Chapter 1 The Medical Miracle That Can Change Your Life
Finally, it's Friday, Dennis thought to himself as he made the turn off the freeway toward his house in Silicon Valley. Exhausted, with another sixty-hour workweek behind him, he looked forward to some well-deserved rest and relaxation at home. There, he knew Jennifer would be waiting for him with a bottle of chilled white wine, the stereo playing softly in the background, and the big leather sofa waiting to envelop them.
When he opened the front door he was already anticipating the evening ahead. It didn't matter that his body and mind were tired enough for ten hours of sleep; he'd be otherwise engaged, soon. Greeting Jennifer with a kiss, he settled himself down in the living room, and waited for her to join him.
Very soon she did, carrying a tray with a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a small china plate with a small blue pill for Dennis. Both he and Jennifer knew that it would ensure them a night of intense sexual pleasure, and the anticipation of those events brought a flush to both their faces. With that pill, their weekend, their sex lives, and most of all their ongoing relationship would be enhanced and enriched.
Jennifer poured the wine and passed Dennis a glass. He leaned over, picked up the pill, and, toasting his wife, swallowed it. Both Jennifer and Dennis were willing participants in the new world of sexual medicine, which gave them the security of knowing that they could have what they wanted, when they wanted it.
Everyone can.
All adults are entitled to a fulfilling sex life. An active component of complete health, the ability to have satisfying sex is a marker signifying that all the elements which define us are working together seamlessly. By this I mean not only the physical, but the very important psychological and emotional factors as well. What it comes down to is this: sex is good for you.
As an internist in New York City, I see patients who represent a cross section of the population, from every background and of every age. They come to me for a range of reasons, from yearly checkups to follow-ups to surgery, and everything in between. Increasingly, however, my male patients are coming in to discuss their sex lives and, more specifically, their inability to consistently have erections. Whether they are in their thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, or older, this vital part of their being can sometimes falter, for any number of reasons. Wanting to be the best they can be, at every stage of their lives, they ask about the options available to them.
My goal is to give them the best that medical science has to offer to help restore erections. Today, there are extraordinary new additions to the world of prescription medicine which, without a doubt, rank among the most exciting discoveries in recent medical research. Drugs which accomplish what millions of men, and their partners, have been waiting for are finally available.
For every man who is worried about the possible loss of potency -- the ability to have a firm erection each and every time he wants to have sex -- for every male who has already experienced it, and for every partner who ever wondered what to do, there is not only hope, there is this new medical miracle.
Simply stated, a revolution has begun. Most men who suffer from erectile dysfunction, or ED, may now restore their virility by taking a prescription pill. The impact on the estimated thirty million men who experience ED cannot be underestimated. Today, ED can be treated successfully more than 95 percent of the time. Nevertheless, fewer than 5 percent of those affected have received treatment.
Effective, and well tolerated, these amazing pharmacological virility remedies are Viagra, the brand name for sildenafil, and Vasomax (phentolamine). For the first time, it is possible to restore optimal sexual function to nearly every man who desires it. And they will put to rest the myth that ED is an irreversible function of aging. In a matter of minutes, the new oral medications can:
* allow a man to have firmer erections to ensure fulfilling sexual intercourse
* renew and strengthen an existing -- or even dormant -- sex life
* bolster self-confidence
* lift depression associated with ED, thereby positively affecting all facets of a man's life, including his work
* help to create a relaxed, unhurried window of opportunity to proceed at a couple's individual pace
* mend relationships torn by frustration
* offer joy in the sexual arena, where little or none had been felt for years
* solidify sexual bonds with a partner
* restore intimacy and thereby deepen relationships
The Relationship Pills
My growing awareness of the great need for such a medical intervention was sparked by my patients, as is often the case. In their visits to me, most bring with them their hopes and fears as well as colds and worries about cholesterol counts. This was the case with Mark and his wife, Lucy.
Mark, a thirty-eight-year-old bond trader on Wall Street, was certainly healthy. A handsome man with movie-star good looks, he had been coming to see me for five years, but in this visit something in his demeanor seemed to have changed. I asked him point-blank if anything in particular was bothering him.
"There's a lot of stress in my life -- more than usual," he told me. "With the type of economy we've got going, I see no end to the stress. It's make-or-break time for me and my partners."
"How is that affecting your eating and sleeping patterns?" I asked. "And what about your quality of life in general?"
"I'm pretty good about what I eat," he said, avoiding the last question. "But I could be sleeping better. And, I have to confess, I'm drinking more wine with dinner. I really need it to decompress."
Since all of Mark's tests were in the normal range and I didn't suspect anything physically amiss, I suggested that he limit himself to one glass of wine a night and try to get an extra hour of sleep. As he was preparing to leave, I inquired after Lucy.
"She's great," he said brusquely and hurried out the door.
It so happened that Lucy's yearly appointment was the following week. She, too, checked out fine physically, but seemed subdued and anxious. I knew something had changed since I last saw her, and I wondered what it was. Obviously it was affecting both husband and wife.
"Did Mark speak to you?" she asked.
Not certain what she was referring to, I shook my head no.
"He promised he would," she said with a sigh.
Gently, I asked her what was bothering her.
"It's not just me -- it's both of us," she said. "But it's not right for me to speak to you alone. I'm going to talk to him tonight and try to convince him that we both should see you -- together."
Whatever Lucy said to Mark after leaving my office clearly had the desired effect. A couple of weeks later the two of them came to see me, looking rather tense and nervous.
"I know something is wrong and I want to help you both," I said. "But without knowing what the problem is, I'm stuck."
"Okay," Mark began. "Here it is. Our sex life has not been working right for the last ten months -- because I'm not working right. I can't get a hard-on. I thought it was the stress and the alcohol. I actually stopped drinking altogether after my checkup -- I read somewhere that alcohol can affect performance -- but it hasn't helped. Not only is my personal life suffering, so is my professional one. Frankly, it's a bummer. My confidence is shaken," he admitted.
"You're right about drinking," I agreed. "It can often inhibit penile function."
"But if that's not the cause, and there isn't something physically wrong with Mark, then maybe I'm doing something wrong," Lucy said. "We have a strong relationship in every way and we don't believe we need marriage counseling, but maybe we will if we can't get back on track sexually. What can we do?"
The solution, I told them, might just be ready and waiting for them. "Your experience is a very common one, more usual than most people think." I said. "Mark, given the results of your recent checkup, I have no reason to believe that your erection problems have a physical cause. They are probably due to your increased business pressure. I call it the 'phenomenon of busy people' and I'm seeing it in more and more of my patients.
"Hopefully, there will be a time when the pressure eases up and you can resume a more relaxed workweek. Maybe that will help your erections. In the meantime, however, there is an effective solution. There are two new safe medications in pill form that help restore erections, no matter what the primary cause of the problem is. One of the drugs, Vasomax, is what I have been using with men as part of an ongoing study for a pharmaceutical company. The other, Viagra, is also undergoing review, but in other centers around the United States. I'm still enrolling patients and their partners. And since you are both here, would you like to join the trial?"
I explained that the best aspect of these medications is the unique way in which they react biochemically as facilitators and amplifiers of erections. But there must be normal sexual stimulation in order for an erection to occur. In other words, emotion and caring play a big part in how they work successfully. But one thing is certain: they will help a man achieve the best possible combination of desire and physical functioning.
Their expressions mirrored their skepticism, but Mark and Lucy were ready to try anything. After Mark and Lucy signed the necessary papers required for the study and I took a blood sample, I gave him a Vasomax pill to swallow. I noted his blood pressure and heart rate over the course of the next hour. A possible side effect of Vasomax is a sharp decrease in blood pressure and an associated rise in pulse. If his blood pressure dropped by more than 30 points over his predose reading, Mark would be ineligible to use the drug. His blood pressure dropped only 10 points, ...
