Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine is a Toronto naturopathic clinic dedicated to providing safe and effective treatment of a wide variety of health conditions using natural therapies and the principles of naturopathic medicine.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is well treated using naturopathic medicine. Formerly called impotence, erectile dysfunction refers to the inability of a man to maintain a firm erection long enough to have sexual intercourse. Although erectile dysfunction is more common in older men, this common problem can occur at any age. There are many potential causes for erectile dysfunction, both psychological (e.g., anxiety, depression, fatigue) and physiological (e.g., low testosterone, heart disease, diabetes). Having trouble maintaining an erection from time to time isn't necessarily a cause for concern, but if prolonged may cause stress, relationship problems and affect self-esteem. You should not feel embarrassed to seek professional healthcare if you experience erectile dysfunction, particularly as it may be a sign of a more serious underlying health condition that requires treatment.
Symptoms of erectile dysfunction
Possible symptoms of erectile dysfunction include:
- Inability to maintain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse at least 25% of the time
Erectile dysfunction treatment at Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of erectile dysfunction treatment are to eliminate and prevent recurrence of erectile dysfunction by identifying and addressing the underlying cause of your erectile dysfunction, be it psychological, physiological or a combination of both.
Conventional treatment for erectile dysfunction may include surgery, and a variety of medications, including phosphodiesterase inhibitors, hormone replacement therapy or penile hormone injections which may have short- or long-term side effects. For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your erectile dysfunction symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves identifying specific treatment goals, a thorough understanding by your naturopathic doctor of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors, development of a comprehensive treatment plan and execution of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment.
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine a typical approach to treating erectile dysfunction is to first identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., stress; alcohol, tobacco or marijuana use; use of certain medications; sedentary lifestyle; excessive bicycling) or general health (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, testosterone deficiency, anxiety, obesity, metabolic syndrome). Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
- Botanical (herbal) medicines
- Nutritional supplements
- Lifestyle counseling
- Relaxation techniques
- Acupuncture
- Homeopathic medicines
- Bowen Therapy
- Exercise prescription
- Hydrotherapy
Reference
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Erectile dysfunction [Online]. [cited 2009 Feb 18]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/erectile-dysfunction/DS00162