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He could not keep an erection and was too embarrassed to seek help.

His marriage got into difficulties and the couple were close to divorce.

“We were sleeping in separate beds and very nearly split up,” said 48-year-old Keith, who has type 1 diabetes.

“It did nearly drive us to divorce. I would not go to bed with her. I would not even hold hands with her.

He said that because I had such a bad back that a man in my position should not be having sex anyway Keith Henderson

“She kept trying to speak to me about it, but I did not want to.”

The couple drifted further and further apart, with Keith spending more and more time on his picture framing work.

GP appointment

Eventually Keith, from Mitcham, Surrey, plucked up the courage to talk to his local GP.

“He was not much help and said that because I had such a bad back that a man in my position should not be having sex anyway.”

Keith was devastated and it was sometime before he felt able to mention the problem to his diabetic nurse.

“Someone had told me she could get me referred to a urologist, which she did,” he said.

“If I had just known that a couple of months before - I was practically suicidal.

“Although sex is not the be all and end all of relationships, it is a bond.”

The nurse told Keith that his erectile man sexual health
(ED) was almost certainly a side affect of his diabetes - and she did indeed refer him to a urologist.

DIABETES AND ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION Over 50% of men with diabetes will experience erectile dysfunction (ED) The problem gets worse with age ED is caused by damage to the nerves in the penis

“Nobody had told me that this might have been a side effect,” said Keith. “Or if they did I had not taken it in.

“I had been just bombarded with information and was going through a lot of man health online
life changes adjusting to the fact that I had been diagnosed with diabetes and had to take insulin.

“I found it very difficult to control my diabetes and developed an eye condition and then neuropathy (nerve damage). I have no feeling in my legs from my toes to my knees.”

Keith’s urologist presribed him a raft of ‘pills and potions’, but none worked for long.

And so man health forum
Keith was given a penile implant - which allows men, through the use of a pump, to control their own erection allowing them to pump up then deflate.

“Now everything is fine. It has changed my life,” said Keith, from Surrey.

But he said he was angry with himself for not seeking help sooner.

Website launch

This week Diabetes UK is launching a new website - Sex and Diabetes - to help people like Keith get speedy information on a 39 health magazine man s
embarrassing subject.

The site is designed to provide a wide range of information on diabetes and sexual health, focusing on ED and female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and illustrates them with ‘true life stories’.

It looks at what could be the causes and how to treat them as well as where to go to get help.

We need to be able to say to people not that it will happen, but that it is part and parcel of the condition Tracy Kelly Diabetes UK

There is also information for health care professionals.

Tracy Kelly, dietician and care advisor for Diabetes UK, said this was an area which had been neglected.

“Diabetics are all told about it when they are diagnosed, but some people are embarassed to talk about it.

“Also they get a lot of information all at once and as with any life-long condition it is better to get the information in little chunks.”

Tracy said these are subjects that can be raised when diabetics have their regular check-ups.

“As this is quite a sensitive issue and people are not going to bring it up straight away.

“We need to be able to say to people not that it will happen, but that it is part and parcel of the condition.”

And she said that one of the main benefits of the website is the patients can look it up anonymously.

Keith agreed: “I think it will help. Men, being men, do not want to talk about it, but they will download it from the internet.”