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Do I have erectile dysfunction?

I realized 4 days ago I couldn't get a proper erection, I feel like I lost sensation and it can't get 100% hard and will go limp very quickly. I'm 37 and never experienced this. I have had a urge to urinate for years, I have to go pee every 30 min and drink a lot but that hasn't caused any other problem. I've been depressed for years and was particularly in a dark mood the last weeks. A few days before I also took a long walk while wearing a belt I think was too tight, I wonder if it can have damage nerves? Am I worrying too much, is it too early? Can it be psychological even if I'm single? I read diabetes can cause this but I'm not overweight I'm not taking any medications, can diabetes cause sudden ED?
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Avatar universal
I think that you are too alarmed about this, most likely it is just the effects of stress, bad mood and nervousness. This happens, the main thing is not to panic, otherwise systematic problems with erection due to psychological reason may begin to appear. Get enough sleep, refrain from masturbation for a couple of days, and everything will return to normal. The only symptom that alarms me a little is frequent urination. Do you have BPH or prostatitis? If these symptoms persist for a long time, it is better to see a doctor.
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Avatar universal
Overall, this just sounds like stress to me. And it’s quite possible that if your stress levels return to somewhat normal, you’ll find things are working again. It just sounds like you’ve gone thru a very stressful period & that can definitely be a real downer for guys - it can affect both your libido (desire for sex) & the actual physical functioning as well, then when both are affected it’s not surprising your physical responses would suffer. And yes, fatigue could play a role, that’s prbly related to the stress as well. Hopefully your issues will resolve in their own once things are less stressful. If not, then it might be worth seeing your regular Dr 1st, possibly get some tests  done  & if that doesn’t help, next step would be to see a Urologist. Hope things start to improve for you...
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4 Comments
I hope this is just stress, today I didn't have morning erection, I had to do self stimulation, it took quite a while and achieved an erection but had difficulty holding it
Well, you did the right thing - if not having spontaneous morning erections, it’s a good idea to generate one yourself. Those tissues need to be frequently engorged w/ blood to remain pliable & able to expand. Even once your stress level has returned to normal, it could take a little while for stress hormones to return to normal levels. Don’t overthink this or worry too much, that will only make things worse. Try to find some relaxing things to do, things you enjoy, and that should help reduce the stress. You haven’t had this issue for very long, so it may just be a temporary lull & you could soon find things working well again. Most of us have been thru smthg like that at points in our lives, especially during very stressful periods. Hang in there & let’s hope things start to turn around soon...
I think you were right. It must have been a mix of stress and fatigue, I feel like I'm going back to a normal libido.
Excellent! Hey, it can happen from time to time - it’s odd, sometimes when I was stressed it didn’t affect my libido or performance too much, at other times it just kinda killed it, but always got back to normal once things normalized. It’s a well-known fact that stress can be a real downer for guys in terms of libido & function. Anyway, glad to hear this & if it should happen again, don’t stress over it too much, just know that once the situation improves, things should return to normal...
Avatar universal
Thanks for your answer BonzoDog. No I don't have diabetes or I don't think so. I just noticed that frequent urination is a symptom of diabetes so I wondered maybe I have this condition unbeknownst to me. I don't have other symptoms and I'm not overweight and I don't take any medication for anything.
I want to think it's just depression that is causing this but I had it for a long time now I'm surprised why this would catch me now although as I mentioned I was in a dark mood recently.
I'm wondering if it can also be related  to back problems. A year ago I must have had some herniated disc due to bad posture at my desk, it was very hard to sit down for long periods. It healed by itself. Now I don't have back pain but I got my car rear bumped a week ago. Is it possible it damaged some nerve without me realizing? I'm not hurt and have no pain.

The problem is present during self stimulation. I used to get hard morning erections up until these last 3-4 days when the erection is weak compared to what I  to get. I also feel like my penis is weak during the day, I used to feel it like with some rigidity, now I feel it quite flaccid in comparison. Can it be fatigue?
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Avatar universal
Before we can answer, it might be helpful to have a little more background info. You mentioned diabetes - are you diabetic? You say you’re not taking any meds, so I’m guessing you’re not on Insulin or Metformin, but have you been told you’re pre-diabetic or at risk for developing it? Diabetes can cause ED, but it sounds to me like you’re in the very early stages (if at all) so I wdn’t think that’s the issue. That can develop over time in diabetic men due to both nerve damage & circulation issues.

You also mentioned being under a great deal of stress - that is a definite factor in ED issues. For one thing, stress causes adrenaline release, which counteracts the arterial dilation necessary for an erection. Generally, ED doesn’t develop overnite, unless there was some injury to nerves or blood flow.

Are you able to achieve & maintain full erections from self-stimulation? If so, your issues are likely not physical, but more stress-related, altho under extreme stress, many guys can’t get hard by themselves either, due to inability to relax enough. Another factor to look at is presence or lack of morning erections - if you still wake up with them (or during the night), then the physical apparatus is still working OK.

Right now, based on the info you’ve given us, my money is that this is stress-related. But please provide some sdd’l info based on the questions above & hopefully we can get a better idea what’s behind this...
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