Sexual Problems In Men

Different doses of drugs have been administered. Doses effective in inducing the first erection are not consistently effective in maintaining satisfactory erections with each successive injection. A need to increase the dose after a while or switch from one medication to another seems to be the standard. Even men who have a fully satisfactory response do not always stay with this form of treatment; about one-third drop out.

The kind of erection one gets with Erec-Aid is not perfect. Four significant points were raised by Spark in Male Sexual Health. Once the erection has been induced by the vacuum, the rubber bands in place at the base of the penis choke off blood flow into the penis. This causes penile skin temperatures to fall to 96°F. One-third of the female partners of men using VCDs found the chilled penis displeasing during intercourse.

There are some problems associated with penile injection therapy. Men who use phentolamine and/or papaverine, for instance, develop nodules and scarring within the penis. There is also the risk of infection, pain, and bruises.

It was originally believed that papaverine or papaverine/phentolamine injected directly into the penis would remain there and not enter the bloodstream. This has proved not to be the case. Some of the mixture enters the general circulation and causes damage to the liver. Up to 40 percent of men who continue long term treatment can expect to develop at least one abnormality of liver function: mild inflammation.

Penis becomes engorged and congested by the VCD-induced suction and inhibition of venous outflow, penile circumference increases more than it would during a normal erection. This gives the penis a sausage like appearance. Erection created by the VCD is rigid only from the point at which the rubber bands are affixed. This means that it is not fully upright like a normal erection, but flexible and capable of swiveling or pivoting at its base.

The VCD also does not permit normal ejaculation. Because the rubber bands remain in place throughout the sexual act, semen is trapped in the urethra and can be released only after the bands are removed.

Another problem is priapism or prolonged painful erections that can last for six to 12 hours if higher doses are used. This can be so severe to the point that penile tissue is destroyed and surgery may be the only way out. In our study, 486 patients used papaverine. Sometimes the erections would begin normally but it would persist for up to 24 hours. For the first two hours, the wife would have a fantastic time. But more than that, she would complain and it became painful for the man. In 10 percent of patients, there was scarring at the site of injection.