Love drugs that work
Love drugs, of course, have occupied medical research before there has been the term "medical research".
For hardly any medication were the rich and powerful (mostly men) throughout the ages as willing to spend substantial amounts of money as they were for drugs that were sold to them with the promise of returning virility or providing that extra prowess.
In some ways the world hasn't changed. In proportion to production costs and considering that it's a mass-market product, Viagra was, when it was introduced to the market, probably the most expensive medication around.
And rightly so. The incapacity to have a satisfying sex life is such a tremendous loss of quality of life that a good number of men would chose the latter if given the option to either loose a leg or that organ which, again rightfully, is called vital.
There are hundreds of substances, both herbal and synthetic, which can ruin a man's capability to have an erection. And there are only a few substances that actually enhance male sexual function and could treat impotence.
However, we have to be aware that male sexuality is comprised of two very distinct, and different, components: sexual plumbing (concerned with the necessities for achieving an erection), and sexual wiring (the involvement of the nervous system, including the brain).
The two functions are distinct, and in a way, they are contrary to each other. There are a good number of substances that are good for the one, and bad for the other aspect of sexuality. Kokain, for example, can enhance sexual desire, while at the same time obstructing penile function by causing a shrinkage of the organ.
Viagra, on the other hand, is good for erections, but if one ingests more than one needs, it will weaken orgasm. The pros and cons of Viagra are meanwhile well known to many men.
Very few substances are good for both, erections and libido. Yohimbe, the bark, or yohimbine, the active ingredient, which has been extracted and is sold as pharmaceutical, facilitate erections by blocking adrenaline from abdominal and pelvic receptors, and enhance libido by increasing adrenaline effect on the brain. However, there is no question that the side effects of yohimbe and yohimbine are a serious deterrent. The adrenaline blocked from the abdominal and pelvic areas also causes heart palpitations and sleeplessness, and both these effects are not supportive of general health.
While the discovery of the use phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as Viagra for erectile function has been a definite achievement, the bigger challenge is to develop a medication that can enhance libido. The impact that such a medication could have on the behavioral patterns of young and aging men around the world is substantial. Such a medication could have the effect of a large number of men making far-reaching changes to their lifestyles in that they might become libido-driven to a far greater degree than what currently is the case.
There are basically two pathways for the enhancement of libido: a hormonal route via testosterone and a neurotransmitter route via dopamine. While the outright application of testosterone may have a clear anabolic effect, exogenous testosterone has the potential to lower both libido and fertility in men, not just to raise it. What effect it will have will depend on baseline values, set points, and dosages. A much more promising route is to support the body's own testosterone synthesis with tongkat ali or injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (which is extracted from the urine of pregnant women and therefore rather expensive).
Sometime in the future, it will be possible through genetic engineering to create humans who are predisposed to live hundreds, and even thousands, of years, or, in fact, indefinitely. Furthermore, it will be possible not only to engineer new lives predisposed to live indefinitely but also to re-engineer existing human life to live on and on. Existing humans will "infect" themselves with virus-like agents that will carry new genetic information into the nucleus of cells to get rid of diseases, and the aging process.
Procreation will be replaced by re-creation.
Alas, we are not quite there yet. And I myself am not optimistic that I will benefit from the advances in genetic science and become one of the individual humans living on indefinitely. Too sad. I have been born some 100 or 200 or 500 years too early.
Nevertheless, I shall attempt to get the most out of my live, and to go a distance as far as possible, in a condition as good as possible. And this means: in a condition that allows me to enjoy sex as much as possible, and up to the time of my hopefully gentle death.
For optimal sexual function, plain healthy living alone doesn't do the job. This is one thing I know very well. Without sexual enhancement medications, many aging men are not usually in a physical condition that would allow them a fulfilling sex life. And because improvements of sexual function by genetic engineering are currently not available, they largely have to rely on pharmacological means.
I myself have been successful in improving sexual function only with 4 classes of medications:
1. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as sildenafil citrate and tadalafil.
2. Dopaminergics such as Parlodel (bromocriptine) and Dostinex (cabergoline).
3. Tongkat ali and tongkat ali extract.
4. Yohimbe (the bark) and yohimbine (the pharmaceutical).
I have been using yohimbine for years (before I switched to tongkat ali), and it definitely worked for erections. But I have long stopped taking it because of the severe side effects it has on me, such as heart palpitations and insomnia for up to 30 hours. For those who do not suffer from these side effects, yohimbe and yohimbine may well be superior to phosphodiesterase inhibitors. While I have found, rather accidentally, a medication that does permit me to go to sleep on yohimbe (see the member section for details), I achieve just as good results with a combination of phosphodiesterase inhibitors and tongkat ali. I have had some initial good results with phosphodiesterase inhibitors and dopaminergics, but they only work for a few times and are no long-term solution. While in many countries of the world (especially Third World countries), phosphodiesterase inhibitors and dopaminergics can be purchased at any pharmacy, those living in the United States face strict restrictions and possible lengthy prison terms obtaining them if possessing these medications without a physician's prescriptions. This is just one aspect that indicates that in spite of the historic pride the US takes in being the so-called Land of the Free, it now is the home of people whose personal freedom is, in many aspects, more severely curtailed than of people in any other part of the world. The need for a physician's prescription anyway is a farce (or is it a money-making scheme for physicians), as anyone who is willing to spend the time for a visit to a clinic and to pay a doctor's fee (or attempt it twice or trice) will obtain the prescriptions. All it takes is to make up a story that fits the drugs' indications.
Tongkat ali now patented for testosterone control
Tongkat ali reduces blood pressure
Tongkat ali effective against cervical cancer
Questions about Libidus and Maxidus
Malaysian concern about arsenic poisoning
Version 3.1, August 2009
Yohimbe and other sexual enhancement medications
Version 5.1, June 2003 (rev.)
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