ED can be caused by many conditions. Some of those are serious underlying medical conditions. If you have ED, you should see a doctor about it. And, he (or she) should determine, to the extent possible, the underlying causes and treat those where appropriate. The ED drugs, Viagra, Cialis and Levitra will work well in some cases, less well on others and not at all in others. When they do work, they may or may not be needed when the underlying problem is properly treated.
Low T can have multiple causes too. A good doctor will check that out too. TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) with exogenous T (eg Androgel) is the right solution in only some cases, really only for "primary hypogonadism". "Secondary hypogonadism" can and should be treated other ways. Way too many doctors treat ED by first prescribing the ED drugs before looking at underlying causes. Way too many doctors treat low T (if at all) with exogenous T rather than first looking for the cause of the low TLots of posts about ED Meds and the side effects and degrees of success. I tried them all too with varying degrees of success, but the side effects really bothered me (vision issues, back pain, flushing, etc). Turns out I had low T, so the doctor put me on Androgel. No more ED meds and side effects. Ready to go 24 / 7. No one will mistake me for a 24 year old, but it gets me to the finish line every time.
ED can be caused by many conditions. Some of those are serious underlying medical conditions. If you have ED, you should see a doctor about it. And, he (or she) should determine, to the extent possible, the underlying causes and treat those where appropriate. The ED drugs, Viagra, Cialis and Levitra will work well in some cases, less well on others and not at all in others. When they do work, they may or may not be needed when the underlying problem is properly treated.
Low T can have multiple causes too. A good doctor will check that out too. TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) with exogenous T (eg Androgel) is the right solution in only some cases, really only for "primary hypogonadism". "Secondary hypogonadism" can and should be treated other ways.
Way too many doctors treat ED by first prescribing the ED drugs before looking at underlying causes. Way too many doctors treat low T (if at all) with exogenous T rather than first looking for the cause of the low T
Very informative advice bionic guy. I'm having my annual physical examination tomorrow. My doctor has me go to the lab for blood work about 10 days prior to the in office appointment.
About 5 to 7 years ago I complained about erection issues. He prescribed Viagra for the first year or so. It worked great but there was a side affect price to pay. After a year or so he switched me to Levitra. The side effects were the same but fortunately Levitra also worked great. About 9 months ago Levitra began to let me down and in the ensuing months the erections got weaker and weaker. The last few months they are very weak if I am lucky and not at all most of the time. Prior to my scheduled blood work appointment I called my doctor and he is including a testosterone test. Not knowing enough about male biology I do not know whether I am hoping for a low "T" count or not. I just want my erections back.
Do you have any advice as far as specific questions to ask my doctor tomorrow? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!