Delayed Ejaculation means a man can’t keep a firm erection long enough to have sexual intercourse. Though Delayed Ejaculation is more common in the age groups of older men, it is a common enough problem and may occur at any age.

Having difficulty occasionally is not a cause for concern. But if your problems are ongoing, they will most likely cause stress and relationship problems and then begin to affect your sexual self-esteem.

Nowadays we know Delayed Ejaculation is often the result of physical problems as opposed to psychological problems, and the great news is that men can have normal ejaculations well into old age – their 80s.

Seeking assistance for Delayed Ejaculation is well worth the small amount of effort it takes: it has many treatments available, ranging from sexual psychotherapy to drugs, all of which can restore normal sexual function for the majority of men.

When Delayed Ejaculation is the result of an underlying condition, it’s important to deal with both problems; equally, Delayed Ejaculation must be taken seriously because it can indicate a more serious problem such as neuropathy.

Delayed Ejaculation is defined in many ways; occasional problems certainly happen to most men and can be thought of as normal. Continual Delayed Ejaculation should be evaluated as mentioned above because male sexual arousal is a very complicated mechanism which involves the brain, hormones, the psychology and emotions, the nervous system, the body musculature and the circulatory system. A problem in one of these systems can produce Delayed Ejaculation

Anatomy of an erection

The penis is made up of three sponge-like structures (the two corpora cavernosa and the corpus spongeosum) that run along its length around the urethra. When you’re sexually aroused, blood flow to these tissues increases by several times, and the inflow of blood produces an erection by increasing the volume of the penile tissues and then stiffening the penis.

Ongoing sexual arousal keeps the increased amount of blood flowing into the penis and stops blood flow out of the penis, which maintains the erection. After the moment of ejaculation or when sexual stimulation has ended, the increased blood drains out of the penis and the penis become flaccid once again.

Physical causes of Delayed Ejaculation

Some time ago, Delayed Ejaculation was regarded as primarily the result of psychological problems and issues. But even though your thoughts and emotions are an essential part of your penis becoming erect, Delayed Ejaculation is often caused by a physical, possibly a chronic, health problem or even unwanted side effects of a prescription medication.

The most common causes of issues with the penis are:

• Heart disease
• Atherosclerosis
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Metabolic syndrome

Other causes include:

• Some prescription medications
• Smoking
• Excess alcohol intake and other forms of drug abuse
• Treatments for prostate cancer
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Low testosterone
• Peyronie’s disease
• Surgery and trauma to the pelvic area or spinal cord

Psychological causes of Delayed Ejaculation

The brain triggers physical events that lead to erection; the first part of this process is a sense of sexual arousal. But this can be affected by

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Fatigue
• Emotional issues like inadequate communication or emotional conflict with your relationship partner

The physical and psychological causes of Delayed Ejaculation are not separate. A minor issues which slows your sexual responsivity can produce anxiety about Delayed Ejaculation. The resulting anxiety can produce a vicious circle of anxiety and ever-worsening problems.

There are several risk factors for Delayed Ejaculation, including:

• Ageing As many as eight men in ten over the age of 75 will have symptoms. It’s a natural process, of course, that as we men get older we notice changes in our functioning, such as erections requiring longer to develop and needing physical stimulation to get them underway, but erection problems are not inevitable as you get older: they occur because of underlying medical problems which need treating. 
• A long standing or chronic health condition There are many bodily systems which can produce Delayed Ejaculation – various conditions of the circulatory system, endocrine system, nervous system, for example, including diabetes, and low levels of testosterone.
• Taking prescription medications A large number of drugs such as anti-acid medication, anti-depressants, and medications to deal with high blood pressure, painkillers and drugs for prostate cancer can all be responsible for Delayed Ejaculation because they affect nerve impulses or blood flow to the penis. Certain tranquilizers and sleeping medication may also can pose a problem.
• Surgeries or injuries Any kind of damage to the nerves which regulate and control sexual responses may well be responsible for erection problems. Nerve damage to the pelvic area or the spinal cord will interfere with many bodily functions, including the mechanism of ejaculation. And pelvic surgery of any kind may heighten the risk.
• Substance abuse Chronic abuse or over-consumption of alcohol, cannabis, and certain other drugs will cause Delayed Ejaculation and possibly a reduction in libido. 
• Anxiety, depression, and stress All of these emotional conditions can contribute to the development of an unreliable climax.
• Smoking  This is such a big cause of Delayed Ejaculation that it deserves to be more widely publicized.
• Obesity Being overweight – especially obese – is a high risk factor.
• Metabolic syndrome A condition in which belly fat, unhealthily high levels of cholesterol and triglyceride, together with high blood pressure and some degree of resistance to insulin all conspire to promote sexual problems.

If your Delayed Ejaculation is not just some short term issue, you should see a doctor who specializes in this dysfunction. He will be best placed to work out exactly what is going on and work out the correct treatment.

You may well see Delayed Ejaculation as a personal issue and indeed it can affect your sexual self-esteem; at the very least, it is an embarrassing problem, so it is extremely important to get effective treatment. In most cases, it can be successfully alleviated or corrected.