Ask An Expert: Diabetes and Erectile Dysfunction

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Ask An Expert: Diabetes and Erectile Dysfunction

Question:

Can diabetes medication cause a man to be unable to have erections??

Answer:

Medications that help keep blood sugar under good control should not cause a problem with erections. In fact, better control of diabetes is likely to help a man maintain erectile function.

Diabetes causes damage to blood vessels and nerves throughout the body. A man's ability to have and maintain an erection is completely dependent on normal nerves that tell the blood vessels in the penis how to react. Nerves that don't function normally or blood vessels that don't expand and contract at the right times will limit, and sometimes prohibit, the ability to have an erection.

People with diabetes need to do everything they can to keep blood vessels healthy. Controlling blood sugar is only the beginning. The other ways to help blood vessels react normally include:

• Avoiding tobacco

• Lowering LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol") to less than 100 milligrams per deciliter

• Making sure that blood pressure stays in the normal range

• Eating a healthy diet

• Exercising regularly

It is more likely that the diabetes itself, perhaps combined with any of the other factors mentioned above, is contributing to erectile dysfunction.

Howard LeWine, M.D., is chief editor of Internet Publishing at Harvard Health Publications. He is recognized as an outstanding clinician and teacher and is a recipient of the Internal Medicine Teacher of the Year award at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. LeWine continues to practice Internal Medicine; most recently he became a hospitalist after practicing primary care for over 20 years.

Last updated:	June 15, 2007