How does Retrograde Ejaculation Affect Fertility?

Many men in Ahmedabad have retrograde ejaculation. To solve this problem, they choose artificial reproduction and approach their IVF centre in Ahmedabad. Do you have retrograde ejaculation as well? 

In this article, we discuss retrograde ejaculation, its effects on fertility, and how you can treat it.

Let us begin with what retrograde ejaculation is.

What is retrograde ejaculation?

In males, both urine and ejaculate go through the urethra. There is a muscle, or sphincter, close to the bladder’s neck that holds urine until you go to urinate.

In orgasm, that very muscle narrows to hold ejaculate from entering within the bladder. This helps it to go through the urethra and exit from your penis’s tip.

When retrograde ejaculation occurs, the muscle does not shrink. Because it continues to be relaxed, the ejaculate stays within your bladder. This result is known as a dry orgasm. Despite there being no ejaculate, it feels like a regular orgasm and does not affect your sexual pleasure.

It is not a severe threat to your health or disease; however, it can affect your fertility.

How does it affect fertility?

One of the primary symptoms of retrograde ejaculation is that you are trying to conceive a child without success. This is known as male infertility.

Retrograde ejaculation does not mean that your sperms are not healthy. Instead, infertility occurs because your sperm is not going to your partner.

For this reason, many men choose artificial reproduction and look for an IVF doctor in Ahmedabad for achieving parenthood.

Now that you know how retrograde ejaculation affects fertility let us understand its causes.

What causes it?

While some causes of retrograde ejaculation can have psychological reasons, others are physical reasons.

Anything that influences the muscle’s reflex at the bladder’s opening can cause retrograde ejaculation.

Retrograde ejaculation can be a potential after-effect of a few prescriptions used to treat high blood pressure, enlarged prostate, or depression.

Furthermore, certain diseases can cause nerve damage that progresses to retrograde ejaculation, like:

• Multiple sclerosis
• Spinal cord injury
• Diabetes
• Parkinson’s disease

The common cause of retrograde ejaculation is prostate surgery. Prostate cancer surgery can damage nerves that affect the seminal vesicles, bladder, and prostate. One type of prostate cancer surgery, known as transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), causes severe harm to the bladder valve.

How is it diagnosed?

If you are having dry orgasms regularly, it may be good to see your doctor. Although retrograde ejaculation is not hurtful to your health, there can be other dry orgasm causes. You might have an underlying disease that must be brought to notice.

Your fertility specialist will do a physical test to find apparent abnormalities. To assess your condition further, your doctor will look for signs such as:

• Lack of ejaculate in orgasm
• Cloudy urine following orgasm
• Infertility

When consulting your doctor, make sure to provide the following details:

• How much time and how regularly you are having dry orgasms
• Other symptoms you may have noticed
• If you know of any already existing chronic injuries or illnesses
• Regarding any remedies you need
• If you had cancer treatment, and what were those treatments

A urine examination is a proper way to check if the ejaculate’s lack is due to retrograde ejaculation. 

If your post-orgasm urine does not contain semen, there may be an issue with semen production or some other problem. You may need to see an infertility specialist or other doctors for further examinations.

Can it be treated?

Retrograde ejaculation does not require treatment. It does not pose an issue to your sexual pleasure, and it also does not cause any health risks. However, medications are available.

If medicines are causing retrograde ejaculation, it will resolve once your medications are stopped. Still, do not stop any prescribed medication till you consult your doctor. 

Several drugs can help keep the bladder neck muscle narrowed in ejaculation. However, if you have severe muscle or nerve issues due to surgery, medications are mostly not beneficial.

If you want to conceive and drugs do not help, visit a fertility expert. It is possible to get sperms with in vitro fertilization or through artificial insemination.

What can I expect?

If you have orgasms without ejaculate, consult your doctor to find the cause and the underlying disease. 

Treatment for retrograde ejaculation is not needed unless you want to father a child. If that is the situation, you can assess your choices with a fertility expert.