TYPES OF IMPOTENCE – TYPICAL STORY
Harold was in his mid-thirties when he sought help for secondary impotence, which had begun two years previously. His first sexual experience had been when he was in the army. He and twenty of his mates had visited a brothel and had queued up for the two available prostitutes. His urgency, and her desire to get to the next client, had established a rapid ejaculatory pattern which had persisted in his other pre-marital sexual experiences. Once married, his rapid ejaculation had been accepted by his wife as a transient adjustment phase. However, its persistence had nagged her and although she was occupied with their three children, she eventually sounded out her married friends about their sexual experiences. The result was destructive. Most of them enjoyed sex, and often reached orgasm.
Harold tried even harder to avoid ejaculating prematurely, and failed. The tension mounted, and he sought excuses to avoid having to try and fail. He began to work late, to claim exhaustion from overwork at the office, and to say that he was not feeling well. His wife, increasingly anxious, induced him to see a doctor about his tiredness. In the interview the doctor did not enquire about Harold’s sexual relations, and Harold was too embarrassed to mention that he had a sexual problem. The doctor checked him thoroughly and found him fit. He suggested a holiday, gave him some vitamin pills, and forgot him.
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