Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Dancing With Death for Sex

After thinking about this for a LONG time I decided this issue needs to be addressed for some serious reasons and more than a few practical ones. 

I mean let's face it, ED or Erectile Dysfunction drugs wouldn't be nearly so popular if there weren't some serious concerns on the part of men and at least a certain amount of pressure from their women. As much as you face the fear of what might happen if you go to far to fast after a heart attack other fears intrude all to soon about how it will affect your performance, staying power and overall desire to say the least. Being totally honest here while men may bluster and scoff at hints they're anything but the greatest lover ever born the fact is when you come face to face with the understanding too much stress on your heart after a heart attack could trigger another one if you aren't ready creates some serious fears to face.

Consider this:
1) What affect did any surgery, catheritization, stents, bypass, whatever have on your ability to even have an erection much less do so without serious issues of triggering the wrong result?
2) Will this improved blood flow to the heart mean less to your privates?
3) Will the drugs they give you after a heart attack impact your ability or desire to even have sex?
4) What's the long term result of being on those drugs if they do?
5) If you do need a little pill to help you along, what about all those side affects that are coming to the fore every day?
6) Will you have to learn new ways to have sex that your partner may balk at because they aren't what she's used to doing or may necessitate doing things in ways and positions she feels uncomfortable with?
7) Will you be able to satisfy her if you can't get or maintain an erection for very long as a result of those drugs meant to save your life, the side affects such as mood changes, depression and lack of energy that she may or may not believe? 
8) If you were having problems before the heart attack, what's the likely hood she will be willing to explore any of these options now when she knows as well she could trigger something and have to deal with the guilt she'll feel if she does?
9) If you fail to perform as well as you used to will she get frustrated and stop wanting to even bother trying?

And these are just some of the more obvious ones and anyone who thinks about this for very long will come up with many of their own. 

So just how do you dance with death in such a way as you can both enjoy the intimacy your relationship desires? And more importantly how do you do so without the fear you'll go to far to soon and risk it all and not only risk serious problems including death but if that does happen, how to do so in such a way as to not leave her with any doubts as to how to deal with it? One thing is clear and a must for anyone considering this issue. TALK TO HER!!! After you talk to your Dr. about your options and what's the best route to take, tell her what you found out. Explain in detail about his recommendations, the options he explains and the best road to explore until you get back to full speed. This eliminates a LOT of misunderstanding, guess work and frustration for both of you. Look it's win/win to go into as much detail as you can so she knows what to do, what to expect and how long it will take. 

In many ways this is a slow and steady dance with the lights low, soft music playing while you touch, feel and hold each other close. Every Dr. worth his salt will recommend walking and an exercise program to build your muscles including your heart back to peak condition. And when your heart gets back to peak condition guess what else does too? You'll actually have a good head start on improving your conditioning at this point because the lack of blood flow to crucial parts of your heart and body are clear now. They just need time to heal and exercise to gain back the fiber and strength they had before. It's been proven already you can recover heart muscle damage if it's done the right way. It's a combination of nutrition, vitamins, supplements and exercise that gets you back to performing at your best soonest. This is where it takes the courage to work through those fears and realize that while you suffered a serious heart problem, you didn't die and you now have the best reasons in the world to put that fear in it's place. 


There is no 100% safe place to be in life and this is no different. So yes you can have sex and leave the dancing with death to someone who chooses to be a couch potato and live their life cowering from fear while they pull fears' blanket firmly over their heads. Hey news flash! When you begin to exercise, walk and get close with your lover you will have small cramps, twinges, and soreness. THIS IS NORMAL!!! Don't be alarmed, worried or afraid of it. This is a sign your body is working, muscles moving and it's working exactly as it's supposed to. What's one of the problems runners, exercise addicts and work outs leave you with? Cramps, twitches and soreness! You expect it when you exercise yet somehow now it's a whole different ball game? NOT! Now don't get carried away too fast is true as well. You don't try to run a marathon the first time you work out. You build up to it with your goal firmly in your mind. You learn what to do about those cramps including how best to prevent them in the first place. The burn you felt from exercise that signaled muscles reaching their limit is not a sign you're going down for the count now. It's a sign your exercise is working nothing more. 


You're going to be exercising your mind at least as much if not more than your body now because the fears in your head will be playing all sorts of tricks on you. Don't go there. Sure you still need to pay attention and play it close at first but that soon goes away as you improve. And that goes for your dance with your lover. That slowness pays off now because you'll also be discovering new things for both of you that you were more than likely rushing through before. Now that's there a reason to slow down and explore so take advantage of it. Practice new places to touch, feel and slowly let your fingers do the walking along her skin. Notice I'm explaining this from a guys point of view because I am a one! However from the ladies I've talked to this works well for them as well. It's a perfect chance for him to slow down with her and her to explore other options with him they may not have considered before.


You see if you look at this from the point of view of how many limits you have on you you'll never move beyond them. But if you look at this as a chance to slow down and smell the roses as so many people love to quote at us, you'll be more than a little surprised by what you discover along the way. You'll find out it's not a dance with death at all but a dance with life and all it's promises you passed by all too quickly before. And yes you can begin with a dance by putting the kids to bed, turning the lights down low or lighting a scented candle or two, playing some easy jazz or romantic music and d-a-n-c-e...


It's that simple. That connection and contact with no risk whatsoever except being close to the one you love after so many fears, tears of potential loss and wondering what might happen will slowly seep out of your head, down through your body, flowing through your legs and out through your feet. That's right dance bare foot on the carpet. Let it all out filter out of you for this special moment you have right now and looking forward to the many more you'll have in the future. It becomes a dance of reassurance, hope and a renewal of your closeness without saying a word. Celebrate by savoring the moment right then. Smell her hair. Feel her shoulders, her back and her face with the slow trace of your hands and fingers. Look into her eyes as someone who almost lost you. You almost lost her. You're back together now and you're going to savor every moment as you're doing now. As those fears ease in both of you let your inner confidence come forward. Slowly. Surely. Steadily. 


You'll be glad you did. She'll be glad you did. And best of all so will your heart. This kind of beginning more than any other paves the way for the fastest and smoothest recovery for both of you because it wasn't just you that had the heart attack. The ones you love and are closest to suffered as well. The more you engage them from the beginning of your recovery the faster and easier it will be for all of you. So...

...leave death to dance alone and let your healing begin with a dance of victory and rediscovery with the ones you love.



2 comments:

  1. Not at all to make light of such a serious thing, but in reading the bit about "Smell her hair. Feel her shoulders, her back and her face..." I couldn't help from thinking that more men should have heart attacks.

    In other words and as you've so clearly stated, this can be a blessing in disguise depending on how you choose to look at it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sometimes it takes something that serious to finally get the wake up call for other areas of your life to get through. I think often of the explanation I hear from many successful people. It's not the success so much as the journey I took a long the way that taught me things I'll never forget.

    Apply that to the journey of making love to a woman. Are you rushing to success and forgotten the journey that got you there? The things you learned a long the way that made you stand out from all those others? When you took it slow. Relished in the discovery of everything about her eyes, her hair, her face, her mouth, her skin, her ears. Those little tiny hairs you can barely see in unexpected places that if you tease just right give her goose bumps all over...

    So yes most emphatically it can be a blessing in disguise as any mistake can be. It all depends on how you choose to deal with it. As my last post hinted, being safe means fear wins. You allow others to limit your choices when you have more than you think available at any time. It just depends on how you want to live your life. Being safe under fears dark blanket that slowly kills you both literally and figuratively. Or do you choose to examine all your options whether they are safe or not and move forward.

    I know first hand doing much of anything right after a heart attack can scare the piss out of you at the first sign of an ache or cramp. If you stop you fade away. If you keep going you live better than before. Limits or life? How much simpler can it be?

    ReplyDelete