What about penile injections?
Author: keegan segal Article source: http://www.articlesfactory.com/. Used with author's permission.
The article describes the three medications used for the
relief of erectile dysfunction that are delivered by penile injection. Only
one, prostaglandin E1, has FDA approval but all three are available for on- or
off-label use.
This is a topic that
every man approaches with a degree of fear. You mean someone is going to stick
a needle into my penis? For the record, they are called intracavernous injections
and your physician will give you an auto-injector that works with a simple
push-button mechanism. You hold the head of your penis and stretch it along
your thigh while sitting upright. You have to make the injection at the base of
the penis (or you can ask your partner to do it for you). Although it is an
area that is sensitive to pleasure, it does not register too much pain. The
sensation is no worse that being flicked with an elastic band. After the
injection, you have to apply pressure to the injection site with an alcohol
swab for about five minutes (or until the bleeding stops). You should aim for a
slightly different point for each injection, rotating the penis a little if
necessary. This will reduce the risk of bruising or scarring. The erection
usually lasts for about an hour.
Hmmm. This needs
thought! Why can I not simply pop a Viagra, Cialis or Levitra?
Well, no matter how
successful they are for most men regardless of age and regardless of the
underlying cause of erectile dysfunction (ED), there are limits to the PDE-5
inhibitors. These limits may be physical — the underlying cause of the ED is
sufficiently far advanced that Viagra, Cialis or Levitra simply will not work.
Or you may already be taking medications for those underlying causes which, for
now, make it impossible for you to take one of the PDE-5 inhibitors at an
effective dosage.
This forces us to
discuss a range of alternative treatments. The first for these purposes, is a
penile injection.
These injections have
been available for almost twenty years so we doctors are not experimenting on
you. The technology and the medications are well tested and routinely used. The
first and the only one with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use
in the treatment of erectile dysfunction is prostaglandin E1, sold as
Alprostadil and Prostin VR. It is a naturally occurring chemical released by
the smooth muscle cells of the penis when you are sexually stimulated. As such,
it has the best success records with the fewest side effects and, if you are
resident in the United States, the cost is covered by most prescription
plans.
It is also available
as a small pellet sold under the brand name, Muse, which you insert into the
tube through which urine passes from the bladder out of your body. Now this is
slightly more complicated than it sounds. You have to use a device which opens
up the canal sufficiently to allow the tablet to be inserted inside your penis.
This may not be a completely comfortable process either in the insertion or when
the penis closes around the pellet. As you will realise, the tablet slowly
dissolves and so the pressure on the penis diminishes fairly rapidly. Some men
report a slight burning sensation as the medication is absorbed into the penis.
There can also be a drop in your blood pressure so you should not be taking any
other medication which may have an additive effect. It is also not advisable to
consume alcohol before using Muse.
Papaverine is a
vasodilator used to relax blood vessels and it was adapted for this purpose
almost twenty years ago. It rarely causes any pain although it has a slightly
higher risk of causing priapism (an unnaturally long and painful erection which
should be treated as an emergency to avoid damage to the penis) because it
remains active in the body for a longer period of time than Alprostadil. It may
also be slightly more likely to cause scarring if you hit the same injection
point too often. You should not use this medication if you are drinking too
much caffeine, alcohol or taking any other recreational drugs. Heavy smokers
should also take care. You also cannot mix this medication with:
1.the barbiturates
used for inducing sleep or treating seizures;
2.medicines such as
temazepam or diazepam for sleeping or anxiety problems;
3.medicines to control
Parkinson's disease; or
4.some narcotic pain
killers such as morphine or tramadol.
The third drug is also
a vasodilator: phentolamine sold as Regitine or Rogitine. It is rarely used on
its own but usually in combination with one of the other two medications
mentioned above.
Neither of the latter
two medications have been approved by the FDA for this purpose — all this means
is that the manufacturers have not gone through the expensive process of
getting approval. But off-label use under medical supervision is quite common.
So if either you or your partner are prepared to learn how to give the
injections, this is a good system, available to use whenever you want with no
real preparations required. Once given , they produce erections that are close
to the body's own spontaneous erections and allow you to have an orgasm and an
ejaculation. The erections last for between thirty minutes and two hours which
is normally long enough for sexual intercourse to be satisfying. This is a
cost-effective alternative to the more expensive and invasive surgical option.
The only drawback is that the use of the injections is usually limited to three
or four times per week to reduce the risk of scarring to your penis.
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com
Keegan Segal is a writer for ManOfPeople . Read more details on the subject of this article here: http://blog.manofpeople.com/archives/47
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