VIDEO- Sexual disorders are among the possible complications of diabetes. Patients do not always dare to talk about it with their doctor when solutions exist. The point with two specialists.
Diabetes can be accompanied by complications, including sexual disorders, which affect both men and women. On the occasion of the last congress of the American Diabetology Association, Professors Serge Halimi and Alfred Penfornis answered Jean-François Lemoine’s questions for whydoctor.
Multiple causes
Diabetes, especially when poorly controlled, has adverse effects on the vascular system. As Professor Serge Halimi, diabetologist in Grenoble, reminds us: “It is mainly the small vessels that are affected, and the alteration of this microcirculation can lead to erectile dysfunction in men, but also lubrication problems. in women. »
“Erectional disorders can be aggravated by smoking, alcohol and lack of physical activity, as in the general population”, underlines Alfred Penfornis, diabetologist at the South Ile-de-France hospital in Corbeille-Essonne.
While some drug treatments can sometimes have side effects that alter sexual function, this is not the case with the molecules used today to treat diabetes. “Unbalanced diabetes, or even acute hyperglycemia, can cause erectile dysfunction,” warns Alfred Penfornis.
Treatments exist
“Diabetic patients know that their disease can lead to complications, including sexual disorders, explains Alfred Penfornis. But paradoxically they don’t dare talk about it with their doctor, and wait for him to bring up the subject, but this is not always the case. And yet, as specialists point out, treatments do exist.
For men, molecules such as sildenafil or cyalis can help restore a quality erection. “It should be emphasized that these treatments are very well known today, so they need to be demystified,” says Serge Halimi. The only contraindication is the simultaneous prescription of nitrates, but these molecules are prescribed less and less. »
To help women in whom diabetes causes sexual problems, doctors have fewer resources. “But the molecules used in men could also prove effective in women,” notes Serge Halimi. Studies are underway to assess their usefulness in this type of indication.”