Disclosure: I’m not a doctor. This is my experience, plus some research I did and some information AI gave me. If this is happening to you, talk to a medical doctor.
I thought something was wrong with me. I take Flomax, and I’m 54, and it’s an embarrassing thing to talk about.
I was sitting in my bed, and I have to be a little graphic here. I was masturbating, and nothing was coming out, and I was like, oh, what the hell is wrong with me? But it felt like the most intense orgasm.
I swear to God, I asked AI what this might mean. It gave me these answers, and lo and behold, Flomax popped right out. I take it, and I actually take two of the pills, a double dose, because the doctor increased it. I was like, oh, that’s what it is. And it actually made me feel better. At least I know what’s wrong.
What it’s called
A dry orgasm. Doctors call it anejaculation. When the semen goes backward into the bladder instead of out, they call it retrograde ejaculation, and the sign for that one is cloudy urine the first time you pee afterward. It’s a separate thing from erectile dysfunction.
Flomax is the brand name for tamsulosin, which is prescribed for the prostate. According to the FDA label for tamsulosin, abnormal ejaculation showed up in 8.4 percent of men on the 0.4 mg dose and 18.1 percent of men on the 0.8 mg dose, compared to 0.2 percent on placebo. The label says it’s dose related. In a smaller study of healthy volunteers who took 0.8 mg for five days, about 35 percent had no ejaculate at all, and none of the men on placebo did.
Other things that can cause it: other alpha blockers for the prostate, some blood pressure medications, antidepressants (SSRIs especially), diabetes, prostate surgery, and getting older, when testosterone drops and the prostate makes less fluid.
Talk to your urologist
This is different from ED, but you might think it’s associated if you’re not knowledgeable. You don’t want someone to think something is wrong with you. But obviously there’s nothing wrong with having erectile dysfunction. It happens to many men. Around half of men over 50 have some degree of it.
They shouldn’t be embarrassed, because they should be talking to their urologists. A lot of gay men, or men in general, might be uncomfortable with that. I know I hate going to the doctors, Lord. I passed out and didn’t go right away. And lo and behold, I’m wearing a heart monitor. So I guess in essence it’s important to understand what your body is doing, and why your body may be doing it. It’s important to understand that it’s not unnatural.
If you’re being intimate with someone, it should be a comfortable conversation. However, I hate to be graphic, but gay men be like, oh, I want to see it. And then if nothing comes out, they’re wondering what’s wrong with you. But now you have a better understanding.
I just thought it would be quite interesting for any other gay man out there, or men in general, who’s having this situation. You know what the name is. You know what medications can cause it. Now you have a better understanding, and there’s nothing better than having understanding. I guess that is true. Knowledge is power.
Sources used for the facts
FDA prescribing information for tamsulosin hydrochloride, adverse reactions table: medlibrary.org
Hellstrom et al., “Effects of acute treatment with tamsulosin versus alfuzosin on ejaculatory function in normal volunteers,” Journal of Urology, 2006: qxmd.com
Pharmacy Magazine CPD module on erectile dysfunction: pharmacymagazine.co.uk
SingleCare, “Erectile dysfunction statistics,” citing Sexual Medicine, 2024: singlecare.com
The lead image for this article was AI-generated.
