[Jabra1871]

Hi all, was wondering if any of you would be able to help me with a query i have.

I understand that for men, diabetes can cause erectile disfunction. First of all, am i right in thinking this tends to come to men later in life, and usually due to poor control? Im 18 years old, male and was diagnosed last January. The doctors all say i am doing well and am controlling my diabetes adequately. Its just recently i have noticed my erection doesn't seem to be as, for want of a better word, hard.


I was wondering exactly how high blood sugar levels damage your blood vessels. My main query is, that to say i was to have sex or masturbate whilst my sugar levels are high, does this do more damage to the blood vessels in my penis, than if i was to have high sugar levels, and not have sex or masturbate, and would i be better to wait until my sugar levels have dropped, before continuing in any sexual activity? Or is erectile disfunction caused by fluctuating high sugar levels, over a long period of time?

Does that make sense?

Any advice or information would be much appreciated.

[Jan B]

----- Or is erectile disfunction caused by fluctuating high sugar levels, over a long period of time? -----

THIS statement is true. I don't think you need to worry! The better blood glucose control you have, the less likely you are to have ANYthing go haywire!

Welcome.

[Subby]

Jan is right. Better control is the key to all your issues. That, as well as letting go of fears and not getting too concerned about this. At 18 you likely have nothing occuring that is a worry for longterm, you will likely perform the more normally the better you reign in that BG control. It's possibly the short term affects of fluctuation doing it to you (did to me....), not the long term disfunction.

As for being active when you are high, I don't think this is likely to cause damage at all - speaking just physiologically for a moment, I think, to be honest, the more regular work out, the better That's not to say that if your Bgs are affecting you, that practising more will solve it, just that it's doubtful you are doing damage. (That comes from specific action of long term high BGs on nerves and blood vessels). Ask your doctor ASAP if this still plays on your mind.

That said, better control is what you need to avoid a somewhat softer future. Your docs say you are doing well... what docs say sometimes needs to be taken well in context. They can see people with terrible control. I'd see it easily within possibility that they give you a (rightful) pat on the back for a reasonalbe A1c, but that you are still fluctuating too much and it's affecting you.

Can I ask what sort of BGs you have day to day, and your latest A1c if you know it? Don't be shy - you'll find that most long term diabetics will be the least judgemental and most understanding of less-than-perfect diabetic control.

[xMenace]

Welcome.

ED from diabetes is a long term complication. It won't happen in a year; though outlandishly high sugars do accelerate complications. I've known of people going blind in their 20's. I'm on my 34th year with no signs of issues. I don't consider most of those years as well controlled.

Consider sugar as glass. They are structurally similar. The extra sugar scrapes your blood vessels and damages them. These scrapes are basically like *arteriorsclerosis - hardening of the arteries - and *atherosclerosis -stiffening of the vessel walls (high BP)-, and leakage. A plumbing problem!

I don't think sex during highs is a risk, but I really don't know. Ask your doctor next visit. Any problems you are having now are likely due to you worrying about this. Relax and enjoy!

*Note: I don't know if these terms are correct

[Barberian]

Lots of things can effect the "quality" of an erection. Frequency of use, quality of sleep or lack of sleep, medications, depression, anxiety, diet, etc. If my blood sugars are out of my normal range, low I feel like carp, high.. well I feel kinda high unless REALLY high for me. Neither is very conducive to sexual activity. At 18 if you keep your sugars under control and avoid the spikes and dips, and just relax and enjoy you shouldn't have any problems except maybe some embarassment when your thoughts go astray in public. As Subby said keep your sugars under control and the warrenty won't expire on your equipment any time soon.

P.S. check out the threads in this forum on low carb and no carb diets many (not all) people around here use to avoid spikes and high blood sugars. I'm not advocating any type diet, there are oppinions on both sides of the discussion. It's just another tool (no pun intended) for you to use in keeping your sugars under control.

[IrishJoe]

if you're worried that you're 'damaging yourself' then that will have an adverse effect as a lot of male arousual is mental too.

[conguitos]

Originally Posted by xMenace

Consider sugar as glass. They are structurally similar. The extra sugar scrapes your blood vessels and damages them. These scrapes are basically like *arteriorsclerosis - hardening of the arteries - and *atherosclerosis -stiffening of the vessel walls (high BP)-, and leakage. A plumbing problem!

The glucose in your blood is still in it's cristalline form? Can you elaborate on this? Does glucose goes into a cristalline form in the blood if the level of the molecules is too high?

[Subby]

While all statements here to the effect that it may be psychological are reasonable and a valid concern, (and I make them myself) I feel the need to reiterate that I DID have specific issues specifically during periods of high fluctuation, that improved with better daily control - the scenario repeating itself a couple of times. OK, so psychological issues can't be ruled out easily, amd I suppose to take my statement seriously, you'd need to trust both my judgement on that, and it would also depend on whether you think fluctuations can cause pretty severe physical effects for some people (this I know as a fact, though can't prove it with a study).

The reason I'm boring everyone by saying this again, is that over emphasising the psychological in the possible event it is primarily physical could lead one on a particularly harrowing mental up-the-garden-path and divert from the real solution at hand. (Been there, done that). Just my take on it, I'd try and set the worries out of my mind, gain disernably better control for a month or two, THEN if problems persist, explore the psychological component more thoroughly.

[A_Darling]

First off, wow, great first post, really hit the ground running.

Second, I'm beginning to see a trend in some of the newly diagnosed persons that have been posting questions like this. They're not bad questions and it's fine that people feel comfortable asking them, but I think a lot of this stuff comes from the increasing amount of marketing on television (and media in general) concerned with prescription drugs.

"Do you have ____ and can't ______ anymore.....well here's a pill to cure you........side effects can kill you"

It's marketing just like a commercial for pepsi or nike. Instill that bit of doubt in a person's head that they NEED the product and you'll hook your audience every time. It's damaging and irresponsible. end of rant.



To the original post: You'll hear the best advice a lot. Keep your BG in control and at the proper level, eat right, exercise, and you'll see little impact from this disease.

[Barberian]

Originally Posted by conguitos

The glucose in your blood is still in it's cristalline form? Can you elaborate on this? Does glucose goes into a cristalline form in the blood if the level of the molecules is too high?

The sugars in your blood and body recrystalize when your blood sugars run high. I don't remember at what # this starts happening. Excess glucose can also bind to tissue causing a host of other problems like stiff joints, cloudy vision, general inflimation throughout the body (a bad thing as it sets off/screws up the bodies signals, chemistry, and hormones), and a host of other issues. I can't stress enough to keep your sugars in the normal range. If you don't, sex will be the last thing on your mind unless your remembering past events.

[SGT Shoutmore]

Relax, just keep yourself healthy, and odds are in your favor you won't suffer ED as a complication of diabetes.

Without sounding trashy, I am 41, and "it" still rises to the occasion, and I have the libido of a 16 year old boy judging a bikini contest.

ED happens to some men and there are so many factors that contribute to it.

Bottom line is, take care of your body, I don't mean deny yourself "living", but we have diabetes, as men, we know this is a possible result of not taking care of ourselves, we live in GREAT times when it comes to treating our diabetes, we have a broad array of tools to deal with it. It's is a way different game then it was just 10 years ago.

There is no need to FEAR ED, we know many things that we can do to minimize the risks of developing it, there is no need to fear diabetes, we have knowledge of how to do something about it. Since at present, we can't cure it, we can beat the devil out of it and live to a ripe old age with a quality of life easily comparable to someone without diabetes, in fact, I dare say diabetes stand to be healthier, we eat smarter, we PAY ATTENTION to every odd feeling we have, we get frequent and regular doctor visits far greater than that of those without diabetes who are just going through life without a thought to it. Think about it, how self aware were you before your diagnosis? If I were a gambling man, my money would be on the notion that you are REAL self aware now, consider the fact that you've posted the question that you did. How many of your non-diabetic peers think about this with any level of seriousness? I'll bet NONE.

Continue to listen to your body, pay attention to how you feel, the body is a wondrous thing, it gives us "road signs" along the way through life that things up ahead might be wrong. Pretty cool when you think about it like that.

Use my example, I'm a middle aged type 1 diabetic man who sports virility just as good as you do right now, believe me, you only slow down if you WANT to. There is no reason that your experiences through life should not lead you to 41 and well beyond with just as much going for you and more.

As far as your erection not being as "hard", consider some things. If you are like many 18 year old men, you are probably busy with life, you've just become a MAN, you have MAN business going on. You have either 1 or several women in your life, and you've been busy. trying to figure yoruself out, deal with your recent diagnosis, etc. All of this is stress, stress can often lead to a temporary limp noodle when you would otherwise be sporting a length of steel pipe. Lack of sleep with do it too. Worry will do it easily. Mitigate stress. If you you are concerned, speak up and talk to your doctor. Chances are though that you don't suffer from diabetes related ED.

Go enjoy being 18 and gleefully chase the opposite gender about with great vigor. Chances are good that you will die of old age long before you wear out "Mr. Happy". If Mr. Happy is not rising to the occasion, let her tease the heck out of you prior to going for "it". Charge forward.

[monicatheegreat]

I was actually wondering if a sexual question was too risque for this forum, so I'm glad to see someone else wrote something about it. Now I'll go post my question

[conguitos]

Originally Posted by Barberian

The sugars in your blood and body recrystalize when your blood sugars run high. I don't remember at what # this starts happening. Excess glucose can also bind to tissue causing a host of other problems like stiff joints, cloudy vision, general inflimation throughout the body (a bad thing as it sets off/screws up the bodies signals, chemistry, and hormones), and a host of other issues. I can't stress enough to keep your sugars in the normal range. If you don't, sex will be the last thing on your mind unless your remembering past events.

I've searched through the internet and haven't found anything about crystallization of glucose in the blood. What I find is that glucose is rather difficult to crystallize and that needs very high saturation in a liquid to do so, if I understand it well.

I thought that the problem was that glucose molecules will attach to the RBC crippling their ability to supply oxygen to the tissues. Which then would cause necrosis as the tissues die off because of lack of oxygen.

Do you, or anyone, have a link to a paper that explains this crystallization process in the blood?

Thanks in advance

[EdnBama]

I can't really add much to this discussion, except perhaps to re-emphasize what others have touched on.

The "quality" (shall we say) of your erection may be affected by the anxiety you are having about the effect of diabetes on it. Sort of a performance anxiety issue.

At this point, being newly diagnosed and if you getting your bg levels under control, you'll be fine if you "get into the moment" and don't fret about it.

[Barberian]

Ok, I'm gonna have to retract my statement on glucos recrystalizing in the blood/body. It is a statement I heard several times from medical peeps. I did a search and I couldn't find it either. Maybe it was just a simplification they used for simplicities sake in explaining it to every patient.

Sry for any confusion I may have caused. I usually look up stuff before I post if I'm not sure about the topic at hand, and will be more diligent in doing so in the future.