Watch any testosterone therapy commercial and you are left with the impression that the men taking the supplements have the most satisfying lives imaginable. Salt and peppered hair, perfectly shaped of course, sits atop the head of a man who has taken the world by storm. His convertible sports car takes him to work and to the country club. He plays tennis and golf. And, he comes home to a beautiful lover every night.
As he walks into his oversized house he tells you that even though he’s eligible for social security benefits and an AARP membership, he feels like he’s in his mid-thirties. His secret? Testosterone therapy.
He knows that his body produces less and less testosterone the older he gets and that it is a normal part of aging. But, not willing to take the aging process lying down, he has sought out testosterone replacement therapy from his doctor and in it he has found the fountain of youth. He feels stronger, he looks great, and he can even get an erection more easily than he’s been able to in years.
There’s only one problem. He’s not telling you that erection may be the extent of his sexual encounter for the evening.
New studies suggest that while testosterone therapy may aid with libido; as well as erectile function in men, it does not aid with ejaculation dysfunction.
Ejaculatory dysfunction; including inability to ejaculate, low volume ejaculations, and delayed ejaculations, affects somewhere between 10 and 18 percent of men. Many will try testosterone replacement as a way of dealing with this issue. Few will find respite from their condition in it. In fact, there is no current method for dealing with ejaculatory dysfunction that has been approved by the FDA.
Science is, of course, working on a solution but men around the world are finding out the hard way that testosterone therapy is not it. The commercials promise an increase in libido and, while that may very well be the case, coming to terms with an inability to finish the act may prove even more frustrating for them than the lack of sex drive that preceded it.