Peyronies - advice from anyone experiencing this in their relationship

[BostonFloorSanders]

Hi. I'd love any advice. My partner has developed a curve in his penis, it's significant , causes discomfort , is getting worse and sex is off the cards. He went to the GP who said ' can't do anything in the acute phase, next thing would be surgery, come back in 6 months'.
I don't want to be a 'google warrior' but I've had my trust in GPs eroded over the last few years. I'm also gobsmacked that a man would get no help with erectile issues but that's another thing ....
I've read Peyronies can be treated in the acute phase, and that a referral to a urologist for a scan should be what's next. I'm in the dark here though, and my partner is still in 'trust everything a GP says' mode.
Does anyone have any experience? I know it's not really my battle to fight and it's his body, but something seems off about 'come back in 6 months'.
Thanks in advance lovely people.

You will likely get more responses if you post this in the health section as well.

You are not wrong to have lost faith in gp service. I've had too many friends come to serious harm (or death) due to negligent inaction from their GP's to fully trust one any more. Things are even worse for men than women - a woman can get hrt just by being the right age, she can even get testosterone with a simple blood test and an online consultation, whereas it's almost impossible for a man to get trt on the NHS. I think part of the problem is that women are far used to accessing health services because of routine stuff like smear tests, mammograms and pregnancy related stuff. So seeing their GP is like second nature. Men don't have any routine stuff like that, we can go years (or decades) without any medical involvement, so it can make seeing a Dr feel like a rather unnatural thing. Many men don't even consider it until a condition becomes chronic.

I think the come back in 6 month thing is a standard response by GPS to fob someone off if they don't consider something to be life threatening. Maybe they're trying to keep NHS waiting lists down or something. Its obvious your partners condition isn't going to away by itself and surely the sooner it's treated the better the outcome. There's no reason why he can't see another gp for a second opinion, or push harder for a referral.

Your GP is referring to the recommended 6 month wait prior to any consideration for surgical treatment. Medical options are available and approved for use in U.K. including oral medication.

I strongly advise seeking a Consultant urological opinion from one with a specialist interest in this area. Help is available.

See, my experience is that men are the ones who do get help for things like chronic back problems. Whereas I was told to go away and fix my own back.

I would strongly suggest he ask for a second opinion by a referral to a urologist. I’m afraid I have zero faith in GPs after experience over the last two years and only getting treated properly having gone private. Plus they are now being paid for every patient they don’t refer. Is just awful. I can’t wait to leave this country

To say that men have it worse with the NHS than women do is quite batshit.

It's well documented that women are treated poorly by the NHS because by the very nature of the fact that they menstruate we often have far more medical issues than men do and trusts don't want to spend the money treating these issues.
The NHS has had it's knuckles rapped for it.

For the record any testosterone women are prescribed is prescribed 'off label' so it isn't easy for women to access at all.

Men on the other hand are prescribed it if they want to build stronger muscle mass in the gym.

Historically and still to this day it's still very difficult for women to access HRT and it's usually at the whim of their GP and many are refused even though we need HRT for our bones and general wellbeing so please don't spread those inaccuracies because they just aren't true.

That's all absolute nonsense, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about and just spouting sexist claptrap. Firstly, trt is not the same as the anabolic steroids that bodybuilders buy on the black market. The suggestion that men are getting steroids from their GP for body building purposes are laughable. Secondly, GP's can't even prescribe trt, they can only refer a patient to a specialist who can. That takes months, lots of tests, and the NHS threshold for low testosterone is way below the medically recognised low, so only men with chronically low testosterone can get trt on the NHS.

My DP was offered hrt by her GP without even asking - she was seeing them for something else entirely and her GP said "You're the right age for menopause, you can have hrt if you want". Even 25 years ago it wasn't difficult to get hrt from your gp, my DM was given it back then, even with relatively mild menopause symptoms. Now, you don't even need to see your GP or have any tests done to get hrt, you can just request it online, even Boots near enough do it over the counter.

https://onlinedoctor.boots.com/services/HRT-treatment-online

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23v42jdle7o

After being rapped on the knuckles:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hundreds-of-thousands-of-women-experiencing-menopause-symptoms-to-get-cheaper-hormone-replacement-therapy

My brother is a GP. I'm well aware of the criteria by which men and women are treated regarding HRT because I've been prescribed testosterone off label before.
Just because your DP has a good Dr doesn't mean that's the gold standard of treatment.
I think you're the one speaking bollocks and you don't get to mansplain to women how we are treated by the NHS thanks and overlord it on our lived experience.