Pentox for Peyronie’s treatment is an off-label use
Every now and then I get an email asking for my opinion about using Pentox (Pentoxifylline) for Peyronie’s disease treatment. Over time I have developed a few ideas about this controversial drug that is gaining some popularity as an off-label Peyronie’s treatment.
Those MDs who prescribe Pentox are still trying to figure out the best way to use it, not only for PD but for many other conditions. While the primary use for Pentoxifylline is based on its ability to increase peripheral blood circulation, hence it is used to treat senile dementia and intermittent claudication, Pentox is gaining acceptance with the medical community for Peyronie’s treatment.
Some MDs who have learned the hard way that PDE5 drugs (Viagra, Cialis, Levitra) are not at all a safe or effective Peyronie’s treatment have instead begun to prescribe Pentox to increase blood flow in Peyronies. But to have that make any sense at all you have to believe that PD is caused by reduced blood flow in the first place, or that merely increasing the blood flow will somehow help PD. I can totally agree with that thinking if you have evidence that your penis suffers from reduced blood flow (it is cold and blue). But if your penis is not cold and blue and bent, then you probably will not benefit from Pentox in the way that most people think.
It is my opinion that when Pentox is said to help men with PD it is because as the blood flow is increased to the periphery, it also brings in an increased flow of nutrients to assist the healing process. Further, when Pentox helps a case of PD it is because of the totally secondary benefit of increasing the body’s ability to heal and repair the PD plaque when there are more nutrients in an area of the body. It is a small point, perhaps, but a vitally important point to understand that it all comes down to the body healing the PD scar – not the Pentox having some curative ability by itself. If Pentoxifylline can increase general circulation more safely than Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, then great I am all for that. But you have to consider that if you do not have a circulatory problem in the first place, then why take any of these drugs at all?
If the benefit of Pentox is to bring more nutrients into the tissues, to assist healing and repair of the PD plaque or scar, that is wonderful. If it is beneficial to bring more nutrients into the tissue, would it not be a more logical and effective Peyronie’s treatment to intentionally and intelligently supply a wide variety of nutrients at a higher than average dosage to the body to assist the healing process? After all, that is what PDI has been doing since 2002 and it works in a great percentage of cases when it is done correctly.
Since extremely few men actually have any evidence of a circulatory problem in the pelvis, taking Pentox or even Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, will not make a difference because that is not the problem that is going on with PD. If the problem is that you did not heal your tunica albuginea injury because of poor nutrient availability then I suggest it would do you a lot of good to increase the nutrients directly, not indirectly by playing with the circulatory system when there is no circulatory problem.
You notice that I do not say, “Do not take Pentox,” I only say it is new so use caution. I also say that when Pentoxifylline helps it probably does so only because it helps the body work better by increasing available nutrients, not because it specifically increases blood flow. If you want to help your pelvic blood flow:
1. Wear boxer shorts
2. Uncross your legs when you sit
3. Do some Kegel exercises
4. Put a moist hot pack on your privates when you watch TV
Most MDs are taking the attitude that while they do not know if Pentox helps PD, or why it helps when it appears to help PD, at least they currently have no evidence that it makes PD worse – so what the hell, take it and let’s see what it does for you. This is how many medical patients get hurt in the long run with such a cavalier attitude about drugs.
I say better to take an Alternative Medicine approach to your problem to help your body heal and repair the Peyronie’s pathology naturally.
