Dear Dog-ter,
I never thought it would happen to me, but I think I've got a bad case of crystal dick. No matter what I do, I can't get it up anymore. I've heard about this happening with other guys who shoot crystal, but I've been partying for years and never had a problem before. I tried Viagra, but that didn't really help. Is this a permanent thing? What can I do?
- One Panicked Penis

Dear Panicked Penis,
Ah, good ol' crystal dick! Speed's little practical joke isn't so amusing when it happens to you, is it? Not all crystal users will develop erection problems, but it does happen more often with long-term or high-dose users. And you guessed it - that usually means injectors. Erection problems are one of the real downsides of shooting crystal, but you do have some sex-saving options!

Your garden-variety erection happens when specific brain chemicals (mostly serotonin and dopamine) react to things that turn you on. When you see a hot guy or he starts rubbing your crotch, your brain sets off signals to the muscles and blood vessels in your pelvis that cause you to get hard. The rest, as they say, is history.

There are many things that can affect your ability to get hard. Your testosterone or hormone levels may be low, especially if you have HIV or AIDS. Levels can also be low if you are taking certain medications or have other health problems and psychological factors. And, erection problems become more common as we get older. A good health care provider can help sort it all out. But back to crystal - it is the factor we're most concerned about here.

Crystal causes severe changes in dopamine and serotonin. Over time, your brain can have trouble sending the right messages to your penis. Regular crystal use also puts constant stress on parts of your nervous system that regulate normal blood flow between muscles and the tissues of the penis. Finally, crystal shrinks blood vessels, making the problem even worse.

We don't know why some men get crystal dick and others don't. But we do know that using more crystal will NOT fix the problem! Viagra isn't the answer either. Viagra is designed to treat specific health conditions that you may not have. So you should never take Viagra without a prescription. As a recreational drug, Viagra is a bad idea. And it's very dangerous to take it with poppers. (See AmphetaZINE #18 and #25 for details).

The best solution for you may be to lay off crystal for a while. Most men see their erections return once they take a substantial break from speed or seriously cut down their use. It's hard (pardon the pun) to say how long it will take for your dick to "bounce back." The recovery time varies, but the results are usually positive. Unless you have other health issues, this type of impotence is usually not permanent once crystal is out of the picture.

If cutting down or taking a break from speed doesn't help, then definitely talk with your doctor. Otherwise your little soldier should be saluting in no time!

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