numb penis, bladder and bowel sensation changes for over a week

[kevinthomasw]

desperate and looking for some kind of help here. about a week ago i discovered that my penis had lost sensation. i also have difficulty feeling a full bladder/bowel, although the muscles still work. i dont have any other real symptoms other than a sore psoas muscle. i went to the hospital and they imaged my spine but did not see any cause for concern. they disgnosed me with psoas tendonitis and nothing else that they could pinpoint. i am waiting on a urology appointment.

numbness is my only symptom. i am now unable, or nearly unable, to acheive enough sensation to orgasm. this is extremely upsetting to me and i want to know if anyone here has had any success treating this issue or has any recommendations. i dont want to live my life this way — may not be able to in fact.

[Violet M]

So, it sounds like they ruled out cauda equina syndrome on the imaging. Is there anything you can pinpoint that might have caused the numbness -- like an accident, injury, medical procedure, heavy exercise, etc.? History can be important in helping to determine the underlying cause.

You could try to get an MRI of the pelvis using the Hollis Potter protocol. They use special software settings that help enhance the images of nerves in the pelvis to see if there might be a compressed nerve. There are some places around the country that do them, although ideally it would be good if you could have Dr. Potter read it. She's listed in the New York section of doctors at the following link: https://www.pudendalhope.info/united-st ... /#new-york
If you call them, they might be able to direct you to a place closer to you where you could have it done.

Sometimes musculoskeletal anomolies don't show up on imaging and it can be helpful to be evaluated by a physicial therapist who's knowledgeable about the pelvis, including things like pelvic misalignment or SI joint dysfunction that could be causing a compressed nerve. I don't know if they did any of that in the ER but it could be worth an evaluation.

You could email with a doctor who specializes in pudendal neueralgia and try to get a phone consultation to see if there is any chance they might be able help you. Some of them have emails listed on our website. https://www.pudendalhope.info/list-of-doctors-2/

Violet

[stephanies]

KevinThomasw,

I think MRIs of both the lumbar spine and sacrum/pelvis are important to rule in or out an underlying spine issue and anything else obvious that could explain your symptoms. I can understand how numbness is very concerning. Physical therapy is also a great place to start while you are waiting for your appointment with urology.

Stephanies

[kevinthomasw]

KevinThomasw,

I think MRIs of both the lumbar spine and sacrum/pelvis are important to rule in or out an underlying spine issue and anything else obvious that could explain your symptoms. I can understand how numbness is very concerning. Physical therapy is also a great place to start while you are waiting for your appointment with urology.

Stephanies

Lumbar and Pelvic MRIs both came back normal. I had a consultation with Dr. Hibner who believes it is a spasm in the pelvic floor and prescribed me suppositories to relax the muscle.

[kevinthomasw]

So, it sounds like they ruled out cauda equina syndrome on the imaging. Is there anything you can pinpoint that might have caused the numbness -- like an accident, injury, medical procedure, heavy exercise, etc.? History can be important in helping to determine the underlying cause.

You could try to get an MRI of the pelvis using the Hollis Potter protocol. They use special software settings that help enhance the images of nerves in the pelvis to see if there might be a compressed nerve. There are some places around the country that do them, although ideally it would be good if you could have Dr. Potter read it. She's listed in the New York section of doctors at the following link: https://www.pudendalhope.info/united-st ... /#new-york
If you call them, they might be able to direct you to a place closer to you where you could have it done.

Sometimes musculoskeletal anomolies don't show up on imaging and it can be helpful to be evaluated by a physicial therapist who's knowledgeable about the pelvis, including things like pelvic misalignment or SI joint dysfunction that could be causing a compressed nerve. I don't know if they did any of that in the ER but it could be worth an evaluation.

You could email with a doctor who specializes in pudendal neueralgia and try to get a phone consultation to see if there is any chance they might be able help you. Some of them have emails listed on our website. https://www.pudendalhope.info/list-of-doctors-2/

Violet

No trauma or surgeries precipitated this. Came on seemingly out of the blue.

[Violet M]

Did the suppositories to relax the muscle help at all?

[kevinthomasw]

Did the suppositories to relax the muscle help at all?

Bladder and bowel symptoms have improved. Numbness remains. I believe I fall into the ‘hard flaccid’ syndrome, so I am exploring that currently.

[Violet M]

Hi Kevin, If you find out more helpful infomation in your research, please let us know because we often get guys on this forum having problems with numbness. Here is an interesting discussion of Hard Flaccid Syndrome that is written and reviewed by an MD. https://www.hims.com/conditions/hard-flaccid-syndrome

The problem with a diagnosis such as Hard Flaccid Syndrome is that it doesn't tell you anything about what the cause is, and in order to treat or fix a syndrome it helps if you know the cause. If you go down to the section of that article that lists the likely causes of Hard Flaccid, it suggests trauma to the pudendal nerve as one of the possible causes. Which would make sense, because the penis is innervated by the pudendal nerve. Since you say there was no trauma to the area, you have to consider whether there might be some musculoskeletal anomaly that is causing ongoing microtrauma or pressure on the nerves/blood vessels. When Dr. Hibner says your muscles in that area may be in spasm, I guess the question would be -- what is causing the muscles to be in spasm? That article also lists some possible treatments, some of them similar to treatments that are recommended for pudendal neuralgia.

Violet

[romotronco88]

hey partner, how long has it been affecting you? the good news is you haven't had trauma to the area or significant changes. bodies can go through some weird turbulence at times but that points to something that will bounce back.

before my condition worsened which happened after a legit injury, I would get bouts where sensation was kind of squelched. could always orgasm but just the good feelings would kinda get blocked out, was weird. things that would wake me up from this included: surfing, time, laying off that area, running, getting turned on, and sometimes a good night out with enough stuff to do a little reboot of my nervous system.

[onlysams]

desperate and looking for some kind of help here. about a week ago i discovered that my penis had lost sensation. i also have difficulty feeling a full bladder/bowel, although the muscles still work. i dont have any other real symptoms other than a sore psoas muscle. i went to the hospital and they imaged my spine but did not see any cause for concern. they disgnosed me with psoas tendonitis and nothing else that they could pinpoint. i am waiting on a urology appointment.

numbness is my only symptom. i am now unable, or nearly unable, to acheive enough sensation to orgasm. this is extremely upsetting to me and i want to know if anyone here has had any success treating this issue or has any recommendations. i dont want to live my life this way — may not be able to in fact.

That combo of numbness plus bladder and bowel changes is not something to sit on. Even if imaging looked “fine”, push neuro hard, like asap, not just urology. Could be nerve or spine related and timing matters a lot here.