Getting closer to someone you love is a much-anticipated high point in any relationship. But that anticipation could be marred by anxiety if you have diabetes and erectile dysfunction (ED) alone. These two conditions can also increase your likelihood of developing a third chronic condition: Peyronie’s disease.
You’re probably familiar with diabetes and are aware of ED; however, you might be unaware of Peyronie’s disease. Peyronie’s disease is a condition where fibrous scar tissue builds up in the penis. The result is an abnormal bend or curve during erections. It is reasonable that if you already have diabetes and struggle with ED from time to time, you’re curious about Peyronie’s disease (Peyronie’s) and want to unpack the impact of these three conditions on one another. You probably also have questions about how these three conditions can change your sex life and what you can do about it. Here are some takeaways about how diabetes, ED, and Peyronie’s can affect male sexual health.
Feeling self-conscious about penis shape and size or experiencing erectile dysfunction can cause you to distance yourself emotionally and avoid intimacy with your partner. Your partner may think that your feelings of affection and attraction have changed.
Worry about causing additional pain or injury while having sex is also a common concern. Erections could hurt, and the bend in the penis can make penetration a challenge and result in a lack of comfort for you and your partner.
To address and preserve intimacy, be open and share your physical feelings and emotions with your partner while reiterating that your feelings for them haven’t changed. Intimacy is not just penetrative sex. Touching, kissing, and trying new positions with your partner can strengthen your connection and bring you more comfort.
If your communication doesn’t work as well as you’d like and you’re not dealing well with Peyronie’s impact on your sex life, consider seeking out a sex therapist to help restore your confidence when you connect with your partner. You could also explore medical guidance to see what treatment options are available to correct the curve.
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Although drugs and supplements for diabetes, Peyronie’s disease, and erectile dysfunction can coexist, there is a risk of interaction that makes checking in regularly with your health team necessary to make sure that your treatment is not adversely affecting blood flow, blood pressure, and metabolic processes.
Over-the-counter supplements, which are not regulated, can interfere with blood glucose control and, when taken with prescription erectile dysfunction drugs, can cause a sudden, unsafe blood pressure drop. Peyronie’s treatment alters blood flow. If blood sugar is unmanaged, it can make Peyronie’s more severe and reduce the effectiveness of scar tissue treatments.
Some diabetes treatments impact sexual function by affecting the testosterone level, for example. On the other hand, some ED medications and diabetes medications can work well together. It is complicated to the point of being dangerous if the ED drugs are combined with nitrates, however, which are commonly prescribed for heart problems in diabetics.
Diabetes, ED, and Peyronie’s place real physical and mechanical limits on sexual performance. Diabetes limits blood flow to nerves. This negatively impacts ED by making it worse. Diabetic inflammation can disrupt the scar tissue that builds up in Peyronie’s. The three conditions are interconnected.
Here are some tips for sexual techniques when managing diabetes, dealing with ED, and accommodating Peyronie’s:
These performance tips help reduce pain and minimize the risk of injury.
The ideal positions will depend on how and in what direction your penis curves. Some positions include an upward curve (“doggy style”), a downward curve, side-by-side (spooning), or the missionary position with pillows.
Lastly, if penetration hurts despite changing sex positions, try non-intercourse intimacy. Oral sex, mutual masturbation, or manual stimulation are practical and still pleasurable.
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The three conditions are interconnected. Improperly managed blood sugar, the cornerstone of diabetes, impairs blood flow and damages nerves, which exacerbates ED. This cycle further impacts erectile tissue, making the development of Peyronie’s plaque a likely progression of the disease.
Physical management demands diabetic control. Medical options for ED start with oral medications, and medical options for Peyronie’s are intralesional injections, traction therapy, or surgical correction, depending on how bad the condition is and how long you’ve had it. Lifestyle changes like a Mediterranean diet, regular exercise, and quitting smoking can complement medical options.
These physical changes increase blood flow and improve the three conditions, so everything is working physiologically as it should for sexual function.
Emotional management requires open communication and pairs intimacy with an increase in mutual pleasure and a decrease in pressure to “perform” sexually.
Lastly, but also of significant importance, is mental management for simultaneously living with and dealing with multiple chronic diseases. This includes professional counseling, stress education, and support groups.
Having all three conditions can help you and your partner rediscover what makes a good, strong, and resilient team. Lean in to one another and support one another by keeping communication open and honest. Explore emotions so they don’t turn into feelings of rejection, inadequacy, or resentment. Remind yourself as a couple that penetration is not the only path to pleasure. Let this be a new chapter in your lives that, although not ideal, is written and weathered together. Even though it may be different from initial expectations and require hard work to keep the relationship strong, time spent together as a couple is still valuable, with the gift of better communication leading to other forms of intimate connection.
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