What Are the Symptoms of Erectile Dysfunction?

Your physician will be better able to evaluate your condition accurately and recommend the best treatment if you come to the medical visit prepared to discuss your symptoms.

It’s important for the physician to know:

• When you last had an erection
• Whether you wake up with erections
• Whether your erections are painful
• Whether you have any other symptoms besides problems with erections
• What medications you are taking
• What surgical treatment or injury you have had in your groin, if any; and
• What kind of relationship you have with your sexual partner(s)

Your answers provide clues that point to possible causes and treatment for your condition.

Be on the lookout for the following symptoms, which may signal the presence of another problem associated with ED, and be sure to tell your physician if you have:

• Pain during urination, frequent urination, a discharge from the penis (sometimes), and fever (sometimes); these may be symptoms of prostatitis.
• Pain within the penis, pain upon erection, curvature of the penis, and/or hard nodules that can be felt under the skin of the penis; these may be symptoms of Peyronie’s disease.
• Difficulty with urination, including pain, frequent need to urinate, urine stream is weak and does not start right away, needing to strain and bear down to eliminate remaining urine in the bladder, getting up at night to urinate, and leaking of urine; these may be symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
• Pain and bruising of the penis, which may occur after penile fracture, and
• tingling, numbness, or abnormal sensations in or near the penis may be symptoms of nerve damage caused by injury or long-term diseases such as diabetes.
• Chest pain, shortness of breath, or previous diagnosis of heart disease or stroke may be signs and symptoms of damage to the arterial blood vessels due to cardiovascular disease.