Some questions for those of you (particularly men under 50) with ED

[U510545 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close U510545]

I am a 36 year old male who has suffered with ED for a few years. I suspect it is related to Propecia usage (that is when it started, and I never recovered). However, I'd like to understand more about what ED feels like to others, so I can compare it to my own. (Also, I have no morning wood, very few nocturnals (they are RARE), and no spontaneous erections. I can have sex with stimulated (but way smaller) erections, but most importantly- my libido is just gone. My questions are:

1. Do you sort of feel like you are disconnected from your penis? Like it is just there like a dead appendage? I feel so disconnected from it- just wondering if that is how others feel, or whether that is something unique to the men who seem to suffer from ED induced by Propecia.

2. Do you have a libido, even if you can't get an erection? As in, you do desire sex, feel physically turned on by hot women, feel interested in sex, etc? I don't have a libido- just don't want sex anymore, and I'm wondering how common that is in men with ED.

3. For those of you with ED for psychological reasons (that you know of), do you still get morning and/or nocturnal erections?

4. For those of you who are hypogonadal or other physical reasons, do you still get morning and/or nocturnal erections?

Thanks you for your input.

[palladin Member Find all posts View Profile Close palladin]

I'm 38 and am recovering from injury-induced ED - described here.

1 and 2: In the first few months I did indeed feel disconnected from my unit. I had pretty high libido, yet at times my penis just wasn't responding - like a dead appendage as you put it. That was quite distressing.

3 and 4: The mind is always going to be a factor here, but since my problem is predominantly physical I can't answer. I haven't had significant morning woods since my teens anyway.

Coincidentally I have also been on Propecia, for over 10 years. I am phasing it out currently, as I realised this stuff was potentially a lot more harmful than the manufacturer had let on (what a surprise). I have seen no less than 5 urologists for my ED. None of them had anything good to say about Propecia. In fact they were as concerned about it as some of the more paranoid internet posts you can find online.

Having said that, your ED and loss of libido could be purely psychological as I'm sure you would agree. Your unit is evidently in good working condition, so that's one thing less you need to worry about. If I were you I would give up trying to sort out the ED, and focus on regaining my sex drive. What about testosterone therapy? Boxing, weightlifting?

[U510545 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close U510545]

Thank you for your response Palladin.

I agree wholeheartedly that my issue might be psychological in nature- just trying to figure it out.

As for boosting my libido, I agree that is the thing I really want to correct. However, testosterone therapy, weightlifting, etc. seem to be things that might not really help, because my testosterone levels are naturally pretty high. (I just got them tested and they were 876, with ref. range 50-1050).

Anyway, appreciate the response. Look fwd to hearing from others too.

[Mr McPenis Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mr McPenis]

1. Not in control but not feeling totally 'disconnected'
2. My libido has suffered, still want sex but missing that 'animal instinct'
3/4. Morning woods were non existent, but have started getting them (very rarely) since starting pe and kegels. I think I have both a bit of a mixture of psycological and physiological ed.

I thought about taking propecia a couple of years ago but after doing some research decided against it. I also found a forum (which I'm sure you are aware of) dedicated to propecia induced ed. I really feel for you man, loosing your hair is tough for a guy and you feel like you are prepared to take anything to stop it, especially if you're young. If you don't know about this forum do a search for it, there are loads of guys in the same position. Can't believe this stuff is legal. I'm sure if anyone truly understood what could happen to them they would just shave their head quite happily.

[Mr McPenis Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mr McPenis]

I could only advise to you that you do a solid kegel routine. See EQr's thread on here where the first study gives you exact information about what to do and has worked on curing ed in a number of cases. Also, have you checked your 'free test' as although your total test is fine, you may have some sort of shbg issue which binds test, it's your free test that matters, not total test.

[U510545 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close U510545]

Mr McPenis- thank you so much for the info. I am going to look up the kegels info - certainly can't hurt. and yes, I'm aware of the Propecia forum- in fact, I'm just trying to sort out whether that is really what is going on with me (as in, Propecia induced ED) or whether it's just regular psychological ED. (I'm kind of hoping its the latter, since the Propecia kind seems very, VERY hard to battle). In any event, I have solely ED and libido loss, which is less than most sufferers on that forum. That is why I was asking these questions - particularly about that feeling of disconnection, and the loss of libido, morning erections,etc.

Anyway, thanks for responding and the additional info.

[Mr McPenis Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mr McPenis]

No problem. Stay positive, if you start thinking it's Propecia ed the brain will play tricks on you and you will get similar effects.