Can glucosamine/chondroitin cause Peyronies?

[Bahamasman]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and was just diagnosed with Peyronies on Monday.
I woke up about a month ago and was shocked to see that the tip of my penis was curved upward about 45 degrees.
Since I hadn't had sex for a while and didn't injure it and have zero pain and dont sleep on my stomach I though maybe it was a temporary thing caused by having night (REM sleep) erections with semi restricting brief under ware on but it never got better so I saw the urologist and he said it was Peyronies and to take vitamin  E.
I've been taking glucosamine/chondroitin for 2 months for knee arthritis and noticed all over your forum and the internet there seems to be a link between Peyronies and this supplement because it might cause you to produce too much collagen.
Does anyone on this forum have any insight or knowledge on this possible link?
I'm 56 years old and also take Hyzaar (not a beta blocker) for high BP and 100mg testosterone once a week self injected for lowT and levothyroxine for thyroid but it doesn't seem that after taking these meds for 6 years that they cause Peyronies.
Also was wondering if I should get started right away with a traction and VED device or other meds? Dr. has not been much help.
Any knowledgeable advice on these questions would be much appreciated!

[0x5555]

For some that is just how it happens.  They wake up one morning and the curve is there.  I'm sure you are going through a lot of stress and anxiety.

Your first step is to go to a good urologist.  It's important to make sure that you see someone who specializes in Peyronies.  They will be the most up to date on treatment and likely give you more useful info than most urologists who sometimes have a 'well, it happens' outlook.

The most commonly suggested treatment, especially early on, is to take a drug called Pentox.  For some people this seems to help soften the scar tissue and prevents further progression of the disease.  There is info on this drug in the Oral Medication section.  Vitamin E is a somewhat disregarded treatment.  There doesn't seem to be evidence that it helps.

I'm not an expert about traction or the VED - I would suggest that you be a little careful depending where you are in the progression.  If you have any sort of pain or discomfort in that area then I highly suggest you leave it alone so as not to inflame the area any more or cause any damage.  Several urologists themselves suggest VED treatments (Dr Levine is a proponent I believe) so you may want to wait until you see a doctor before starting.  Old Man on this forum is also very knowledgeable - search his posts for more info.

Have you had an ultrasound done?  I also recommend that you post your location (you can post state and have someone PM you) so you can try to get to see a Peyronies expert.

[GS]

I had taken glucosamine/chondrotin for about 10 or 12 years before I got Peyronies; so, for me, I don't think there was any corelation.  As to supplements and meds, why wouldn't you want to start as soon as you can?  I wish I would have started earlier.  You didn't mention anything about pain; IMHO, if you are not experiencing any pain, the sooner the better for a VED.  Again, I wish I would have started earlier.  I didn't find this forum until I was well into Peyronies and had wasted a bunch of money of noneffective snake oil sold over the Internet.

GS

[Bahamasman]

Thanks for the advice.
I did some research on finding a Peyronies specialist here in San Diego and found a very renowned urologist, Dr. Irwin Goldstein, and I have a consult with him next week.
Unfortuneatly he doesn't take insurance and the consult will cost $525 and all other treatments will have to be paid in cash.
Hopefully he will set me on the right path because my urologist just told me to go home and take vitamin E for 6 months and if I dont improve take a picture of my penis erect and come back for further treatment.
What is the best VED to buy?

[KAC]

Doesn't take insurance?  I know shrinks often don't, but the insurance system doesn't always work as well for them.  If it were me I'd keep looking around.  I don't go to a well-known expert, but he listens, and seems to care, and works with me to make decisions.  He was the second urologist I went to--I just kept asking around.  I don't think we all need to be going to world-famous doctors to get good care.

[Woodman]

I have never heard of a urologist that didn't take any form of insurance. Do you mean that he doesn't take your healthcare providers insurance? I know insurance will not cover alternative doctors but they usually cover every other physician on a regular plan except for a few exceptions like dental & vision etc. If in deed he doesn't take healthcare coverage your gonna have a pretty healthy bill time everything is said and done especially if you go with VI treatments & or ultrasounds etc. If your fortunate enough to be able to afford all the cost straight out of pocket and your comfortable with him then that makes sense I guess.

If for some reason you are going there just because he seems to be the only doctor you can find in your area that looks competent in Peyronies you may want to consider seeing Dr. Lue in CA I believe hes in the San Fransisco area. Hes also very well known and renowned and Iam positive he takes health insurance.

Just thought I would throw that out there as a FYI. Just in case any of the info might be useful to you.

[0x5555]

Another vote for Dr. Lue.  People on this forum have good things to say about him and the Pentox study was conducted by him if I recall.

[Bahamasman]

This Dr. Irwin Goldstein is the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine and I guess he is so famous that he doesn't need to take insurance, he just gives you a "superbill" that has all the insurance codes on it so you can then submit it to your insurance company.
That is fine if you have a PPO but I have an HMO and I'm limited to one urologist and then if I don't like him California law states that I can see only one other Doc for a second opinion.
I have a list of 10 different Docs in my HMO I can chose from but have no way of telling which one is the best Peyronies Doc.
I called all of them and their staff all said, "We treat Peyronies", come on in.
Is there any way to find out which urologist specializes in Peyronies in your area?

[Woodman]

I know theres a lot of members here from the CA area. Maybe if you list the 10 doctors that are on your insurance then you can get some feedback from others about the them. There might be 10 docs on your plan but I bet you can narrow them down real quick to two doctors you can see under your plan because in the US there is really just a hand full of doctors that really specalize in Peyronies.

[Colorado]

I noticed a poll on this, but couldn't find the results:
Were you taking Glucosomine/Chondroitin prior to Peyronies Disease symptoms - (Completed) - Peyronies Society Forums

Glucosamine/chondrotin was the only supplement I was taking prior to onset.  I'm pretty sure I never had any trauma that would have caused Peyronies Disease.  As a result, I've always been suspicious of the Glucosamine/chondrotin, but don't have much to base this suspicion on and would be interested in more data -- like the results of that poll.

[Hawk]

Colorado, Welcome to the forum.

The short answer is I don't know and no one has ever shown a link.  There is at least some logical argument one could make for it contributing to the problem but that is very far from showing a connection.  Keep in mind a hue percentage of the population over 50 take Glucosamine/chondrotin and the vast majority never get Peyronies Disease.

Many of us that got Peyronies Disease were not on Glucosamine/chondrotin.
Those that were on other drugs blame them
Those that had low testosterone blame that
Those that wore tight underwear blame that
Those that took injections for ED blame that.

Glucosamine/chondrotin surely does not cause Peyronies Disease but no one knows if it could contribute at all.  The bottom line is there are underlying conditions present and something obvious or subtle trigger the process.

[MattFoley]

I stopped taking Glucosamine/chondrotin years ago because it caused bouts of tinnitus.