If your semen goes backwards into your bladder at orgasm, instead of shooting out of the hole at the end of the penis, you have ‘retrograde ejaculation’. Men with retrograde ejaculation still have orgasm and feel the sensation of having ejaculated, but little or no fluid emerges from the penis (dry orgasm). If they urinate after having sex, the urine is often cloudy because it contains semen. This is not a problem in most men, and does not affect the enjoyment of sex or the ability to reach orgasm by either the man or his partner.

Normally, the muscle around the exit hole of the bladder closes tightly at orgasm to prevent this happening. If the muscle or its nerves are damaged, retrograde ejaculation may occur.

Causes of Retrograde (Backwards) Ejaculation

Retrograde ejaculation often occurs after prostate surgery or surgery of the bladder itself. Your surgeon will have mentioned the possibility to you beforehand. If this is not the reason in your case, you need to see a urologist to find out the cause.

A few people are born with a weakness of the muscle that closes the bladder. Retrograde ejaculation can also occur in people who have had diabetes for many years.

Sometimes medications can be responsible, such as prazosin (for blood pressure) and terazosin (for blood pressure or enlarged prostate). Drugs used to treat schizophrenia alter the way the brain sends messages to different parts of the body, and retrograde ejaculation can be a side effect.

Retrograde ejaculation can occur for no obvious reason in a healthy man, and can cause infertility.

Treatments

Retrograde ejaculation only becomes a problem if you want to father a child, as there may be too few sperm actually getting into the vagina to allow fertilization of the egg to occur. If this is the case, there are various treatments that might help. Some drugs, such as ephedrine, can reverse the flow of semen.

Alternatively, sperm can be collected from the urine immediately after masturbation and used to fertilize the eggs by IVF or simply inserting them into the woman’s vagina. Needless to say, anyone in this position should consult their GP or family physician for advice on how best to get help, or referral to a fertility clinic.

First published on: embarrassingproblems.com
Reviewed and edited by: Matt Brewer
Last updated: May 2021