Why Most Men Are Only Offered Viagra or Cialis
For many men, the journey with erectile dysfunction follows a familiar path.
You speak to your GP.
You are prescribed Viagra or Cialis.
You are told to “see how you get on”.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it works for a while. And for many men, it eventually stops working altogether.
What surprises a lot of the men we see at Men’s Room is not that medication failed.
It is that they were never told there were other options.
Some men arrive having not had an erection in years. They genuinely believed tablets were the only thing available.
So why does this happen?
The GP appointment is not built for nuance
GPs are under enormous pressure. Appointment times are short, demand is high, and erectile dysfunction is rarely the only issue discussed in a consultation.
Within that system, prescribing medication makes sense:
It is quick
It follows clear guidelines
It is familiar to both doctor and patient
Viagra and Cialis are well-studied, widely used, and often effective in the short term. From a primary care perspective, they are a reasonable first-line option.
But first-line does not mean only-line.
NHS prescribing is based on cost, evidence, and scope
Within the NHS, erectile dysfunction is generally treated as a quality-of-life condition rather than a priority medical issue unless linked to significant underlying disease.
This means:
Treatments must meet strict cost-effectiveness criteria
Newer or specialist therapies are rarely commissioned
Non-drug interventions are often outside GP scope
Even when a GP is aware of other treatments, they may not be able to offer or refer for them within the NHS framework.
This is not about withholding information. It is about working within a system that has limits.
Self-funded options often sit outside the GP pathway
Here is the part that many men find frustrating in hindsight.
There are self-funded treatments for erectile dysfunction that focus on improving blood flow, tissue health, and erectile function itself rather than just enabling an erection for a few hours.
But these options:
Are not routinely taught in GP training
Are often delivered in specialist or private clinics
Sit outside standard NHS referral pathways
If a treatment is not something a GP can prescribe, refer for, or follow up within the NHS, it may simply never come up in the conversation.
Not because it is ineffective.
But because it is not part of the system they are operating in.
ED is often treated as a symptom, not a condition
Another honest reality is that erectile dysfunction is frequently approached as a symptom to manage rather than a condition to actively reverse.
Medication helps manage the symptom.
It does not address:
Reduced blood vessel health
Declining tissue responsiveness
Changes in nerve signalling
When ED is framed this way, escalation often means higher doses or switching tablets, rather than asking whether erectile function itself can be improved.
Many men don’t ask - because they don’t know what to ask
This is the quietest part of the issue.
Most men assume:
“If there was something else, my GP would have told me.”
So they don’t ask about alternatives. They don’t question the plan. They simply adapt to the idea that erections now depend on tablets, and that this is just how things are.
By the time they discover other options, years may have passed.
This is not about blaming GPs
It matters to say this clearly.
GPs are not doing anything wrong. They are working within:
Time constraints
Clinical guidelines
Funding structures
Defined scopes of practice
The problem is not bad medicine.
It is incomplete conversations.
Why awareness matters
When men learn that options exist beyond medication, something important changes.
They stop seeing ED as a dead end.
They stop assuming deterioration is inevitable.
They regain a sense of agency.
Some men still choose medication. Others explore treatments that aim to restore erectile function rather than support it temporarily.
The key difference is that the choice becomes informed.
At Men’s Room, our role is not to replace GPs or criticise the system. It is to fill in the gaps that time, structure, and funding often leave behind.
Because no man should go years without knowing what is available to him.
Book your free phone consultation with one of our men’s health consultants here.