Erectile dysfunction (ED) is well-treated using naturopathic medicine.

Erectile dysfunction (ED), formerly called impotence, refers to the inability of a man to maintain a firm erection long enough to have sexual intercourse. Although erectile dysfunction (ED) is more common in older men, this common problem can occur at any age.

There are many potential causes for erectile dysfunction (ED), both psychological (e.g., anxiety, depression, fatigue) and physiological (e.g., low testosterone, heart disease, diabetes mellitus).

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 (ED), particularly as it may be a sign of a more serious underlying health condition that requires treatment.

Symptoms of Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

Symptoms of erectile dysfunction (ED) are:

• Inability to maintain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse at least 25% of the time

Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction (ED) at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine

At Toronto Centre for 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. These treatments 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 (ED) symptoms.

Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves:

• Identifying specific treatment goals
• Development by your naturopathic doctor, of a thorough understanding of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors
• Development of a comprehensive treatment plan
• Implementation and maintenance of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, a typical approach to treating erectile dysfunction may be to:

• 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 mellitus, testosterone deficiency, anxiety, obesity, metabolic syndrome) that may be contributing to your erectile dysfunction (ED) symptoms
• Reduce psychological barriers using relaxation (meditation) training
• Increase psychological and physiological arousal using botanical (herbal) medicines

Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:

• Nutritional counseling
• Nutritional supplements
• Metabolic detoxification protocols
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Acupuncture 
• Homeopathy
• Bowen Therapy
• Suikodo™
• Hydrotherapy
• Exercise prescription
• Relaxation (meditation) training
• Lifestyle medicine and counseling

Treatments provided by naturopathic doctors are covered by most extended healthcare plans.

References

Erectile dysfunction [Internet]. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; [cited 2009 Feb 18]. Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/erectile-dysfunction/DS00162.