Erectile dysfunction is a topic most men would prefer not to talk about – with their partners nor anyone else. Not being able to have or maintain an erection can create a sense of embarrassment and questioning of one’s manhood.
It’s therefore no wonder that it’s highly likely to have a significant impact on relationships and self-esteem. There’s consequently a fear prevalent amongst men who have low testosterone levels, that their low-T could be a sign of – or lead to – erectile dysfunction.
This is because having a low testosterone level often leads to a decrease in libido, trouble maintaining hard erections, difficulty in climaxing and so on.
However, even if you do have low-T and perhaps have trouble performing in the bedroom department, this doesn’t automatically indicate that you have ED. In fact, the majority of men will encounter problems of this nature at one stage or another.
Nonetheless, experiencing erection problems and/or low testosterone can be very unsettling to begin with. So it’s helpful to understand more about both these conditions and to what extent there may be a connection between the two.
ED and Low-T: Is there a connection?
If you have Low-T, it’ll probably come as a relief to know that it’s rare for low testosterone on it’s own, to cause erectile dysfunction. Only a minority of men have ED as a result of low-T without any accompanying health issues at play.
Although having low testosterone levels can impact your sex drive and ability to reach orgasm, it does not actually have a physiological effect on your ability to get and maintain an erection. This is because erectile dysfunction is essentially a vascular issue, rather than one connected to hormones.
Achieving erections is all about the blood flow to the penis and whether the flow is powerful enough. Thus, the strength of your erections is actually determined by how healthy your heart is and whether your circulation is strong.
Erection problems are usually caused by atherosclerosis, which is when plaque builds up inside arteries, leading to them becoming hardened and more narrowed.
This could lead to the blood vessels that supply the penis becoming damaged, and unable to dilate enough to continue distributing a strong enough flow for a hard erection.
In this instance, the substances such as fat and cholesterol are what builds up the plaque in the arteries, and are therefore the main causes of this atherosclerosis and ED.
That, alongside conditions such as high blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes.
Connection between Low-T and conditions that cause ED
Though these conditions related to ED aren’t a definitive result of low testosterone, there does seem to be a significant connection between them.
For the majority of men who complain to their doctor about ED, low testosterone is usually found to also be present in addition to the atherosclerosis that’s creating erectile dysfunction.
For that reason, it’s believed amongst health experts that having low testosterone can be a big contributor to men developing the conditions that ultimately lead to ED. Thus, increasing the inevitability of it through making a situation that’s already difficult, significantly worse because of its link to these erectile dysfunction risk factors.
Admittedly, researchers do not 100% understand exactly what the relationship is between low testosterone and ED. However, two facts that they are sure of is that you do not need a normal testosterone level to be able to achieve a normal erection.
Additionally, even if you do manage to increase your level of T (i.e by having testosterone replacement therapy), this won’t necessarily have an increase on how frequently you have erections, or the strength of them.
Other causes of ED
There can also be a whole host of other reasons for having erectile dysfunction. Drug misuse, for instance. This may entail excess alcohol, tobacco, overuse of prescription drugs, and of course, illegal drugs.
It’s also possible for there to be an underlying lack of sexual desire not so much related to a man’s physical state, but rather, their emotional one. I.e. If they are experiencing depression or anxiety.
Nerve damage can also be a route cause of ED, because it means that damage has been done to the nerves that are meant to deliver signals from the brain to the penis.
This can occur for a number of reasons – pelvic trauma, pelvic or prostate surgery, and multiple sclerosis (MS) spinal cord injuries to name but a few.
Men suffering from chronic kidney and liver disease may also find that they experience ED, due to their blood vessels, nerves, and hormone levels being affected by the disease.
That being said, although low-T is not necessarily THE cause of erectile dysfunction, it’s clear that there’s an overlap in risk related factors associated with having low-T and/or having ED.
Testosterone replacement therapy
Because of the loose connection between low-T and ED, many men embark on various avenues in search of ways to increase their testosterone levels – testosterone therapy being one of them.
An important fact to remember in relation to this treatment, is that this does not mean your body will be supplemented with natural testosterone production, but rather, your hormones will be replaced with artificial testosterone.
This would be in the form of medications, injections, patches and topical gels. It’s meant to improve men’s sex drive and the sexual satisfaction they give and receive in bed.
This option, however, can have long-term risks in accompaniment to any potential benefits. Both of which are not yet entirely clear, which is why there are ongoing research trials on testosterone replacement, and it’s likely that we’re still several years away from discovering conclusive findings.
One of the topics being researched in particular, is how safe it is in the long run. As more and more research is revealing that TRT may in fact have a downward effect on sperm count, permanently.
Below are a few of the short term side effects:
- Increase in appetite
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fluctuation in mood
And the long term side effects:
- Problems with urinating
- Increased retention of fluid
- A shrinking in the size of testicles
- Growth and/or tumours in prostate
- Liver problems
- Permanent decrease in sperm count
- Life dependency on testosterone replacement therapy
Clearly, the potential side effects aren’t to be taken lightly. In addition to this list, TRT may also lead to a permanent halt in your body’s natural testosterone.
This, along with the fact that there are much less risky options to TRT out there, means it’s definitely worth thinking carefully about your options and having a conversation with your doctor to explore all of them prior to resorting to TRT.
This is especially true if you’re relatively young and hoping to become a father in the future (which will be rendered almost impossible upon having TRT).
Safe ways of increasing low testosterone levels
There are many ways to increase testosterone safely, which are largely to do with your lifestyle. It may sound like this is too simple to have any impact, but even just looking after your testicles is a good place to start.
Testicles need to be kept cooler than the rest of the body, so choosing loose fitting boxers over suffocating briefs, and doing all you can to keep your scrotal area generally cool, will help your testosterone levels.
A sedentary lifestyle is never good for any body function, and testosterone production is not excluded from that. Which is why men who fall in the obese category, are significantly more likely to experience low-T.
Therefore, getting regular exercise will contribute to boosting your testosterone levels naturally – especially when you incorporate weight lifting and other high-intensity exercises.
Of course, diet factors into this also – combining both a healthy diet with exercise reduces weight, raises testosterone levels and lowers the chances of experiencing obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease – all typical causes of ED.
You should try to get plenty of nutrients in your diet – vitamin D, magnesium, zinc to name a few, in addition to healthy fats and branch chain amino acids.
Men who are on this journey to testicle health, use testosterone boosters to aid their efforts. Using these supplements are a great way of naturally increasing your testosterone levels. They maximize the effects of your exercise and healthy diet to achieve higher testosterone levels with ease in a healthier, more holistic way.
Having read this information, you should be more assured by the fact that having low testosterone levels does not mean you will definitely develop erectile dysfunction as a result.
But ideally, you also have more awareness on how ED can come about, and the potential links between both ED and low-T.
Experiencing symptoms of low-T can be considerably unpleasant, so seeking the right form of treatment will be of great benefit.
Start off by talking to your doctor about your concerns and get a blood test, to confirm which range your levels are in. And then consider a more natural road to bettering your testosterone production, using some of the options that have been covered in this article.
Carrying out what are relatively simple changes to your lifestyle and diet, may very well make the profound difference that you’re seeking.
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