I'd like to add my tale of woe to this thread. It's actually the very reason why I joined this community.
At the age of 30, things started going downhill for me in the sack. I was never a stud to begin with, but after the birth of my 2nd kid, it would all of a sudden just die on me halfway thru sex. So, as others have experienced, I started worrying about it more and more...which caused it to happen more and more.
Around this time I came across an article in TIME magazine about testosterone and the effects of low T. The symptoms were all there; fatigue, depression, low energy, lack of focus...but when I saw my P.C. doc he told me that I was a healthy 30 y.o. with naturally-conceived kids so I shouldn't worry about low T and just diet & exercise or go see a shrink.
SEVEN YEARS LATER, even after dieting and exercising, my problem just got worse. Soon we were an old married couple rarely even trying to have sex.
I finally went to a urologist and pushed for a blood test. At 37 years old with no other medical issues, my Test level was at around 200!!!!! So I started with the patch (irritated my skin) then w/ Testim (actually lowered my T levels!) and then went for T injections every 6 weeks. I actually joined this site, and shared some of my dosage issues back then.
Of course...psychology is a big factor...and my anxiety coupled with the pathetic dosage I was getting (my T levels hovered in the mid-300's) resulted in mediocre results. I was horny and ready when she wasn't. She was when I wasn't. And with all the money issues and school/PTA/Little League crap that young kids...sex was an afterthought.
It is now a year and a half since I separated from the wife. The marriage fell apart rather quickly after I found some e-mails and texts from and old flame she reconnected on Facebook with and soon was hooking up with on a regular basis.
As of maybe 6 months ago I finally pulled myself together and started hitting the gym and getting ready to get out there again. I was on Androgel (at maximum dosage) and now I am on Axiron, which seems to be decent. The endocrinologist has no explanation why a healthy guy who never smoked, drank or did drugs just stopped producing Test naturally. Without testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), my level went down to 178 when the endo checked my system. I probably need to be up to 700 just to be "normal" but that's not gonna happen through traditional healthcare. A combo of Cialis and Viagra did a great job of getting my johnson ready for a date recently (which went nowhere unfortunately) but my new insurance doesn't cover brand name drugs, so I have to find something over-the-counter when I get to that point.
Anyway...I wish I had taken the ED more seriously earlier, and maybe my marriage would've survived. But now the focus for me is to move forward, and to deal with the anxiety from thinking that I won't be able to perform in the future.
So there's my story. Any guys out there dealing with ED...get help and don't give up 'til you find something or someone that really helps you. There's probably nothing worse for a guy to lose the woman he loves b/c of a limp dick and the shit that comes with it.
