Back from Cardiologist

[RadioGaGa]

Finally I've been taken seriously.

Consultant was a bit alarmed at my symptoms (erectile dysfunction and absent pedal pulses) he said neither are normal at my age

He said he is thinking possible autoimmune conditions but my care is best placed with a vascular surgeon. So I've been referred to one.

Not exactly great news and I'm a tad worried naturally. But hopefully getting to the bottom of it.

[BlueIris]

Crossing fingers that all is relatively well with you.

[RadioGaGa]

Just back home and I'm taking it all in - no idea why I'm shocked because I've been concerned about these symptoms for about one year. So I should've known this was coming. But I think it's because its finally been said to me that its sunken in.

Now the wait to see a vascular surgeon

[Scass]

Well, I’m glad you’ve been taken seriously. I hope the wait for the surgeon is not too long & that the treatment is quick & easy x

[MyNameIsTerry]

Glad to hear you are getting to the right people finally.

Yes, you have nown about them for a long time and you are in the medical game so have the ability to take in much of what you have researched. But hearing it from the expert can obviously bring another level to it and upset you. Getting home and getting past this day will likely see that dissipate though.

And whilst he was concerned, you know better than many of us I suspect that that could mean anything including things that are very treatable. How many of your colleagues have been shocked to hear of things out of the ordinary?

[RadioGaGa]

@MNT

Tomorrow I'm off for the ABPI check; basically the practice nurse is taking the blood pressure at my ankles and comparing it to the pressure at my arms to give them an idea of the severity. I'm banking on it being in the mild stages because of no claudication/hair loss etc. The Cardiologist, as I said, was convinced this is a vasculitis issue (which are always an autoimmune thing), but on reading about them extensively, I have no symptoms of an autoimmune issue (some of them sound quite dramatic in their presentation)

The literature seems to suggest that these symptoms are simply caused by premature plaque build up (even though I have no risk factors, except for a strong family history). And I smoked heavily when I was in my teens/early 20s. It's not common, but I have seen many a discharge letter in work where young people have had symptoms, been dismissed by the GP, only for them to be admitted to hospital (usually for an unrelated issue) and for it to be discovered on angiography that they have premature plaque build up.

In a way I'm remaining very positive. My uncle, who I've spoken about on here quite a lot, developed severe angina in his 40s. He needed a quadruple bypass, and he's been doing great since (he's now nearly 80!). And he's had a great quality of life as well.

I haven't really discussed these issues in work because I'm a bit embarrassed about the erection side of things (silly, I know, because I'll post them on a public forum).

As much as I suffered from health anxiety over the years (I'd say I'm in remission now haha), my GP last year tried to suggest it was all in my head and anxiety causing erection problems. I'm sorry but no f**king way was this the case; I'm not anxious when I'm masturbating, and my morning/waking erections are weak despite a normal sex drive.

A bit of a public service announcement: Any man that develops erectile dysfunction, which is "global" (i.e. it doesn't just occur when you're with a new partner or after drinking lots of alcohol, or starting a new medication) and they have a normal sex drive, needs to see their GP and insist on a cardiology referral. The evidence is very strong that erectile dysfunction is your body's "check engine" light.

So with baited breath I await the test tomorrow

[ankietyjoe]

A bit of a public service announcement: Any man that develops erectile dysfunction, which is "global" (i.e. it doesn't just occur when you're with a new partner or after drinking lots of alcohol, or starting a new medication) and they have a normal sex drive, needs to see their GP and insist on a cardiology referral. The evidence is very strong that erectile dysfunction is your body's "check engine" light.

You really shouldn't be giving out advice like this. I have had ED several times over the last decade and a half, caused ONLY by anxiety and/or stress. During that time I have had myriad tests for multiple maladies, none of which turned out to be anything. There will be a fair percentage of men on here who have also experienced ED that will now panic because of your 'public service announcement'. You are not qualified to give this advice, despite your sig.

ED is commonly as a direct cause of elevated cortisol/adrenaline, because that shuts off the parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn reduces the rest/recover/reproduce cycles.

Good luck with your tests, I'm sure they will be fine.

[RadioGaGa]

I maybe should've made it clearer in my post (a lot of what I have said were actually the words of my cardiologist e.g. "check engine" light). When anxiety causes erectile dysfunction, the ED is usually only present with another person - so waking/"morning glory" erections are present and normal. But when there's an organic cause, the problem happens all the time along with loss of morning erections and problems during masturbation.

The cardiologist asked about morning erections/masturbation and when I answered that they are weak, he said this is how they differentiate between psychological ED and organic ED. However this is not something one would have to be a doctor to know; my colleagues are dealing with ED all the time in community now with the change of Sildenafil (Viagra Connect) to a P med.

Certainly, in the young age groups anxiety is the leading cause of erectile problems - but there are other who will be suffering it from organic reasons, and the consensus is that loss of morning erections = abnormal = not psychological. If morning erections are present, the issue is almost certainly anxiety.

[ankietyjoe]

I never had morning wood either. Your cardiologist appears to be misinformed.

I also had a complete lack of performance when I was about 22 after I was having a brief fling with a friend of a friend and her Mum walked in on us very much assuming the position. For whatever reason, this made my Mister stop working completely for about a month. Mornings, nope. Nothing. ED is most often completely psychological in nature, and absolutely does not indicate a more serious condition however it manifests.

Yes, it can mean something but your post alluded to it definitely meaning something else, which just isn't true. Too much cortisol will kill that performance dead in the water.