In this program, we’ve touched on several areas that some people may find quite sensitive well, here’s another. It’s the association between erectile dysfunction or what is more commonly called male impotence and diabetes. Now, it is estimated that probably the majority of men will suffer from this condition at some stage in their lives and that for some of them it’s a condition that doesn’t last for long and goes away just as it came without any obvious reason and all on its own.

What I think is much less well known is that it is more likely, much more likely, if you have diabetes. Let me explain. To get an erection requires blood flow into the tissues of the penis. If the blood flow is restricted then the chances of that happening are also restricted. One of the complications of diabetes as I think we’ve discussed before is the effect that it has on blood vessels. Therefore, if you have diabetes it makes you more likely to suffer from this condition but, and this is the important point, if you have diabetes which is not being well controlled, it makes you much, much more likely to suffer from this condition. 

Now, we all know that there are, these days, very effective drugs that you can use to help with the condition, all you have to do is ask for them. Which means, you have to talk to your partner about it, you have to share this condition you have to try to overcome that sensitivity and that embarrassment and seek proper professional medical advice. But, you have to do something else too, you have to look back at your diabetes and think is there reason particularly why this has happened - has my diabetes not been that well controlled. And more importantly, because this program is about looking forward and not back, what can I do in the future to make sure that I minimize that risk and preserve my health in the future.

Posted: 15/01/2009