My first post

[Busy Beaver]

Hello everyone. I am a 64 year old man living in Arizona 7-8 months a year, spending summers at a lake cabin in Minnesota and trying to travel for a month each year.

My wife and I retired in 2010 and sold our house in Fargo, ND. We bought a new house in AZ, about halfway between Mesa and Tucson (what we call the East Valley).

Last summer, in about July or August, I began experiencing painful erections, which I kept from discussing with my wife while we were in Minnesota, but when we moved back down to AZ in September I decided to share the news with her and move up my annual physical at the local VA clinic from January to October. The local VA doctor referred me to a urologist at the VA medical center in Tucson. I met with him in November; he diagnosed the condition as Peyronie's Disease even though I wasn't showing much curvature at that point.

He prescribed Verapamil injections and proceeded to administer an injection that day (mid November). It was quite painful for about 10 seconds but then the novocaine did its job and the pain went away. I deliberately did NOT watch the injection process ... I've always had an aversion to needles. I developed a pretty ugly hematoma around the shaft just below the head of my penis, which went away after about a week.

My wife (of 39 years) and I continued to have intimate relations that no longer involve intercourse, which is painful to her since menopause about 5-6 years ago. I was still having some pain, but what was most noticeable was a curvature that was becoming more pronounced - up and to the left.

The VA doctor gave me two more injections, one in December and one in January with no apparent effect. Just prior to my scheduled February injection I learned from our health insurance company that I would be covered for Xiaflex injections (my VA doctor canceled the injection and encouraged me to try the Xiaflex and keep him informed). I got a list of nearby urologists approved by the company for treatment, which I cross referenced with certified urologists listed on the Xiaflex website. However, when I've called these doctors, their medical assistants are very reluctant to share any information about how long the doctor has been working with Xiaflex or what kind of results he has been achieving.

Now that I've read all the information on this forum before making my first post, I realize that perhaps I've been jumping too far in front of the treatment process by going to injections of Verapamil as a first step. My new plan is to document my erections with photos to establish a baseline, take some measurements, begin trying the oral treatment options and schedule a consultation with another urologist in the Tucson area or Gilbert/Chandler/Mesa area.

Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy introduction. Any advice would be welcome. Any recommendations for a qualified urologist would be welcome also. If he (I'd prefer dealing with a man) can provide solid information based on lots of experience, I'd be reassured. So far I have no problems getting an erection, but if it starts out pointing down, it's quite painful, so I have to readjust the angle; it seems to help the pain if I take a couple naproxen sodium pills an hour or so in advance of sexual intimacy with my wife.

[james1947]

Busy Beaver

A few points:
* We don't have too much success stories with Verapamil. We have a board dedicated to it.
* We have many success stories regarding Xiaflex, but you want a doctor that have success stories behind him.
* You are right you should start oral treatment first. Proposing you to read as much as you can (not too long time as early treatment gives better results) before starting a treatment.

The sentences deleted - I was thinking the wife is 39 years old. Thanks Nemo, sometimes my English falling me

James

[nemo]

James, he meant they have been married for 39 years, not that she is 39 years old.