If my diabetic 48 yr old husband stops smoking, will his impotence improve significantly?

Question by Sue: If my diabetic 48 yr old husband stops smoking, will his impotence improve significantly?
More details – 48 y/o diabetic male with slight nerve damage in his feet. He has been in excellent control for the past 10 years (A1C avg is 6.0). He was diagnosed diabetic at 32. His erections have not been very strong since he was 35..Viagra helps slightly. He smokes cigarettes. So my number one question is that now that is working on quitting with the pill Chantix, will his erections improve drastically after he is done with cigarettes or is his impotence problem mostly related to his diabetes?

Best answer:

Answer by Gary B
The smoking doesn’t help, but the impotence is largely due to the diabetes.

You say that he has nerve damage in his feet. Well, that is the only place that he FEELS it. He actually has nerve damage ALL OVER HIS BODY. And the sexual response is largely a nervous system thing, anyway.

AS well, diabetes causes MUCH damage to the capillaries ALL OVEER THE BODY. For an erection to occur, he must have the proper blood supply into his penis. But with the damage caused by diabetes, that isn’t happening.

ALSO — this damage to the capillaries causes high blood pressure. It seems counter-intuitive, but for “that” function to occur, the man needs LOW blood pressure! That is in fact how drugs like Viagra and Cialis work – by lowering blood pressure. But since you husband ALSO has nerve damage, it is unlikely that those pills are going to have a significant effect on him.

BOTH smoking and diabetes do horrible damage to the sexual response system, but smoking is marginally better, as it does not affect the nerves as much. Di9abetes, on the other hand, damages nerves, and that often leads to complete impotence – the inability to ejaculate.

If your husband does not get control of his health habits (no smoking, proper diet, more exercise, and lose weight) he will be almost completely impotent, possibly before he is 50.

And here is the kicker – A diagnosis of Erectile Dysfunction is a primary indicator of pending heart problems. 75% of men who are originally diagnosed with ED develop heart problems with 5 years. YORUHUSBAND IS A HEART ATTACK WAITING TO HAPPEN!

It is good of him to take the Chantix – it works. But he must ALSO get that diabetes treated, AND get serious about taking care of his own personal habits, or you are likely to lose him before he is 60.

Good luck to you both!

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