RedSunn,
It's been a long time since I've been back here, but I dug up my password b/c I wanted to leave you a message. I am/was in the same position as your son, except I'm now 23 and have been dealing with this for a long time.
I went through the usual doctors, to specialists, to fighting tooth and nail with my insurance company, and ultimately ended up at the Mayo clinic laying on an operating table for diagnostics. I've had needles stuck in it, pictures taken, a rude doc looking down on me for being so young (I was 18 at the time) and my pride entirely taken away. And I too continue to miss relationship opportunities, which is why I understand why it is SO hard particularly for young people who experience this before ever getting into a relationship. I understand. I have been there.
The first thing is, I think your son needs to be very honest about whether it is actually congenital or is peyronies disease. I say this b/c all my doc's 'diagnosed' it as 'congenital curvature' b/c of my young age (18 when I saw the docs). And b/c I had a hopelessly judgmental GP, I didn't correct him and only later did I tell the specialists/urologists that it was not congenital (And even then, I told them there was trauma, but didn't tell them how--embarassingly I had hit it on a bed while erect when I was young, ~14.) THE POINT IS congenital vs. peyronies are ENTIRELY DIFFERENTLY and first you need to find out if there was ever trauma. B/c you have to know what your dealing with. And that needs some tough honesty from him.
IF it is truly congenital, the length of 1 of the 2 spongy tubes within the penis is physically shorter than the other, most likely. This is akin to being short like Tom Cruise, there isn't much (read anything) that can really be done to make it longer. The only option for congenital (that I'm aware of at least!) is surgery such as a nesbit plication to shorten the longer side and prevent it from expanding so they are equal. Unfortunately, this takes away lot of usable length IMO, which is why I decided against it. And comes with risks like any surgery. (I literally canceled my surgery two days before it was scheduled. I came that close, but I simply KNEW in my gut that it wasn't right for me. It still makes me sick to think about. But others have had it, so see what they say.)
IF it is peyronies, then we are dealing with a scar that is not allowing one side of the penis to expand equally to the other. You can see why this needs to be approached differently. I've tried a lot of things (vitamins, infrared, traction, massage, etc.) and even read medical journal articles. Here is what I've learned from experience that helps:
1.) Use it. Achieve strong erections daily or at least every other day. The more the better. This brings blood into the tissue, which softens it and makes it more pliable, and also stretches the shorter side. (It's true penises become shorter as men age, proven fact, you truly have to use it or lose it.)
2.) Propionyl-L-Carnitine (PLC) This is very hard to find. But is the ONE supplement (aside from HGW) that truly does help. I used it after first reading about it tests in a medical journal. You'll see many, many people here talking about Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC), but ALC does virtually NOTHING compared to PLC to bring blood into the penis, which is what is needed. ALC will sharpen your mind and make you think more clearly (it's used for Alzheimer's patients and as a general supplement) but brings very little, if any, blood into the penis. PLC on the other hand, relaxes smooth muscle (e.g. muscle in your penis) and brings blood into it (I took 2g PLC daily, that is what was used in the study as well.) It brings blood into the penis even while flaccid so well that you will even feel a different 'hang' (more blood, heavier, bigger in flaccid state). THE NET EFFECT is that the blood sitting around and softening the scar tissue throughout the day, has a significant effect at making it more pliable. Then during erection, improvement in curvature can be seen. Not entirely at all, but enough to be hopeful and know PLC works. (For me, ~20-30 degree improvement, on a 90 banana-shaped curvature. Sorry for the graphic detail) Like a lot of things, this only works while you take it. And as a broke student, I ended up having to quit it b/c I couldn't afford an extra $30/month. (PLC is VERY hard to find. I found some at bulknutrition.com and capped it myself into 500mg capsules). Last, I looked, I haven't been able to find it. There is a new product called gPLC that I haven't tried yet, but may be worth a short. (gPLC is marketed to those with heart issues, as the heart is smooth muscle, just like the penis is as well. So you can see why it would work. Again, it works while you take it, but doesn't cure it and curvature will be back to normal when it is stopped. (Long term, I suspect that over many years this could permanently help curvature b/c it helps stretching into a longer state and over years (5-10+) cumulative effects would probably build up positively, I don't doubt.) Anyhow, PLC is great stuff.
3.) Horny Goat Weed (or Icarin, which is an extract of HGW) - straighter shape is guaranteed to be achieved when more blood is in the penis. HGW acts like a natural viagra and helps maintain stronger erections. If he does PLC 2g daily for two weeks, then took HGW and tested it during masturbation, I'd guaranteed that he'd see some positive improvement. HGW is helpful to take before bed for stronger nighttime erections and before any sexual activity, obviously.
4.) Massage -- So I have to explain this one. I had a scar on my arm from an injury when I really, really little. Today it is invisible. Our body's cells are constantly regenerating, old skins cells flake off, new skin rises to the top. This gives me hope, that the peyronies scar over time would be at least partially replaced with healthy cells. Also, I used to get deep tissue massages as an athlete, and the purpose is to break up scar tissue deep within the muscle fibers and release the fibers to perform better. Massaging the scar tissue between fingers very toughly (but not painfully or injuriously) should help break apart the scar tissue fibers over time. It also brings blood into the tissue, which, if you're seeing a pattern, is really truly the most (or possible only) beneficial means we have to make improvements on peyronies.
Work the scar tissue as often as you remember. Once or twice a day for 5 minutes is doable. But the more the better. You can't really overdo it. If the skin begins to hurt, back off, and I recommend using DermaE's all natural anti-scar gel on it afterwards, to keep the dermis healthy and be absolutely certain we aren't causing more scaring on the top layer. (That works REALLY well to prevent scarring BTW if you ever get a cut or scrap. Amazing stuff.)
5.) Nutrition - b/c the most modality we have IS our blood, we have to keep our bodies and blood healthy to put our bodies into a healing state. So alkaline and anti-inflammatory foods: vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, seaweeds, superfoods, fermented foods, lentils, legumes, whole grains, fish, etcetera. Avoid sugar, starch, dairy (except fermented like yogurt and keifer), red meat or excessive meat of any kind (it produces acidic byproducts during digestion). Also, supplement on vitamine-D and Omega-3. They're the two most important nutrients we're almost ALL deficient in. And if your son has even latent depression from this, they are a HUGELY beneficial at alleviating depression and will help him, or anyone, think more clearly and sharply.
6.) Cardio & strength exercises - being fit equates to having literally a higher volume of blood in our bodies. And with more blood in our system, when it's called upon for umm...recreational purposes, more blood means stronger erections. Stronger erections, means straighter erections. This is an important one.
Lastly, where I see hope for peyronies, is looking at success treating dupuytrens contractures, e.g.--needle apnuerotomy (sp?). Here is a video of a hand being cured and able to rest flat (it's hard to watch, but the result makes my heart sing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hdafYvrtJ8 This, I believe, is analogous to the Lariche technique and other 'plaque thinning' techniques for peyronies disease, which I think merits the most hope for treating peyronies.
God speed. I hope something in here helps you.
