Prostate enlargement and sexuality (continued)

Two weeks ago, I started talking about the enlarged prostate and its effect on sexuality. I have not touched on the sexuality issue, because a non-problematic enlarged prostate by itself does not affect sexuality.{{more}} But when it starts giving problems, it affects sexuality. Most of the times an enlarged prostate gives no problems, so most men do not know that they have an enlarged prostate. Even when they are informed that they have an enlarged prostate, they still do not experience sexual problems.

What sexual problems does an enlarged prostate cause? It depends on what other problems an enlarged prostate actually causes. Generally men know that their prostates are enlarged because they have problems peeing, as was discussed in a previous article. This getting up to pee can affect sleep that can in turn affect sexual desire. Besides, most men knowing or being told they have a “prostate problem” immediately link it to sex and that psychologically affects sexual desire and performance, the same way someone with a prostate infection or blood in the urine or the semen from an enlarged prostate will lose their desire for lovemaking.

An enlarged prostate can also affect the sexual desire directly, because, as stated above, it can cause blood in the semen when the man “comes”. This can happen because the man has an infection, or because the swollen prostate can bleed when some men “come”. Notice I’m using the word “swollen prostate” and not “prostate cancer”, because I will deal with prostate cancer in another article. Besides, patients always assume that a swollen prostate means prostate cancer. They are different. This “swollen prostate” I’m talking about means a non-cancerous swollen prostate that most men will have as they grow older.

Finally, a swollen prostate can directly affect sexual performance and desire because of the medication used to treat a swollen prostate with symptoms. The tablets used to treat a swollen prostate do one of two things: they either shrink the prostate, or relax the muscles in the prostate. If the prostate is very big (again, not cancerous, just swollen) and giving problems for the man to pee or cause blood in the urine, then there are tablets to shrink the prostate. These tablets affect the way the male hormones act in the body, so they can sometimes cause erection problems. Fortunately, they only affect two to three out of every 100 men. That is why most men using these tablets will never be affected. There is another set of tablets used to treat men with swollen prostates who are having problems peeing. These tablets relax the muscles in the prostate, opening the urine passage and improving the flow of urine. These tablets may also cause tiredness and low blood pressure. This can indirectly affect the desire for lovemaking and performance during the act. Fortunately, like the other tablets above, not a lot of men taking these tablets are affected. One particular member in this class of tablets has a special sexual side effect, affecting one in 10 men using it. The medication is called Flomax or its generic variant tamsulosin. It causes retrograde ejaculation. As I explained last year, retrograde ejaculation is when you “come” and nothing “comes”. This tablet causes the semen to go back into the bladder, instead of coming out in the “cum”. Instead, it comes out in the urine afterward. This is not damaging, just disconcerting. Everything goes back to normal once you stop taking the tablet. Next week, I will discuss prostate cancer and your sexual health.

For comments or question contact:

Dr Rohan Deshong

Tel: (784) 456-2785

email: deshong@vincysurf.com