After your doctor tells you that you have Peyronie’s disease, you may have some questions. But you also might feel overwhelmed with all of the thoughts about the condition, your symptoms, or your treatment.
Before you meet with a Peyronie’s disease specialist, it’s important to create a list of things you want to know more about. This will help you calm your nerves and go into your appointment with a better mindset. A urologist skilled in the treatment of Peyronie’s disease can help you better understand the condition.
What Should You Ask During Your Peyronie’s Disease Appointment?
No questions are off limits. Ask your doctor anything about your condition. Now is the time to learn as much as you’d like. Once you know more about Peyronie’s disease, you can play an active role in your treatment.
Bring a list of questions to your appointment. This way, you won’t forget anything important. You can also take notes on your doctor's answers to each question. You may do this on your smartphone, or you may prefer to write your questions and notes on paper.
Here are some questions you may want to ask your doctor:
What Causes Peyronie’s Disease?
If you’re unfamiliar with the condition, you’ll want to know more about why it happens. While doctors don’t know exactly what causes Peyronie’s disease, they have a few ideas of what might lead to it.
Experts think that it happens from repeated injuries to your penis. You might hurt your penis during sex, from sports, or if you were in an accident. In most cases, the person with the disease might not even remember when it happened.
They think that the scar tissue that forms after an injury might cause your penis to curve.
How Will Peyronie’s Disease Affect Me?
As with any condition, you’ll want to ask your doctor more about how it’ll affect your life.
You may have heard things about how Peyronie’s disease can make it difficult to get and keep an erection. This can make it more complicated to have sex. Another risk with this condition is that it’ll shorten your penis.
This can create a lot of new feelings for you. You might also want to ask your doctor how the condition will affect you emotionally. They can refer you to another expert that can help you through some of these issues if you’d like.
You can also ask your doctor if Peyronie’s disease is life-threatening. They’ll explain to you why it’s not. The condition isn’t cancerous or fatal. It’ll cause changes to your penis, but it won’t affect the rest of your body.
Will My Peyronie’s Disease Get Worse?
Over time, the curve in your penis could get worse. Your penis may also get shorter as time goes on. But after anywhere from 3 to 12 months, the condition will stabilize, which means it will not get any worse.
It’s a good idea to chat with your doctor about how this disease progresses. This is especially true if you just developed it. You’ll be able to understand more of what could happen.
Is It OK to Have Sex?
Since Peyronie’s can affect the length of your penis and your ability to get an erection, it can affect sex. Without treatment, it might be difficult or even painful to have sex. Usually if the curve of your penis is larger, it’ll be harder to have sex.
You should ask your doctor more about this. They can explain to you why this happens and how you can fix it.
Will Peyronie’s Disease Affect My Relationship?
Your doctor will tell you more about how the condition might affect your partner. If you aren’t able to have sex, that could have an impact on the other person in the relationship. Your doctor can include your partner on chats about the disease. They can also ask more questions about how the condition will affect you both.
What Types of Treatment Can I Get for Peyronie’s Disease?
While there’s no cure for Peyronie’s disease, you’ll want to know more about how you can treat it. Your doctor will go over the ways you can improve your symptoms. They might tell you more about traction (or stretch therapy), medications you can use, or surgeries that are available to you.
You can also ask about the side effects of certain treatments. This may help you decide which one is best for you.
If your Peyronie's disease isn’t causing you any pain and you only have minor symptoms, you might not need treatment at all. Ask your doctor about this if you feel that this is the case.
What Will Happen if I Don’t Treat My Peyronie’s Disease?
Only about 10% to 12% of people will have improved symptoms with no treatment. But for most people, having no treatment will cause the pain to stay the same or get worse.
If you aren’t comfortable with the treatment options, tell your doctor. They can help you understand your choices more and guide you to make the best decision for your health.
How Will Insurance Help Pay for My Treatment?
If you have insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid, it’s important to see how much of your Peyronie’s treatment your plan will cover. Medical bills can be expensive, so it’s a good idea to discuss this with your doctor before you decide on a specific treatment plan.
Show Sources
Photo Credit: Morsa Images / Getty Images
SOURCES:
Mayo Clinic: “Peyronie’s Disease.”
Peyronie’s Disease Advocates: “Working with Your Doctor,” “Doctor Discussion Guide.”
Cleveland Clinic: “Peyronie’s Disease.”
UCI Urology: “What Happens if Peyronie’s Disease is Left Untreated?”
