How Managing Your Blood Sugar Can Improve Outcomes With Peyronie’s Disease

If you’re dealing with Peyronie’s disease (the development of scar tissue under the skin of the penis), you may also be managing the symptoms and risks of prediabetes and diabetes. At least 1 in 10 men with Peyronie’s also have diabetes, though some may not be aware of it.

“When some patients come to me with erectile dysfunction but have no other apparent health problems that they are aware of, I may have them screened for diabetes,” says Zachary Glaser, MD, a urologist affiliated with Rush University System for Health in Chicago. “The theory is that having high blood sugar may impact the tissue damage repair pathways, and someone with poorly controlled blood sugar may have an increased risk of micro traumas, scarring, or some of the malformations associated with Peyronie’s.”

You can take steps to manage your blood sugar to help heal Peyronie’s while also lowering your risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and other serious health consequences.

“The higher the glucose and the longer the time that it spends high like that, the more likely you’ll get development of those AGEs,” says Landon Trost, MD, a urologist specializing in Peyronie’s disease in Orem, Utah, and president-elect of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America.

Dr. Trost adds that AGEs can attach to proteins such as collagen and fibrin and reduce flexibility in collagen-rich tissue in the penis, causing worse Peyronie’s symptoms.

Nonsurgical treatments such as stretching devices may be less effective, though research is thin on the topic, Trost says. “Men with Peyronie's and diabetes often experience not only fibrosis of the plaque itself but also of the erectile tissue in the penis,” he says. “Because of that, stretching devices need to overcome the fibrosis of both the plaque and the erectile tissue.”

Trost says that healthy blood sugar has numerous benefits for Peyronie’s disease, including:

• Improves Blood Vessel Function Controlling blood sugar helps protect blood vessels and may support the formation of new ones, improving blood flow to penile tissue. This is important because adequate blood flow delivers oxygen and nutrients needed for tissue repair, which may limit further plaque development or worsening curvature.

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• Reduces Inflammation Keeping glucose levels in range may slow the buildup of scar tissue.

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• Preserves Penile Flexibility Reducing excessive and abnormal collagen that occurs from oxidative stress can have a positive effect on the scarring in your penis and allow it to maintain elasticity and rigidity for an erection.

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• Improves Sexual Function Diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage from diabetes, can lead to problems maintaining an erection or experiencing pleasure. Keeping blood sugar under control may help prevent further nerve and blood vessel damage and, in some cases, improve erectile function, though it may not reverse existing damage.

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• Monitor your blood sugar.
• Take all prescribed medications.
• Limit stress.
• Quit smoking.
• Maintain a healthy weight.

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• Adopt a healthy diet.

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• Get regular physical activity.

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Positive, simple lifestyle changes can effectively boost cardiovascular health. Dr. Glaser recommends exercising regularly, eating a nutritious diet, and maintaining a healthy weight with lean muscle mass to keep your heart in shape.

• At least 1 in 10 men with Peyronie’s disease also has diabetes.
• High blood sugar can worsen inflammation, blood flow, and tissue healing, which may contribute to plaque buildup and curvature of the penis.
• Keeping blood sugar in a healthy range may support healing, reduce scarring, and improve erectile function, though it is not a stand-alone treatment.
• Talk to your doctor about ways to lower your blood sugar, which may include medications, stress management, closer blood-sugar monitoring, and lifestyle changes.