Symptoms Of Peyronie's Disease
The symptoms of Peyronie's can vary from one man to another. They can be relatively mild or severe. They can also develop quickly or gradually over time.
The most common Peyronie's disease symptoms include penile pain, plaque (hard lump), penis curvature (bent penis), deformed penis and even erectile dysfunction in the worst-cases.
Penis Pain
Pain in the penis is very common Peyronie's symptom, especially in the initial acute stage. It is estimated that over half of men with Peyronie's disease experience some form of penile pain.
Penis pain can be experienced with or without erection. Painful erections are though more common but they are caused by tension on the plaque as the bordering tissues expand. While pain in flaccid penis is likely to be caused by inflammation in the area where the plaque is forming.
Penis pain usually disappears on its own within 12 – 18 months, or when men reach the chronic stage, i.e. when the plaque formation stabilizes.
Penile pain is usually among the first symptoms of Peyronie's that men notice. This was the case for me. I started to get painful erections.
The penis pain was sharp and constant and seriously affected my sexual enjoyment. Fortunately, it disappeared fairly soon after I started my Peyronie's treatment.
Peyronie's Plaque
Plaque (pronounced “plak”) is a hardening scar tissue in the penis, i.e. lump (nodule) under the skin of the penis shaft.
You can usually feel the lumps. Many men first seek medical attention due to concern over these lumps. Fortunately, they are not cancerous... we definitely do not need that on top of everything else.
When I started to get concerned about the situation down there, I could feel the Peyronie's plaque upon examination.
As plaques are hardened scar tissue, they cannot stretch as unaffected tissues would during erection. This is why most men with Peyronie's disease get some sort of deformed penis / bent penis.
Deformed Penis
The most common penile deformities are curved penis, indentation, hourglass narrowing, loss of girth and penis shrinkage. You can experience one or more form of penile deformity, e.g. have bent penis and indentation.
My symptoms of Peyronie's included curved penis, the bend was clearly noticeable and made the penis feel shorter.
I did not measure it before and after my Peyronie's treatment but I estimate the penis curvature to be around 45 degrees when it was at its worst. I also developed, and still have, minor penis indentation.
The shape of your erect penis will depend on the location and the size of the plaque. Generally speaking, the larger the Peyronie's plaque, the more noticeable deformed penis you get.
The penis will bend towards the side where the plaque is located. The plaque usually occurs on the top of the penis shaft, causing the penis to bend upward during erection.
The plaque can also develop on the bottom of the penis, causing downward bent penis. The penis can also bend to the left or right, all depending on the position of the plaque.
Small plaque can cause indentation rather than penis curvature. If the plaque goes all around the penis or is present on the opposite sides, your deformed penis will get hourglass shape.
If the plaque is located farther in the penis, then shortening may be noticeable with or without an erection. Penis shrinkage can occur with or without penile curvature, i.e. your penis may stay straight but could still become shorter because of the Peyronie's disease.
Severe penile deformity will affect your sex life. Fortunately, most men with Peyronie's disease either recover enough on their own, or through treatment, to be able to live satisfying sex life.
Some might have to adjust their lovemaking temporarily (or permanently) to their changed situation but some form of Sex After Peyronie's is achievable for most men with Peyronie's.
Erectile Dysfunction
In the most severe cases, penis pain and penile deformity can lead to Erectile Dysfunction (ED), i.e. problem getting an erection.
Many men with Peyronie's experience some form of erectile dysfunction at some point, either temporarily or permanently.
There are number of possible reasons for erectile dysfunction to occur and number of ways to address most of them. Most men with Peyronie's disease do find some ways to keep intimacy alive in their relationships.
My Peyronie's Symptoms
My first symptom was pain in my penis during erection. At first, I tried to ignore it but the ache was sharp and constant, and soon started to affect my sexual enjoyment.
At similar time, I started to notice other symptoms of Peyronie's, including curvature in the penis. It was starting to bend left and upwards. When examining the penis I could feel a lump in it, which caused me some concern.
My wife quickly noticed my unusual reluctance in bed. She started asking some questions about my symptoms of Peyronie's and insisted that I would see a doctor.
For that, I'm thankful, as I now believe that starting My Peyronie's Treatment early, or during the acute phase, made a significant difference in my case.
I of course don't know for sure but I'm really glad I didn't follow my specialist advice, i.e. to wait and see and hope I would not end up with severely deformed penis.
The symptoms of Peyronie's progress during the acute stage but stabilize when you reach the chronic stage.
