Premature Ejaculation Treatment

If you read around this subject on the internet, you'll find no shortage of helpful advice forums and information from people who have successfully treated their premature ejaculation. This is an edited and transcribed selection of people's experiences, which may help you in you search for the right treatment for your own PE.

First, a general review of the problem. The definition of PE, as we know, has been very varied: ranging from ejaculation after thirty seconds of penetration, thru' two minutes, to a generalized definition of "intercourse which does not last as long as the man and his partner would like". But in reality, definition is the least of the problem - we all know what premature ejaculation is when it happens to us, and it can make the man lose confidence and leave his partner very dissatisfied with sex.

Rapid ejaculation may be a natural aspect of male mammalian sexual behavior - it clearly has some kind of evolutionary advantage, for almost all male animals ejaculate extremely quickly. This may mean that prolonged intercourse is actually the learned behavior, rather than quick ejaculation, which is how it has traditionally been seen, with the blame for a speedy resolution of sex placed on such diverse things as anxiety, hostility to women, over-arousal, and furtive masturbatory practice as an adolescent.

One common recommendation for treatment of PE is to think of something non-sexual while you make love. But the problem here is that this is even more distracting - a man who ejaculates quickly needs all the feedback which his peripheral nervous system can provide, not less of it, as he is out of touch with the sensory feedback loop that makes him aware of how close he is to ejaculation. He therefore lacks the information needed to change his sexual behavior so that he does not actually reach the point of emission.

Non-sexual touching has also been recommended as a method of desensitization, but as a treatment approach this is now discredited. Non sexual touching can in fact be arousing, and it avoids the essential aspect of any PE treatment - which is to desensitize the man to sexual stimuli so that he is less aroused, able to prolong the length of time he spends on the plateau phase of his sexual arousal cycle, and therefore extend the time take for him to reach orgasm and ejaculate.

Another method of inhibition - that of squeezing the penis just below the frenulum as a man nears the point of ejaculation - is also not generally recommended nowadays by sexual therapists. This is painful, and although it causes a man's erection to diminish and his arousal to decrease (perhaps not too surprisingly!), its efficacy in treating quick ejaculation remains doubtful.

It is surprising to hear that men were once advised to wear two condoms to reduce the amount of sexual stimulation they were receiving. This is an unsafe sexual practice, as friction between the two layers of latex can lead to the condom developing a tear or a hole. In any event, there are no reports of this ever having successfully treated a man's PE.

The same applies to condoms containing benzocaine, which is reputed to anesthetize the penis and reduce the likelihood of premature ejaculation. In reality, men who try this treatment approach may find that they end up with a numb penis, do not feel the pleasurable sensations of penetration and the warmth of their partner's body, and they may still ejaculate just as quickly.

Prozac, one of the family of SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) has established itself as a pharmacological agent of some value in the treatment of premature ejaculation. In a study of 60 men whose average time between penetration and ejaculation was 60 seconds, SSRIs extended the average time of intercourse to six minutes. And while interfering with brain chemistry may seem a drastic approach to the treatment of PE, the majority of the men only needed to take the drug occasionally to maintain a good record of ejaculatory continence.

Other approaches to the control of rapid ejaculation have included the advice to change positions often during sex (which effectively works because of the interruption to the progressive increase in a man's arousal); to use Kegel exercises to develop control of the pubococcygeal muscles which propel semen out of the penis - a forlorn hope since these muscles are almost impossible to control voluntarily - and a process of psychotherapy.

Goal oriented psychotherapy is one of the best and most effective treatments in a behavioral approach to control of rapid ejaculation. It may be premature to say it, before further definitive proof emerges, but any man who wishes to develop good ejaculatory control may be well advised to see a sexual/behavioral therapist to learn a behavioral control program, and a psychotherapist to discuss any underlying sexual issues which may be contributing to his premature ejaculation. Such issues include, but are not limited to: anxiety, fear of intimacy, hostility to women, lack of a sense of masculinity or male power, and doubts about body image, penis size and self-confidence.

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