Progression of Peyronie’s Disease

To say the least, the usual development or progression of Peyronie’s disease (PD) is variable and unpredictable. Not all men experience the same set of signs and symptoms in their Peyronie’s disease.  In some cases, certain signs and symptoms never occur, like pain or a palpable nodule.  The one constant factor about PD is that there is no constant factor.  Most everything about PD can be different from one man to the next.

Thus, medical literature describing the progression of Peyronie’s disease can be confusing for the layperson.  A description of Peyronie’s disease progression is often a list of exceptions and variations, and few rules.  In these cases, it is difficult to learn how Peyronie’s disease progresses because of the many variations.

To read success stories, click on Peyronie’s disease treatment testimonials.

One medical researcher or clinician might describe the progression of PD in one way, stressing or featuring one or two aspects of the disease, unlike the description given by another. With many different presentations created – with none being necessarily wrong – it is difficult to know what to expect in a case of PD.  It would be like trying to describe the progression of a baseball game.  Every game is different, but they are all baseball. Any one description of Peyronie’s disease would not be like any other description, but not necessarily wrong.

Progression, or natural history of Peyronie’s disease

With the variable progression of Peyronie’s disease, both doctor and patient do not know what to expect with PD.  In part, this explains why it is so difficult to find a treatment for Peyronie’s disease.  It is never clear if a particular treatment caused an improvement, or if it would have happened anyway. Further, this variability makes it difficult to determine success and failure. Meaning, successful treatment might make a severe problem develop into only a mild problem. It would be difficult to know this since Peyronie’s disease is so variable.

In this discussion, a broad range of average situations will describe the natural history or progression of Peyronie’s disease.

Peyronie’s disease at the start

Commonly, a man will first discover his Peyronie’s disease as a small lump below the surface of the penis.  He will describe it as “some kind of varicose vein or something” that is painful to touch. Even this is not always the case.  There are reports of 38-62% of patients who are unaware of a well-defined scar found during a routine physical examination.  In another report, out of 208 patients examined for erectile dysfunction, 20% did not know they had Peyronie’s disease.

Stages of Peyronie’s disease

There are two stages in PD, the acute (intense and early), and chronic (low-grade and later). Both stages are of variable length, duration and intensity. During the acute or inflammation phase the majority of scarring and bending occurs. In 5-50% of men with PD, it never progresses beyond the acute inflammation stage.  In these cases the PD self-heals or resolves within a year or so, without treatment.

As expected, the eventual outcome is variable. Roughly 50% of men with PD will improve to some variable degree (ranging from minimal improvement to complete remission), and 50% get worse. One study found almost 50% of men never developed a bent penis.  Another stated the pain associated with the acute phase resolved with time, except when it did not. The degree of bending or distortion, as you would guess by now, ranges from minimal to severe. Deviation of 5°-10° is not uncommon, often can go to 20°-30° and, as seen in the illustration below, the curvature can go to 90°, or greater in some cases.

Because PD self-heals in a significant number of cases, it is standard medical treatment to use a wait-and-see strategy. This delayed treatment approach is appropriate for invasive treatment, which is fraught with side effects and adverse reactions.  However, PDI does not need to use this delay strategy. Alt Med treatment does not cause reactions and side effects like medicine. We recommend our conservative form of care during both the acute and chronic stages.

If your Peyronie’s penis is causing sexual distress, you might be interested in the in-depth and detailed discussion and loads of helpful information found in Dr. Herazy’s second book, “Peyronie’s Disease and Sex.”

Bent or curved penis

During the first 12-18 months after PD starts, a variable penile bend or distortion usually, but not always, occurs.  For some men, during this time significant changes can occur in the PD scar.  This can result in greater distortion or worsening of the curved penis. Even so, for most the curvature remains static as the scar matures.  Even so, in some cases, it can worsen as the scar contracts. In about 25% of cases, the scar calcifies slightly.  In 25% of those who develop calcification it progresses to actual bone formation within the penis.

Popular medical thinking holds that as the scar matures it becomes static.  PDI’s experience is that this is not necessarily true.  Conservative Alt Med Treatment of Peyronie’s disease at this later stage can still be successful.  During this time, conservative treatment will likely require longer, and more dedicated effort to achieve possible success, if at all.

The most severe penile deformity is the “J”, or “cane handle.” A large scar like a belt around the penis can cause an “hourglass” deformity.  During erection, poor filling of the penis from the scar forward to the head of the penis, resulting in a “bottleneck deformity.”  The penis can twist in response to scar placement into a “cork screw” deformity.

Some couples find a mild deformity prevents intercourse.  For other couples, severe deformity poses no difficulty for penetration.

Peyronie’s disease pain

Pain associated with Peyronie’s disease is variable, from mild to severe.  It can be constant or it can be rare, occasional or frequent.  When it is occasional, it most often is associated with sexual activity, but not always. Sometimes pain occurs outside of sexual activity, irregularly and without an apparent cause.

Whether the onset of deformity is gradual or sudden, pain usually resolves after 12-18 months. The chronic stage occurs when the pain diminishes or disappears, and distortion becomes stable. Most medical sources report that once the chronic stage occurs no treatment other than surgery will be effective; PDI’s experience does not agree with this common medical opinion.

This great variability of PD makes it “the nightmare of the urologist.” For those who have PD, it is no fun either.

Progression of Peyronie’s disease and treatment

Peyronie’s disease is extremely variable in may ways.  Perhaps it is more variable than most medical conditions. The unpredictability and wide variation should give hope to the Peyronie’s disease victim. Why?

If Peyronie’s disease can just disappear or self-heal in a fair number of cases, then why not you? By reinforcing the nutrition of the body while using various natural therapies, the odds for recovery are sometimes improved.  The experience of thousands of men who use the PDI treatment concepts for Peyronie’s disease treatment says it is certainly possible.  For every 8-10 reports of moderate to marked success with the PDI treatment protocol, we receive one report of failure.  To be sure, pretty good treatment results.

PDI’s advice is to use as many possible therapies to boost and support your metabolic chance for recovery as possible. Doing so increases your odds of self-healing. All of this is in the Peyronie’s disease treatment sections.