27 March 2009REACTIONS TO TAKING ED(ERECTAL DISFUNCTION) MEDICATION
Some men, already on drugs to control a health problem, have no objection to taking another pill. They know that medication can help them and don’t necessarily balk at having an additional prescription filled. Other men, however, have a different take on the situation. To them, their ED is terrible enough—but they believe that by toughing it out, their complete function will return. To them, medical intervention connotes “weakness”; they need the counseling of a sympathetic physician to overcome this attitude.
One man who felt that way was Thomas, a forty-eight-year-old veteran of the police department, whose stress-related ED was exacerbated by his two-pack-a-day smoking habit. Crushed by his condition, which had been present for over two years, he had been coerced by his wife to take part in the Vasomax study. Obviously uncomfortable, he crossed and uncrossed his legs as his wife began the interview. “This thing is eating him up alive,” Megan began, “and it took everything I had to get him here. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that I’m affected, too—as is everyone in our family. And, of course, they don’t know why we argue all the time or why he’s been so angry and short-tempered. Neither one of us would ever divulge something like that.”
I agreed with Megan that keeping the problem between the two of them was a good idea, but that deciding to share it with a doctor was an even better one.
Thomas, however, didn’t exactly feel that way. “Look—it’s not personal—I have nothing against you, Doc. But 1 think that the job is getting to me, and after I retire in two years, everything will be the way it was. Frankly, I don’t believe the drug will work.” Then, turning to Megan he added, “Besides, when did you become so sex-obsessed?”
Megan rolled her eyes and addressed him. “Are you planning to stop smoking in two years, too? Your pride is getting in the way. Do you honestly think that I would feel less for you if you took medication? Face it, Thomas, you need help. We need help. Please consider trying the pills!”
He did—and was enormously relieved to regain his sexual function. However, the prior years had taken their toll and Thomas and Megan knew they had a lot of work ahead. They began to see a marriage counselor in order to salvage what they could of their damaged relationship.
lire emotional issues touched upon in their case were:
• divergent views on a problem affecting them both
• a supportive patient who wanted to regain what had been lost
•acknowledgement that a restoration of sexual function wouldn’t solve all their problems
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