A new study published in Urology Today examines the sexual adjustment of heterosexual couples in which the man is suffering from erectile dysfunction as a result of androgen deprivation therapy.

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), sometimes referred to as “hormone therapy”, is a common treatment for men who have prostate cancer that entails an artificial reduction in the body’s amount of testosterone. It is known to cause erectile dysfunction and a general loss of libido.

The study analyzed professional psychological counseling conducted with men undergoing such treatment and their partners, finding that there was often a disparity between how the couples had prepared for the side effects of ADT and the actual outcomes they experienced.

Some couples in the study reportedly easily accepted “the end of their sex lives”, while others worked to find ways to enjoy sex despite erectile dysfunction and a loss of libido. According to the study, psychological counseling in conjunction with discussion of how these symptoms affected the men’s partners worked to influence the couples’ sex lives.

Men suffering from erectile dysfunction, whether it is caused by ADT or something else, may be interested in using constant resistance rings, a non-pharmaceutical solution for men unable to achieve or maintain an erection.