Urology

Also, I am circumcised since birth, have no trouble urinating or maintaining erections.

I will start with it's not cancer. If you have bruising from masturbation you are way too aggressive with your penis, which as much as you might like to think it is a rod of steel is quite a delicate organ with a very unique (compared to the rest of your body) system that allows it to function the way it does. This means you can't treat it the same way as other parts of your body, and it's not going to repair itself in the same way either. You need to treat it respectfully and with an awareness of the way it works.

That said, the prominence of the veins on the surface of your penis is something that is likely to change over time, not terribly dissimilar from the changes you might see if you exercise your arms a lot and the appearance of those blood vessels becomes more prominent. In the case of your arms, it is because the tissue consistency has changed (firmer) and pushes the moveable vessels to the surface. In the case of your penis, an irritation or just the regular vigorous stimulation of the penis can draw these vessels to appear more prominently.

What is concerning is that there is any discomfort at all. That would tend to point to inflammation. And what you likely cannot see are the lymph channels that generally follow the same path as your veins, but have no color, and with no pump, can become inflamed without resolution more easily. Because of their proximity, they can push the veins to more prominence, and when inflamed, they can cause mild to moderate discomfort. This can also feel like stiffness.

First thing is to leave it alone for a while, no more masturbation or sex until it has been feeling completely normal for at least a week. Any further irritation is likely to add to the problem and prolong the issue.

Likely you do not need a urologist, however it's good that you are concerned enough, especially with the bruising, to see a professional. Regular physicians know very little about the genitals.

Good also that you recognize that smoking isn't good for your health, but unlikely to be related to your current circumstances.

I appreciate the reply. My other concern is that I can feel little nodules or something when I feel these veins. The swelling of the veins themselves appears to have gone down a tiny bit, but is it possible that these "lumps" on the veins are something to be concerned for? There is one about an inch down from the head right along the dorsal, and one that feels long (like a vein) around the same distance down on the right side. Could these actually be the inflamed lymph channels or plaque buildup? I appreciate the not cancer comment, by the way

To understand the situation, you need to know the anatomy of the penis. Lymph channels in your body tend to follow your veins fairly closely. It's why you can feel them next to one another, but since lymph has no color and no pump in its vessels, it doesn't move on its own, and collects in small glands along the path. On a smaller scale than the ones you feel in your neck when you have a cold, the ones in your penis are pebble sized, although more irritation makes them swell. And the large number of nerve endings in your penis emphasize the discomfort of any unwanted swelling below the skin.

The kind of plaque you're worried about related to Peyronie's disease occurs in the spongy tissue, not the veins and arteries. It is not lumpy, instead it's more rigid, kind of the way you see a dry part of the sponge when it's only partly wet, and as a result, the sponge bends in weird ways, the same as a partially wet sponge does in your sink.

The other kind of plaque that occurs in arteries is also something you wouldn't feel at all, however if you have heart disease, erection issues are sometimes an early symptom, since blood flow can also be congested there.

Likely you have some palpable lymph nodes that are swollen. And since you're unaccustomed to what this feels like, it's not difficult to attribute sensations to things you think you're familiar with, even if they're inaccurate attributions.

Remember, veins are exclusively the blue colored blood vessels that return blood to the heart. Anything else you feel is not a vein, even though it may be in very close proximity. In this case, likely lymph channels.

Since your penis is like a dead end street or cul de sac, when lymph congestion occurs there, it tends to hang out for a while, since there's no traffic flow of fluid going past (your penis ends after a few inches), and because there are no muscles in your penis at all to act like pumps, the way lymph fluid moves in most of the rest of your body. This requires patience, although it's good that you're aware when things are different in your body, and are willing to give changes some attention.

Alright. Here's the deal, as if this wasn't all bad enough.
The "bruising" on the underside hasn't gone down, and may have increased. It's red and instead of the blue spider veins they're red. It's flat, not raised and feels a little smooth to the touch. The other knot/ lump things have remained the same size. AND my testicles have become extremely red AND my penis now occasionally changes shape (A lot of flow to the upper part of the shaft seems to make it "fill up").
There ALSO seems to be a sort of thing that looks like an ingrown hair or a pimple right next to the original chord like thickening.
I've used both hydrocorizone and anti-jock itch cream on the rash like area to no avail.
The Urologist said it was Mondor's disease but he didn't look at it for very long and I felt like it wasn't quite fully thought through.
At this point I'm just terrified. It's affecting everything else I do. I can't think straight. Should I see a dermatologist about the rash? Should I rush in and demand an ultrasound or a biopsy or something?
This is just ridiculous.

You can't just put hydrocortisone on your genitals. That can be dangerous. You can either go back to the urologist and persist with your complaint and demand a resolution. Or you can go to a dermatologist, but in this case I think for you it's organ specific and not solely a skin condition, so not sure you'd get better help there.

The major irritation could be making small things more exaggerated (for example an infected hair follicle).

Looking at the clinical description and photos of Mondor's does seem to have similarities with some of what you describe. I'd persist with the urologist and come to a point where you have a treatment.

Alright, after a sort of follow up with the Urologist (over the phone, at least), he's come to the conclusion that for Mondor's the best thing to do is abstain from sexual activity and keep legs elevated when resting to keep blood from 'piling up,' as it were.

The redness has been attributed to a sort of jock itch that the hydrocortizone was probably making worse. He has prescribed anti-jock itch medication and the wearing of a jock strap (which is the silliest thing to happen to me so far).

Anyway, he says they're unrelated due to being on opposite sides of the penis, though obstructed blood flow may contribute somehow to the slow healing.

All of this hitting together really messed with my head and made me pretty anxious - especially after looking up the one in a million chance that shaft cancer was somehow the culprit, but as long as things don't get worse I guess it's a waiting game.

I feel like by the end of all this I'll be able to write a book. "My Adventures in Urology."

Thanks for the advice along the way, Counterso.

Hi, I just happened on your post today as I have been having a similar problem recently.

My problems started 8 months ago when I began to feel pain on the inside of my penis when masturbating. A few days later my penis began to shrink and tense up in the shower and at one stage i thought it was going to disappear completely. I went to the hospital and the doctor said that it was maybe a mild form of prostatitis.

Anyway, 3/4 months later and after 2 months of antibiotics I was still feeling a tightness and my penis was small and dense when I walked or moved around and I noticed when I excercised or climbed stairs it shrunk to painful proportions and I found that I had to make stops when climbing flights of stairs.

I am 32 and have had no previous health problems and when I went to a urologist he tested my urine, blood, prostate, sent me for an mri scan to check for kidnet stones and after all that told me everything was normal.

I insisted that everything was not normal and asked him to give me some muscle relaxants for the tenseness as i read that the penis is suspended by a bunch of muscles and also sometimes relaxants are given along with antibiotics to treat prostatitis so I suggested these and he gave me 15 days worth of muscle relaxants and now the shrinkage is minimal and i have relatively no discomfort on a normal daily basis.

However, it still hurts during and after sex. I can have sex at the most once a day and afterwards it feels like someone has kicked or trampled on my penis and even an erection hurts and ejaculation is impossible. i cant masturbate anymore although i do try in the hope that it may be getting better, then everytime it just makes it worse.

I also noticed after taking the muscle relaxants A HUGE SPIDERWEB OF RED/BLACK veins similar to what you describe which were not there 2 weeks ago.

How is your condition now? have you taken anti-inflammatories and refrained from all sexual activity? has it worked? I notice that your last post was 2 months ago, does that mean you are better now? This has been a horrible year for me. i am lucky to have an understanding girlfriend but i just want to have normal painless sex that lasts longer than 10 minutes again.

please if you are seeing improvements or if anyone has any advise, write to me. thanks

also my book is going to be called " the penis monologues" if you get there first with the solution you can use the title

That you would continue to try to have sex with a penis that is injured or in pain is a really bad idea. That you would go for more than once a day is ludicrous. If you can't respect that your penis is in need of a rest from masturbation, sex, or any other activity that causes pain, you're not going to be helped. Pain is your body's completely obvious way of telling you "DON'T DO THAT." If you're not going to listen, you're going to continue to suffer. I don't care what your girlfriend wants. I don't care what you want (with regard to sex). If you can't prioritize your health over your pleasure (which in this case has become pain), things will not improve. Every time you experience pain, that's signaling further damage is likely occurring. Stop it, now.

As to what the cause is, you're not going to find out unless you start eliminating the factors that may be contributing. It sounds like you may have some pelvic floor dysfunction that is registering as pain in the area of muscles and tendons in your groin area. Keeping in mind that internal pain does not always register in the location where it's actually being caused, the issue could be much deeper inside than just your penis. Since the muscle relaxants made a difference, this is a reasonably good leading clue. You may seek care from someone specializing in pelvic floor dysfunctions. But, you MUST stop doing things (like sex and masturbation) that cause pain. Repeated inflammatory response in your body can turn into scar tissue, which is a whole different problem you don't want to face. Get some self-control guy. Your wellness/recovery is much more important than recreational sex.

thanks for your quick response counterso, believe me its nice to have someone to talk to about this. since your advice i have stopped all sexual activity and am now on an 8 day course of anti-inflammatories, a 60 day course of muscle relaxants and a 30 day course of anti anxiety pills. im not 100% sure they are oin to work though as although i have relatively no PAIN at the moment i still have shrinkage and everyday at least once i have a shooting pain in my anus. do you think this could be prostatitis because i have had my prostate checked several times and i am showing no symptoms? again thanks for your help

The pain may not be coming from where your brain feels it. Internal pain can be a challenge to locate because the intensity of internal pain clouds the source of the signal. Something you feel where you do could actually be coming from anywhere connected to the sacral plexus of nerves.

thanks again for your help counterso. i have been also reading up on chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_prostatitis/chronic_pelvic_pain_syndrome

also bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis.

i originally had a problem about 2 weeks after an unprotected sexual encounter. i started experiencing a burning sensation when urinating, shrinkage of the penis and a slight discharge usually in the morning. i went to the doctor and he gave me some antibiotics and about a week later it got a lot better, there was still a slight burning sensation which was dissappearing. then after about 10 days i noticed the pain in the end of my penis began to come back while masturbating.
i went back to the doctor and he gave me more antibiotics which did not seem to do anything.
since then i have been experiencing pain after ejaculating. after masturbation( which i am now too scared to even try) mainly consisting of an aching pain in my urethra and spasmic convulsion like sensations at the base of the penis causing this shrinking like sensation and my penis becoming very firm.
during sex, it just doesnt feel like it should, when i have the urge to ejaculate it is very sudden and hard to contain. if i have sex 2 or 3 times per week or if i have drunk alcohol it starts to hurt,
over the last 8 months i have seen some improvements. i can now achieve a full erection. i can have sexual intercourse without pain. the next day it is usually sore like a dead arm or bruised but before the conrtacting was extreme to the point where i would have crippling pains between the base of my penis and my prostate which felt like i was being shocked by a taser and would have to go lie down.
i have tried anti inflammatories but they dont seem to do anything. the musclerelaxants have alleviatied the contractions and i am now taking anti anxiety pills as i was experiencing heart palpitations and chest pains which have now gone.
i notice that the spasms are still there although now infrequent. when it is cold out there is tension. i noticed them after drinking a coca cola the other day. also after eating spicy food and coffee and smoking marajuana. also weirdly taking a shower seems to cause discomfort.
the problem is that i have seen 3 doctors about this, my gp and 2 urologists and the urologists have both said there is nothing wrong with me. my prostate, kidneys, testicles and penis are all normal. i dont know what to do. i live in france and these trips are expensive and the muscle relaxants are a godsend but they are not fixing the problem. who do i ask if the experts tell me there is nothing wrong with me? why have they not mentioned CPS/CPPS or BPS/IC? why am i having to diagnose myself online with absolutely no medical training? anxiety levels have never been higher.

hi, thanks again for your help. i have been looking also at chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and also bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis

i basically have frequent discomfort in the abdominal and lower penis to prostate area which is aggrivated with urination and passing solids. also masterbation causes almost instant pain after ejaculation with a firmness and shrinkage of the penis to crippling proportions. also cold weather and i have noticed coffee or coke and some alcoholic drink seem to aggrivate it. sex is now relatively pain free if infrequent but the next day my penis is small firm and with weird spasmodic sensations
the problem is i have now been to see 2 urologists and they say there is nothing wrong with me. one wanted to prescribe me paracetomol. i asked him if i could try muscle relaxants and they have been a releif but are not fixing the problem.
i am also now taking anti anxiety pills as i began to have heart palpitations and chest pains. my problem is why am i having to diagnose myself online with no medical training? why is everyone saying there is no problem when there clearly is a problem. anxiety levels have never been higher