Erectile dysfunction is when you cannot get or maintain an erection and it can have a large effect on your sex life. Many men struggle with erections when stressed, tired or consuming too much alcohol but it is important to seek help if difficulties with your erection keep happening. Erectile dysfunction is extremely common and tends to get worse with age. You might find it helpful to do this questionnaire before your appointment so the doctor can see the severity of erectile dysfunction. SHIM.pdf

ED can have a psychological component, especially in young men. However, most men with ED (up to 90%) have an underlying physical cause. The main reasons are heart disease, diabetes, nerve damage or hormonal imbalance.

There are a number of lifestyle changes that improve erectile dysfunction:

• Weight loss
• Increased exercise
• Stopping smoking
• Decrease alcohol and drug intake

A treatment your doctor might offer is taking a pill shortly before intercourse. You may have heard of these drugs such as Viagra or Cialis which both work by increasing blood flow to the penis. Viagra can now be bought at any pharmacy without prescription. Other treatments are focussed on treated the root cause of ED such as treating heart disease by lowering cholesterol or blood pressure.

You can either make an appointment with you GP or attend your local sexual health clinic where they have nurses and doctros who are specialised in treating ED. Follow this link to find available sexual health clinics in lothian https://www.lothiansexualhealth.scot/clinics-2/

NHS inform provides an informative web page covering ED in more detail which you may find helpful nhsinform/ED-impotence