Retrograde ejaculation - Causes and Symptoms

Related articles: Retrograde ejaculation

Definition

Retrograde ejaculation occurs when the seminal fluid - which normally should be ejaculated through the urethra - rises back into the urinary bladder.

Suffering men normally reach orgasm, but ejaculate a small amount of sperm. During the urination following the coitus, then, the seminal fluid is expelled with the urine, therefore it is possible to find that these are more dense or turbid.

Retrograde ejaculation can be attributed to a dysfunction of the bladder neck, a muscular structure placed at the base of the prostate; this, in normal conditions, closes during the sperm expulsion phase; if, on the other hand, this muscle contracts inappropriately during the ejaculatory act, the seminal fluid can be partially or completely pushed into the bladder, instead of going through the urethra towards the external meatus.

Depending on the cause, retrograde ejaculation can be temporary or permanent. This particular phenomenon is generally due to damage to the bladder muscles (eg physical trauma and congenital or acquired detrusor muscle hypotonia) or to neurological dysfunction.

One of the most common causes of retrograde ejaculation is diabetic neuropathy, which can affect bladder control.

Retrograde ejaculation can occur as a complication of surgical and / or endoscopic procedures on the prostate, urethra and bladder neck (eg transurethral resection of the prostate, and radical prostatectomy). The disorder may occur in patients with spinal cord injuries or neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barrè syndrome.

Reflux in the bladder of seminal fluid can also represent the side effect of drugs for the treatment of depression (especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), psychosis (eg chlorpromazine, thioridazine and risperidone) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (such as tamsulosin or terazosin ).

Retrograde ejaculation does not interfere with a man's ability to get an erection or orgasm, but it can be a problem for men trying to conceive children.