2 Tips for Discussing ED With Your Sex Partner

Living with erectile dysfunction (ED) can certainly complicate romance and dating. For many men, it is a humiliating hurdle, and some would rather avoid sex altogether than discuss it with a new partner. But as ED meds become more and more widespread, the stigma of ED has begun to decline and partner discussions have gotten easier.

Steve Thompson (not his real name), 57, from St. Louis, struggled for a long time with the difficulty of discussing his erectile dysfunction with partners. "It's embarrassing and in the single world, you get one shot and that's it," he says. "If you blow it, women will move on."

Here's what he learned.
1. Don't wait till you're naked
Thompson talks about his erectile dysfunction when it's clear that a relationship is about to become sexual; he warns against waiting until you're both naked or letting your partner discover on his or her own. "There's no feeling worse than being thrown out of a woman's house or hotel room because it doesn't work," he says.

2. Tell her you're working on it
What can also help lessen the blow is to explain what you're doing to help correct ED. "Women like the idea that you're doing something to fix the problem," says Thompson.