Peyronie's in Japan (tentatively)

[PoorRichard]

Hello,

I am a 25 year old American living near Hiroshima, Japan.

Around the beginning of June or so, my erections have started to hurt if I press the penis down. It took me a bit to notice because I normally only have erections at night when I'm sleeping. I went to a urologist this morning and he tentatively diagnosed me with Peyronie's, but he gave me a referral to a local teaching hospital and said that they have someone who specializes in Peyronie's and that I should go there to get a definitive diagnoses, which I intend to do this week. The urologist pointed out to me a thin tough spot on the top of the base of my penis that runs parallel to the shaft. Aside from the moderate pain and the piece of plaque (as it's apparently called), there are no other symptoms.

Since I was tentatively diagnosed this morning, I have had no treatment yet. Since this is Japan and I am a resident, I am enrolled in national health insurance.

No psychological effects yet aside from some fretting, reading this forum, and looking at some gruesome photos on google.

I have never had sex, I almost never masturbate, I have no family history of Peyronie's (that I know of), and the only injury I can think of is maybe I rolled over onto an erection one night. I was circumcised for unrelated medical reasons last year, but I don't think that's the kind of injury that is suspected to trigger the disease, and the timing is off anyway.

I have just been reading this forum for a few hours before posting this. You guys seem to be fans of pentox. Apparently you're supposed to attack this right away if you can before it gets too bad and then it can be kept under control, although it seems like it never goes away 100%. NeoV is near Tokyo and is concerned about using Tranilast, but that's about all I know about having Peyronie's in Japan. Perhaps he can provide some Japan-specific advice.

Anyway, I guess I'll see what the other doctor has to say. But whatever happens, I will not do another google image search for "Peyronie's."

Gambatte! (= good luck!)

[NeoV]

Hey man, welcome! Sadly there is no good treatment in Japan, and no real specialists anywhere that I know of. They do not have pentox here, and no urologist is up to date on traction or really any modern developments. I love the national health insurance here, but Peyronie's and sexual health is not something the country is up to date on, AT ALL. That being said, I'm curious what your "specialist" says. From what my wife and I have gathered, some clinics may be a better option over large hospitals. Large hospitals in Japan are mostly for general things, oddly enough. True specialty doctors are at small clinics, and are harder to find or really judge.

I am not a fan of tranilast as you have read. Keep in mind that there are no studies on it that realy warrant its use. Pentox is not available here yet from what I can tell, but do look into it. For now, start taking CoQ10 and perhaps ALCAR and citrulline if you can afford it. CoQ10 should help prevent worsening and the hardening of your plaques. I would rather you take any health promoting supplement over tranilast. Free radical damage is often cited as a contributor to penile fibrosis, so CoQ10 should help with that a lot, while also activating the nrf2 pathway to lower tgf-beta. Find a Gyomu Super and buy big bags of blueberries and broccoli and go crazy. Green tea is cheap here, so drink as much as you can and make sure to buy Japanese, not Chinese green tea. Caffeine suppresses tgf-beta and fibrosis since it is a xanthine derivitive just like pentox. They are no different, except that pentox is a marketable drug. The green tea catechins also block tgf-beta and myostatin, while reducing damage via their antioxidant status. Green tea, blueberries, brocolli, and CoQ10, will greatly change what is happening in your penis compared to tranilast in my opinion. Believe it or not, blueberries were used in a Peyronie's study with other treatments. Even the best urologists in the US take blueberries seriously, and you should too.

It's all too easy to think that drugs will help you with this disease, but diet is massive. Now that I'm 30 I can see how my diet changes the way my body feels much more closely. Blood sugar and diabetes are intimately connected to Peyronie's, though in a way still not understood. For this reason you should avoid sugar, alcohol, smoke (hard to avoid in Japan).

I only take CoQ10 now, do daily traction by hand, and eat very healthy + exercise. Traction by hand still gives me major benefits and prevents my penis from bending. You can do it now for free, so long as you are careful. Traction does not only expand the healthy penile tissue and stretch out the scar, but it actually reduces tgf-beta in the penis, and allows hematomas or stuck blood to escape from the damaged areas of the penis next to the plaque.

I am not sure if you can order pentox online to here, since I never tried it. I do not know much about surgeries here unfortunately, but that should be a last resort. Look into traction devices, VED therapy, and master your diet and supplement protocol. I will be doing traction by hand for the rest of my life, if only for a few minutes a day, and certainly will not stop consuming the foods / supplements I do. Let me know what else you learn, about pentox, or anything, and message me any time. Let me know if you're ever in Tokyo!

Lastly, maybe you should masturbate more often, if you are truly doing it very little. I almost always tell guys to masturbate less, but that's simply because not many men can abstain for very long without doing it. Sex or masturbation is definitely important for penile health, if done with care and not too often.

[PoorRichard]

Thanks for the info.

What do you mean by Japanese green tea and Chinese? Just where they were made, or are you referring to two different kinds of tea?

How does hand traction work, exactly? Are there instructions somewhere?

Is your objection to tranilast only due to the Alzheimer's concern?

For spiritual reasons, I don't masturbate, although I suppose for Peyronie's it would be medicinal in nature. I was under the impression that wet dreams supplied the necessary activity for the penis. Is that not the case?

Next time I'm in Tokyo, I'll hit you up.

[NeoV]

I am worried about Tranilast due to the 20x increase in amyloid plaques in the brain, yes. I also simply think it doesn't have enough research to warrant it over, say, blueberries.
Make sure the tea is made in Japan. Tea made in China tends to have dangerous levels of metals in them. This is been established quite clearly, so do watch out.
I have not written guidelines on manual traction, but thank you for reminding me. I will try to write something here shortly. Basically you stretch your flaccid penis gently using your index finger and thumb in an overhand or underhand grip. Be extreme careful.

Night time erections are not enough to fill out the penis entirely! Not even close! Your penis should fill out entirely. Masturbation is very natural for humans and many animals, as is sex. I cannot say anything in regards to your spirituality or religious reasons, but I know many older guys here will tell you that no sex or masturbation is a recipe for Peyronie's, ED, and even prostate cancer. The penis is made of smooth muscle, like the heart, and like the heart, you must "use it or lose it."

[PoorRichard]

So the business about the expert seems to be that the urologist I went to was a urinary system urologist (which would explain all the women in his waiting room), so he sent me to a male reproductive system urologist. My Japanese level is intermediate, which is what led to the confusion. Motto renshuu shinakereba naranai. Demo, konna koto mo ii renshuu darou.

The second urologist agrees with the first and put me on Tranilast and a supplement. Since my case is less than a month old, he wants to hit it fast rather than taking a "wait and see" approach.

Since the bump in question tapers from the base almost to the head right where the two dorsal veins are, I thought maybe it was thrombosis, but I suppose that since thrombosis usually clears up on its own and Peyronie's usually does not, this is the safer route to take.

[osakadan]

Just wondering if you have an update on how your treatment.

I have 2 problems - peyronie's and urethral stricture. The stricture has been present for over 15 years and treatment for that may be the cause of the peyronies.

Do research as there is treatment available. Don' just trust local or even big hospitals. Osaka University hospital was hopeless and strung me along for 18 months that they would operate. Less than 3 weeks before the operation they cancelled even though I had all the work up tests and everything.

There are experts in Saitama and they were finally able to refer me to Hyogo College of Medicine and they have 4 years of experience under the direct supervision of the Saitama surgeons.

Not 100% sure but I think the main doctor in Saitama is Horiguchi at National Defense Medical College, Saitama.

I am seeing Kanematsu at Hyogo and will be having the operation for the stricture in December followed by the peyronies 6-12 months later.