Penis Problems - A Life Changing Diagnosis
We need to think differently about male health and well-being. Andrology isn’t a joke; it should be taken just as seriously as gynaecology. After all, a penis is a beautiful, sensitive and extra-ordinarily wonderful part of human anatomy and essential to every man’s male identity.
Living as male we’re constantly conscious of our sex: how it feels, how it reacts, how it moves, how it looks, the profile of our jeans, etc. I love it and the sperm-driven nature of our sex. To be male, infused with testosterone, is to live a life that’s sexually charged. A penis is integral to our sense of masculinity. We men cannot but experience the world with our penis and I’m just like any other guy learning to live with his penis.
So to find I have a major sexual defect is life-changing. I’m 63, live on the South Coast of England and was recently diagnosed with Peyronie’s. Discovering that something had gone radically wrong with my penis and to see its deformity when erect has been a mortifying and devastating experience.
I’ve always loved having a penis so, since puberty, I’ve made full use of frequent erections and very much enjoyed everything that being male entails. I masturbate a lot and have sex with both male and female friends, even though I’m gay and am in a long-term relationship.
My male friends are married guys who simply enjoy male company for what it is (as long as their mates don’t find out!). My female friends are equally excited about having full-on penetrative penis/vagina sex to mutual orgasm and impregnating ejaculation with their gay male friend. So, naturally my penis is an essential character in my friendships and in how I feel about myself as a man.
I met a mate for a naked day together. As I was giving him a lingam massage I looked down at my own erection and was horrified to see a big depression towards the base of my shaft on the right side and what looked to be a narrowing darker band around the base of my penis. The radical change in my penis seemed to have happened almost overnight. I was terrified he’d notice my new deformity.
Knowing how the penis works, I thought I had a serious vascular problem and immediately saw my GP. He had no idea what the condition was when I described it (he didn’t examine me but instead asked me to take some pictures of my erection) and then referred me to a urology clinic.
A surgeon confirmed Peyronie’s disease on examination and referred me for lithotripsy treatment. I undertook this over a period of three months but found that it had no beneficial effect. In fact the condition deteriorated, my penis-bend to the right became more pronounced, the band of narrowing tightened, and another lump of plaque developed on the left of my penis shaft, half-way up. Even worse, I also lost about an inch and a half in my fully erect length. I used to have a 7.5 inch erection.
One good thing is that I’ve never noticed any pain in my penis when I’ve had erection, or when I've entered and been inside a woman, or when I’ve masturbated on my own or with my male mates.
Peyronie’s has had a devastating effect. My erections are no longer stable and I feel acutely embarrassed about how I look when sexually aroused. My penis is much shorter, is kinked to the right and has a twist when erect. Consequently, it’s like sex has dropped off a cliff and I’m even almost afraid to see my erect penis when I need to masturbate and feel the deformities in my shaft.
The local consultant, who said I must have some Viking blood in me, has now referred me onto one of Europe’s leading specialists and I’m currently following his advice to use vacuum therapy to stretch the tissues in my penis. He’s also prescribed sildenafil to help maintain erections and I now try to have frequent erections to engorge and improve the blood flow in my penis. If this helps break-down the plaque then that’s a genuine benefit. If at all possible, I’m anxious to avoid surgery. I just would love to regain the joy of my manhood.
Is there something about Peyronie’s that is linked to Viking ancestry? Is there a defective gene carried through the ‘y’ chromosome perhaps? My blood group is also A+ and I read somewhere that this is often a precursor to developing Peyronie’s.
It’s just so difficult to express how life-changing this male condition can be. We all want something better for our penis – I just want it to be as it was, with its natural imperfections, so it can continue to bring joy and pleasure to my friends and to me.
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