Painful Orgasm & Prostate Cancer

Recently I was talking with a director at Health Union, and we were discussing a post on painful orgasm that was related to prostate cancer. I had an idea of why this might happen in the situation mentioned, and I began to wonder how many other people out there were experiencing this.

The possible cause of this pain is the seminal vesicles, which are located adjacent to the prostate gland. Let's get into this.

Sex after prostate cancer treatment

For many men, sexuality may change after prostate cancer treatment. The stress alone can cause men to have issues related to performance, pleasuring their lover, or experiencing their own pleasure. Some men report missing the ability to ejaculate, coupled with the new sensations of their orgasms. Some men who are having painful orgasms may be less satisfied and avoid sex altogether.¹

Initially, I thought the pain was caused by the muscle contractions during orgasm. When you have an orgasm, many muscles in the genital area flex and contract in order to expel ejaculate. So I was thinking that if the area did not have time to heal completely, the muscle contractions could irritate that location and cause pain.

While some doctors agree with this, other doctors think the pain could be caused by something else.

The seminal vesicles

The seminal vesicles (SV) help produce the semen that is released during ejaculation. The removal of the prostate gland along with the seminal vesicles can cause a “dry" orgasm, which still gives the man the ability to have an orgasm but without ejaculating semen.²

Some doctors prefer to leave the tips of the SV while removing the prostate in an attempt to lessen the possible impacts of urinary incontinence and/or erectile dysfunction.

Check in with the doc

If you experience any sort of pain during orgasm, please contact your doctor. It is possible they “spared” your SV to preserve your ability to get erections and help with bladder control. If your doctor told you about saving the tips of your seminal vesicles, it's possible they failed to mention the possible pain associated with orgasm.

Experiencing pain from an orgasm has to be a big shock. The one thing in sex you can count on to give you pleasure now gives you pain. But the pain may diminish over time for some people.

Still, talk to your doctor and have them explain what was specifically done during your procedure. If your doctor says they decided to “spare” your seminal vesicles, now you know. If your seminal vesicles were removed, something else could be causing you pain, and that can be looked into.