Thrown a curve ball!

[j_nyc]

Hello!

I've been lurking a bit on here for the past few weeks reading up on info (which has been extremely helpful & valuable) and now that I have an official diagnosis I figured I would register and share my story.

I'm 38 years old and I first noticed something was a bit "odd" about 3 months ago.  The first thing I noticed was a strange minor pain in my erection during masturbation.  It was an odd, deep, pain inside the shaft of my penis and it was very difficult to describe.  I figured it would just go away and put it out of my mind.  However, over the next couple of weeks it didn't go away and then I noticed a small lump deep in the shaft of my flaccid penis about halfway between the head & the base.  Additionally, I found it increasingly difficult to achieve and maintain an erection, but I associated that with the new antidepressant I was prescribed with (I've suffered with depression & anxiety over the last 20 years) .  I immediately thought "cancer" and started researching that.  When the symptoms associated with that did not match up I finally stumbled upon peyronies.  I had heard of peyronies in the past, but always just associated it with extreme penis curvature ... not a small lump & some minor pain that I was experiencing.  I have always had a slight curvature to the right with an erection, but that has been present since I was a child.  Besides the lump, the minor pain, and the erection difficulty, I didn't notice anything else out of the ordinary.  I made an appointment with my general physician and decided I would start with him.

When I met with my physician he examined me & was up front in saying that he didn't know much about peyronies.  He had one other patient who had been treated for it.  He also said that if I didn't point it out, he wouldn't have noticed anything odd in the exam.  In the end though he suggested that I see a specialist and told me he would get in touch with his other patient and followup with a recommendation.  Unfortunately, he never did followup & in the meantime I was busy on the internet researching for myself.  Luckily, I live in the NYC/NJ area so there are several doctors available who can treat this.  I immediately decided to contact Dr. Mulhall since I considered him an expert in the field based on what I was reading.  I had to wait about 3 weeks for an appointment but since things weren't that bad overall, I decided to wait it out.

I met with Dr. Mulhall 5 days ago and he confirmed that what I am experiencing is peyronies.  Overall, I was satisfied with the doctor's visit.  I had to wait a while, but there was a patient emergency that morning so I tried not to get too agitated.  He threw a lot of information out at me & I wish I had done a little more research prior and was better prepared.  He said that it appears to be a mild case and his recommended course of action is to start traction therapy & schedule an ultrasound.  Based on the ultrasound he will be able to further determine the action plan.  However, I have to wait another 3 weeks before I can get the ultrasound (ugh).  I'm frustrated by the waiting.  In the meantime, I ordered the traction device that he recommended and I will attempt to use that for the suggested two hours a day.  At least that is something I can do prior to the next step.

During the past few months, I haven't noticed any severe changes with my erection.  I do think it is bending slightly more to the right near the head of the penis (maybe 5%-10%) but this is difficult to determine.  I have also notice a slight indentation right below the head & right above where I can feel the lump (when I am flaccid).  The indentation isn't visible to the eye, but I can feel it.  Overall I still have the "natural" curvature to the right that I have always had originating from the base of the penis but it does appear to be curving a bit more.  However, it's difficult to determine especially because I'm finding it difficult to get & maintain an erection.  From the ultrasound, Dr. Mulhall said he will be able to determine if the erection problems are due to the peyronies or if it is more psychological.

I'm also wondering if I should get a second opinion.  When I decided to go to Dr. Mulhall I figured he would be the best option based on where I live.  However, now that I have been reading more in this forum (and some specific posts about his practices) I want to make sure I'm making the right choices.  Like everyone who goes through this, I want it resolved & I want to make sure I have making all the correction decisions for my specific case to anticipate the best resolution.  I'd appreciate any feedback about this.

I am currently not in a sexual relationship -- so I just rely on myself in that regards.  I've got great insurance, so I've covered from that end.  I've also been seeing both a therapist as well as a psychiatrist for a while now, so I have them for any additional mental support.  Overall, I'm trying to stay optimistic.  The thing that bothers me the most though is the waiting & the decisions.  I feel like I need to make the best decisions in the shortest amount of time in order to get the best results, and this is stressful.  

Anyway ... hopefully this was helpful & I'm happy to share more about my story and experiences if necessary.  Thanks for having this forum!  There are some positive things on the internet.  

[wonderbread1662]

Hello jay,

I started noticing the pain you described erect as well as the bump in my shaft. That was in march of this year. Like you I thought it would go away so I waited a week. It did not go away so I got scared and went to see a doctor who told me it was just inflammation from a vigorous masturbation session and to wait 2 more weeks. I left for home feeling happy that it wasn't peyronies disease as I had researched it before my doctors visit. To my horror the pain and the lump got a bit bigger and now there was a dent in the middle of my penis on the underhand side about midway to the head. I was crushed that at that moment I was certain that I had it. I went to see a urologist and he confirmed my fears.

Unlike your urologist he basically just said there was nothing to be done about it and that it was very minor. Thankfully because of this forum I asked for pentox and he gave me some out of him acknowledging that he didn't know that much on the subject and said if you think it will help then sure. I started having flaccid and more erect pain after that appointment and the pentox got rid of the pain and inflammation within about 2 weeks.

Why I mention pentox is that I think you should give it a try as I feel it has helped alot with my condition. I did experience some nasty side effects of pentox as I seem to be allergic to it (just my luck). The side effects mostly went away with in about 2 to 3 weeks of taking it. Traction seems to be a very effective form of treatment for peyronies as others have had great results with it. I recommend you read as much as you can on the subject in the traction part of the forums. So not to do it incorrectly and hurt yourself. You may also want to look into a VED device as that can help alot too. It does seem that VED  is a bit more dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Try reading oldmans posts as he seems to know what he is talking about on that topic.

like you I have noticed that it is quite hard to maintain a full erection and to keep it that way. In my case it has helped to reduce sexual activity and to take citrulline malate and Acetyl-L carnitine. I don't think I have ED as bad as you but you seem to be further along in your condition then mine ( I'm only 3 months in). I and many others know how you feel on playing the waiting game when it comes to peyronies. Doctor visits seem to take forever and progression and treatment is slow. Many have said that fighting peyronies is a marathon and not a sprint.

I would hold off on any surgery operations if I were you as that can be risky and is normally seen as a last resort here on the forums. In my opinion ( I'm not A Doctor!) you should go ahead with traction (Read up on that) and try some of these medications ( If not all ).

Pentox 3x a day 400mg
CoQ10 1x a day 300mg
Citrulline Malate 2 grams a day (powdered form to mix with a cup of water)
Acetyl-L Carnitine 2 grams a day (powdered form to mix with a cup of water)
Benadryl 25mg 3x a day with pentox (This does NOT help with peyronies but it helps with my allergy towards pentox. You might not have to take this.)
Cialis 5mg 1x a day( Some members have said that cialis and pentox compliment each other quite well to help with peyronies)

Once again this is what has been helping me and every case of peyronies seems to be different. If you have any questions feel free to private message me about anything. Your not alone in this and many members have had success in fighting off this awful condition. You can also read some of my posts to see we are not so different when it comes to this condition. Have some hope and take care jay.

[Mikey89]

Hello Jay,

I am also from the NYC area and found Dr. Mulhall through these forums. Aside from the wait time to get an appointment, would you recommend going to see him?

Thanks

[james1947]

Mikey

I am not Jay, but maybe my post can help you.
I am proposing you to make a search for Mulhall on the forum home page. You will get 98 posts. If you will read them, you will get a full picyure regarding Dr. Mulhall.
You may find some kind of summary here:
https://www.peyroniesforum.net/index.php/topic,4063.0.html

James