The Medical Freedom Channel

If you own a TV or radio, read magazines or newspapers, surf the Net or even just get e-mail … you’ve doubtless been inundated with advertising from the “male enhancement” industry. Most of it’s about FDA-sanctioned Big Pharma concoctions — the “little blue pill” and its fellow agents of artificial priapism, each designed to restore youth and vitality to the most flaccid of male appurtenances. However, alongside these approved “medical” options, there are countless other things being advertised, ranging from the stuff that fills up our SPAM filters to that “natural” item that puts the goofy smile on the face of “Bob” (and his lady-friend, neighbors and everyone else he meets on the street).

Back in the day, there used to be a televised Public Service Announcement from some well-intended source called the American Social Health Association about venereal disease, featuring the following jingle (thank you, Google!):

VD is for everybody …Not just for the few
Anyone can share VD …With someone nice as you
VD is for everybody … Darlin’ have no doubt
That anyone can get VD … That’s what it’s all about

Considering how much ad-space is currently being taken up with pitches for one remedy or another for “erectile dysfunction,” and how many hit songs from every genre have been turned into ad-jingles (That Elvis rendition of Viva Las Vegas has lost its appeal forever!), it’s perhaps surprising they haven’t grabbed this one yet. The message being presented does seem to imply that this “lack of firmness” issue is not only widespread, but generally based on some horrid string of physiological and biochemical symptoms requiring a “cure” from the medical establishment. We are thus confronted with an array of options, most featuring a roster of these Big Pharma “cures,” and all making cautionary promises about such “abnormal reactions” as “erections lasting longer than four hours,” should prompt immediate contact with your physician … and all that stuff.

Why is this such an issue to this editor? Full disclosure requires me to confess a personal stake in this one: Having recently taken up a new relationship, with a delightful (and very desirable) woman, to whom I’m both emotionally and spiritually attached, I sought to also reawaken my rather long-dormant physical component, in order to better share myself with her. (Note: It had been about two years since my last non-virtual relationship, whose intricacies had in themselves left me a bit “short” near the end, anyway.

This has taken the form of a sometimes frustrating (at least to me) and rather drawn-out process, during which several methods for inducing and maintaining an erection have been explored. I’ve had to rely on both my own creativity (i.e., alternate stimulatory methods), and my new partner’s infinite capacity for both patience and acceptance, in order to continue to enhance our intimate times together.

However, the one thing that’s not been involved in this effort is a reliance on those artificial methods, available only via black market or doctor’s prescription. In other words, neither Viagra nor Cialis nor Levitra – nor any of the other FDA-approved “wood-inducers” – has passed these lips during the course of this research.

Instead, I’ve relied mainly on better nutrition, a bit more exercise, a few vitamin supplements from the new Whole Foods store that just opened locally, and the continued support and understanding of my newfound love-partner. I will confess that along the way I’ve sampled a few of the many “natural supplements” available via junk mail and telephone-ordering; however, with one exception none of these had much of any effect.

That exception, oddly enough, was the one alleged to put the smile on the face of that “Bob” fellow: Yes, I confess it; I’ve tried Enzyte®. After seeing one too many ads, and finding that the first dose was “free” (pay only shipping and handling) – and frankly wanting to advance the relationship a tad more rapidly – I took the plunge about three months ago, ordering an introductory supply. I then took the stuff itself for a while, and actually did begin to see some … shall we say, “improvements”?

I also scanned the list of ingredients, and found nothing much you wouldn’t see on the average well-stocked healthfoods-store shelf (although there are no amounts shown on the package): ginseng, gingko biloba, pine bark (a source of pignoginol), saponins, L-arginine, averia sativa, etc. The only thing that seems unusual is something called “horny goat weed extract” (defined as Epimedium sagittatum), but again no measurements are listed, just “Enzyte® Proprietary Blend, 541 mg” to describe the whole concoction, along with some healthy things like niacin, zinc and copper.

However, I was then able to procure most of these ingredients, at a much lower price, again from the local Whole Foods, so I haven’t purchased any more Enzyte® since. (Not that I might not recommend it heartily, as a first step.) Instead, I started buying pomegranate juice and mixing it with seltzer or even other fruit juices, and adding ginseng and Yohimbe bark to my morning vitamin routine. And over time, I’ve noticed a much more responsive “maleness” when I want it (with none of that “undesired carryover” as is likely with the “drugs.” I want response when I want it, not a teenager’s spontaneous erections at the sight of a short skirt!).

* * *

Enough about how to step around the “snake oil from Pharmaland” … There’s a much bigger issue here, so (since we’re already on the borderline of apparent relevance to this blog’s theme) let’s look at that.

It transcends trivia like or not should still “perform” like a teenager, well into one’s “middle years.” I’m not a kid, and I don’t pretend to be (well, I do, but that’s another story); at 58-and-counting, I hardly expect instantaneous response and marathon-runner stamina even in my most amorous moments. (Fortunately, my partner isn’t seeking a Cuban Superman, either, and so we have managed to develop a healthy intimacy, starting long before the more recent fuller rejuvenation of my own equipment.)

Yes, a much greater question exists here. An article just this week (synchronicity, or what?) at MSNBC.com deals with the whole issue of human sexuality, when it’s been interrupted by periods of celibacy or other inactivity – for both men and women. As the piece notes, “there’s actually some truth to the phrase, ‘use it or lose it.’ People who go without sex for extended periods of time often develop a ‘dearth of drive’ and become habituated to living a sexless existence. Testosterone levels in both men and women go down, self-esteem plummets and anxieties go up.”

The article also presents a concern that’s become more prevalent as the Internet age has progressed: the easy accessibility of pornography, as image or written word, as an insulation of sorts from true intimacy with another living human. As they so wisely put it, “Porn is easy and accessible, kind of like junk food: it may satisfy a short-term craving, but it doesn’t provide any real nutrition. Over the long term it leaves you deadened and disconnected, and guys who spend too much time retreating into a world of digital fantasy are all the more likely to develop sexual and social issues when dealing with real women. So log off the laptop and log in to life.” (Having spent a bit of time in this virtual realm myself, during several “dry spells,” I know all too well how this one works.)

And on a wider plane, the piece continues, anyone re-entering the sexual arena should “Regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman, be prepared for a possible mechanical malfunction. After a dry spell, it may take a little while to get back in the saddle so to speak.”

However (as they do not elaborate, but as anyone with an ounce of sense should know), the opportunity this situation presents, to let go of goal-setting (orgasm as absolute) and embrace the deeper connections of sensual touch and true intimacy, cannot be overstated. For men who’ve always relied on “Mr. Johnson” for the entire expression of their virility (and for the women who’ve steadfastly endured through their clumsy efforts) it can open a whole new vista of intimate experience, vulnerability and mutual nurturing. If you haven’t been there, it’s high time you tried it!

Above all, the MSNBC article concludes, we should learn to relax and have fun with our sexuality within a relationship: “Sex isn’t like riding a bike, because bikes aren’t living beings with fears, pressures, and anxieties. It may be harder to relax and let go. If everything doesn’t go as you planned ‘under covers’ don’t panic or develop a complex or retreat back into your slump.”

All this editor knows is, allowing a new relationship to progress at its own pace (including accepting the gradual rebirth of “male enhancement”) can be the most delicious part of developing the intimacy and emotional connection that makes sexuality something far more than what the late philosopher, psychologist and visionary Stan Dale derisively referred to as “two pieces of flesh rubbing against each other.” (He said a lot of other things, much wiser and more profound, including the marvelous question. “Are we having sex yet?” which punctuated his weekend workshops. His passing is a major loss to the planet.)

The long and the short of it (sorry, couldn’t resist) is this: If you’re a man experiencing “shrinkage” of this sort, you have a lot better options to consider than the Pharma-driven “take this little pill” solutions, with all their precautions and unwanted side-effects. If you’re a woman who is married to, living with or just attracted to a man who’s dealing with the passing of time … for both your sakes, go for it! Meanwhile, the best part: with patience and a little courage, and an understanding and supportive partner, it can also lead to the most incredible levels of shared ecstasy.