The ED and Health Connection

: What effect does health have on my erections?

When I have a man who walks into my examining room, I can tell within five minutes of them coming into my office, whether they are likely to be having problems. If I look at a man who looks older than their stated age, if I look at a man who is 30 or 40 pounds overweight, if I look at a man who clearly is a smoker, alright, I know very much that this man is at a great risk for having sexual performance issues.

And what I would say during my interview would be something such as, "It is common for men with hypertension, or it is common for men who are smokers to start to realize that there are changes in their sexual performance. Does that apply to you?"

So that universalizing it makes men part of a large club that… that basically permits them to accept their condition. They don't want to be alone in this. Because you have to understand men do not talk to each other about sexual performance. They talk to each other about a sexual encounter, but men really don't like to know about another man's performance, it's just not what men do.

So in the doctor's office, they have the opportunity to have an open dialog, if the doctor is receptive and appreciates what a tremendous opportunity they have to change the overall health of the man. Doctors need to talk to their patients about sexual performance because you can discover conditions early. You can discover diabetes and hypertension and high cholesterol.

Men are an endangered species. We need to give them a hook. We need to give them a reason to take better care of themselves. I cannot think of a better reason to convince a man, because that's just the nature of men.