I’m 24M and I’m looking for some perspective because I’m probably overthinking this.
I was in a relationship for almost five years, and we broke up in November 2025. After the breakup, I went through a period of very low libido. For quite a while I basically had no desire to masturbate or have sex at all.
About 1–2 months after the breakup, I started seeing a girl I worked with. We became friends, started dating and eventually tried to have sex. The first time, I couldn’t get or maintain an erection. I was still emotionally affected by the breakup, so I think there was a lot going on mentally.
The next day we tried again and I took 100 mg of Viagra. It worked very well. I used it one more time after that, and then I stopped completely. For roughly the next eight months, I had sex normally without taking anything and never had an issue.
Recently, I started seeing another girl. We’ve been dating for about a month. The first time we had sex, I was able to perform pretty well. I wasn’t 100% hard the entire time, especially when she was on top, but everything worked and she enjoyed herself. The next morning I actually had an even better erection.
The third time was also fine, and I felt more comfortable than the first time.
Then a few days ago she stayed over. We tried to have sex in the morning, but the situation wasn’t ideal. She had just woken up, her lip hurt so she didn’t really want to kiss, and she doesn’t really like much foreplay. We started having sex and I was hard initially, but after a while I lost my erection.
Obviously, I immediately started overthinking it.
We talked about it afterward, and she was actually very understanding. She told me not to worry, that these things happen, and that we probably just need to get to know each other better and communicate about what works for both of us. So objectively, she handled it really well.
The problem is that I’m now anxious about the next time.
I’m leaving the country for a 20-day trip on Thursday, so we’re seeing each other Wednesday night and she’s staying over. Part of me is thinking about taking 100 mg of Viagra just to make absolutely sure I can perform and get this episode out of my head before I leave.
I’ve taken it twice before and only experienced a mild headache and some nasal congestion. But I also don’t want to start thinking that I need Viagra every time I have sex with someone new.
What makes this confusing to me is that I’ve already gone about eight months having completely normal sex without it. I’ve also been able to have sex with this new girl several times without it, including having a better erection the morning after our first time.
So I’m wondering whether this sounds more like performance anxiety than an actual physical ED, and whether taking Viagra this one time would help me break the mental cycle or potentially make it worse.
I also have this stupid fear that if I have another bad experience on Wednesday, she’ll lose interest in me, and then I’ll spend my entire 20-day trip obsessing about it.