This is my first post on PEGym; I have visited several times over the last few years.
I know my problem may be beyond what you normally deal with, but any insights, ideas, etc...would be appreciated.
The Basics
Treatments
Testing results
Semen Analysis (July 2018)
Possible Conditions
Possible Treatments:
Any advice and feedback would be most welcome. Thank you!
I know my problem may be beyond what you normally deal with, but any insights, ideas, etc...would be appreciated.
The Basics
- I am a 33-year old man, 6’2, 210 lbs. I had no history of health problems for much of my life, no noteworthy family history.
- Since October of 2015 I have been suffering from total erectile failure, a near-complete shutdown of my sexual response and function. This is most noticeable in terms of severe erectile dysfunction; in situations where I would get a strong and healthy erection, I now have no response. My penis simply hangs in a limp state; it’s like the signals that initiate an erection have simply vanished. The penis still shrinks when I am stressed or scared, but hardly ever enlarges when I am sexually aroused.
- Prior to the onset of this dysfunction. I had outstanding sexual function. I had relatively few sexual experiences, but no trouble performing. The onset of these problems was sudden; I simply noticed over the course of a few days that my erectile function had simply disappeared.
- I have noticed an overall weaker urine stream since this dysfunction began, along with a decreased volume of urine.
- The only other health issue I had began in March of 2014, when I notices a change in my digestive habits. It seemed that my body was not processing food the way it had for much of my life; I was less hungry, and was often straining to have a bowel movement. Most concerning, my stool comes out in small, flat pieces that I often need to force out. I had a colonoscopy in August of 2015, which found no abnormalities in my digestive system.
- Around the onset of the sexual dysfunction, I began experiencing crushing fatigue, as well as some muscle weakness. The muscle weakness was mostly in my legs, with some in my back. The fatigue became stronger in early 2016 (to the point where I was afraid of passing out on occasion) and got severe in the summer of 2017. I began taking a men’s multivitamin in August of 2017, and I believe this has greatly helped the fatigue and muscle weakness
Treatments
- In late 2015 and early 2016, I had some success with Viagra at 100mg. I got a strong response from the medication, and the results lasted for well over 24 hours.
- I was less responsive to the same dosage of Viagra in early and mid 2017. I also had no response to a 30-day trail of daily Cialis in summer 2017, and the normal version of Cialis in late 2018.
- I did respond to Caverjet injections twice, when I had penile duplex ultrasound done, but the penis simply filled with blood. There was no sensitivity, no normal feeling as I would get during sexual arousal.
- As I mentioned above, the multivitamin seems to have greatly helped my overall energy and strength, but I have seen no improvement in my sexual function during that time.
- I’ve tried counseling, as I do suffer from stress and anxiety, but found no solutions when working with a sexual therapist for several months.
Testing results
- I’ve had a range of lab work done since the onset of this dysfunction, with many tests performed multiple times over the years. A sampling of my results is below:
- Total testosterone: 388 (October 2015), 462 (February 2016), 688 (September 2016), 499 (July 2018)
- Free Testosterone: 95.6 (February 2016), 150.0 (September 2016), 104.8 (July 2018)
- Cortisol: 13.1 (September 2016)
- Vitamin D: 30 (September 2016)
- T4 Free: 0.96 (October 2015), 1.14 (July 2018)
- TSH: 2.40 (October 2015), 1.69 (September 2016), 3.90 (July 2018)
- Estrogen: 144 (September 2015)
- DHEA Sulfate: 230 (September 2015)
- MCHC: 32.8 (September 2016), 33.9 (May 2017)
- PSA: 0.71 (April 2017),
- Potassium: 3.6 (September 2015), 3.8 (October 2016), 3.8 (May 2017), 3.6 (November 2017), 3.6 (October 2018)
- Prolactin: 5.38 (April 2018), 12.1 (July 2018)
Semen Analysis (July 2018)
- Semen PH: 7.6
- Semen Volume: 6.7 ml
- Semen Count: 30.9 million’
- Total Sperm: 207 Million
- Percent Motile Sperm: 82.0
- Motile sperm: 25.3 million
- Percent dead sperm: 24
Possible Conditions
- The possible cause of my symptoms that I fear the most is Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), as it appears the first symptom in men with MSA is often “total erectile failure,” As I appear to be on the very young side for an MSA diagnosis, and my doctors rule it out due to the absence of other MSA symptoms, I remain hopeful that I don’t have MSA. But in the absence of a definitive cause of my symptoms, I can’t rule MSA out.
- Thyroid Issues: As you can see from my test results, I have sometimes trended on the high side for my TSH results, but my doctors all say that I have no thyroid problems based on my test results.
- Kidney Issues: I raise this issue because it seems like my body has more difficulty processing waste, as my urine volume is reduced, my urine stream is weaker, and my stools consist of flat pieces that are often small and hard.
- Pelvic Floor Tightness: I have little to no pain in the pelvic floor area, but I figure it is worth bringing up here due to the problems I have with defecation.
Possible Treatments:
- Acupuncture: Has anyone here had success with acupuncture or other alternative medicine?
- Supplements: Does anyone recommend any supplement that may be effective?
- Melatonin: While I have no trouble falling asleep- it’s dragging my backside out of bed in the morning that's the problem- I have been thinking about taking some melatonin after reading a study where it was proven effective in mice who were suffering ED due to spinal cord damage, and another study where men with erectile dysfunction were found with low serum melatonin levels.
Any advice and feedback would be most welcome. Thank you!
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