Strange Request

[ajama484]

I'd like to make a bit of an unusual request to the members of this forum. I have had physiotherapy ongoing for a few months and it doesn't seem like the triggerpoints are going away, I'll keep going at it in the hopes that I'll see improvements over the next few months. However I'd like ask about penile sensitivity, it seems that in my case it might be in fact physiological numbness or me over-analyzing and obsessing (I do have a type A personality). I remember when I first noticed the lack of sensation my GP ran a tissue across the skin of my thighs, scrotum, butt and I felt the tissue pretty well in all these locations. However when he ran the tissue over my penis I could barely feel it at all. Now I could still feel around the frenulum (ring below the head of penis) but I couldn't really feel the tissue in every other location on the penis. I'm seeing a urologist now that's saying this is perfectly normal, that there arent that many nerve endings in the shaft in the penis and that the head of penis is pressure sensitive not sensitive to light touch and so running a Kleenex over the penis wouldn't be a good indication of nerve damage. But the truth is even during masturbation or sex I feel the lack of sensation. I feel constriction and tightness in the perineal body area and reflex contractions of the bulbospongiousus muscle seem like the muscle is struggling to go through its range of motions so I wonder sometimes if the lack of sensation is because my penis is insensitive or if the perineal muscle are dysfunctional.

My request is for other members to run a tissue or Kleenex over the entire length of their penis to see if they feel it. I know this is really strange lol but my GP believes one thing and my urologist another and I so I just wanted to know if the sensations I feel across my penis are normal and if I've been making a big this out of nothing for months. I mean I can scratch the shaft of penis and feel nothing and then scratch just below the head and it feels just fine.

[carld]

Doesn't sound normal to me...I can feel the wind blowing on it if I let it... Nerves can be irritated or heightened and could effect you differently. You PC muscle can absolutely be in dysfunction from years of clenching it and tightening those muscles so they don't contract properly.

Just part of the whole pelvic myoneuropathy and this is how it effects you. That's what I believe.

[neue01]

So just to set your mind at ease I walked through a quick test in accord with your request. I'd agree with your doctor in the notion that the base is really not that sensitive on a tactile level. My skin in that area does not pick up a klenex being run across it in any detail at all. Closer to the glans that changes slightly. I'd also add that the congestion and lack of sensation I struggle with stems from a congestion of the internal levator ani muscle running along the right side of the pelvic floor and rectal cavity at about 6 inches back. You can't reach this area without the help of a tool. To set your mind at ease the congestion I experience has never effected the skin or any tactile sensation. It effects more of the deep sensation if that makes any sense.

[snoopy]

I'm not sure whether this is normal, but I've done this test several times even before hearing of your request and I have the same exact feeling. I can feel the tissue on the frenulum distinctly-the area under the glans is hghly sensitive whereas other parts of the penis I don't feel the kleenex so much. I am circumcised and I can feel the kleenex when brushed against the circumcision scar. On the base of the penis below the scar I can barely feel the tissue. On the glans I don't feel the tissue much-I feel like the glans is more sensitive to pressure than tactile stimulation. This doesn't seem to interfere with my ability to orgasm, but if i concentrate on it I feel like I notice the limited sensation, if I don't, maybe I don't notice so much. I definitely feel the congestion in the pelvic floor muscles.

I've also often wondered if this was just me being overly compulsive and concentrated on the sensation. Prior to having pain I never paid attention to the sensation there as everything was always in working order, but when the pain started I began focusing on sexual/bowel/bladder function much more intently. For me this all seemed to coincide with finishing grad school, sleeping with a lot of women, and starting a high stress job as a programmer/modeler.

I totally understand your concern, and I don't know if it is normal, because most of us never paid attention to our penile sensation before having problems, but now I do focus on it often during the day. There is nothing more terrifying than losing sensation in your penis. I have lived with frequency issues for a long time before this, and that is not comparable to losing sensation in your penis. But the worst is just the daily grind of pain, day in and day out, wondering if this will ever go away.

I have been to Wise's clinic and while it has helped me some I just can seem to get myself back above the threshold where I do not have symptoms. Lately i can't even get one day of reprise from the pain. It is just there right when I wake up til I can can get drunk and lay on the couch at night. Then it kind of calms down. I'd be happy to talk with you anytime. Send me a pm and let me know. This forum is not the same as talking to someone in person so let me know if you ned to talk.

Best of luck to you, Snoop