Ideally, this involvement should begin with the first visit to your doctor, because your partner often can provide valuable information that can help the doctor find the cause and recommend treatment.

Although some men prefer to deal with their ED without involving their partner, most doctors agree that couples who work together to seek treatment gain the most benefit. Your chances for success are much greater if you and your partner are eager to resume regular sexual activity. The likelihood of success is not good if you are considering treatment just because you're wondering whether it will work. Men and women who go without sexual activity for a long time often fall out of the habit of having sex, and may not particularly miss it. How willing are you to learn and use new techniques? Your responses to these questions may help you make this decision: How motivated are you to resume normal sexual activity?

However, before deciding to pursue treatment of any kind, you need to decide if you really want to follow through. In patients with generalized vascular disease, which can affect the flow of blood to the penis as well as to other parts of the body, eliminating smoking, reducing fatty food intake, and starting regular exercise can improve erectile function. If your doctor suspects your erectile dysfunction is related to a recently prescribed medication, he or she may decide to change your medication, reduce the dosage, or eliminate it completely if doing so will not adversely affect your health. Certain classes of medication are associated with ED. If your doctor believes that your ED is related to excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, or drug abuse, the obvious solution is to make the appropriate lifestyle changes. If you are looking for a quick and easy solution, or are resistant to finding new ways to achieve an erection, you will probably not be successful with some of the available treatments. Some of them require time and effort to learn. Many treatments for ED require a man to take some physical action to achieve an erection. Will your partner have sex with you using the selected treatment? Is your partner willing to help you make treatment decisions? Here are some things to consider: Is your partner as eager as you are to become sexually active again? At the very least, your partner should be consulted before making a final decision about treatment.