New flare up after OVER a year of stability ...

[George999]

Well guys, here I go again.  Out of nowhere last night I experienced a flare up, and after a year off of Pentox I am now back on it again.  This has caused me to reflect on what possibly could have gone wrong.  Several issues come to mind.

1)  I have been eating more chocolate, dark bittersweet organic chocolate to be sure, but chocolate with a small about of added sugar none the less.  I am sure that hasn't helped either in terms of sugar content or in terms of chocolate's coffee like properties of being a stimulant and modestly raising BP.

2)  I have been easing up on restricting salt consumption.  Not adding any salt or going to extremes, just a lack of strict moderation.

3)  Yesterday in particular I forgot to drink enough water and came home with a headache.  I drank a lot of water when I came home, but I am sure my BP was probably considerably elevated as a result of dehydration.

So now I will be making corrections in those areas and hopefully this flare up turns out to be a minor one.  I am totally confident that this occurred without having sustained any additional physical injury in any way, which I also find interesting.  This isolated flareup appears to be due entirely to metabolic factors.

- George

[james1947]

George

Sorry to read about your flare up.
Can you explain what are the symptoms of your flare up?

James

[George999]

James, its just the sudden burning pain kind of thing.  Pretty typical with Peyronie's.  Very disappointing for me, but I have to remember that everything that goes wrong in life can either be a dead end or a rejuvenating learning experience.  Which it becomes is up to me.  And I fully intend this to be a learning experience by which I can be in a better position to knock it out and reduce the potential for future flare ups.  I have already notified my urologist's medical assistant and they are ready to help in any way they can if I need assistance.  I am extremely thankful for a local urologist who has made Peyronie's one of his areas of expertise in the time since I was first diagnosed by him.  I know that he will provide me with Pentoxifylline as needed to deal with the pain.  I am so thankful for that support and feel so fortunate compared to others who are having a difficult time finding a physician who even cares.  I am also seeing that this really disproves the old myth that Peyronie's "goes through arbitrary phases, eventually to stabilize forever", that so many docs seem to buy into.  And thank you so much for your caring note as well.  It is really appreciated.  - George

[james1947]

George

I agree 100% with all you say and especially regarding:

old myth that Peyronie's "goes through arbitrary phases, eventually to stabilize forever",

My "acute stage" lasted more than 24 month and started again on month 36 or so.

James  

[MattFoley]

George, my theory is that the chocolate or increased sugar may have have started it all up again. Also, in addition to the Pentox and cutting out the sugar, please consider looking into Diclofenac 4%. It's a topical NSAID that may help. It was used in one the Peyronie's studies.

God bless.

[skunkworks]

Very sorry to hear about the relapse, after such a long period of stability it must be quite a shock to the system.

Other than the extra chocolate, how has your diet been? Much by way of grain consumption?

Any change in exercise or stress levels?

How are your Vit D levels looking? I remember you were getting them checked quite regularly...

[Knight]

Very sorry to read this George. You sound like an intelligent man with a positive "can do" attitude and I'm sure you will find the best way possible to overcome yet again.

How could chocolate have anything to do with Peyroines? I'm confused there.

Best of luck!

[George999]

Pretty much the only thing was the slight increase in sugar from the dark chocolate.  I just love chocolate and probably got a little too much.  The rest of my diet these days is centered on green salads and raw vegies and fruit, which is what it has been for quite a while now.  Not a lot of grains, a bit of rye, no changes there for a long time.  No real change in exercise of vitamin D levels.  I really suspect the dehydration episode was the immediate trigger because this was the first time in a LONG time that I allowed myself to get very dehydrated.  My blood pressure was extremely high as a result.  Everything is back to normal now and the pain is almost gone completely after 24hrs on Pentox.

Other than the extra chocolate, how has your diet been? Much by way of grain consumption?

[George999]

I think the relationship between chocolate and Peyronie's is that chocolate could aggravate Peyronie's in two ways.  One would be its sugar content and two would be its stimulant properties.  Overall dark chocolate is a healthy treat.  But too much is probably not and I probably got too much along with dehydration and some other things, a perfect storm.

Very sorry to read this George. You sound like an intelligent man with a positive "can do" attitude and I'm sure you will find the best way possible to overcome yet again.

How could chocolate have anything to do with Peyroines? I'm confused there.

Best of luck!

[inkhorn]

Gentlemen- I'm not a dietician, but I was eating a vegan diet(and still getting plenty of protein) and got peyronies. Just my two cents. Regards Inkhorn  

[skunkworks]

Don't want to turn this into the diet thread, but vegan is not necessarily a healthy inflammation lowering diet. Often it is quite the opposite.

[George999]

Well, just for the record, I do not eat a lot of meat, but my diet could hardly be called vegan.  I pretty much eat meat in all forms on occasion.  In fact just a couple of days before this flare up, I ate a couple of large sausages which is very rare for me, but I don't believe in radical diets.  However, the core of my diet is fruits and vegetables.  What I seriously avoid is processed foods of all kinds.  - George