Ejaculation

Ejaculation backwards (retrograde)
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 have orgasm and feel the sensation of having ejaculated, but little or no fluid emerges from the penis. If they urinate after having sex, the urine is often cloudy because it contains semen.

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.

Retrograde ejaculation often occurs after prostate surgery or surgery of the bladder itself. 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).

Retrograde ejaculation after a prostate operation is to be expected, and 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. In some cases medications such as ephedrine may help.

To father a child, a man with retrograde ejaculation will probably need help from a fertility clinic. The clinic will be able to remove sperm from urine passed after ejaculating.