Dear Dr. Herazy,
Since November 2012 I know that I suffer from Peyronies Disease. In the first weeks after I got the diagnostic finding, it was not such a big problem for me. But now i get more and more fear. Because I am afraid, that I could lose my whole ability to erection and I have suicidal thoughts. Sex has such a big quality of life for me.
Since now, I have no zigzag of my penis, because it seems that the plaque is around the penis, short behind the glans. In former times my penis was 19-20 cm, and now I have still 14,5. This is not such a big problem for me until now, but I want to keep these 14,5 cm. I can also observe, that my ability to have an orgasm is lower. I have informed myself on German websites, but all these information are confusing and sometimes are contradictory. The German Urologic Center in Darmstadt says, if you don´t get an operation, the Peyronies Disease will progress and progress due to the fact that with every erection at the edge of the plaque, there will occur new cracks which will lead to new scars. The inevitable end is the impotence. I am so desperate about this point.
In the past I had problems with erectile dysfunction and my libido. Other disorders were bad sleep, oscillation of my mood and so on. My testosterone value was very low. But nobody wanted to substitute my testosterone. On a German website I read, that its significantly that Peyronies disease correlates with a low value of testosterone and erectile dysfunction. In any case, the mainstream on German websites is, that medical treatment will affect the disease only marginal. And now I read your article about vitamin E. My question is, can I, in my role as a patient do anything with medical treatment which has chances of success to improve the disease a little bit. Please help me, I am so desperate, please, please help me. I feel so alone.
Alexander S.
(Frankfurt/Germany)
Greetings Alexander,
Your fear is built on your feeling of helplessness that nothing can be done to help your condition; many men with Peyronie's disease share your thoughts and feelings of desperation.
I have a feeling that you did not spend much time reading and learning from the PDI website about self-treatment of Peyronie's disease before you wrote your question to me. If you had spent a little time reading a few of the more than one thousand different pages of information on the PDI website you would know there is much you can do to try to support the natural healing ability of Peyronie's disease. I suggest that you read the PDI home page and a few of the links that are found there. From the standpoint of Alternative Medicine treatment all your effort must be directed toward increasing your natural ability to heal Peyronie's disease, as it happens in about half of the men who develop this problem.
You mention my article about vitamin E treatment of Peyronie's disease. You must realize that by itself no one vitamin or natural therapy is going to be effective against a problem as difficult as PD. Success requires a wide variety of different approaches used aggressively, and used at the same time, to help your body recover from Peyronie's disease – even then no results are guaranteed.
I think you have misunderstood what the website of the German Urologic Center in Darmstadt might have said about the progression of Peyronie's disease. Peyronie's disease does not progress indefinitely; many times the condition stops progression after a year or two, and then remains essentially stable unless it is aggravated by injury or drug intake. Surgery is offered in cases of Peyronie's disease, at least by all reputable medical clinics, only if extreme pain or extreme penile curvature makes sexual intercourse impossible. I have never heard of Peyronies surgery offered as a way to halt the progression of the disease.
Your low testosterone and distressed emotions are both capable of reducing your ability to develop an erection. There are many websites that discuss how a many can increase his testosterone naturally; if this does not work for you, you are always able to get a prescription to help you.
You are not alone. Read the stories of the many men who have overcome their Peyronie's problem. Go to the Peyronie's Disease Institute testimonial page. Also, there are many helpful pages to get ideas about PD treatment. To mention just a few posts: Does this Peyronie’s treatment really work? and Does anyone know the best treatment for Peyronie’s disease? and What type of Peyronie’s treatment should my husband try? Read and learn how you can work to increase your ability to repair and remove the PD scar. Please let me know if you have further questions about helping yourself. TRH
