Peyronie’s Sex Problems Can Be Helped
Sexual intercourse and Peyronie’s disease
The heat of a sexual relationship is a chemical (hormonal) reaction, and over time it can fade unless a couple takes measures to prevent that from happening. This is especially true when Peyronie’s sex difficulties must be dealt with.
Compounding the usual situation in which, over time, a couple will often experience their usual sexual heat cooling down to a comfortable glow. This is perhaps a sign of maturity of the relationship, indicating there is more than sex between them that keeps them committed and attracted to each other. Perhaps this is why some couples who deal with Peyronie’s disease sex problems actually improve their relationship, while others do not stay together.
Peyronie’s disease sex enhancing strategies
1. Let her lead you
Be the submissive one. Follow her lead. A University of Michigan study reports that female rats experience a dopamine (a pleasure and euphoria-inducing neurotransmitter chemical) boost only when they control sex. The critical point is that she is actually leading the sexual activity, not just conducting sex the way you like it to be done. If this means you both get your nails done – go for it. She will pay you back.
It seems that women really enjoy sex related to role-playing. It is reported in Men’s Health that 76 percent of women surveyed said would be interested in sexual role-playing in which the woman is in a position of authority and the man is the sexual novice she is instructing. Most popular fantasies: professor/student and nurse/patient.
2. Learn new moves
A new sex position is more than a new way to do the same old thing. ”Anything novel or exciting is likely to drive up the levels of dopamine in her brain,” says anthropologist Helen Fisher, Ph.D., author of Why We Love. Oxford University MRI scans found that learning any new motor skill – learning to ties a new knot, taking piano lessons, or some new sexual activity – stimulates the brain in the same way and the same region as those stimulated during orgasm. Therefore, a new sexual maneuver or activity will boost sexual activity and pleasure.
3. Games are fun for many reasons
Competitive games and situations in which there is a mild and healthy tension and sense of anxiety (as when competing in a game of chess or poker, or Trivial Pursuit)0 increases the dopamine levels outside the bedroom. This could increase sexual pleasure and interest in sexual activity because “Your brain can’t differentiate between the external anxiety caused by a novel situation and the internal anxiety caused by being attracted to someone,” says Victoria Zdrok, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist. “A boost outside of the bedroom can carry over for when it matters most.” This happens because competition promotes the release of the sex drive-boosting hormone, testosterone.
4. Start all over
Approach your sexual activity as thought it was your first date. “If you’ve learned how to pleasure her, it’s too easy to forget about foreplay and all the other things that keep sex fresh,” says Debbie Herbenick, Ph.D., a Men’s Health sex advisor.
To heighten the foreplay experience, do this: First, take a 3-day sex break to heighten sexual tension and anticipation. This will cause dopamine to collect in the brain. Next, spend an evening just necking like two teenagers, and keep your clothes on to increase the sense of anticipation. This will cause an increase of dopamine in the body without a way of release. Third, wait two days and spend another evening only touching each other sensually any where you want – except the genitals.
Then, wait another two days with no physical or sexual contact. The fifth step is to spend another evening using only your lips to stimulate and touch each other sensually any where you want – except the genitals. Without sexual release and continued sexual stimulation over this prolonged time period, your dopamine levels will be sky high. In addition both of your testosterone levels will be higher than usual, leading to explosive sex and heighten sexual sensations when you finally do engage in full wonderful sexual contact.
5. Massage message
Stimulate her body to increase her levels of oxytocin. This is the hormone that battles stress, increases sexual arousal, creates a bonding affect between sexual partners.
Physical contact – such as kissing, cuddling and deep muscles massage – unleash oxytocin in her body. The best time to do this is after sexual activity. The more time and tenderness involved in giving physical contact AFTER sex, the better your bonds will be. It is certainly possible for your relationship to improve in spite of your Peyronie’s disease.
6. Nostalgia has benefits in bed
Discussing the early part of your relationship, from the first date to your honeymoon, is not just an exercise in nostalgia. With the simple act of revisiting old memories when romance and sexual passion were fresh and strong will stimulate the hormone norepinephrine. This is a brain hormone that highlights and intensifies those sexual memories. “You’ll unlock her passion,” says sex therapist Laura Berman, Ph.D., director of the Berman Center in Chicago, “and intensify the new memories you’re making, too.”
When you use these simple and easy methods to stir hormone activity in the body the net affect will be to reduce your Peyronie’s sex problem. Add to that an aggressive and faithfully followed Peyronie’s disease treatment plan and you will find yourself feeling better about a lot of things.
My Penis is Curved
How to straighten a penis
What a shock when you realize, “My penis is curved. How did that happen, and what is going on down there? And the most important question to Google, How to straighten my penis?”
While there are several other causes of a curved penis to suddenly happen, the most common one, and the most difficult one to deal with is Peyronie’s disease. Peyronie’s disease is a condition that occurs in about 6-10% of men over the age of 40 (although it can affect teenagers and men in their early 20s) in which a dense and thick mass of fibrous tissue, called a Peyronie’s plaque or scar, is found within the tunica albuginea layer on the inside of the penis. The presence of a nodule or band of fibrous tissue under the skin of the penis will prevent the normal expansion of the chambers of the penis during an erection. This causes the erection to be distorted resulting in a curve, bend, hinge, hourglass or bottleneck distortion.
To assist you to determine if you have PD, please visit Peyronie’s symptoms and check out some of the Peyronie’s pictures of curved penis. It is necessary for anyone who thinks he might have Peyronie’s disease to go to his doctor to have a complete examination so an accurate diagnosis can be made. Do not make the mistake to think you can self-diagnose this problem.
It is important to remember that the problem of Peyronie’s disease is not that you have a curved penis. The problem is actually the Peyronie’s scar that is present within the deep tissue of the tunica albuginea causing incomplete filling of the penile chambers, resulting in the curved penis that got your attention. For this reason any treatment that is directed solely at trying to make the penis straight without removing or eliminating the PD plaque will not be successful.
While the Peyronie’s Disease Institute does not take a position against Peyronie’s surgery, we feel too many men resort to penis surgery far too soon before trying conservative treatment. If a man knows he has Peyronie’s disease he should also know the problem is that his body produced excessive scar tissue or plaque in response to a small injury or inflammation of the deep penile tissue layer. What does he assume will happen to that same tissue when a surgeon cuts that same tissue and also tugs on it, stretches it, and put stitches into it during the course of Peyronie’s surgery? There is a very good chance that more excessive scar tissue will result. This is why many urologists and surgeons take a position against all Peyronie’s surgery.
Since 2002 the Peyronie’s Disease Institute has educated men about the use of Alternative Medicine to assist the body to heal the Peyronie’s plaque. Fifty percent of men naturally recover from Peyronie’s disease without any help or outside intervention; the problem just goes away on its own like any other health problem should. Our approach is to assist each man to enable his body to heal naturally like those in that lucky 50% group.
So if you are one of us who has said in shock, “My penis is curved,” you now know what to do about it. Learn more about Peyronie’s disease treatment with Alternative Medicine. Another good source of information is the Peyronie’s Disease Handbook.
Viagra, Cialis and Levitra Use with Peyronie’s Disease
Peyronie’s treatment using erection producing drugs
The erectile dysfunction and soft erections associated with Peyronie’s disease are sometimes treated with Viagra, an erection causing drug made by the Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company. The information about Viagra duplicated in this blog post is written by Pfizer about Viagra, in relation to Peyronie’s disease. The basic information presented by Pfizer is essentially true for other erection producing drugs, like Cialis and Levitra.
Here is the Viagra drug information from Pfizer, found their website. I have removed a considerable amount of technical Viagra information that does not apply to Peyronie’s disease to make it easier to find what you need to know. Notice the section below that I have put in bold and underlined.
PRECAUTIONS
General
The evaluation of erectile dysfunction should include a determination of potential underlying causes and the identification of appropriate treatment following a complete medical assessment.
Before prescribing VIAGRA, it is important to note the following:
The safety of VIAGRA is unknown in patients with bleeding disorders and patients with active peptic ulceration.
VIAGRA should be used with caution in patients with anatomical deformation of the penis (such as angulation, cavernosal fibrosis or Peyronie’s disease), or in patients who have conditions which may predispose them to priapism (such as sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, or leukemia).
The safety and efficacy of combinations of VIAGRA with other treatments for erectile
dysfunction have not been studied. Therefore, the use of such combinations is not recommended.
In humans, VIAGRA has no effect on bleeding time when taken alone or with aspirin. In vitro studies with human platelets indicate that sildenafil potentiates the antiaggregatory effect of sodium nitroprusside (a nitric oxide donor). The combination of heparin and VIAGRA had an additive effect on bleeding time in the anesthetized rabbit, but this interaction has not been studied in humans.
Use of any drug to assist erections in Peyronie’s disease
It is my opinion that any man who is undergoing Peyronie’s disease treatment is taking a huge risk to use any of these erection producing drugs because it has been my observation and experience in talking to hundreds of men about their Peyronies problem, that these drugs can injure the penis and actually start Peyronie’s disease, make it worse, or possibly delay or interfere with your effort to try to heal your Peyronie’s plaque. This happens because of the damage done by the surprisingly strong and uncontrollable erections these drugs can create.
With the use of these drugs it is possible that the forced erections they cause can place great internal stress within the penis that can injure the delicate tunica albuginea. The erections created by these drugs can be indeed super-erections, greater than what a man normally experiences.
I have had a number of men tell me they are convinced their Peyronie’s disease started after using Viagra, Cialis, etc. I am confident that at a later time we will start to hear reports about more side-effects of these medications. This should not be so difficult to believe when you can read for yourself that the drug manufacturer is already warning men in particular with Peyronie’s disease to be cautious about its use.
Peyronie’s disease aggravated easily
Super-charging an erection is not the way the body was designed to be used.
What if you could take a drug that would enable you to lift a ton of weight above your head and keep it there for an hour? Nice trick, very impressive, but your body is not built to take that kind of pressure to the muscles, ligaments, joints, bones and blood vessels. A trick like that would cause great damage to internal organs, your spine, blood vessels, all major joints, etc. Simply put, “It just ain’t natural.” Same with these erection drugs like Levitra and Viagra. The increased pressure created by these medications can be very damaging to the delicate tunica albuginea, and can result in or worsen a case of PD.
What would happen to your car tires if you happened to over-inflate them with 100 pounds of air pressure, even though they were built to take just 40 pounds of pressure? You would be running the risk of damage to the internal structure of tire, wouldn’t you? Of course. The same thing can happen if the penis is over-inflated and then given a “rough ride.” This is where the problems start, and this is what I want to bring to your attention.
Viagra, Cialis and Levitra are not a Peyronie’s treatment
It is very likely that the MDs who prescribe these medications to men with Peyronie’s disease will not agree with this thinking. MDs tend to favor a chemical “fix” to most problems, so you would tend to expect a natural and automatic prejudice from an MD to use drugs to solve most problems.
If you have taken Cialis or any other erection producing drug because it was prescribed for you, and you mention this information to your MD, what do you suppose he or she will say? Well, the first thing you must consider is that this information indicates that your doctor prescribed something for you that was not safe or appropriate. The natural reaction would be for your doctor to immediately defend her decision. That makes sense. It is not my intention to make trouble for your doctor, she was only doing what she thought was best for you. It is my intention for you to independently think about these things and see if they make sense to you, the owner of the penis that could become injured. Do more research on your own, then talk to your doctor. This way you are armed with both sides of the story.
It is my further intention to prevent you from injuring yourself further with these erection producing drugs.
A penis that is predisposed to Peyronies in the first place cannot tolerate the kind of stress that these erections drugs create. It is just like someone with asthma cannot tolerate dust, odors or smoke that does not bother other people. If you already have Peyronies you should do everything you can to avoid any kind of stress to this tissue, including avoidance of erection producing drugs.
I talk to a lot of men who are given a prescription for Viagra, etc. to help their sexual difficulty, and they instinctively know that this treatment does not make sense to them. Yet, they are tempted to use the drug because of the promise of improved sexual performance; besides, they are also tempted because they feel, “Heck, my doctor would not do anything to hurt me, maybe it is OK to do.” I would agree, your doctor would not want to hurt you intentionally. Yet, we all know that tens of thousands of people are hurt each year by drugs that are given with good intentions and bad consequences.
In addition, I have talked to many men who have reported to me that they used these erections drugs many times, maybe for several months, with absolutely no problem. The erections were “normal” and controllable, and everything was fine, and the sex was great. Then, one night, one time, they took that same drug in the same way, and they got an erection that was unbelievably hard and huge, and they thought they were going to explode. It scared the devil out of both partners. A few days or weeks later – a curved penis and Peyronie’s disease developed.
If you attempt to think independently and logically about what might happen to your Peyronie’s disease when these drugs are used, you should have no trouble understanding how this could work against you. If your doctor can convince you that they are perfectly safe, then you should do what your doctor says to do. Just remember, who that penis is attached to if a tragedy happens. Your doctor will shrug his shoulders; you will have a worse case of PD.
My opinion is that the use of Viagra and similar erection drugs could easily be worsening the very problem you are attempting to heal. The use of these drugs represents a calculated risk that you are taking, and you should be aware of it.
Please write a comment or question about this article if you want to know more about Peyronie’s disease treatment with Viagra, Levitra or Cialis.
How to Increase Peyronie’s Natural Recovery
Peyronie’s natural treatment is not like using drugs
“What is the very best way to treat my Peyronie’s disease?” That is the million-dollar question, my friend.
When I developed Peyronie’s disease in 2002, my basic strategy for recovery was this: 50% of men get over their Peyronie’s disease without any outside help – in effect they experience a Peyronie’s disease natural cure. If this is true – and it is – then it seems most logical to do everything possible to increase my ability to heal my problem like the men in that lucky 50% group.
Even from the start I felt like my Peyronie’s disease it was a problem I could beat since the odds for recovery are good at 50/50. All I had to do was consistently support and promote my natural ability to heal in this particular area of the body over a period of time, knowing that this would increase the capability of my body to heal itself. I believed then – and know now – that Peyronie’s natural treatment is often just a matter of time and persistence.
I studied the problem of Peyronie’s disease diligently, I worked even harder, I was always faithful to my plan, and I used myself as a guinea pig for every idea that seemed to have merit. In less than six months I was free of all traces of the PD scar, all penile distortion was gone, and all lost dimensions returned. I succeeded.
How to increase Peyronie’s disease natural healing
Everyone comes to the PDI website expecting to see a clear and direct answer, a logical 1-2-3 set of instructions that explains how I beat my Peyronie’s disease, and how you can do it also. But, that is not the way it works. There are no magic 1-2-3 steps to success. Each case of PD is as different as the man who has the problem. Therefore, every man must work out his own Peyronie’s treatment plan – using all the information and ideas I can supply to you. The lack of specific treatment rules is what frustrates men with PD – as if they do not have enough to be frustrated about already! But that is just the way it is.
The entire PDI website (if you printed it out, you would have over 400 pages of information), is devoted to Peyronie’s natural treatment. Even so, all I can give to you is an outline and the basic ideas of how to increase your ability to heal and repair the Peyronie’s plaque. The “Peyronie’s Disease Handbook” is essential in your recovery from PD; it explains in great detail how to monitor and define the size, shape, density and surface quality of your scar(s) – the most important skill you can develop to speed your recovery. While I freely offer you whatever guidance and ideas you might need, and answer all your questions based on considerable experience with Peyronie’s disease natural treatment, you are still in charge of the way you treat yourself. This is the way it must be because you must monitor the size, shape, density and surface qualities of your scar(s) to directly judge how your body is responding to your treatment plan.
I present the basic ideas of Peyronie’s treatment, but you must jump in and do your best to determine which of these ideas works best for you. This is not an exact science, and these are not drugs used for treatment with exact dosages.
For most men it often comes down to deciding how much time and energy you have available to treat your PD each day, and how much money you can afford to spend each month; this is realistic. You might want to do much more for yourself, but can only afford a little. Do your best – whatever that is. Men who get the best results are those who do the most to increase their ability to heal. Do as much as you can to get this problem behind you. Many do very well with the Medium Plan, or some variation of it. Maybe that will be a good way to start your recovery from PD.
I get reports of success and progress weekly from men who use this approach for Peyronie’s natural treatment. You will only know if it can help you if you give yourself a chance. I will help you in any way I can to be successful.
What is Peyronie’s Disease?
Not all definitions of Peyronie’s disease are honest or correct
Great question, “What is Peyronie’s Disease?” However, an accurate and honest answer is not always easy to find. If you are one of the hundreds of new people each day who surf the Internet for an answer to this question, you need to pay attention to the kind of answer you might run across.
In my experience it is common to receive an incorrect answer when it is provided by someone who only wants to sell you something, like a magic herb or a manual penis stretcher. When a salesperson is the source of your information the answer will often minimize Peyronies by oversimplifying the real problem to the point the answer is not truthful.
The reason that someone will intentionally give you this false information is easy to understand. If Peyronie’s disease can be made to sound like a simple problem, then a simple solution can be more easily presented to you in a believable way – and the more likely you will buy a product if the problem and solution sound uncomplicated and straightforward.
The usual short (and false) answer you will see to this question is, “Peyronie’s disease is a curved penis.” This is almost like saying that Peyronie’s disease is no more complicated than a bent paperclip. All you have to do is straighten out the paperclip – and we all know how easy that is to do – and you are as good as new.
What you must understand is that the bent penis of Peyronie’s disease is just a symptom of what is wrong. The penile curvature is not the problem, it is just a sign of the real problem. What is causing the penis to curve is the actual problem that must be addressed.
If you have pneumonia, you will probably have a nasty cough. But, it is not correct – or helpful – to say, “Pneumonia is a cough.” If the problem was presented to you like that, and you believed it, then someone could sell you a cough suppressant as a cure for pneumonia. You would believe that stopping the cough is all you have to do. The truth is that the cough is just an outward sign of a deeper problem. To address your pneumonia correctly you must do what is necessary to help your body reduce and remove the lung infection, the inflammatory response that occurs because of an invasion of foreign bacteria, and the cough – and the pneumonia – will no longer be an issue. The cough is just a sign of the pneumonia, it is not pneumonia – just as a curved penis is a sign of Peyronie’s disease, but it is not the problem. The bent penis is just an outward sign of a Peyronie’s plaque or scar tissue within the tunica albuginea interfering with the normal filling of the corpora cavernosa, resulting in a bent or distorted erection. No mechanical penis stretcher or mystery herb from Afghanistan will eliminate the PD plaque.
So, what is Peyronie’s disease?
Peyronie’s disease is a problem with no known cause and no known medical cure in which the presence of a dense fibrous nodule or band in the tunica albuginea layer of the penis causes a variable degrees of pain, penile distortion during erection, reduced sexual function, and loss of physical size in length and girth.
If the explanation, “Peyronie’s disease is a bend in the penis” makes you think it is just like a wrinkle in your shirt that can be ironed out – then you are ready to accept the notion that pulling on the bent penis can magically remove that kink. If it were only that simple and worked that well.
You will notice that none of the advertisements for the magical herbs or mechanical penis stretchers explain how they work. The reason there is no explanation is because they do not affect the Peyronie’s plaque, which is at the heart of Peyronie’s disease.
For additional discussion to the question, “What is Peyronie’s disease?” please go to Peyronie’s disease discussion.
Penis Surgery to Treat Peyronie’s Plaque
Peyronie’s surgery from correction to amputation
It is not uncommon for a man to learn that he has Peyronie’s disease and to have his doctor immediately recommend penis surgery to attempt to remove the Peyronie’s plaque or straightened his curved penis.
When faced with even a mild degree of penis curvature someone might think that penile surgery is the only treatment option. It seems to me from my perspective in talking to a dozen men each week about their history with Peyronie’s disease that many of them are given strong pressure to have surgery far too early in the process.
It seems they are not being told that many who undergo penis surgery end up with numerous side effects like pain, numbness or loss of all sensation of the penis, additional loss of length and girth greater than their PD gave to them, greater curvature than their PD gave to them, and total impotence. I frequently communicate with men who have more pain, distortion and loss of sexual ability after penile surgery than before it.
In a desperate effort to satisfy their sexual partner, and under false expectation of how easy and safe the surgery will be, men sometimes make matters worse with Peyronie’s disease surgery. Worse yet, it often happens that a man will have a second Peyronie’s surgery to correct the errors and problems created by the first Peyronie’s surgery – only to have even greater problems after the second surgical attempt.
Peyronie’s surgery to the extreme
The worse case of failed Peyronie’s disease surgery I ever spoke to occurred sometime in 2006. I received a phone call from a man who asked if I guaranteed the treatment we present in the PDI website. I told him that no medical procedure or therapy is ever guaranteed – even aspirin. I said there is no such thing as a medical guarantee provided anywhere in the world because of the complexity of human physiology. I asked him why he was interested in a guarantee. He said he was desperate for something to help his terribly curved penis that had gotten progressively worse after each of three separate penis surgeries. He said he was scheduled to have his fourth penis surgery in two weeks, but he would cancel that surgery if I could give him a guarantee that the PDI process would correct his problem. I told him I was sorry that I could not make such a guarantee, and said I doubted his surgeon was going to guarantee the next operation. He corrected me. He told me that the next surgery was going to “fix’ his problem because the next operation was for the surgeon to amputate – completely cut off – his penis!
He went on to explain that his penis was now just a tiny two inch mass of twisted scar tissue; he had no feeling in his penis; for the last two years when he urinated he would get his abdomen wet; his wife was long gone and he felt that suicide was his only other option, so having his penis cut off made sense to him.
I was shocked. Just as I was starting to explain that I could not guarantee his results at this late stage in his problem I heard a click, and the phone was silent. The entire conversation took less than five minutes, but it was the most powerful discussion I have ever had with any of my Peyronie’s men. I will never forget the empty and desperate tone of his voice.
Penis surgery for a man who already has Peyronie’s disease presents a greater risk than for someone who does not have a Peyronies problem:
- High degree contracture due to fibrous tissue buildup, resulting in greater curvature than prior to surgery.
- Greater chance for numbness or total loss of sensation, or Peyronie’s pain,
- Greater chance for impotence.
Start with conservative Peyronie’s treatment, then penis surgery if it fails
I am not saying that a bad outcome will happen to all men who have Peyronie’s surgery, but it can and does happen so the possibility should be clearly kept in mind before rushing into surgery. Every day I hear from men who tell me their doctor on the first visit suggested penis surgery to “correct” their Peyronie’s disease.
It is my opinion that it is safer and wiser to take a more conservative route of care using the Alternative Medicine form of natural Peyronie’s treatment options that have been presented here since 2002, before considering surgery.
Difficulty Finding the Peyronie’s Plaque
Peyronie’s disease plaque
Let’s clear up the confusion about the Peyronie’s plaque, the fibrous scar-like tissue that is the most common characteristic of Peyronie’s disease. Many people when reading “scar” automatically think they should see it on the skin surface; for this reason I prefer the term Peyronie’s plaque.
Peyronie’s plaque is usually a flat or slightly elevated mass of fibrous tissue just under the skin, in a thin but tough membrane of the penis known as the tunica albuginea. Sometimes it is cord-like or nodular, but usually it lies flat making it difficult to locate.
Peyronie’s plaque is not in any way related to plaque material that line artery walls. It is benign, meaning it is not cancerous and it is not a tumor. Peyronie’s disease and this fibrous material is not in any way contagious, and is not in any way the result of any transmittable disease or microorganism – thus there is no way for a sexual partner to “catch’ the Peyronie’s plaque.
The mystery of Peyronie’s disease
For a male health problem that affects up to nine percent of the adult population, it is amazing that practically no man ever hears about PD until the day he is given the diagnosis. It is this shock – a “mystery” condition that comes out of the blue, for which there is no known cause and no known cure that can wreck a man’s life. While caught off guard, totally confused and shocked upon first learning about Peyronie’s disease, a man is often does not ask all the standard questions and does not remember the information as he receives his diagnosis.
With so many details pouring into his ears, and so many questions rolling around in this brain, it is easy to understand why a man can leave his doctors office and not remember much about the mystery condition. Even the doctor’s explanation about a Peyronie’s plaque can become confused, making it sound like it is related to the blood vessels.
Location of Peyronie’s plaque suggested by penile curvature
You can usually count on finding your internal plaque on the concave part of a curved penis. If a plaque is located on the topside of the penile shaft (the most common location), the penis will bend upward. A plaque on the underside causes a downward penile curvature. A plaque on the left lateral side of the penis causes a curvature to the left, and a Peyronie’s plaque on the right lateral side of the penis causes a curvature to the right.
Many times a distortion develops on both top and side, or top and bottom, resulting in twists, hourglass deformities or indentation, even shortening of the penis.
Peyronies plaque is elusive
Each week I receive emails asking, “Since my doctor examined me and could not find any Peyronie’s plaque material, and I cannot see a scar, do you think I really have Peyronie’s disease?”
There is never an EXTERNAL scar or plaque in Peyronie’s disease that can be seen. The Peyronie’s plaque is always an internal mass of fibrous tissue that is sometimes called a scar, but is not a scar in the usual sense. Peyronie’s plaques or ‘scars” are only sometimes obvious, while at other times they cannot be found if a person’s life depended on it. Ultimately, if you have Peyronie’s disease you must assume it is there and you should try as many different tactics as you can to find your scar(s) because having a clear and accurate information will help your Peyronie’s disease treatment effort.
To find the internal Peyronie’s plaque, sometimes it is helpful to think about it being much larger than you have previously imagined; mentally expand the size of the scar you are looking for. If you were looking for a “pea” before and couldn’t find it, start looking for a “postage stamp” or a “thumb nail” size structure. This change of the mental image increases your odds to detect it.
When the plaque cannot be located, but there is still pain and distortion of any kind, a diagnosis of PD can still be made. This is so because the fibrous plaque can be so:
1. Small – it cannot be found
2. Soft – it blends into the other tissue and cannot be detected
3. Deep – it cannot be reached easily
4. Large and flat – that the edges are not determined, almost like something that is so close to you that you do not see it because you are looking far away
When plaque is never found it is because of a combination of two or more of these factors – deep and small, or soft, large and flat, or deep, soft and doctor error, and so on.
It is common to have difficulty locating the plaque for the first time. Sometimes it is best to forget about finding a “scar.” Instead just try to find something – anything – within the mass of erectile tissue that feels unlike the other tissue. Finding something unlike the rest of the penis tissue will help define the problem tissue that can be difficult to locate. It might be you have an unreasonable expectation of what a “scar” or Peyronie’s plaque should feel like, making it easy to miss what is rather obvious to someone else with experience in this regard.
After an unusual tissue is found, mark its location on the penis with a marker pen or something that will stay on the skin for a few days. Return to that location each day to re-evaluate it. You want to determine if it becomes easier to make sense of it, so you can monitor it during your Peyronie’s treatment.
Curved penis and Peyronie’s Disease
Can a curved penis be normal?
One of the common questions I am asked is if a lifelong curved penis could be Peyronie’s disease. The fast answer is that not all penile curvature or bends are abnormal, or even a problem. If you have had a bent penis all your life it is probably not PD.
To help readers make sense of the situation, a longer answer is that a curved penis might indicate Peyronie’s disease under these two basic situations:
- Curved penis that occurs with other signs and symptoms:
A. Pain – the pain of Peyronie’s disease can be variable
i. Constant
ii. Only when erect
iii. Only when non-erect
iv. Occasional
B. Nodule or chord of fibrous tissue (Peyronie’s plaque) present somewhere under the surface of the shaft, usually located on the concave side of the curved penis C. Penile curvature, bend or distortion not present earlier
D. Loss of sexual function - Sudden appearance of penile distortion or bend that was not present earlier in life
Causes of a normally curved penis
Everyone has some degree of difference or asymmetry between one side of the body and the other. I can just about be 100% certain that if you looked into a mirror you would notice not one, but many, differences in the appearance of your face:
- One eye shaped differently than the other.
- Wrinkles around the mouth or eyes that are different on one side of the face than the other.
- Nose and nostrils not even on the face.
- Mouth crooked.
- Center of chin not lined up with the tip of the nose or the space between the eyes.
- Ears shaped differently.
- Cheek bones not curved the same.
While all of this relates to the face, but can also be said of the hands, feet, legs, abdomen – or penis. All parts of our body demonstrate slight irregularities and imperfections that make us human. These are the small and unimportant things that make us unique individuals.
Inside the penis are three long tubular chambers that contain erectile tissue – one corpora spongeosa and two corpora cavernosa. If there is any difference in the length, width or straightness of these three chambers it will result in an erection that is curved or imbalanced in some way.
When a small boy first notices his erections he accepts them for what they are. Later he begins to question and wonder if he is as good as other people, and does not like being different from other people who he assumes are all perfect. Don’t allow a curved penis to become more than what it is.
It would be a good idea to have your curved penis evaluated by a doctor who has experience in this area if you also have recently started to have pain, a nodule or mass of fibrous tissue, and/or reduced sexual ability.
Your curved penis may or may not be Peyronie’s disease, therefor this diagnosis is always best left to the experts.
Visit the Peyronie’s Disease Institute website for information about the Peyronie’s disease natural treatments.
Peyronie’s Disease and Masturbation
Masturbation prominently factors into Peyronie’s disease either as a cause of PD, or later as a man attempts to cope with his curved penis.
Masturbation is the self-stimulation of the female or male genitals to arouse sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm or sexual climax. It is commonly performed by touching, stroking, or in some way pleasurably stimulating the penis or clitoris until orgasm occurs.
Peyronie’s disease intersects with masturbation in particular for several reasons:
- Older boys and men of all ages can injure themselves during rough masturbation rituals with the potential to lead to Peyronie’s disease, especially if genetically predisposed.
- Men who are unable or too embarrassed to expose their deformity to their sexual partner often resort to masturbation to release sexual tension.
- Men who are unable to engage in sexual intercourse because of severe penile distortions can receive masturbation from them partner as a way to share sexual pleasure, as a substitute for traditional intercourse.
- Women who are denied sexual intercourse because of a partner’s severe penile distortion or erectile dysfunction related to Peyronie’s disease can be masturbated as a way to share sexual pleasure, as a substitute for traditional intercourse.
- Women who are denied sexual intercourse because of her partner’s emotional and physical withdrawal, thus isolated from the man with Peyronie’s disease, can use masturbation to release sexual tension while he is working out his own problems.
General masturbation comments
At one time or another or all life long, just about everyone masturbates – male and female. It is an extremely common behavior, even among people with access to sexual intercourse and other erotic outlets with a partner. While in one national study 95% of males and 89% of females reported they have masturbated, those who reported they had never masturbated admitted they would be reluctant to admit it if they did – thus these numbers are probably low.
For young children masturbation is a normal part of youthful exploration, becoming the first sexual act. Most people continue to masturbate in adulthood, and many do so throughout their lives. The most common explanation given why people limit or avoid masturbation is the shame and guilt that arises from religious and societal pressure.
Once regarded as a perversion and sign of a mental problem, masturbation is now seen as a normal, healthy sexual activity that is pleasant, fulfilling, acceptable, and safe. Masturbation is only considered a problem under certain circumstances:
- Directly or indirectly inhibits sexual activity with a partner.
- Causes significant distress if done compulsively and uncontrollably, against the greater desire of the individual to stop.
- Interferes with daily activities of life.
- Compulsively done in public or at socially inappropriate times.
No longer considered as being harmful, masturbation is thought to improve sexual health and interpersonal relationships if after learning what is personally pleasurable this knowledge is shared with a partner. Especially in the situation of Peyronie’s disease many partners use mutual masturbation to develop and refine techniques for a more satisfying sexual relationship, when more traditional sexual outlets are not an option.
Masturbation can contribute to sexual dysfunction in Peyronie’s disease
Men who habitually masturbate in ways that are not common with a sex partner – employing mechanical measures that produce an unusually intense stimulus, stroking with great pressure or unnatural friction – can become so accustomed and dependent on that particular level or type of stimulus that partner-sex becomes insufficient for sexual arousal and leads to retarded ejaculation. When a man experiences this sexual dysfunction he finds it difficult or even impossible to climax during more conventional partnered sex.
Michael A. Perelman, PhD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry, reproductive medicine, and urology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City and the president of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research states, “Any man experiencing any sexual dysfunction should ask himself if he’s masturbating in ways that produce sensations that differ from those he gets from his partner’s hand, mouth, or vagina. If so, then he should consider what he could say to her to make the stimulation more similar — and how he could change the way he masturbates to make it feel more similar to what his partner does.”
Safe masturbation in Peyronie’s disease
Generally, the best and safest masturbation you can enjoy by yourself or with a partner is that which is most like vaginal stimulation. This can be as simple as using the hand in a fist to surround the erection while applying upward and downward stroking, oral stimulus, or sex toys that feel like a vagina. This kind of masturbation is therapeutic once the Peyronie’s curvature has been corrected and more traditional sexual encounters can be enjoyed once again.
Lastly, because penile injury is thought to be a prime cause of Peyronie’s disease, it is mandatory that all masturbation be gentle and well lubricated to avoid worsening of an already bad situation. For more information, click on “Peyronie’s Disease and Sex.”
Peyronie’s Symptoms
Do I have Peyronie’s disease?
When someone asks about Peyronie’s disease symptoms they usually want to know if they have Peyronie’s disease. This is a diagnosis that is not always easy to make, since the actual signs and symptoms of Peyronie’s disease can be tricky at times.
In order to answer this question it is first important to remember that a symptom is something a person feels or experiences inside, meaning it is subjective. A symptom is what someone experiences as a result or during an illness, injury or disease. Symptoms can include chills, Peyronie’s pain, shaking, shivering, nausea, or dizziness. Symptoms are reported by the patient to help a doctor diagnose a problem.
In the case of Peyronie’s symptoms the only subjective finding would be the penile pain that can be variable; pain can be felt constantly, only when erect, only when non-erect or only when flaccid. In addition this pain can be extremely mild, very severe, or something between. Because the Peyronie’s pain is not always present – and is sometimes totally absent – it is not always a reliable way to make a diagnosis of PD.
You might say a sign is the opposite of a symptom. A sign is an outward or obvious physical indicator or manifestation of illness, injury or disease. In this way it is said that a sign is objective, since it is always something that another person can detect, measure in some way or see that helps to make a diagnosis. Some common signs are rapid pulse, elevated body temperature, low blood pressure, bleeding, a rash or open wound, bruising, to name but a few.
In the case of Peyronie’s disease, there are only a few signs or outward findings that are used to make a diagnosis. These signs can be just as variable as the Peyronie’s pain, such as the elusive Peyronie’s plaque or scar, a curved penis or some other distortion, and impotence or reduced sexual ability. Because each of these Peyronie’s signs are also not always present – and can be sometimes totally absent – it is not always a simple or easy thing to make this diagnosis.
Very often only a few Peyronie’s symptoms and signs are available to make a diagnosis, with perhaps the most common being some type of curved penis or distortion.
Click here for more information about Peyronie’s disease.