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Which Blood Pressure Meds Cause ED?
Episode 30916th September 2025 • Sexual Health For Men • Dr. Anne Truong
00:00:00 00:12:14

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Shownotes

Is your high blood pressure medication affecting more than just your heart?

If you’ve started noticing changes in the bedroom after being prescribed medications like amlodipine, it might not be in your head. In this episode, we take a closer look at the unexpected link between erectile dysfunction and blood pressure treatment. Could your medication be the cause, or is something else going on? We’re breaking down what you really need to know about how certain prescriptions impact your sexual health, and what steps you can take to protect it.

Tune in now for an eye-opening conversation you won’t hear at your regular check-up.

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Resources mentioned:

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For all links and resources mentioned on the show and where to subscribe to the podcast, please visit https://truongrehab.com/erectile-dysfunction-from-high-blood-pressure-medication

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Want to regain control of your sex life? It’s time to reverse the effects of ED on your life. Join the Modern Man Club and embark on your journey to complete recovery and community.

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Reveal the FREE treatment most men ignore that solves thousands of erectile dysfunction cases every year, plus the 5 biggest mistakes you must avoid if you want to say goodbye to your ED. Uncover it all in my free eBook, available to download now.

https://dranne.co/ebook

Transcripts

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This podcast is for you, the Modern Man. I'm Dr Anne Truong,

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your host. I'm an intimate health medical doctor and best

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selling author of the book, Erectile Dysfunction Fix. I'll

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do a deep dive into sexual health and performance and how

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it affects men of all ages and backgrounds. So let's get

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started, and be sure to visit my website at

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sexualhealthformenpodcast.com for more information and

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resources from the show. See you on the inside.

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Hello there, Modern Man. I'm Dr Anne Truong. I've treated over

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7000 men with ED. In today's episode, we're going to answer

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the question, "Can the high blood pressure medicine called

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amlodipine cause ED? I get this questions a lot, and I want to

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review, what is high blood pressure and what medicine that

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you take for high blood pressure that contribute to ED.

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Now, in August of 2025, American College of Cardiology, as well

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as American Heart Association, came out with new guidelines

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that will define what high blood pressure is. So normal blood

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pressure is considered 120 over 80. It used to be higher, but

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now it's lowering down to 120 over 80. And if the top number,

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which is systolic number, is higher than 120 to 129 that

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means that you are at risk for high blood pressure. You are an

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early stage of high blood pressure. That's it, even if the

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bottom number is 80 or lower. Now, if your blood pressure the

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top number is above 129 to 139 then you have high blood

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pressure. Or if your blood pressure is over 80, the bottom

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number, then you have stage one, high blood pressure. Now stage

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two high blood pressure, which is one of the more concerning,

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is anything over 140 systolic number, and then the bottom

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number is over 90. So the numbers are lower now, but

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they're finding that early intervention of high blood

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pressure can really help with longevity and death. And so it's

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more important, if you have high blood pressure, with high

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cholesterol and also with diabetes, you really need to

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manage the blood pressure.

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Now one medication tend to cause ED, and a lot of people ask

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about amlodipine. Now amlodipine, is a calcium channel

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blocker, so it lower blood pressure by releasing box

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calcium. So the evidence is mixed, and the risk appears to

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be low that it can contribute to ED. It's mixed because there was

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some study that showed that men taking amlodipine have a higher

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occurrence of sexual dysfunction, and then there's

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another study that shows that it does not. So it is a little

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mixed, but amlodipine, taken for long term, does reduce

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testosterone level as well. And in a major clinical trial, which

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is TOMHS, found amlodipine group had 26% decrease in sexual

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activity through two years. So higher than most other

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treatment. The bottom line is the comprehensive research shows

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that amlodipine does not significantly increase the risk

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of ED compared to other antihypertensive medication. So

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that's good news. It's very well tolerated. You can usually take

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it with Viagra or Cialis. You shouldn't take both of it when

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you're taking blood pressure medicine, but it does reduce

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testosterone level with long term use. So that is important

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Then the other question is, what medication tend to contribute

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to know.

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more to ED? The number one is thiazide diuretic. Medication

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that thiazide class that tend to have you go to the bathroom to

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lower your blood pressure, and they usually end with the word

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thiazide in there. The second class is called beta blocker,

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which lower your heart rate, but then, by lowering the heart

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rate, also affect your erection. So how does the diuretic affect

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your erection? So they usually go by the name of

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hydrochlorothiazide or chlorthalidone. They are the

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worst offenders for ED, research shows. Because in the landmark

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study called the TOMHS, found that men on chlorthalidone has

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26% decrease in sexual activity over two years, and men taking

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thiazide are twice as likely to have ED compared to those of

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other blood pressure medicine. And they're more than double the

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incidence of non compliance because of the side effect. Now

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I'm not saying you stop the medication. Please do not stop

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the medication. If you're on thiazide, you're on beta

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blocker, don't stop your blood pressure medicine. Always

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discuss with your doctor first. That is the most important

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thing, because if you stop your blood pressure medicine, you're

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going to start having a hypertensive episode. You're

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going to start having a heart attack. You're going to may even

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have a stroke. So do not do that without discussing with your

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doctor All right. Now, thiazide medication can also cause lower

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testosterone level because it affects the absorption of zinc,

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and it also decrease blood volume because you're urinating

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it all out, so therefore it decreases blood flow to the

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penis, and it also lower testosterone. Now the second

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offender the beta blockers, they're usually the one that end

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with -lol, like Metoprolol, Atenolol and Propranolol are the

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one that cause a higher rate of ED. Atenolol cause a little bit

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lower. Now, there's no medication called Nebivolol

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stands out as the exception and does not increase ED risk. Now,

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the beta blocker reduce blood flow by decreasing the heart

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rate and how the heart pump out the blood. But by doing that,

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the beta blocker actually interfere with the nerve signals

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needed for erection, and it can also reduce testosterone levels

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in some cases as well. And the class, like the calcium channel

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blockers, are less likely to cause ED. And another class of

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blood pressure medicines are called the ACE inhibitors, like

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lisinopril or enalapril or Angiotensin Receptor Blocker, or

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called ARB, like valsartan or losartan, have neutral effect on

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sexual function. So please talk with your doctor first before

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you do anything, and maybe your doctor can switch you over to

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something like ACE inhibitors or an ARB if you're on the thiazide

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diuretic and the beta blocker. Okay, my husband's on Atenolol

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at this point. So far, it hasn't affected his function yet. He

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also has heart issue. That's why he is on the heart medication.

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To summarize, the highest blood pressure medicine that

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contribute to ED are the thiazide diuretic, and then

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followed by beta blockers, less involved on the calcium channel

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blockers, the ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers.

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Please talk with your doctor about your blood pressure

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medicine if you feel that it's affecting your erection, and

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maybe consider a conversation with your doctor about switching

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to medication that affect erectile function the least. So,

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having said that, just know the new guidelines about the new

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high blood pressure. If you're over 120, over 80, then you have

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high blood pressure. So the guidelines are now lower.

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So how do you really treat high blood pressure? Exercise. Yes,

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in my last episode, I talked about how exercise alone is the

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one intervention that you can do to treat ED. But if you

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exercise, it will also lower your blood pressure as well. So

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you don't even have to take the blood pressure medicine. If you

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exercise, you lose weight, so you don't need to take the blood

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pressure medicine. You may even have reduce your blood sugars.

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You may not even need to take your diabetic medication as

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well. Okay? So exercise is key, followed by eating a

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Mediterranean diet, which is recommended by the American

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Heart Association for heart health as well as diabetes

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prevention as well.

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So having said that, I hope you find this episode useful, and

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look at your medication. And just know that you do not have

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to suffer with ED in silence. You do not have to suffer with

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ED on your own. And check out our Modern Man Crib here, which

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is the URL ednomore.com to check out the penis pump, which is a

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device that you can use to treat ED, along with exercise and

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along with Mediterranean diet. Check out the link to the

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Mediterranean diet here. I want to provide you with all the

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information and the tools that you need to beat ED. Most people

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do not know what to do. I am here as a resource, and my

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mission is to create a sexual revolution, to make sexual

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health information accessible and to simplify a complex issue

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to something that you can do at home to start treating your ED

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at this point. ED is treatable and it is reversible. Just know

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that you can do that. So having said that, check out the Modern

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Man Crib at ednomore.com and just know you do not have to

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suffer in silence, Modern Man. So I will see you next episode,

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and make sure you press that subscribe button and

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notification button to be alert when our next episode will come

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out. I'll see you in the next episode.

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Okay, Modern Man, you are not alone and you don't have to

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suffer anymore. ED can feel isolating, frustrating, and even

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defeating. The endless guessing, the quiet shame, the weight of

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not feeling like yourself is exhausting. But here's the

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truth, you are not broken. You are not alone. You don't have to

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figure this out alone anymore. The Get Wood Now Boost Program

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deserve. It's time to take back your power on your term. Let's

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get this journey started together. Check out the course

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at getwoodnow.com. I'll see you there.

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Thanks for listening to the Sexual Health for Men Podcast.

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If you love this episode, then please take a screenshot on your

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phone and post it on Facebook, Instagram, or wherever you post,

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and be sure to tag me and let me know why you like this episode

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and what you like to hear in the future. That will help me know

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what's great for you and I would love to give you the most

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incredible free gift designed to help you improve performance

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quickly. Go to my website at sexualhealthformenpodcast.com to

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get the book, The Five Common Costly Mistakes Men Make When

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Facing ED. I would appreciate if you subscribe, leave a review on

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Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. And just know that you

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can have sexual vitality for life. I appreciate you until

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next time.

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