IMPLANT SURGERY: A SATISFYING EXPERIENCE
Just how satisfied are men with their implants? Most are pretty satisfied, according to several studies.
For example, reactions to the semirigid penile implant were favorable at a Seattle hospital. Eighty-three percent of the men who responded were satisfied. Most felt that their expectations had been met, and most said they would choose to have the operation if they had to make the choice again, However, five men specifically stated that they would not repeat the procedure—two because their partners did not like the results, one because he suffered prolonged and severe pain and the two others because the results didn’t measure up to their expectations.
Doctors at the Mayo Clinic asked their inflatable prosthesis patients to report their reaction. Sixty-one patients answered.
About half of all respondents reported that they were very satisfied with the implant; another 15 were fairly satisfied. According to the patients, their partners felt approximately the same way.
Eight patients complained of mechanical problems. When these were fixed, the patients were satisfied with their erections and with sexual intercourse.
After the repairs were made, the total results indicated that almost 90 percent of the inflatable implant patients were satisfied.
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VIRILITY EXERCISES: STRETCH YOURSELF
To promote flexibility—the ability to use muscles and joints through their full range of motion—you should stretch at least three times a week. Regular stretching also helps to relieve stress, a major contributing factor to ED. When performed in a slow and focused way, stretching can be excellent relaxation therapy as well as a tension easer. Here’s the correct way to do it to avoid injury.
Static stretching calls for gradually lengthening through a muscle’s full range of movement until resistance—or discomfort—is felt. To maintain flexibility, an optimal session should last from ten to twenty minutes, with each stretch held for at least ten seconds. Then work up to holding each for twenty and then thirty seconds. To increase flexibility, stay in the stretch for one or two minutes.
Tight hamstrings are a major cause of poor back flexibility and back pain, which can lead to a diminished sex life. To relax the hamstrings, do the following two exercises daily. The morning stretch should be performed just after waking up. Sit on the edge of the bed with your feet flat on the floor and your knees at a 90 degree angle.
Keeping your knees together, bend forward at the waist, letting your chest touch your knees. Hold the position for ten seconds. Repeat five times. If you need a greater stretch, push your feet out farther from the bed.
The second stretch is the straight-legged hang. To do it, stand with your feet flat on the floor and your knees locked. Bend over from your waist and try to touch your fingers to the floor without straining. Without flexing your knees or bouncing, hold the position for one minute. Remember: if at any time you feel pain stop the stretch.
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POTENCY PROBLEMS: SMOKING
As part of one study, 20 men—longtime smokers who went through at least one pack each day—were told to stop smoking. None of the men had sleep erections at the beginning of the research, all of them were suspected of having blood-flow problems and half were known to be diabetic. After six weeks without tobacco, 7 fortunate individuals found that they could get erections again.
Along with giving up tobacco, you should drink only moderately—especially if you are a heavy or regular drinker. Heavy consumption of alcohol can ruin potency in the short term. And in the long run, too much alcohol can shrink a man’s testicles, reduce or remove sexual desire and render him impotent.
If you drink only occasionally, analyze your habits. If your erection fails on the days that you drink, try eliminating all alcohol on the days when you know you want to enjoy sex.
Individual tolerance varies quite a bit. One man may be able to drink four stiff ones without being affected, while another may find that just two drinks wreck his potency. And when alcohol is combined with other drugs, it can have an even greater effect on your potency—and endanger your general health.
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THE VIRILITY SOLUTION: INITIATING CHANGE
It’s never easy to admit that your sexual relationship needs help. Modifying it takes work and time, but knowing those areas that are giving you and your partner trouble will make it easier. Of course, each relationship is unique unto itself, as unique as the two people involved in it. But there are several general points that everyone should keep in mind:
Always Keep the Lines of Communication Open
It’s paramount that you speak frankly with your partner about your condition. You must know whether each of you is supportive. Be honest about your feelings, sexual needs, and desires. If you are both in agreement that treatment is the right course, your partner needs to be part of the process.
Schedule Time for Love
Plan blocks of time, within your regular schedule, when you are both relaxed and comfortable. Recognize that as a man ages, he requires more stimulation in order to become aroused.
Partners who share the goal of regaining sexual function are most likely to succeed. By working with your partner and physician, you have the best chance of regaining complete sexual fulfillment.
Consider the Benefits of Counseling
If you find that you cannot satisfactorily resolve your problems, I urge the two of you to seek additional help. Sexual counseling with a psychiatrist, psychologist, or certified sex therapist can be an effective way to strengthen and deepen a relationship while regaining lost pleasure.
I am always gratified when my patients respond positively to ED medication. But it is even more satisfying when they and their partner are able to address—and solve—any other problems in their relationships.
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SLEEP ERECTIONS
So far we’ve talked about erections which result from arousal when a man is conscious of the sensations and the pleasure. But there’s another type of erection which has important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of erection problems. Researchers have found that men get erections about five to six times a night during sleep, with each episode lasting as long as 25 minutes. These nocturnal events take place when a man is dreaming, but not necessarily because the man is enjoying some particularly arousing X-rated scenarios. In fact, his dreams may have no erotic content at all. So far, scientists can’t explain just why men get erections at night, but some think it’s the body’s way of exercising the erection process.
Waking up with an erection is usually due to waking up in the middle of the dream. Normal sleep erections show that a man’s physical systems are functioning normally. If a man does not get nocturnal erections, his erection problems are probably caused by some physical condition. (Rarely, it can mean that he is not sleeping normally.) If he does get sleep erections but, when awake, cannot be aroused, psychological factors, possibly triggering spasms in the blood vessels supplying the penis, are probably at work. Simple home tests can help determine if a man has sleep erections, and more sophisticated tests are available at sleep laboratories and medical centers.
You don’t need to remember all these fine points of the erection process. And you certainly don’t want to think of them when you’re making love. But understanding the basics of this process can help you avoid sabotaging yourself—and your partner.
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