Dr. Brian Steixner is a board-certified urologist and an expert in men’s sexual medicine. He completed his General Surgery and Urology training at The University of Pennsylvania and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, one of the busiest and most comprehensive programs in the nation. During his career, Brian has treated thousands of men with sexual health issues including male factor infertility.
Danger, Will Robinson! Creatine may be great for bulking season, but it may not be for cuffing season. If building muscle is your priority, creatine may be helpful, but you may be harming the most important muscle of all: your penis! As always, Popstar is back with tips (and not just the tip) on how creatine may affect your cock.
Now, when it comes to creatine and your sex life, there is some good news and some not-so-great news. We will start with the good news! There is information to support that creatine can improve your sex drive. While the research is limited, creatine is speculated to affect sex drive because it impacts testosterone levels. Testosterone plays a huge role in sexual performance in men. Higher levels of testosterone often equal a higher libido. So, your muscles may be rock hard on creatine, but it may leave you needing to get your rocks off more often...which may not be the worst problem if you and your partner have an active sex life.
It is important to remember that the evidence supporting the link between creatine and testosterone is inconsistent and limited. For example, some studies show modest side effects of creatine on testosterone, while others show no correlation.
While creatine may increase your sex drive, you may be ready for the road trip without any air in your tires. This is because creatine plays a role in your body's hydration. Creatine draws water from the tissues of your body into your muscles, leading to dehydration. We should take hydration seriously year-round, especially as we head into the summer months. Thirst traps aren't going to cut it; we need water.
Dehydration is a major no-no, especially as we head into the warmer months. Inadequate hydration can cause several symptoms, including fatigue, headaches, and decreased physical performance. That includes sexual performance. Dehydration can cause decreased blood flow to your genitals. We all know what that means: no flow, no go. You may be horned up, unable to get hard. If you are someone who deals with erectile dysfunction, you may want to stay hydrated and avoid creatine.
It is also important to note that dehydration can affect the quality and volume of semen as well. While Popstar Labs signature formula can help to improve both, it is no substitute for hydration. The average man, who lives in a temperate climate, should be drinking 3.7 liters of water per day (15.5 cups). If you are drinking your recommended daily dose and are still worried about semen quality and volume, then Popstar may be the solution for you.
Some people may also experience psychological effects from creatine use that may negatively impact their sex life. For example, some people report feeling more irritable or aggressive when taking creatine. These mood changes may affect their relationships and therefore impact their sex lives. However, it is always important to note that side effects of creatine, physical or psychological, aren't universal, as we all metabolize supplements differently.
While creatine affects your testosterone levels, we are still learning how that directly correlates with your overall sexual performance. Remember, using creatine supplements responsibly in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle and exercise is essential. If you have concerns about how creatine will impact your sex life, it is best to consult a urologist or your primary care provider. Whether it's bulking, cuffing, tax or the holiday season, we want to ensure your favorite muscle can still stay swole.
We have all heard the ludicrous rumors about things that affect your sperm quantity and quality. The middle school rumor mill ran rampant with the idiotic idea that Mountain Dew can demolish your sperm count. While the bright green hue of Mountain Dew does look a bit radioactive, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have any effect on the quality nor quantity of your sperm. Think of Popstar as the Mythbusters of busting nuts as we break down the myths about what affects your sperm!
Like many things in life, it's all about quality over quantity. When it comes to your sperm, we would ideally like to have both. Sperm is 50% of the formula for the conceiving cocktail, so for those looking to optimize their reproductive health, it is crucial to understand the common myths that surround your splooge.
Our first myth, fresh off the rumor mill, is that tight underwear can affect your sperm count and quality. If this were true, then half of West Hollywood would be infertile. If a bold brief is your choice of boudoir-wear, it shouldn’t come in between you and your fertility. While excessive heat around your testicles can affect your swimmers, your choice of underwear alone is unlikely to have much impact.
Another misconception is splurging on spa-like luxurious baths can affect your sperm count. While heat may affect your sperm in the short term, a boiling hot bubble bath is unlikely to cause lasting damage. Sperm production is a dynamic process, and the body typically recovers from short-term environmental stressors. A man’s body produces 70 to 150 million sperm a day, so even after boiling your eggs in a bath or steaming your sack in a sauna, it will not affect your fertility in the long term. That said, if you’re having trouble conceiving, you may want to skip that relaxing bubble bath or hot tub time machine.
There is a lot of speculation that using laptops directly on the lap can increase scrotal temperature, affecting fertility. While prolonged exposure to heat can affect your swimmers, no concrete evidence links laptops and infertility. Much like the heat from a relaxing bath, your balls will bounce back and produce more healthy sperm. If you are still weary of a laptop leading to a low sperm count, try putting a pillow in between your junk and your laptop or try a standing desk.
Rumor has it that excessive cycling can affect sperm quality and count due to prolonged pressure on the perineum (say that three times fast). For my avid soul-cyclers, fret not. While this myth may have you spending less time in the saddle, a moderate amount of cycling is considered safe and shouldn’t impact fertility in the long term. Your taint may be a little sore from a spin class, but it is unlikely that your swimmers will take a significant hit.
Another misconception is that Mary Jane can affect your manhood. Some people believe that a toke can take a toll on your sperm quantity and quality. While kush doesn’t affect the count and caliber, some research suggests that regular marijuana can affect concentration and motility. So, while your body is still producing quality sperm, they may not have the need for speed to make it to their destination. Like most things, practice moderation or if you’re struggling to get pregnant pass on that blunt the next time it comes around.
Trying to conceive can be an arduous journey for some couples. Debunking the myths surrounding your spunk may alleviate added stress on what can already be a stressful process. If you and your loved one are planning a family and having difficulty conceiving, reach out to a healthcare professional. There are a plethora of plans of action when it comes to family planning. We hope your swimmers will continue to be the Michaels Phelps of fertility, and if they aren’t, we can help!
Ejaculatory problems come in all shapes and sizes. You can cum prematurely, too late or not at all. Sometimes people experience severe pain during climax and some people even ejaculate backwards. Since ejaculation is a huge part of a satisfying sexual experience and healthy sexual function, it’s important to understand what happens when ejaculation goes wrong and what we can do to make it right.
There are a lot of misconceptions about what is considered normal timing when it comes to cum. Blame it on porn, or locker room talk, or braggadocio, but men have been known to exaggerate when it comes to sexual proclivity or stamina. Because of this, we are often misinformed when it comes to ejaculation, and we often overestimate what’s normal.
Popstar Labs ReviewIn a large observational study of males and their partners, the median time to ejaculation came in at 7.3 minutes (Patrick 2005). In other words, half of the more than 1,500 men studied ejaculated in less than 7.3 minutes! How’s that for a myth-buster? Despite what PornHub may have you think, the average time for a man to come is under 10 minutes (Patrick 2005). I often have patients come to see me because they can’t last 20 to 30 minutes or longer and they think there’s a problem. I assure them that there is no problem!
But Premature Ejaculation (PE) is real. So how do you know if you have it? PE is characterized by ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within one minute of penetration or is characterized by the inability to delay ejaculation on all, or nearly all, penetrations. In addition to this definition, the inability to delay ejaculation must cause uncomfortable or negative personal consequences, including frustration, distress and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy to qualify as PE (Althof).
As I’ve previously written, many of the definitions we use in sexual medicine are based on a heterosexual model. This is the way that sex has been studied historically, but non-heterosexuals can experience PE as well, and I like to broaden this definition a bit. When talking about ejaculatory health, I find it useful to characterize PE as ejaculation that occurs within one minute of sexual activity, including anal sex, oral sex and even masturbation. PE is common in these situations, and it happens to a lot of men.
In fact, PE is the most common sexual dysfunction for males. The prevalence of PE has been reported as high as 30% depending on the population (Carson 2006). While many people consider PE to be a young man’s problem, PE can occur at any age (Rosen 2004).
When it comes to PE, there are two primary types – acquired and congenital. Simply put, that means that you may acquire the dysfunction at some point in your life (acquired) or you may be born with it (congenital). Individuals with the congenital version have always had a problem with controlling their ejaculations even from their first time masturbating. People who have the acquired type have experienced normal ejaculations at some point in their lives, but then they suddenly develop the inability to control or delay their ejaculations. Both types can be equally problematic and affect a person’s self-esteem and relationships.
There are currently no FDA-approved treatments for PE despite the prevalence of the problem, which means that the medical treatments that doctors prescribe are considered off-label.
Often, we first try to physically decrease the sensitivity of the penis. We can do this by using a topical anesthetic spray or a condom. Although these treatments can be effective, patients sometimes find them to be onerous and they report that these interventions can interfere with intimacy.
You may have heard of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in relation to depression. However, this family of drugs known as antidepressants are also commonly prescribed to treat PE since a side effect of SSRIs is delayed ejaculation. For those who suffer from PE, these side effects are not negative at all! These medications can be taken daily, or they can be used right before sexual activity. It’s common for patients to experience PE as well as erectile dysfunction. In these cases, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (drugs like Viagra and Cialis) can be helpful, too.
A pain medication called tramadol can also be used to help PE. This on-demand treatment basically dampens your brain’s processing of the genital stimulation that can lead to PE.
Non-medical interventions may be helpful for PE as well. Pelvic floor therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychotherapy and sex therapy can all be helpful in reducing the instances of PE and reducing the negative effects for those who suffer from it.
Delayed Ejaculation (DE), retrograde ejaculation (RE) and anejaculation are all conditions that are known as diminished ejaculatory disorders. Unfortunately, these types of disorders have not been studied as much as PE, but it’s useful to understand how they are defined.
DE is understood to be the inhibition of the ejaculatory reflex that results in reduced seminal fluid, the absence of seminal fluid and/or impaired ejaculatory contractions. With a prevalence of less than 5%, DE is not as common as PE (Perelman 2006, Jannini 2005). And while DE can happen at any age, the instances of DE become more common with increased age.
There’s no concrete definition as to what constitutes DE, but it has been suggested that the threshold should be set at the inability to ejaculate after 25- to 30-minutes of sexual stimulation (Di Sante 2016, McMahon 2014). Some factors that can contribute to DE may include depression, anxiety, past sexual trauma and relationship issues.
Biological issues can also be at play with DE, including alcohol or illicit drug use, the use of some medications, prior pelvic surgery, trauma, radiation exposure, neurological diseases and diabetes. Although there are many medical interventions available to treat DE, like PE, none are FDA-approved. Available treatments include certain drugs for Parkinson’s disease, some anti-depressants, certain stimulants and the administration of testosterone. There have only been small studies done on the efficacy of these interventions so there is no broad consensus on which ones work best.
Retrograde Ejaculation (RE) is when all or part of the ejaculate is expelled into the bladder instead of out through the tip of the penis. Most of my patients freak out a little when I explain RE to them, but it really isn’t painful, dangerous, or gross at all. The incidence of RE ranges from 0.3% to 2% among patients that attend fertility clinics which is the population most frequently studied for RE.
RE occurs when the bladder’s internal sphincter does not close all the way, which causes the flow of semen to travel backward during an ejaculation. Those who experience RE often tell me that their urine is a whitish color when they go to the bathroom after sex.
