I wonder why it is that some married couples will insist on talking at the same time so that it is difficult to pay attention to what either of them are saying and it is so annoying when the husband or wife on one side is saying something not of too much interest and the wife or husband on the other is saying something in which you would be interested if only you could get more than snatches of the conversation. I’m sure they don’t realise they are doing it, I’m sure it is not deliberate; perhaps it is habit, thoughtless nevertheless. Sometimes I have been tempted to put up a hand and say, ‘Whoa there, would you mind letting your partner speak please so I can listen to him/her?’ Perhaps a speaking stick would be a good idea.
Tesco, the supermarket, says it is to sell Viagra over the counter at the 'cheapest price'. From next Monday, men with erectile dysfunction (ED) who don't have a GP prescription will be able to request the drug at 300 of its UK stores. As the first supermarket to offer such a service, Tesco will charge £52 for eight pills. Boots pharmacy currently charges £55 for four. Tesco stressed a pharmacist would make the sale and customers will be vetted. The service is only available to men aged between 40 and 65 years. They will have to complete a questionnaire and have their blood pressure and cholesterol measured, as well as undergo a test for diabetes.
Shona Scott, commercial manager for Tesco pharmacy services, said: "Provided that the men are suitable we will discuss their options and sell them an effective treatment." Suitable?
"Men can be very embarrassed about going to their GP for help with things like this," a doctor said (they won’t be embarrassed going to Tesco?) and added some men resorted to buying the drug over the internet, which could be risky because they might be sold fake Viagra. Dr Tomlinson said it was essential that men seeking drugs for ED had thorough medical checks for underlying health problems. "It's now realised that for a great many men, ED is a warning sign of cardiovascular problems that need checking out. Something like a third of men with ED goes on to develop some sort of cardiovascular problem within five years."
He said men who see and get a prescription from their GP could purchase the drugs for even less - around £48 for eight tablets from some dispensaries. Still pretty expensive I would say but that is the cost of drugs today.
But…
Half the Viagra prescribed to men is not working, says an expert in sexual medicine. Dr Geoffrey Hackett, a consultant urologist, says men with erectile dysfunction could be "wasting hundreds of pounds on tablets" when their real problem is low testosterone. The most common sexual problem men see their GP about is erectile dysfunction. It affects 40% of men over 40 years old, and more than one in five men with erectile dysfunction have a testosterone deficiency.
Testosterone levels in men peak in their mid-20s then slowly decline throughout life, but a fall can also be a sign of underlying health problems. Both patients and doctors shy away from discussing sexual symptoms.”
"Men for whom Viagra isn't working adequately need to have their cases reviewed. If low testosterone is the problem then Viagra won't be the answer on its own."
When testosterone replacement therapy is prescribed, "it can change the lives of patients", he says.
Having worked in this area for more than 20 years, Dr Hackett describes how the partners of the patients he has helped often thank him "for giving me back the man that I married."
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