Impotence Assessment Questionnaire

Why: to determine if acute or chronic.

Why: 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).

Why: 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).

Why: to determine if intermittent and situational or total (occurs across all situations).

Why: 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.

Why: if yes, suggests difficulties may be due to psychological cause rather than a medical cause.

Why: this is one of the key factors for causing sexual problems. Stress lowers the levels of some male body chemicals and thus may have the effect of reducing sexual desire and reducing the ability to perform when you do try.

Why: problems in a relationship can cause sexual dysfunction. e.g. are you and your partner sexually attracted to each other?, how often do you argue with your partner?, do you talk things over with your partner?, how is your love for your partner?

Why: spinal cord injury, injury to sex organs or broken bones in the pelvic area may cause nerve damage that interrupts the connection between the nervous system and the penis.

Why: many sexual problems are associated with other physical conditions e.g. high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, multiple sclerosis, hormonal disorders ( hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, hypogonadism, high prolactin levels), kidney disease, liver disease, prostate enlargement or cancer, Peyronie's disease.

Why: surgery to organs such as prostate, bladder or colon may damage nerves that interrupt the connection between the nervous system and the penis.

Why: may cause sexual dysfunction.

Why: some medications can cause erection problems as a side effect e.g. diuretics (thiazides), some high blood pressure medications (beta-blockers and aldomet), some cholesterol lowering drugs (statins), some diabetes medications, some antidepressants (tricyclics), cancer treatments, some anti-ulcer medications (cimetidine and zantac), tranquilizers (phenothiazines) and epilepsy medications; SSRI antidepressant may cause difficulty with erection and also difficulty with ejaculation if erection is achieved.

Why: smoking increases the risk of atherosclerosis and peripheral vascular disease which is a major cause of erectile dysfunction.

Why: alcohol abuse or intoxication may cause sexual dysfunction.

Why: substance abuse may cause sexual dysfunction e.g. marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, heroin.

Why: may affect sexual dysfunction.

Why: e.g. high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes.

Why: 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.

Why: 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.

Why: 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).