Topic
Understanding possible treatment options for Peyronie’s Disease
May 6, 2011
I am a 57 year old male. Up until recently I enjoyed a very active sex life with several partners. While some interactions were better than others, all were pleasureable to a certain extent.
However, over time I noticed that my normally rigid and straight erections were becoming noticeably less rigid and markedly less straight. In fact, one morning I decided to “take inventory” and face facts. I noticed a double curvature!; to the left about 30% and downward about 75%. The lateral (to the left) curvature was manageable, since intercourse would still be possible, but the downward curvature really bothered me because I could not come up with any “approaches” for pleasureable intercourse (and I’m sort of a creative type!). My last several attempts at intercourse had been unsucessful to say the least, and embarrassing in the extreme. I was afraid that my sexual days were really behind me. I fell into somewhat of an emotional funk, because quite frankly I had never heard of the quick onset of what I perceived to be a malformation. I thought I was the only one, or perhaps one in a million. And who could I ask?? It’s not something you want to bring up with your best bud. And it’s not something you even want to discuss with your doctor, frankly. Heavens to Betsy, who wants to tell his doctor his penis is bending over on itself? It’s just not a conversation I could visualize having…
Well, thank goodness for the internet. I decided to start doing a bit of research on dysfunctional or malformed penises. I actually learned quite a bit more than I really wanted to, but nonetheless started seeing references to Peyronie’s Condition or Disease, along with photos that looked pretty familiar. So I thought to myself, self, apparently there are OTHERS – and quite a few to judge from the number of articles – who have this thing. And a doctor is a doctor, after all… start by bringing in an article. So that’s what I did. I showed my doctor an article about Peyronie’s, and he (perhaps noticing my discomfort level) told me that he had several patients who suffered from the same, or similar, conditions. Later I realized that he actually DID have other patients with the condition, because we started talking about treatment options and the relative success his patients had seen.
Let me say this: 2011 is as good of a time to be diagnosed with Peyronie’s as there has been ever in history! Why do I say this? Well, because there are several emerging treatment options, including treatment with interferon injections (not as painful as it sounds) as well as some other experimental approaches. I personally have had good results with Dr. Irwin Goldstein at the San Diego Sexual Medicine clinic (associated with Alvarado Hospital). After the first series of interferon injections, as well as faithfully performing the stretching exercises he taught me, I noticed a significant reduction in the penile curvature, especially the downward curvature. I just returned from having the second set of interferon injections, and am hoping to be at or near my original function. I hope I haven’t forgotten how…
So what do YOU do? The first step is to root around the internet, and find an article or two that addresses your situation. The second step is to find a physician with whom you feel comfortable in talking about these kinds of issues, by talking from the articles. Sometimes a “big city” doc may be more sophisticated or savvy, although there’s probably no hard and fast rule on that. The third step is to determine whether you can live with the problem you have, or whether you want to try to address or resolve it. And the fourth step is to review treatment options. You may find your way to Dr. Goldstein in San Diego. In my view, he and his staff are an outstanding team, probably the best in the nation for Peyronie’s. But check out the options for yourself. See what you want to do.