Dry orgasm, also known as retrograde ejaculation, occurs when a man reaches sexual climax but releases little to no semen. During this condition, semen enters the bladder instead of exiting through the penis. Causes include:
1. Prostate surgery
2. Diabetes
3. Multiple sclerosis
4. Certain medications (e.g., alpha-blockers, antidepressants)
5. Spinal cord injuries
While dry orgasms are typically not harmful, they can affect fertility. Treatment depends on the underlying cause and may include:
1. Medication adjustments
2. Pelvic floor exercises
3. Medications to strengthen bladder neck muscles
Men experiencing dry orgasms should consult a healthcare provider to rule out serious conditions and discuss fertility concerns. In some cases, fertility treatments like sperm retrieval from urine may be necessary for conception.
Dry orgasms can be psychologically distressing for some men, so counseling or sex therapy may be beneficial to address emotional concerns and maintain a satisfying sex life.
There are several dysfunctions related to sexuality, which can make the intimate sphere of men and women more difficult. L’Dry or dry orgasm, for example, pertains to the male and occurs when, while experiencing typical orgasmic sensations, there is no simultaneous expulsion of seminal fluid. We asked Rossano Tosi, a psychologist, psychotherapist and clinical sexologist, to explain more about what this is all about.
The meaning of ejaculation
“In the male semantic horizon,” the sexologist explains, “ejaculate holds profoundly psychological and not only biological meanings; in fact, it becomes the plastic and scenic representation of the virility, accompanying and complementing erection, as a structural process of themale identity“.
For this reason and because of the lack of knowledge and awareness that men and women have about sexuality, a relationship that does not end with ejaculation seems abnormal, unfulfilling, interrupted. “Yet, the concomitance of orgasm and ejaculation is not automatic, but the result of a chance convergence that, in some circumstances, may fail. In fact, we have situations in which orgasm is not followed by ejaculation and vice versa, the latter situation called anesthetic or anorgasmic ejaculation“.
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Astonishment and tension
Dry orgasm involves, for the male but also for the partner, initially surprise, followed later by fear and disorientation; feelings that can often lead him to avoid intimacy and the pursuit of sexuality. Not experiencing ejaculation at the end of intercourse is an experience far removed from the most stereotypical imagination and sexuality, so without even wondering why or researching the cause, the first reaction is to shame and closure: “this is because it proves difficult to believe that man, in the absence of ‘proof,’ could really have experienced pleasure.”
The partner’s reaction
“Obviously,” Tosi explains, “the situation of emotional tension that is created in the face of failure to ejaculate also involves the counterpart, whether female or male, as well as the couple. The partner or partner does not understand what is happening and as a result begins a process of self-accusation, such that the woman, primarily, feels inadequate, unattractive and no longer erotic or equal to her pleasure.” Self-guilt mechanisms are then triggered, which very often lead the partner(s) to first request a sexological counseling.
What are the causes?
The causes of dry orgasm can be many, both physiologically and psychologically, and usually need to be investigated on a case-by-case basis by several figures in addition to the sexologist, such as the urologist and or andrologist and, often, the general practitioner.
“The first step is to rule out that one is dealing with a case of retrograde ejaculation, that is, when there is production and emission of seminal fluid, but on the way between the testicles and penis it ends up in the bladder, being then emitted along with urine during urination,” the sexologist explains.
“Next, the purely organic causes, such as dysfunction in the bladder neck (the part of the bladder that borders the urethra and where there is a valve that opens and closes allowing normal passage of urine or seminal fluid); postoperative consequences for prostate cancer or due to lifestyles inappropriate with respect to sexuality, such as abusing alcohol, drugs or taking psychotropic drugs.”
The psychological plan
Once organic causes have been ruled out, possible psychological causes must be evaluated. “The picture that presents itself can be very complex, in fact, sexuality often and frequently involves many levels of male and female personality, not limited to purely behavioral ones.
Among the many causes that need to be investigated, we mainly find the possibility of the existence of a phobic experience With respect to seminal fluid, the presence of trauma past with respect to pleasure and acceptance of one’s body, including fluids. A strongly ambivalent experience toward adult sexuality, as well as an excessive level of control over every aspect of life, thus including pleasure, may be other causes of nonejaculation. Comorbidities, such as generalized anxiety disorder and the depression, factors that can greatly aggravate the diagnostic and consequently therapeutic picture.”
How to intervene
On the organic level, medical professionals will know how to identify the most appropriate therapy, partly because dry orgasm makes it difficult-impossible to procreation.
“If the psychological origin is established,” the therapist comments, “a psychosexual and psychotherapeutic course can be started. The therapeutic course must be studied with respect to the individual case, first identifying whether it should be individual or couple or mixed; based on the relapse that the situation, up to that point, may have had on the relationship.” Psychotherapy serves to re-establish a active and effective communication; to work on the taboos that often accompany sexuality and difficult situations; to avoid total closure and removal of the problem.” But not only that.
“It will then also have to be imagined a moment of nature pedagogical in which to be able to explain the physiology of pleasure to the individual and the couple, focusing especially on the existence of true orgasms, even in the absence of seminal fluid,” Tosi concludes.
