The most common impotence symptoms include the inability to maintain an erection for long enough to complete a sexual act, difficulty ejaculating, and desire loss. A man who is impotent may not only have difficulty maintaining an erection long enough to have satisfactory sexual intercourse but may also have difficulty achieving an erection at all. A man who occasionally experiences erectile difficulties, however, is unlikely to be impotent, as it is continuing impotence symptoms that mean a man is truly impotent. Additionally, some men with this condition have symptoms that cause them to ejaculate prematurely.
When a man has difficulty achieving an erection on a regular basis, he may be impotent. The frequent or continual inability to achieve an erection is one of the most common impotence symptoms. A man with this symptom may have the desire to engage in sexual activity but may be unable to do so because of the lack of an erection. Some men have this symptom from time to time but are not considered impotent. Usually, a man is only considered impotent if erectile problems occur on a long-term basis.
Sometimes a man does get an erection but is still considered impotent. This is due to the fact that impotence isn’t always marked by a total inability to achieve an erection. Instead, some men with this condition do achieve erections but have trouble maintaining them throughout the sexual act. For example, a man may begin to have sexual intercourse and lose his erection either immediately upon sexual contact or at some point during the sexual act. Additionally, impotence symptoms include erections that are too soft for engaging in intercourse that is sexually satisfying for both a man and his partner.
The loss of desire may also appear as a symptom of impotence. When a man experiences difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection on a regular or frequent basis, he may develop emotional symptoms. The loss of interest, coupled with the stress of impotence, may combine to make the symptoms of impotence worse or harder to handle.
Premature ejaculation is a problem in which a man ejaculates too soon during a sexual act. It is a separate problem in itself, but it can also occur as a symptom of impotence problems. In some cases, a man who is impotent may fail to achieve an erection most of the time. When he does achieve an erection, however, he may prematurely ejaculate. Often, a man who has frequent erection difficulties may worry that he will lose his erection during intercourse. This stress may cause him to ejaculate prematurely.