Treating Peyronie’s Disease: I’ll Try Anything Because the Curve in My Penis Makes Sex Hurt

What’s Peyronie’s disease?
The doctor gave me the lowdown and said that Peyronie’s affects only about 3% of guys in their 40s and 50s, and it’s rare at my age. It might affect a larger population of guys, but not everyone comes forward for help. It’s unclear whether it’s genetic, and there’s no known cause unless you have some sort of injury—which I didn’t have. It’s frustrating to read how rare it is, and I can’t help but think I’m being punished or something.

The doctor started me on treatment with a third of a pill of Cialis at night and colchicine pills twice a day, which the doctor said was for gout; he told me that certain studies suggest it may help break up scar tissue. So basically, the idea was to break up the scar tissue and stretch the penis back to a straight shape. I did that for two or three months without any results.

A year ago, I started using verapamil and an anti-inflammatory with iontophoresis. Verapamil is supposed to help dissolve the scar tissue. Iontophoresis is a treatment in which you apply a medication to the skin where you think the scar tissue is and place electrically charged pads over it. The electric charge is supposed to force the medication through your skin. It burns at first and feels like getting a mild tattoo on your penis.

For six months, I did it for an hour about six days a week. Finally, I gave up. The treatment seriously interfered with my life! The machine and medication were also expensive, and my insurance didn’t cover it. I spent $10,000 of my own money for something that didn’t work.