Post-Ejaculation Disease Affecting a Few Hundred Cases in the World!

Fear of ejaculation. It was at the age of 17, when he was a high school student, that the man began to have a change in his behavior. After ejaculation, he would experience fatigue, mood swings, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and headaches, which would last for about a week and then spontaneously lighten up. It happened every time, too, so I could no longer masturbate out of fear.

Six years later, at the age of 23, he tried to fall in love and have sexual intercourse as a young man, but the symptoms still appeared after ejaculation, and he became reluctant to have sex. He was worried that he would never be able to fall in love or get married, when he found a blog on the Internet by Yoshitomo Kobori, director of the Private Care Clinic Tokyo, Tokyo Clinic.

There, he wrote, “There is a mysterious disease called post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), also known as ‘post-orgasmic syndrome,’ which causes physical discomfort after ejaculation.”

According to Director Kobori, the history of this disease is relatively young, first reported in 2002, and only recently have there been a few scattered reports. Only a few hundred cases have been reported worldwide. And yet, after the blog was published, 43 patients visited the clinic (including those treated online) after seeing the information in just two years.

The patients ranged in age from their teens to their 60s, and about 70% of them were born with the condition, while the remaining 30% had acquired it.

I was surprised. I had never seen a single patient when I was working at a university hospital. So I assumed that the disease itself was not well known and that there were many potential patients, so I researched the cases at our hospital and published papers, etc., and presented my findings at an academic conference.

First, the diagnostic criteria. The diagnosis of post-orgasmic syndrome is made when any of the following five criteria are met

1. one or more of the following symptoms after ejaculation: flu-like symptoms, general malaise, muscle weakness, fever, sweating, mood disorder, poor concentration and memory, incoherent speech, nasal discharge, itchy eyes

2. symptoms occur within minutes to hours after ejaculation, whether sex, masturbation, or dream ejaculation

3. symptoms occur consistently (>90%) after ejaculation

4. Symptoms persist for 2 to 7 days.

5. spontaneous resolution.

These are diagnostic criteria for symptoms only, and there is no biological or chemical marker (not known at this time).

However, all five criteria were met by all patients who visited Director Kobori.

As a result, patients, like the man at the beginning of this article, avoid sex and masturbation, and their relationships and self-image are adversely affected. International case reports indicate that more than 70% of patients have avoided masturbation because they did not want to fall into symptoms or had to change their schedules due to physical illness, and 62% of men reported avoiding sex.

The following are also reported as causes, but the reality is that no conclusions have yet been reached. In other words, the cause is unknown.

◎Immune response (allergy)

◎Opioid (analgesic) withdrawal symptoms

◎Neuroendocrine (due to abnormalities in substances responsible for the transmission of information between nerves in the body) symptoms

◎Testosterone (male hormone) deficiency

However, although the cause is unknown, there are treatments available. The treatment methods reported to date are as follows

◎Antihistamines (to suppress allergic reactions)

◎Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (reduce inflammation)

◎ Steroids (a type of corticosteroid that suppresses inflammation and allergic reactions)

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (antidepressants), benzodiazepines (drugs that improve anxiety, tension, insomnia, etc. by reducing brain excitation, etc.)

◎Antiandrogens (drugs for treatment of prostate cancer)

◎α1-blockers (drugs for hypertension)

Testosterone (a type of male hormone. Testosterone (a type of male hormone, used in cases of hypogonadism)

Desensitization therapy using the patient’s own semen (treatment for allergic diseases)

Epididymectomy (so-called vasectomy)

Incidentally, Director Kobori administered antihistamines at his clinic and found a remarkable effect in about 70% of his patients.

He said, “Therefore, I believe that allergy is the most likely cause. However, only 10 of the patients had other allergies, such as hay fever or allergies to house dust. In other words, it is highly likely that the allergy reacts only to one’s own semen. Surprising, isn’t it?”

Given the above, there is still much we do not know about post-ejaculation syndrome, and at this point in time, there are no firm mechanisms for the disease or even diagnostic criteria. However, Director Kobori considers that there are in fact many patients who are potentially suffering from post-ejaculation physical problems.

Considering that patients are scattered all over Japan, including Aichi, Nagano, and Ishikawa prefectures, and that they may not be able to afford free medical care, he refers patients who are found to benefit from antihistamines to medical institutions in their area so that they can receive treatment under their insurance plan.

Many patients say they could not receive medical care because they were refused by other hospitals. I feel that this is a disease that needs further research and also needs to be educated among physicians.

Incidentally, the man at the beginning of this article said that his symptoms were alleviated by taking antihistamines, and he was able to return to a life in which he could ejaculate normally. Being able to masturbate and have sex without worrying about getting sick on a daily basis is actually a blessing.