erectile dysfunction

Hi i am a 27 year old male living in England. I am suffering from erection problems. I have been masturbating 3 to 5 times a day since i was 11 years old and i have not been able to get a full erection for the past 5 years or so. I have a girlfriend who i have been with for the last 9 years but when we have sex i can never get my penis fully erect. Over the last year or so my erections have been getting weaker but i still masturbate 3 to 5 times a day. When i masturbate my penis is not fully erect but i can still achieve orgasm. My question is are my erection problems due to this amount of masturbation and if i stop masturbating will my erections return to normal? Also i have not had an erection in the morning after waking since i was a teenager.

[Janice M Epp, PhD]

Hi.

There are two issues to address here:

1. No morning erections: this may indicate a physiological issue. Generally, men experience erections upon awakening as well as at other times of the day. Think about this for awhile and ask yourself if you are aware of erections upon awakening--not just in the morning. If you believe you have NEVER had erections upon awakening since you were a teenager, it's time to see a urologist for a thorough exam. You don't mention any medications, but it's important to realize that many can interfere with erections.

2. Everyone's frequency of self-pleasuring is different, and we all use self-pleasuring for different reasons, not just sexual pleasure (i.e., tension relief, stress relief, etc.). While there's no such thing as "too much," it IS possible to desensitize yourself. It's also possible that you've become so accustomed to self-pleasuring with a partial erection that your body has now trained itself to react this way. Erection is the first sign of arousal, and it's possible to be aroused without an erection, especially if there's some physical impediment or if the body has become accustomed to this pattern.

3. Last point: sexual tension. You might consider experimenting with cutting back your amount of both self- and other-sex for a couple of weeks to see if your sexual tension builds. It's possible that you've gotten into the habit of having a certain number of orgasms each week, regardless of whether you're really aroused and desirous. If you cut back, your sexual tension may return, enhancing your desires and needs. Give it a try. You may need to experiment with frequency to determine your optimum number of orgasms for maintaining sexual tension.

I do hope you'll consider seeing a urologist, just to be sure there are no medical issues. Best of luck to you. Dr. J

[starbug741]

Thanks for getting back to me Janice. I'm not taking any medication. When i masturbate or have sex with my girlfriend i have no desire to do it, i do it because i like the feel of having an orgasm. I just want to know if this problem is caused by this amount of masturbation could it be permanent even if i stop? I am going to take your advice and lay off masturbation and sex to see if my erections return to normal. Also i have read about Korean Ginseng on the internet do you think this could help?

[Janice M Epp, PhD]

Hi.

Ah! NOW we're getting somewhere.

You can have orgasms and enjoy them, but something is inhibiting your desire to be sexual. This is probably an issue that's been affecting you since puberty. Generally, desire is affected by attitudes. So what are your attitudes about sex? Where do they come from? And what are your attitudes about relationships, and where do they come from? Something is causing you conflict, and you need to figure out what it is.

Nothing you can buy on the internet is going to affect your erections. None of these substances has ever passed any scientific test of effectiveness.

And no one can predict whether anything is permanent. There are too many factors which can be affecting your desire/erections.

As I said, try building up sexual tension; it may override your lack of desire. If not, first step is to become your own sex therapist and examine the issues I've raised. If you can't come to any conclusions, write back, and we'll start over.

Also: just in case, here are some physiological issues which can contribute to partial erection. You might want to see a urologist to rule these out. Dr. J

Inhibited blood flow to penis affected by:
• Diabetes
• Vascular anomaly
• Low blood pressure
• Heart condition

[starbug741]

Hi Janice i have already been tested for all those things plus testosterone levels, high blood pressure, cholesterol and even a 7 day ECG monitor by my GP and everything has come back normal. I will take your advice about building sexual tension and see how it goes. Thank you very much for your time Janice.

[Janice M Epp, PhD]

Good luck. Let me know how you're doing.

[Obina]

My penis get erected bt as soon as i decided to put in my condom,it goes weak and fall.i used to masturbate 4times a week but stoped since 5months but i m still experiencing it.