Erectile Dysfunction and Low Testosterone: What is the Cause?

 

Erectile Dysfunction and Low Testosterone

What is it?
Erectile dysfunction, also known as male sexual impotence, is the persistent inability to get or maintain an erection that allows for satisfactory sexual intercourse.

It must be differentiated from other sexual problems, such as lack of desire, ejaculation disorders (premature ejaculation, delayed ejaculation and absence of ejaculation) or orgasm disorders. It is a common problem that, if left untreated, can affect relationships with the partner, the family, and the work and social environment. In order to combat this, you can buy Levitra Tablets or Sildenafil tablets online in the UK at Pharmacy Planet.

Causes of ED.
Psychological causes Erectile Dysfunction and Low Testosterone

In these cases, the penis does not present any physical alteration, however, diseases such as anxiety (often caused by the fear of not getting an erection or of disappointing the woman), depression, problems with a partner and even stress they can affect the sexual act.

Excessive concern for work, social or family problems also implies that the necessary attention is not devoted to the sexual act. Fatigue, loss of appetite, lack of exercise, insomnia, or job failure also unbalance sexual reflexes.

Vascular causes
This type is very common. The penis cannot collect the blood necessary for an erection to occur, usually because it does not arrive in enough quantity. Smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, some heart diseases and increased levels of cholesterol in the blood can cause vascular disorders that make erection difficult.

Neurological causes
In these cases, there is an interruption in the transfer of messages from the brain to the penis because there is an injury to the nerves involved. This occurs with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, or after some pelvic surgery.

Hormonal causes
They are rare. They are generally due to a lack of male sex hormones.

Pharmacological causes
There are several medications that have the side effect of decreasing the ability to have an erection. These include some drugs to treat hypertension, heart disease, and psychiatric disorders.

Causes for Low testosterone.
Ageing.
For most men, testosterone levels begin to decline around age 40 and continue to decline by about 1% each year. So by age 70, the levels may have dropped by about 30%. The good news is that, even with the decline, three-quarters of older men still have testosterone levels in the normal range.

Obesity.
Some of a man's testosterone is naturally converted to estrogen, a hormone generally associated with women. But men also need estrogens, especially to maintain healthy bone density. The problem with obesity is that the conversion of testosterone to estrogen occurs mainly in fat cells. The more fat cells you have, the more testosterone will be converted to estrogen, reducing testosterone levels.

Injury to the testicles or scrotum.
Injured testicles sometimes cannot produce the amount of testosterone that a man needs. Interestingly, the amounts can remain stable if only one testicle is injured. The healthy can still produce enough testosterone on their own.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
These therapies can damage the cells in the testes that make testosterone. Sometimes the levels return to normal if the cells recover, but sometimes the damage is permanent.

Medicines.
Opioids, taken for pain, and certain hormones can cause problems with testosterone production.

Performance-enhancing drugs (anabolic steroids). Bodybuilders and athletes sometimes take anabolic steroids in order to get stronger or faster. But performance-enhancing drugs can cause the testicles to shrink and impair testosterone production.

Inflammation. Certain conditions and diseases, such as sarcoidosis, histiocytosis, tuberculosis, and HIV / AIDS can affect the pituitary gland and/or the hypothalamus due to inflammation.

Infection.
Mumps, meningitis, and syphilis are known to lower testosterone levels.

Head trauma and tumours.
These conditions can also affect the pituitary gland and hypothalamus.

Too much iron in the blood (hemochromatosis).
This can damage your testicles and your pituitary gland.