SEXUALITY, ILLNESS, AND HEALTH: DIABETES MELLITUS – A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF DIABETIC MEN MAY EXPERIENCE RETROGRADE EJACULATION

admin on May 18th, 2009

A very small percentage of diabetic men may experience retrograde ejaculation, a condition in which the ejaculate goes into the bladder instead of out the end of the penis. This is related to nerve damage that causes the internal muscles in the genital area to malfunction. This condition does not stop the sensation of orgasmic contractions, and all other aspects of the sexual-response system can remain intact.

There have been many advances in medical approaches for the more than ten million men who experience chronic erective failure, including new research on injection with papaverine hydrochloride and surgical insertion of prosthetic devices into the penis. Prosthetic devices include the fixed rod or inflatable implant, but any such surgery should be considered within the marital context. Remember that the erection is unnecessary for sexual fulfillment in the fourth perspective. As with any surgery, and particularly for the diabetic, there are always risks to be weighed against gains, and the whole process should be a team decision between marital partners and physician.

There has been much less research on diabetes in women regarding sexual functioning, although the effect of diabetes on female fertility has been studied for years. Once again, the biases of the first three sexuality perspectives dominates our medical orientation, including the assumption that women can always “receive” the male, so disease does not affect “them” as much.

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