Symptom: Impotence

Introduction: Impotence

Impotence: Difficulty starting or maintaining an erection. See free access online books about Impotence below. See detailed information below for a list of 177 causes of Impotence, including diseases and drug side effect causes.

» Review Causes of Impotence: full list

Causes of Impotence:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Impotence. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Alcohol
• Stress
• Various hormonal or metabolic diseases can lead to impotence:
  • Kidney disease
  • Alcoholism
  • Liver disease
  • Hormonal abnormalities
  • Testosterone deficiency
  • Testicle disorder
  • Pituitary disorder
• Physical damage of various types can lead to impotence:
  • Penile injury
  • Pelvic injury
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Bladder injury (see Bladder symptoms)
  • Prostate surgery - may damage nerves
  • Testicle injury
  • Bowel surgery - may damage nerves
• Blood or blood vessel disorders that may cause impotence include:
  • Blood flow disorders
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Vascular disease
  • Arteriosclerosis
  • Aortoiliac lesion
  • High blood pressure
  • Vein disorders
• Disorders affecting the nerves that may cause impotence include:
  • Diabetes - impotence caused by diabetes is often curable by treating the diabetes.
  • Neuropathy
  • Diabetic neuropathy

See full list of 177 causes of Impotence

» Review Causes of Impotence: full list

Causes of Types of Impotence:

Review the causes of these more specific types of Impotence:

• Erectile dysfunction

More types of Impotence

Impotence: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Impotence, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

• Impotence: Multiple Symptom Checker

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

• Impotence and Sexual symptoms (55 causes)
• Impotence and Nerve symptoms (54 causes)
• Impotence and Pain (51 causes)
• Impotence and Sensations (51 causes)
• Impotence and Genital symptoms (46 causes)
• Impotence and Male sexual symptoms (46 causes)
• Impotence and Penis symptoms (44 causes)
• Impotence and Intercourse symptoms (43 causes)
• Impotence and Muscle symptoms (35 causes)
• Impotence and Digestive symptoms (34 causes)
• Impotence and Head symptoms (34 causes)
• Impotence and Weakness (32 causes)
• Impotence and Muscle weakness (30 causes)
• Impotence and Behavioral symptoms (29 causes)
• Impotence and Fatigue (28 causes)
• Impotence and Personality symptoms (27 causes)
• Impotence and Abdominal symptoms (26 causes)
• Impotence and Weight loss (26 causes)
• Impotence and Infertility (24 causes)
• Impotence and Face symptoms (22 causes)

See full list of 1196 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Impotence

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Intercourse symptoms
• Male sexual symptoms
• Penis symptoms
• Sexual symptoms
• Genital symptoms

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Impotence

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Impotence:

• Erectile disorders
• Penis symptoms
• Sexual symptoms

Diagnostic Guides for Impotence

12 MEDICAL SYMPTOM BOOKS: FULL TEXT ONLINE! Read the full text of published book sections related to Impotence from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Impotence. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Impotence

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic tests for Impotence:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Impotence. Some of these are listed below :

• Physical examination
  • Blood pressure
  • Palpate peripheral pulses (to determine if there are abnormalities to the blood supply)
  • Test nerve function by testing reflexes and sensation
  • Genital examination looking for evidence Peyronie's disease and checking size, shape and consistency of the testicles and penis

See full list of 27 diagnostic tests for Impotence

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Impotence. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• How long have you had problems with impotence? - to determine if acute or chronic.
• Is the sexual problem truly impotence? - i.e. inability to achieve or maintain an erection of sufficient quality for satisfactory sexual intercourse. Some people often mistakenly use the term impotence to mean other sexual problems such as premature ejaculation, failure to ejaculate, pain with ejaculation (may suggest urethral stricture or prostate cancer).
• Sudden or gradual onset of the difficulties? - gradual onset often suggests an organic cause (i.e. due to medical problems) while sudden onset often suggests a psychological cause (i.e. depression, bereavement, stress, fatigue, performance anxiety, anger and relationship problems).
• How often do you have problems with impotence? - to determine if intermittent and situational or total (occurs across all situations).
• What is the age of the person with the impotence? - it is normal for older men to notice that it takes longer to achieve an erection, it takes longer to achieve subsequent erections and that the penis is less hard when erect. However, no matter what age you are, if you are physically unable to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual activity you should see your doctor for assessment and treatment.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Impotence (21 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Impotence) may include:

• Symptoms of depression? - e.g. sadness, crying spells, lack of interest in activities, poor energy, poor concentration and attention span, poor sleep, reduced libido, poor self esteem and sometimes suicidal thoughts - if you are depressed it is common to have problems with erection and ejaculation due to the physical and emotional state of your body when you are depressed. Treating the depression may alleviate the erection problems as well. It is important to remember that sexual dysfunction due to a physical cause can also increase the risk of developing depression.
• Symptoms of anxiety? - e.g. nervousness, shakiness, tremor, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, poor concentration, heart palpitations, racing heart, sweating, dizziness, diarrhea, lump in throat and frequency of urination - anxiety and worry can affect your sexual function.
• Symptoms of prostate cancer? - e.g. pain with urination, weak urine stream, urinary retention (unable to urinate), urinary tract infection, erectile difficulty, pain with ejaculation, symptoms of metastases (weight loss, bone pain, numbness or weakness in legs).

See Diagnosis Checklist for Impotence (21 listings)

Stories from Users for Impotence

Real-life user stories relating to Impotence:

• Impotence (please please help)
• tingling-impotence
• Impotence - nerve damage
• tingling-impotence
• impotence problem
• Impotence

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Impotence or relevant symptoms:

• Cardiovascular (Heart and Blood Circulation) (115)
  • Chest pain and shortness of breath
  • Need help with diagnoses
  • Hand numbness
  • Purple-blue skin color
  • High blood pressure from stress? In a 28 yr old with no other risk factors... seems
  • More user stories
• Neurological (Nerves) (215)
  • Could this be MS?
  • Numbness and tingling all over
  • Essential tremor
  • Upper extremity Numbness and Tingling ??
  • Eye twitch
  • More user stories
• Psychiatric (Mental Health) (151)
  • PLEASE can anyone help my son?!
  • My husbands making me sad
  • Heart condition or mental health problem?
  • Anxiety or...?
  • Weird Behavior at School. Normal?
  • More user stories
• Sexual/Reproductive/Gynecological (305)
  • Bleeding during sex, help!
  • *i just need someone to respond please:(...
  • 17, and i want a baby.
  • Infection immediately after sex
  • Tingling at the end of penis
  • More user stories

Videos for Impotence

Patient Surveys for Impotence

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about diseases related to your Impotence
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Causes of Impotence listed in Disease Database:

Other medical conditions listed in the Disease Database as possible causes of Impotence as a symptom include:

• Amitriptyline
• Anorexia nervosa
• Atenolol
• Autonomic neuropathy
• Bendrofluazide
• Cimetidine
• Clonazepam
• Clonidine
• Cyclopenthiazide
• Cyproterone
• Desipramine
• Diabetes mellitus type 2
• Diazepam
• Diethylstilboestrol
• Dothiepin
• Escitalopram
• Ethinylestradiol
• Finasteride
• Fosfestrol
• Galactorrhoea-Hyperprolactinaemia

See full list of 177 causes of Impotence
- (Source - Diseases Database)

Medications or substances causing Impotence:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Impotence as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Certain high blood pressure drugs
• Beta blockers
• Certain antihistamines
• Certain antidepressants
• Certain tranquilizers

See full list of 416 medications causing Impotence

Article Excerpts about Impotence

Impotence is a consistent inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse. Medical professionals often use the term "erectile dysfunction" to describe this disorder and to differentiate it from other problems that interfere with sexual intercourse, such as lack of sexual desire and problems with ejaculation and orgasm. (Source: excerpt from Impotence: NIDDK)

Definitions of Impotence:

The inability to perform sexual intercourse.
- (Source - Diseases Database)

Organs affected by Impotence:

The list of organs typically affected by Impotence may include, but is not limited to:

• Penis

Detailed list of causes of Impotence

The list below shows some of the causes of Impotence mentioned in various sources:

• Abdominoperineal resection
• Abnormal sexual inclination
• Acromegaly - impotence
• Adrenocortical dysfunction
• Alcohol

See full list of 177 causes of Impotence

How Common are these Causes of Impotence?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Impotence. Of the 177 causes of Impotence that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 7 causes are "very common" diseases
• 7 causes are "common" diseases
• 5 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 0 causes are "rare" diseases
• 9 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 163 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 177 causes of Impotence

Conditions listing symptoms: Impotence:

The following list of conditions have 'Impotence' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

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Causes of Impotence Based on Risk Factors

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Impotence based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient: