Here our SCI specialist nurse Damian Smith covers some of the more common questions asked specifically by men.<\/p>\n
If yours is a complete spinal cord injury than yes, it will. It also depends on what your injury level is \u2013 some may be able to get reflex erections, others most likely won\u2019t if their injury is below level T12\/L1. For those who can get an erection, maintaining one might be an issue.<\/p>\n
With incomplete injuries, sexual function may or may not be affected. There is no rule book as it depends on which specific nerves have been affected. It\u2019s a matter of assessing patients on an individual basis to determine what functions are still available.<\/p>\n
Depending on your injury level, there are two types of erection SCI men may experience \u2013 psychogenic, caused by arousal from sights, sounds or thoughts and reflexogenic (reflex) where stimulation may occur even when it wasn\u2019t intended and which you have little control over.<\/p>\n
You may have difficulty maintaining an erection and require medication or other interventions to help.<\/p>\n
Although sensation may not occur where it once did \u2013 for example the genitals – areas where you do feel can compensate for those where you can\u2019t. Heightened sensitivity can be experienced in certain areas of the body, triggering sexual feelings in a way they hadn\u2019t done before. Exploring your body will give you a greater understanding of what turns you on.<\/p>\n
You may or may not.\u00a0 If you do reach the point of orgasm, it might not feel the same. Depending on your level of SCI, you might experience early symptoms of Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD). Ejaculation can be a trigger for AD, so you may experience those early symptoms such as a warm feeling around the face as your blood pressure goes up \u2013 it might not be enough to trigger a full-blown episode.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t be alarmed by this, it\u2019s just something to be aware of. As with AD, as soon as you eliminate the cause, all symptoms subside and as you only ejaculate for a matter of seconds, once that has happened, the trigger disappears and your blood pressure will come back down.<\/p>\n
Again, with incomplete injuries, the ability to experience sensations of an orgasm will vary. Some people may but it might be different from what you can remember, pre-injury.<\/p>\n
The majority of men with SCI are unable to ejaculate. However, although it doesn\u2019t happen in the same way \u2013 it might take longer, may require more stimulation to reach that point or it may be less forceful – it can still happen so we advise you to use protection to avoid unplanned pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases.<\/p>\n
Some men may experience retrograde ejaculation where sperm travels back into the bladder. You might not realise this has happened, just that your urine looks a bit different. This isn\u2019t a cause for concern – there\u2019s no increased risk of urine infection, it\u2019s just one of those things. Also, if you\u2019re planning to try for children, sperm can be extracted from urine as it\u2019s a sterile environment.<\/p>\n
Yes. Depending on your level of injury, you might need devices or medication to help. For those who can get an erection but have difficulty maintaining it, there are erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra that may help. Your doctor will generally start you on a low dose and there might be scope to increase that dose further.<\/p>\n
For those with a flaccid paralysis who can\u2019t achieve an erection as there\u2019s no reflex activity there at all, using a vacuum erection device (penis pump) with constrictor rings can help. The rings vary in size and it\u2019s important the correct size is used in order for it to be both effective and not cause harm.<\/p>\n
Erectile dysfunction injections directly into the penis can also help by assisting blood flow into the area.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth bearing in mind that medications are only effective if instructions are carefully followed. For example, Viagra needs to be taken on an empty stomach. Some people may get disheartened that it\u2019s not working, but it may simply be a case of not following instructions properly.<\/p>\n
Also important is understanding how medications work with others you\u2019re taking.\u00a0 Any meds need to be taken under supervision and your GP or pharmacist can advise on whether it\u2019s safe for certain medications to interact with one another and things you might need to look out for. We strongly advise that those with heart problems and those with injuries of T6 or above who have medication for AD, speak to their GP before taking erectile dysfunction medication.<\/p>\n
Top tip: Some meds like Viagra can cause things like mild headaches which can be off putting for sex. A simple solution to that is taking paracetamol at the same time.<\/p>\n
There are some but these are minimal. If you\u2019re T6 or below and won\u2019t experience those early symptoms of AD, the main one would be being careful not to be too vigorous as, with no sensation, you wouldn\u2019t be aware of causing damage to a sensitive area.<\/p>\n
Other risks are the same as anyone having sex, regardless of a SCI. The risk of unplanned pregnancies, STD\u2019s or urine infections can be minimised by using protection.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been asked in the past about an increased risk of pressure sores. Bear in mind that while having sex, you\u2019re in motion and not in the same position for a prolonged period so the risks are minimal.<\/p>\n
Yes. As we\u2019ve discussed, most men are not able to ejaculate so you may need support from a sexual function clinic with retrieval of sperm through penile vibratory stimulation (PVS) products like the Ferticare 2.0, and with IVF at a fertility clinic.<\/p>\n
Sex and the Spine<\/a> \u2013 easily accessible and trusted resources on sexual well-being from professional experts.<\/p>\n Spokz<\/a> \u2013 Online shop offering products aimed at enhancing sexual wellbeing for disabled people<\/p>\n Sexual Health and Disability Alliance (SHADA)<\/a> are involved in the positive promotion of sex for disabled people. This link provides a list of numerous sex-related resources<\/p>\n SEX after SPINAL CORD INJURY<\/a><\/p>\n If you would like to discuss any of the issues mentioned above with someone who has lived experience of SCI visit our support page<\/a> to find the contact for your area.\u00a0 Alternatively you can ring our support line on 0800 980 0501 or request a call from one of our SCI specialist nurses.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here our SCI specialist nurse Damian Smith covers some of the more common questions asked specifically by men. Will my…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":739,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[454],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56977"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/739"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56977"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57087,"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56977\/revisions\/57087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}