Due to stressful life events I had been masturbating very frequently for about 3-4 weeks leading up to the event. One night during sleep I was having an erotic dream and when I woke up my penis had lost sensation and I felt a loss of sensation and control of my urinary muscles. In the weeks leading up to that I had been urinating quite frequently (as if water was going right through me). From that point on I’ve rarely gotten morning erections and recently my nocturnal erections have been prolonged and painful or non-existent. For a few days I had a dull aching pain in my perineum area and my testicles have been heavy/low-hanging. Interestingly the couple times I did masturbate since then (with weakened erections) the sensation was quite enhanced. Its been about a week and there is still a loss of sensation in my flaccid penis.
Also I’m not sure if this a separate problem or not, but I feel there is damage or a tear to the suspensory ligament which may have happened when I was manually trying to get an erection in the days after the event (mainly to confirm I could still do it, which I could). It feels like my penis is on a string and if I pull it I get uncomfortable sensations down the shaft to the perineum. May I have damaged a nerve in my sleep from a mechanical issue? I’m concerned about painful nocturnal erections reinforcing whatever damage might have been done.
Thanks for you help.
ANSWER
Yes, a penile damage during sleep is possible, especially if one is suffering from increased inflammatory response in the area, accompanied with low levels of Nitric Oxide and prostaglandin E1 for local tissue elasticity.
You’ve suffered lowered levels of Arginine vasopressin – a major factor in water retention and moisture for the skin. When the pituitary releases too little of it, you will suffer frequent urination. If it is too high, you will experience water retention problems.
To pinpoint the exact nerve damage will prove to be quite difficult since there is a complicated net of penile nerves that enter the perineal nerves, the dorsal penile nerves, the pudental nerves, and the ilioinguinal nerves.
The sensations with the weakened erections most probably enhanced due to the heightened levels of excitatory and inflammatory prostaglandin E2 in the area.
Much can be done for proper penile sensitivity and erection power restoration, so you should remain optimistic.
UPDATE
Hello Dr Richards,
can we get the Nitric Oxide and prostaglandin E1 tested?
ANSWER
Yes, you can.