED, which is defined as the inability to get and maintain an erection long enough for sexual intercourse.
Precise numbers regarding ED can be difficult to come by, since it often goes unreported. But thanks to increasing awareness and acceptance of the issue, a few studies have come out showing ED is a very common problem, affecting 52% of men at one point or another.
This number tends to increase in lockstep with your age. For example, 40% of men at age 40 and 70% of men at age 70 report either sporadic or chronic issues with ED.
The reason ED is more prevalent as you age is that many of the systems involved in an erection naturally age alongside you, including your testosterone output and your circulatory system.
For younger men, however, the natural slowing down of your body’s systems isn’t to blame, which means there’s a problem that bears investigation.
If you think of an erection as a chain event that starts in your brain and works through your nervous, endocrine, and circulatory systems, you can see how any break along the chain can have an impact on the final outcome.
One of the most common “breaks” in this chain among younger men stems from hypogonadism, which affects your levels of testosterone. Hypogonadism can originate right at the source of your hormone production in your testes, or from a problem in your hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which oversee the production of testosterone.
The first step in diagnosing whether hypogonadism is causing your ED is to come in for a simple blood test so we can measure your hormone levels. If we find you have low T, we can start you on an appropriate treatment.
If your hormone levels are within normal limits, it means we have to move our investigation to other areas and check to see whether another physical or mental condition is causing your ED.
Our goal is to get to the bottom of your issue to help you overcome ED.
In cases where low T is to blame for your ED, we offer testosterone therapy that helps you regain control over your sex life. If you’ve suffered from ED for quite some time, you may still need to get over the mental hurdle, but your replenished testosterone supply gives you the tools you need.
We understand that ED can be particularly frustrating when you’re younger, and we’re here to help. The more you prolong getting checked out, the harder it may be to overcome the problem. So call us today, or use the online scheduling tool on this website, to learn more about treating ED, no matter what your age.
