Counseling?

[BentYoung]

What are some of your experiences with professional help for Peyronies Disease? What made you seek a therapist? What made them good or bad? Was it effective? I just started seeing someone who I feel will be very effective in removing my unhealthy attachment my ego has to this problem.  

[GS]

BentYoung,

I was very fortunate, in that my wife is a counselor.  So, I have been "in counselling" since the beginning.  I started out with a 45 degree curve and it happened overnight.  She thought my erection got caught in my underwear somehow, but I knew something was drastically wrong and couldn't even go to sleep that night.

The next morning I got on the internet and found Peyronies.  I have to say I was relieved to find out I didn't have cancer, but I was still scared to death.  I got in to see my urologist the next day and he confirmed my diagnosis.  At his direction, we had no sex for 30 days and I took aspirin 3 or 4 times a day for the inflammation.  We discussed my condition over the 30 days and started putting together a game plan of how we were going to have sex with a bent penis.  She was very supportive and she even felt like she was to blame because of thinking maybe she was a little too rough with my penis.

In the back of my mind, my main fear was "what if it got worse".  That was almost 3 years ago.  Since then, I found this website, it has gotten better instead of worse and we have leaned to live a pretty much normal life with it.

My advice to everyone is to get counselling if you need it; your significant other can be extremely important in that area.  But, unless your curvature is so severe you can't have penetration with sex, you can learn to live with Peyronies Disease; and you can still have an intimate relationship as long as you keep your attitude on the positive side.

I am not a professional counsellor and the above is just my opinion, but it worked for me and I hope it can work for a lot of you out there.  Peyronies is not the end of the world and I would rather have Peyronies than a lot of the other things out there.

GS

[Skjaldborg]

Counseling was hugely beneficial for me. I second GS's comments. Having someone to listen who is not a stakeholder in the relationship will allow you to get things off your chest and not worry about causing any additional strain on your relationship. I would definitely recommend it.

-Skjald

[BrooksBro]

Being married to a counselor, GS has an advantage.

For the rest of you that have been seeing a counselor, please tell me what type of "counselor" they are (any specialty?) and how you found them.  Thanks.

[hunchback]

i think counseling is difficult because although the counselor understands "suffering" a great deal of men's ego is attached to their penis. this is more than just erectile dysfunction, it is erectile frustration.

if i had "normal" ED i feel like i could still be "ok". for example, my urologist's focus is on successful penetration whereas mine is to be able to move around rather than successful penetration and then nothing, or being stuck like a fishhook (after 5 months of treatment i had a little movement). i used to be a good lover who could last for a long time, and now i am something else.

in general i don't appreciated the sympathetic understanding looks, or the "i feel threatened by this topic because it is too close to my own issues" from counselors. often times i choose to deal with the ancillary issues surrounding this rather than the actual issue.

people in life are broken in so many ways...i guess this is just another one.

[Noway]

Counseling wont do anything but waste your time and money. Get to the root of the problem and work on it this will fix any need to have counseling spend the money where its needed.

[Skjaldborg]

Counseling wont do anything but waste your time and money.

I strongly disagree with this. For someone with Peyronie's experiencing severe mental strain or depression, please, please, please seek the help of a psychologist or psychiatrist. Just like with any doctor or urologist, you need to find someone with the right experience and background. There are psychologists who specialize in sexual health/trauma. I saw a psychologist for several months when I was in the early stages of the disease and it was immensely helpful. Mental health is as important as physical health. Disregard for mental services is not a reasonable approach.

-Skjaldborg

[Norm]

""Counseling wont do anything but waste your time and money. ""

I also disagree with that quote. Maybe for you it would be a waste, but we can't make that call for everyone. Some guys find benefit in it.  

[jackp]

Norm

I could not agree more. I know several men and couples that have had a great benefit from counseling. I know it has saved several marriages.

Jackp
http://jackp-penileimplant.blogspot.com