New member - questioning my doctor's Verapamil injections

[Drew]

Hi - this is my first post since I discovered this website a couple weeks ago. I appreciate the valuable information and discussions I've read here! I am currently 70 years old and used to have sex about once a week. In October, 2019 I developed an 85 degree upward bend but don't recall any specific causation. I called my urologist and after a 2-month wait for my appointment, he confirmed my self-diagnosis of Peyronies. He didn't know much about Peyronies Disease except that he had heard that Vitamin E was helpful. I then made an appointment with a specialist at a Men's Reproductive Center in Westchester Co., NY. Then the pandemic hit and it wasn't until August, 2020 that I was able to get an in-person appointment. My new doc said the best way to treat it was with Verapamil injections. He didn't like Xiaflex injections because he felt they were too expensive (my Medicare has paid for most of my Verapamil),  that current results were not conclusive, and he had seen many hematomas resulting from it. My doctor also had me order an Esteem VED. During my time under his care, I also started reading many medical abstracts about Peyronies Disease. I asked my doctor about oral medications such as Pentox, Ubiquinol, L-Carnitine, Arginine & L-Citrulline, but he was dismissive of those remedies. However, I did start doing some manual stretching and modeling during our first course of 6 Verapamil injections. There was no improvement for the first 4 injections, but he said it could take several shots. After the 5th shot, I thought I saw improvement from my original 85 degree bend to about 55 degrees, as indicated by measuring (porno-induced) erection photos with a protractor (although I've had second thoughts about whether I was fully erect when I took the photos). We then had the 6th and final shot in the first series, which was to be followed by a 6 week break. During the break I ordered a traction device which also pivots the penis in the opposite direction of the curvature. I followed the the protocol of 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night. After two weeks I did another test picture and was HORRIFIED. My upward curvature, which I thought had improved from 85 to 55 degrees, was now 90 degrees! There was also a new, but small plaque where the TD clamped onto the corona. My feeling is that while many men are helped by traction therapy, perhaps the 'constitution' of my penis was more fragile and the traction device increased the plaque size. When I saw my doctor after the break, I embarrassingly told him I set my progress back by using a traction device and he replied "No you didn't." He thought they were safe but mainly helped with length, not curvature. He then gave me my 7th Verapamil injection.

I've decided to stop seeing this doctor for several reasons. In hindsight, I'm not 100 percent sure the traction device caused my set-back because I began using it shortly after I had received my 6th shot of Verapamil. Perhaps it was the 6th shot made things worse, not the TD? I do know that the plaque seems to have moved upwards toward the glans and expanded during my course of treatment. It also developed "ears" on each side of the plaque. These protrusions seem to correspond to where I saw my doctor injecting the needle, so I'm thinking that may have caused more damage in that area. I'm questioning ALL injections (Verapamil and Xiaflex) at this point and have been reading about alternative treatments on the PDS forum. Right now I'm still using the VED 20 minutes nightly, although I have trouble getting a good 'seal' and I have to keep pumping it too often. I've begun take 1500 mg of L-Citrulline, 2000 mg of Arginine, 2000 mg of Carnitine and 200 mg of Ubiquinol. I couldn't get a prescription from my urologist or my GP for Pentox, so I'm not taking that. I've also added a few minutes of massage on the plaque with DMSO-based creams I found on Amazon: 1) DMSO + Castor Oil (called Root Beer Oil - it does smell like root beer) and 2) DMSO plus Zeolite by a German company. They no longer sell that though, so I just ordered their DMSO + aloe vera & magnesium oil formula. I also bought a red infrared flashlight that has 3 lights at different frequencies including (supposedly) an infrared, which I have been focusing on the plaque for about 10 minutes daily. It is too early to tell whether any of these things I'm doing are helping. But I do know that I don't want any more invasive or strenuous treatments which might further injure my penis right now. I'm still doing mutual masturbation or oral sex with my partner about once a week but intercourse is very difficult, if not impossible.

Right now I'm getting overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and also come to realize that curing Peyronies Disease is a difficult and potentially lengthy process. It seems that what works for one person might not work for another. If anyone has advice on what I've done in my past or present treatments, I'd appreciate feedback. It's hard to know if I'm on the right track.

P.S. to my New Member post: I'm also doing some gentle hand stretching while doing the DMSO based massages and I am taking 1/3 of a Cialis tab every night

[Hawk]

Drew,

Well, all luck is not against you.  With 20,000 members, I am stunned that the common name Drew was not already taken.

Welcome to the forum.  We will help you.  We have a wide variety of ages from 18 to 92 and a wide range of experience and opinions.  I founded the forum about 18 years ago.  I am now your age, sexually active, and very satisfied after fighting Peyronies Disease and Erectile Dysfunction for well over a decade.  I just had a huge difference of opinion with a relatively new member about the very things you posted.  I would have recommended AGAINST the Verapamil injections.  I have followed clinical studies on them for over a decade, and almost as many people get worse from them as get better.  It would have been good to spare yourself the time, pain, cost, and a penis that was worse after the treatment than before the treatment.  But this is where we are.

I do not mean to be morbid, but at 70, we usually are not interested in farting around for years, hoping for a 20% improvement.  The clock is ticking, and we know it.  I am embarrassed to admit that even as the forum founder trying to help men, I fought a steady losing battle with Peyronies Disease for over a decade.  It cost me money, a huge time investment with traction, VED, and other treatments. It cost me wasted years of compromised intimacy.  You can imagine how I felt when I had outpatient surgery and 3 weeks later I had intercourse like when I was 20 years old (ok, I was a little sore but not so bad it was not fun). It is tough to realize you wasted years needlesssly.

I will give you a link to our survival guide that is well-honed and full of critical information.  Please read it carefully. https://www.peyroniesforum.net/index.php/topic,3180.0.html
Conservatively you are doing about all you can with a VED, Traction, and oral supplements.  I have strong doubts about DMSO, but DMSO with a gentle massage cannot hurt.  The VED and Traction and supplements will be your best hope for the next few months.  At best, they probably will not get you down to a 45degree bend.  They will likely maintain your size which is important.

Your real hope carries better than a 95% chance of restoring you to better than you were 30 years ago.  Read this for details, then come back and open up honestly to discuss this and other options. https://www.peyroniesforum.net/index.php/topic,10974.0.html