Numb Penis and erection problems
vespertine777
Posts: 11
Hi there
I can see many have come across this before from other posts I have read on here, but has anyone has numbness and ED that appears to have lasted 10 days or longer. I ask as I recently purchased a new road bike from my local Giant store. Having attended Spinning classes three times a week for the last three years, I knew my aerobic capacity was good, and decided its time to retire my old MTB and get a road bike. When I collected it from the store they set me on the bike and just adjusted the seat and having looked at my reach advised it "looked about right". First day out I planned a route without knowing how far it was. Turned out it was 42 miles on my Strava which I was pleased with. Next day I went out again and did 25 miles, then 36 on the third day. After the second time I did notice a numbness/tingling sensation in my penis, especially at the tip. I didn't link it up with the bike at that time, but when it didn't appear to improve I did some research and found this is a common complaint with cyclists, especially if they clock up miles. If only the shop I purchased this from had made me aware of this problem I would have been more cautious. Anyway following suggestions on here I adjusted the seat forward and tilted it down slightly so I am not putting weight on my perinium so much. Went out just once more, and it felt more comfortable as if I was resting on my seat bones. Also made a point of getting out of the seat every few minutes. During the period after the initial numbness I noticed I was strugling to obtain an erection, and now I can't get one at all without plenty of coaxing. No morning horn or spontanious movements during the day. Have made an appointment to see the doc, but now getting very concerned in case I have permanant damage. Has anyone else had this issue, and if so did it resolve itself in the end? I have now parked up the bike until I get further advise.
Any comments would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Clive
I can see many have come across this before from other posts I have read on here, but has anyone has numbness and ED that appears to have lasted 10 days or longer. I ask as I recently purchased a new road bike from my local Giant store. Having attended Spinning classes three times a week for the last three years, I knew my aerobic capacity was good, and decided its time to retire my old MTB and get a road bike. When I collected it from the store they set me on the bike and just adjusted the seat and having looked at my reach advised it "looked about right". First day out I planned a route without knowing how far it was. Turned out it was 42 miles on my Strava which I was pleased with. Next day I went out again and did 25 miles, then 36 on the third day. After the second time I did notice a numbness/tingling sensation in my penis, especially at the tip. I didn't link it up with the bike at that time, but when it didn't appear to improve I did some research and found this is a common complaint with cyclists, especially if they clock up miles. If only the shop I purchased this from had made me aware of this problem I would have been more cautious. Anyway following suggestions on here I adjusted the seat forward and tilted it down slightly so I am not putting weight on my perinium so much. Went out just once more, and it felt more comfortable as if I was resting on my seat bones. Also made a point of getting out of the seat every few minutes. During the period after the initial numbness I noticed I was strugling to obtain an erection, and now I can't get one at all without plenty of coaxing. No morning horn or spontanious movements during the day. Have made an appointment to see the doc, but now getting very concerned in case I have permanant damage. Has anyone else had this issue, and if so did it resolve itself in the end? I have now parked up the bike until I get further advise.
Any comments would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Clive
0
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Hi there. Thanks for the comment. Yes it is genuine and quite worrying. On the one occasion I have been out since did make sure I got up off the seat every few minutes, but I suspect the damage is already done. Was just hoping someone out there may have had this problem before.
I would try taking a few days off to allow everything to recover and then come back to it and see what happens. If changing the andle hasn't solved it try a different saddle maybe? I find my Toupe puts a lot less pressure on that area than my old Giant saddle did.
I cycle regularly with a guy who did a 2 week tour round France ignoring a similar issue and lost the full use of his parts for 6 months afterwards (his girlfriend was not happy!) - you should definitely get it sorted...
It's very likely something that will recover with a little time. I used to occasionally suffer some numbness while riding (the bike) which would resolve itself shortly after stopping but then after one rather long ride I had numbness which took about 3 days to vanish completely. I found that rather concerning! Position and orientation of the saddle is one potential cause but I'd already spent time getting this as good as I could so I started looking at other saddle options. The original saddle was a specialized BG saddle of some description. It was comfortable when sitting relatively upright but still occasionally caused numbness and any prolonged efforts in the drops quickly became uncomfortable.
I tried a couple of conventional saddles first. The Fizik Arione being one of them but found them no better. Then I tried a Cobb V-Flow Plus saddle which I quite liked for aggressive riding and it almost completely cured the numbness issue but was less comfortable for more relaxed efforts. Next was the Adamo ISM Breakaway. I really liked this saddle but only after an initial break in period of a couple of weeks during which it hurt quite a bit! Once used to the Adamo saddles they suddenly and miraculously change from torture devices to the most comfortable saddles going. However although all dicomfort was eliminated for hard flat rides, I found it didn't feel quite perfect when sitting up for easy rides or climbing. It was almost the right saddle for me but not quite. Then I tried the Specialised Romin Evo Expert Gel. A more conventional saddle but with a reasonably substantial cutout and channel and a drooping nose. First I tried it in 143mm width which turned out to be too narrow for me and was quite uncomfortable. Then I tried the 155mm.....lovely!
So I've been riding with that for a couple of years now with no complaints and no further numbness.
Then last year I bought a second bike. The saddle that came with it (Fizik Antares) stayed on for two test rides and then got replaced. SInce I was keeping the old bike I needed a new saddle so instead of another Romin Evo Expert I decided to try the then new Adamo ISM Attack. this is similar to the Breakaway except with a much narrower rear chasis which I thought would eliminate the minor problems I'd had with the Breakaway. It's a lovely saddle. It's now on my old bike which has been converted for triathlon use but it would be equally at home on the road bike.
In summary:
Don't give up on riding but similarly don't go back out with a setup that's injuring you!
Unless there's something terribly wrong with your existing saddle position, it's time to try different saddles. Since you're clearly having pretty severe problems it might be worth going straight to the Adamo type unconventional saddles. They seem to universally cure numbness issues - some people don't find them comfortable but everyone seems to accept that numbness is completely cured. Find somewhere that will lend you a test saddle for at least 3 weeks (many say 2 weeks but just return it a week l;ate if you have to and give them some business to make up for it!) like I said these take time to adapt to just like when you start cycling in the first place with a conventional saddle, since they support your weight differently. It'll probably take at least 5 or 6 rides and 2 weeks or more but in my case it then suddenly becomes comfortable and stays that way. Have a look at the Adamo ISM website which has a saddle selector based on type of use. I really like the Adamo as an all round saddle for TT and general road riding. I could live happily with the Breakaway for the same use or the Time Trial for just aggressive TT style riding. If you'd rather stay with a more conventional saddle, try some of the cutout types like the Specialised Romin Evo Expert, Selle SMP and Selle Italia saddles, etc. Again avoid buying anything until you've tried it. It might take several attempts to find something that's right and you don't want to end up with half a dozen unwanted saddles that you're trying to sell off.
Good luck
Saddle type is important but may only be a contributory factor here rather than the cause. Best wishes with your visit to the vets and don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion if your not happy or the outcome is simply a prescription for Viagra.
Oh and congratulations for having the balls to post on the subject matter. BTW no pun intended.
Desmond Tutu
I've found that getting someone else to do this works even better
watch this. find a specialised dealer (easy) get fitted for a Specialised Toupe or Romin, maybe try a test saddle (if they have your size) or just enquire about their 30 day money back satisfaction policy.
I use a Romin, neve had any issues since.
http://breakingmuscle.com/mens-fitness/ ... t-hurt-you
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Could be - but don't be scared by the google horror stories.
Given the mileage you quoute IMO you are unlikley to have done any serious damage - but don't ride anymore on that set up. Get a saddle with a cut out - I love my brooks imperial b17 - only around £60 - it don't look great on a racer but its really comfortable (YMMV) !!
No idea if I'd have suffered ED, I'm married so there wasn't enough time to find out.
Hi there thank you for the advise on the saddle. I am going to look into a saddle with a cut out before I ride the bike again. Have already tilted the seat forward. I know you mention the mileage I have done is relatively small, but I am just worried the sysmptoms don't appear to have improved or changed.
The other thing that can work is lowering your bars at more weight comes off the seat.
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As diy mentioned, tilting the saddle forwards can cause other problems. I tried this and found I just slid forwards. If you move the saddle forwards to try and compensate you can move more weight onto your hands but still have a tendency to slide. Definitely the Adamo saddles would be my recommendation, with cutout saddles like the Specialised Romin Evo Expert in second place.
Hi Bob thank you for your comments. Interesting what you say about your friend who had sexual issues for 6 months after. Did he not worry if it would ever come back. Do you know what advice he was given. Was he diagnosed with perenail nerve damage, and did he continue to cycle during that period
The very last thing you need to do is to research the issues in the internet as it leads to unnecessary stress and misdirection.
I had a lump under one of my balls, straight off to the vet and saw a doc who was great. He had a young med student there and asked if he could video the examination. Balls out, 5 minutes loss of dignity and a contribution to medical students knowledge wasn't a bad outcome. BTW my remedy was a course of strong antibiotics. After my concerns I was well chuffed and got rather pissed that night with my wife....
And that wasn't the most embarrassing medical examination, a very attractive female dr had to stick her finger up my backside, on my side, knees up. After the procedure she asked me what i thought of the vasectomy i had done previously. My reply was I'd rather have the vasectomy every day of the week rather than go through the finger examination.
Desmond Tutu
Trying to figure out where you stand on your own or with the assistance of similarly unqualified strangers via anecdotes serves no positive purpose and many negative ones. You'll either end up convincing yourself of the best or the worst. Neither is going to help get this resolved. You'll end up either terrified or complacent. Just get it checked.
We can help with bike advice. Anyone offering any sort of significant medical advice not including visiting a doctor ASAP should be ignored.
The protocol is quite simple:
If you think a health issue may be serious, don't panic and get to the doctor ASAP
If you think a health issue is not serious, wait a few hours or days and see if symptoms improve, worsen, or stay as they are and reconsider visiting the doctor accordingly.
Well that's what I'd do anyway.
It may be very tempting to go searching for answers online but it really doesn't accomplish anything. There are two many variables, too little objectivity and too much nonsense to confuse the issue.
People pay good money here to have that done
Whilst we're on these topics, I had an ultrasound done on my veg a few years back. The ultrasound operator said they're kind and warm the gel before applying it. I replied that I'd just done my first long bike ride for a couple of months and didn't they have any of the cold stuff? She laughed and said that they weren't that kind!
The ONLY saddles that fit me and dont cause numbness are specialized ones. Especially since I used their sit on measurement stool.
thats gross.
i've been measured by two different Specialized dealers as needing a 155mm romin and a 143mm romin, go figure !
However it's hardly a precision measurement anyway and just because they measure something and tell you which they recommend for you, doesn't mean you're going to find it comfortable.
Well I definitely wouldn't disagree with going to see a doctor - obviously none of us can provide an actual medical diagnosis. But unless the doctor is also an expert in bikes and bike saddles his advice might simply be a diagnosis (clearly extremely important) and advice to rest/stop cycling.
All I was suggesting was that he could experiment with different saddles as this may help solve the problem - not offering a diagnosis and I in no way meant to suggest that he should not see a doctor as it is definitely a serious issue.