Help needed please.

Dippy

Member
Messages
11
Hi.

Needs some help please.

Been a diabetic for about 2 years, have always been very controlled and still am, take no meds at all.

But just recently noticed that my sex drive is just not there any more, getting erections is just hard work, don’t get morning erections every morning now, this has been on-going for about 3 weeks now, the wife is not too happy either, which I find understandable ect.

Now my last HbA1c was 6.2%, the highest HbA1C I have ever had has been 6.7% when I was told I was a diabetic.

Do any of the guys have any ideas what is going on with me, as I am only 37 and never had any issues in that department in the past.

Please help, as its feels as my life is over.

Thank you

Dippy.
 

dib

Well-Known Member
Messages
95
Hi Dippy,

Sorry to hear of your problem, there can be many reasons for loss of desire and with your well controlled BG levels it seems unlikely to be physical. Low level depression, stress and anxiety can often contribute. May I respectfully suggest you talk about this with your GP in the first instance and perhaps consider counselling, particularly psychosexual therapy which is available at many Relate Centres and independent therapists. Checkout the COSRT website's 'find a therapist' section.
Good luck :thumbup:

dib
 

Dippy

Member
Messages
11
Thanks for your advice Dib.

Has any one else experienced this issue(s)?

Any advice would be usefull.

Dippy.
 

Dippy

Member
Messages
11
Also if your diabetes is well controlled, do we men still suffer from this issue or is it just pot luck so to say.

Sorry its on my mind more and more.

Cheers
Dippy.
 

dib

Well-Known Member
Messages
95
Hi Dippy,
Here are two links:

http://www.cosrt.org.uk/find_therapist.asp

http://www.relate.org.uk/sex-therapy/index.html

I speak as an accredited relationship and psychosexual therapist with many years experience in this field and I recommend you seek professional help.
Trying to deal with loss of desire or indeed many other sexual problems on your own can be counterproductive , whether it is connected to diabetes or not.

Good Luck :thumbup:

dib
 

cteld

Active Member
Messages
30
Apparently it's not uncommon. Dr. Richard K. Bernstein in Diabetes Solution, p. 406 (Little, Brown 2011) says "Erectile dysfunction affects about 65 percent of diabetic males, and is the result of years of elevated blood sugars." (In case you're wondering, "elevated" to Bernstein is stricter than to most diabetes doctors.) He says the cause may be "neuropathy, blocked blood vessels, or both." He says that among his own patients, excellent blood sugar control often helps in the case of neurologically-caused erectile dysfunction. When the problem was caused by blocked blood vessels, he says "I never see improvement." He says also that when blood sugars go lower than about 4.2 then "it's normal to be unable to have erections." He has more to say, scattered around the book.
 

dib

Well-Known Member
Messages
95
Appreciate your reply cteld but some of these quotes do nothing to raise confidence and may make matters worse for Dippy. As most of us males will know we need to feel good about ourselves to function properly sexually. It is just as likely that Dippy's problem is not connected to diabetes at this early stage.
 

cteld

Active Member
Messages
30
So sorry...I didn't mean to incite extra worry. I'm certainly no professional. It's just that he asked twice if anyone else experienced this in connection with diabetes, and nobody seemed to confirm or deny this. Since that seemed to be what he was asking, and I remember reading this, I thought it would help. But I'm not a man and had no idea. I also personally like to know worst-case scenarios because I tend to find them motivating, believe it or not, and forget not everyone is like that. Again, so sorry. :( Carry on...