Can Viagra Treat ED in Type-2 Diabetics?
A Look At the Research
Disclaimer: Your healthcare provider is the best source of health and medical information. Articles written by UPGUYS are informed by peer-reviewed studies and research, as well as governmental health authorities and agencies — but they cannot replace advice from a healthcare professional. Talk to your healthcare provider about any physical or mental health concerns you might have.
Of the nearly 15 million adult men in Canada, between 5 and 20 percent experience moderate to severe erectile dysfunction. Meanwhile, about 8.7 percent of men in the Great White North have been diagnosed with diabetes. These two conditions share more in common than the fact that millions of Canadians experience them: diabetics can be as much as three-times more likely to develop ED than non-diabetics. This is especially true of those with type 2 diabetes.
What is it about diabetes that makes men more prone to erectile dysfunction? And are common prescription treatment options like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra effective in treating diabetic ED?
What is Diabetes?
There are three main types of diabetes that all share in common a condition where the body either does not produce enough insulin (Type 1) or the body can’t properly use the insulin it produces (Types 2 & 3). The vast majority — about 90 percent — of Canadians living with diabetes are Type 2 diabetics. Type 1 makes up about 10 percent, with a much smaller percentage living with Gestational Diabetes affecting pregnant women. This lifelong condition can have serious negative effects on the heart (blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease), the eyes (diabetic retinopathy), the kidneys, and nerves — the latter occasionally causing a lack of sensation and arousal in the penis or clitoris.
What is Erectile Dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction is usually defined as an inability to achieve or maintain an erection firm enough for sex. Causes of erectile dysfunction range from physical (hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity, prostate cancer) to psychological / emotional (anxiety, depression, stress). Poor lifestyle habits like lack of exercise, diets lacking whole foods, smoking cigarettes, excessive alcohol consumption, and recreational drug use can also contribute to ED.
Diabetes and ED
Erectile dysfunction can be caused by myriad factors — diabetic or not. Isolating which factors affect diabetics versus non-diabetics is therefore quite tricky. On the one hand, erectile function issues could stem from nerve and blood-vessel damage due to years of poor blood sugar control. While conditions like hypertension, obesity, and cigarette smoking are linked to both diabetes and erectile dysfunction.
This combination can paint a bleak picture for men who have diabetes-related erectile dysfunction. Not only is ED more prevalent among diabetics, some studies suggest that diabetics might experience erectile function issues 10–15 earlier than their non-diabetic counterparts, with issues being more severe.
Viagra and ED in Diabetics
Whether resulting from diabetes or not, men experiencing ED can all attest to the feelings of low-self esteem and embarrassment an inability to get and maintain an erection can cause. The good news for both groups is that there are many treatment options available. Researchers have conducted studies to examine the effects of sildenafil citrate (Viagra) on men of all stripes, including those with type 2 diabetes.
Viagra has been shown to be about 70 percent effective in treating erectile dysfunction. Tadalafil (Cialis) and vardenafil (Levitra) — two other common prescription medications used to treat ED — are between 70 and 80 percent effective. All three medicines have produced positive effects in studies of men with type 2 diabetes as well, the particularities of diabetes notwithstanding.
One study gathered 219 type 2 diabetics and gave a half-dosage of Viagra (the other half were given a placebo) over a period of 12 weeks. Those who were given Viagra scored higher than the placebo group on all measures, from ability to get and maintain an erection, to life satisfaction. The study also didn’t report any major adverse effects. A similar study, this time with 268 men, came to a similar conclusion. 52 percent of patients given sildenafil reported improved erections, compared to only 10 percent of the placebo group. Researchers of both studies concluded that Viagra was effective in treatment ED in type 2 diabetics.
Check with Your Doctor
While the research is promising, it doesn’t mean that Viagra, Cialis or Levitra are necessarily right for everyone, especially those with type 2 diabetes. It’s important that anyone considering Viagra as a treatment option for ED make their doctor aware of any medications they’re currently taking.
Viagra, Cialis and Levitra can all interact with drugs used for treating hypertension, blood thinners, alpha-blockers, beta-blockers and more. Common side effects, and occasionally serious ones, can also be caused by prescription medicines for erectile dysfunction.
Diabetes might be a lifelong condition, but erectile dysfunction doesn’t have to be. Pay your doctor a visit if you’re experiencing erectile dysfunction issues.
