by yoursl | Aug 21, 2016 | Chromosome Disorders, Fertility, LGBT, Men's Sexual Health, Sexual Discussion, Sexual Dysfunction |
I took a writing hiatus due to experiencing an ongoing medical crisis. I am still sorting out how to live with my new diagnosis, which sadly interferes with my ability to write, to think, to sleep, to laugh and to live how I want to live my life. My diagnosis doesn’t just affect me; it affects my partner Dutch, my entire family, my friends and my pets and my ability to perform at my bill-paying day job. I am not back to being 100 percent myself yet. This is my first blog post in nearly two months. I am considering this to be a small win in my battle back to health and wellness. A friend told me about a young colleague undergoing gender reassignment surgery. This was not an act of malice or of gossip. It was simply my friend, who is of an older generation, wanting to better understand the situation. We now talk about gender reassignment surgery in the news and at the coffee maker at work where previously this was a taboo topic that wasn’t discussed openly. My friend’s colleague was diagnosed during his youth with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS). Androgen insensitivity is a condition that affects sexual development before birth and during puberty. People with androgen insensitivity conditions are genetically male, with one X chromosome and one Y chromosome in each cell, yet their bodies are unable to respond properly to male sex hormones, or androgens, which includes testosterone and dehydroepiandroesterone or DHEA. As a result, the person has some or all of the physical traits of a female with the genetic...
by yoursl | May 19, 2016 | Cancers of Reproductive Systems, Men's Sexual Health, Sex and Science, Sexual Dysfunction, Taboo Topics |
Earlier this month, the first penis transplant in the United States was completed successfully. This was the world’s third penis transplant since the procedure was first attempted ten years ago. In penis transplants, the penis is taken from a deceased donor only after special written permission is given by the deceased man’s family. The blood type of the recipient must match that of the donor. The recipient must have certain nerves and blood vessels intact as well as an intact urethra in order to be considered for a penis transplant. Skin tone similarities between the donor and the recipient are taken into consideration to allow the recipient to have a more natural look after transplantation. Only the penis is transplanted; testicles are never transplanted due to potential ethical and moral objections. If a recipient has one or both of his testicles intact, he may be able to father his own biological children after a successful penis transplant because his sperm production has been unimpeded. All transplant patients must take anti-rejection medications, such as tacrolimus, for the rest of their lives in order to keep their own bodies from physically rejecting the transplanted organ(s). There is a vetting process of potential transplant patients to ensure the patients will adhere to daily anti-rejection medication regimes. The world’s first penis transplant occurred in China in 2006 at Guangzhou General Hospital. The recipient was a 44-year-old man whose own penis had been damaged beyond repair in an accident. He was left with one centimeter (less than one-half inch) of his original penis and was unable to urinate. The 15-hour transplant surgery was considered...
by yoursl | Sep 25, 2014 | Men's Sexual Health, Sex and Pharmaceuticals, Sexual Discussion, Sexual Dysfunction |
A man’s erection is caused when nitric oxide is released from local nerve endings, which initiates a chemical reaction that allows blood vessels to dilate, or expand. A protein called cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and an enzyme called PDE 5 play important roles in helping create an erection. cGMP signals the muscles in the blood vessel walls to relax and fill with blood. The amount of blood flowing into these blood vessels must be strictly controlled, filling them to capacity but not to bursting. PDE 5 breaks down cGMP to prevent overstimulation of the blood vessels and to prevent excessive relaxation as well. Problems start to occur when there is not enough cGMP present or if cGMP is broken down too quickly by PDE 5. In either case, the blood vessels don’t remain relaxed long enough to fill with a sufficient amount of blood to allow the penis to become erect, thus giving rise erectile dysfunction. Current erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, and Stendra, work by inhibiting or blocking the effect of PDE 5 and thus allowing cGMP to remain active longer which in turn makes it easier to both achieve and maintain an erection. For erectile dysfunction drugs to work, a man must be sexually aroused as this allows the body to release cGMP which allows the blood vessels to fill with blood. Cialis is slightly different in chemical makeup than Viagra and Levitra, which are both essentially the same in chemical makeup. Foods, especially fatty foods, affect how Viagra, Levitra, and Stendra are absorbed by the...
