Potential Injury, Peyronie's, and Size Restoration

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Cryptograph

Hello all! I am a 28-year-old gay man with a very advanced case of Peyronie's. I joined this forum a while back, but never posted. I am here to just share my experience and maybe help others and get help myself as time goes on. Just remember, Peyronie's disease is not the end!

Potential Injury

When I was about 16-17 years old (around 2007-2008), I was very focused on my penis. At the time it was about 6.75" long and proportionate girth (I never measured girth, so I can't be sure on the exact circumference). Long story short, I went to a website that gave different masturbation suggestions and one of those was something like jelqing, where you engorge the penis with excess blood by kegeling in excess blood and not allowing it back out. I did this often, basically clamping the base of the penis with my hand. I often felt tearing sensations and once in a while got the pinprick red dots.

However, when I was 17 I starting getting an aching pain at the base of my penis that lasted 24/7. As a high school student at the time, I writhed in pain as silently as I could in class as the ache would not go away. I went to my family doctor who told me it was probably just growing pains and that I might be masturbating too much (as I had told him it was a daily habit, though I didn't mention the engorgement practice). I thought nothing of it and powering through the pain seemed to be the only option.

Peyronie's Disease

Shortly after turning 18, however, my penis began to bend at the base toward the right. This was a sudden bend, not a gentle curve, with an indent in the shaft and my erections where no longer as strong. My penis would buckle at the bend as well. Long story short, I did my research and realized this was Peyronie's Disease. Since Peyronie's usually affects middle-aged men, I have a sneaking suspicion that excessively engorging my penis did some damage.

I went to one doctor who laughed in my faced and told me to take a Tylenol, then I went to a urologist who told me to have surgery (anyone familiar with Peyronie's Disease knows this is a last resort, not a first line of action), and then finally went to a world-renowned medical facility where they told me "there's nothing we can do for Peyronie's Disease," though they did prescribe me a medical penis pump that had little effect. Throughout this entire process, the scar tissue that made up the Peyronie's Disease was spreading throughout the tissue of the penis (to the point where there were no longer bends because all the internal scarring on both sides cancelled each other out). By the time I was 20, my penis was 4.5" fully erect and had lost significant girth.

6.75" all the way to 4.5" in less than 3 years. The left side of my penis also became less sensitive, presumably from nerve damage. Needless to say I suffered from depression and depersonalization. Thankfully I got the mental health help I needed and I am emotionally well now. One brief takeaway I can give you all is that penetrative sex is not the be-all, end-all of sex and there are many other activities one can enjoy.

Restoration Efforts

So let's fast forward to today. I am 28 years old and after living with this disease for about 10 years, I have never had penetrative sex (as a top, remember I am gay) because of (1) the difficulty Peyronie's Disease poses in maintaining strong erections and (2) my self-consciousness about my size. I do also want to just say that you might be thinking, "You're gay, you can just have the other guy stick it in and it all works still." Unfortunately that's not how the gay community works, nor is it how being gay works, but that's a different story.

Doctors prescribed medications that were proven to have no effect on the disease (topical verapamil, anyone?) and I spent hundreds of dollars on unproven herbal and vitamin supplements to try to beat this disease. It should come as no surprise to all of you that it did not work. Xiaflex is one medication that is proven to work on Peyronie's Disease and related connective tissue disorders, but it is not approved for cases as advanced as mine.

This past year I went back to the aforementioned world-renowned medical facility and to my surprise they had been running clinical trials of a device called RestoreX, which basically is a penis extender made specifically for the sharp bends that Peyronie's Disease causes. Though I am not eligible for the trial (these usually require being in a regular sexual relationship), the device was available for purchase, so I dropped the somewhat steep cost because I have nothing left to lose.

Since starting use of that extender just about 10 months ago I have gone from 4.5" to about 5.25" in length. This has helped my confidence immensely, though I am still unable to penetrate since my erections are not strong enough. I will also admit that because of my hectic schedule, I was not able to use it the recommended 1 hour per day for the majority of those 10 months, so I believe I may still have progress to make.

So again, keep moving forward -- Peyronie's Disease is not the end! Use psychotherapy, use approved pharmaceuticals if eligible, use extenders, and maybe even use pumps (I am experimenting with mine after not using it for years to see if using it in conjunction with RestoreX helps with the girth loss I have experienced). There may be no surefire cure for Peyronie's Disease, and at the same time a satisfying sex life is still possible!

Wishing everyone the best in their journeys.


Tony52

Welcoming to the Forum, Cryptograph.  Great post.  Glad RestoreX is helping you!