Poor sleeping quality due to frequent erections at night

Are you finding a difference a differenxe with Sleep efficiency? Mine ranges from 77-84%. Pre issue it was around 90%+

Hello everyone, I have been following this forum with great interest. I am in my mid 50's and have been dealing with SRPE or "The Condition" as my wife and I call it for 10+ years. I've tried Amitriptyline and Cinitapride (cinmove) to no avail. Both of these drugs were discussed in different journal articles on SRPE. The Amitriptyline was prescribed by a urologist after I showed him a copy of the journal articles. The Cinitapride I had to order online from India as it is unavailable here. Unfortunately neither one did anything except give me unpleasent side effects. Sluggishness from the Amitriptyline and diarrhea from the Cinitapride. A couple years ago, I broke a femur in an accident and even the Dilaudid (Hydromorphone) prescribed after the surgery didn't suppress the SRPE. I too am curious about the possible link to sleep apnea although I don't believe I suffer from it. My wife has been trying to get me to get a sleep study but I've been reluctant to try to explain the whole SRPE thing to the sleep people even though SRPE is technically considered a Sleep Parasomnia Disorder. I don't know how many GP's and Urologists I've explained it to now. So far, the only thing that has helped me is a wedge pillow. It is about 6" thick and tapers down over a 24" length. I keep it next to the bed and when the SRPE becomes unbearable I slide the wedge under my regular pillow. For some reason it causes the erection to relax almost immediately and I'm able to get back to sleep. Maybe it simply disrupts my sleep enough to alter the REM cycle although I still dream when using it. After all these years, I've become somewhat accustomed to the persistent erections starting shortly after I go to sleep. However, I am almost always awakened by a very uncomfortable painful one around 3 to 4 am. That is when I use the wedge pillow and it usually helps. I am convinced that the condition is tied to REM sleep and maybe the circadian rhythm cycle given the regularity of the events. Give the wedge pillow a try and let us know if it helps.

To the person who posted about having 'the condition' for 10+ years and stated having read all the posts here.
Nowhere do you mention the only effective drugs Clonazepam and Baclofen!
I find this omission bizarre and rather depressing having posted and seen posts here discussing their effectiveness again and again. Thanks for the pillow positioning tip though.

With the wedge pillow is this propping up your head/neck? Also, are you a side or back sleeper?

Thanks for the tip

I never tried Clonazepam or Baclofen. After trying Amitriptyline and Cinitapride unsuccessfully I decided I didn't want to deal with the side effects of psychoactive and central nervous system depressants. From the various posts here, it appears that Baclofen and Clonazepam have mixed results and require increased dosage with time. I wish the medical community could determine if the problem is psychological or physiological and treat accordingly. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be a very actively known or researched condition.

In answer to the question about the wedge pillow: I am primary a side sleeper and when I use the wedge it is slightly raising my upper torso. As I said, it doesn't completely solve the problem but for some reason it does relieve the most extreme episodes for me. I'm curious if it helps anyone else. I've tried to come up with an explanation and even discussed it with doctors but the don't have a clue why it would help. As I said, it may just disrupt the REM cycle similar to an earlier post suggesting sleeping on the floor.

'I never tried Clonazepam or Baclofen.'

I highly recommend you speak to your doctor and try it. True, I have doubled my dose over time. But I now sleep with only rare interpretations and I wake feeling well.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will discuss Clonazepam and Baclofen with my doctor. Please tell me what you are taking, dosage and how long you've been finding it to be helpful. Do you have any side effects?

1mg clonazepam and 20 mgs of Baclofen.
Side effects: I sleep around 10hrs if allowed to, so I take the medication around 10pm to get up at 8am.

Thank you for the details on your dosage and effects. I'll talk to my doc and give it a try.

I should emphasise, the initial dose for treating SRPE is .5 mgs of Clonazepam and 10mgs of Baclofen.
By about the 6th month I had to double this, but I seem to have now found the perfect dose for me.

hi i tried all of these, the only one which helps is Baclefon, CPAP machine does not work don't try , Cinitapride does not have true effect , I even contacted two doctors who published these paper but their help was useless, I also did Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy with no effect , I did an MRI last month and I am scheduled to see a neurologist to see if he could see anything in my MRI; based on my research this is caused by pelvic mussels , there is book called "Headache in Pelvic" and it seems some of the method described in the book are good, e.g. sitting in a hot tub before sleep (it helps , try it) and it also has many exercise.

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Anybody know of a family member, a brother or father or grandfather who has or had this problem too?

No mention in my family. But then they are an incredibly conservative people, and this is an excruciatingly embarrassing man-thing.
And therein lies the reason behind the misdiagnosis and the lack of research.

I wrote earlier about the jock strap. The strap relieves the urgency for me to wake up frequently. I think it's because I can't feel the erection as it seems to only go as far as a mild erection. However, in order to try for new techniques, I took off the strap and slept on my stomach for 6 nights but it only helps for 3-4 hours. I talked to my doctor about baclofen but can anyone tell me any side effects? My main concern is if it will eventually lead to ED? I haven't discussed clonezepam with my doctor though.

I take 20mgs of Baclofen and (now) 1 mg of Clonazepam. In my 7th month and all is well. There have been posts here of people taking much more Baclofen but I haven't read anything much on side effects.
I share your concern about side effects, but frankly, if I don't get 8 hours sleep I started getting very ill. I have Crohns and it can be exhausting. So for me it's a matter of expediency.
I have, on a few occasions taken 40 mgs of Baclofen and didn't feel any difference.
The only bummer with these medications (for me), is that ,collectively, they make me want to sleep about 10 hours a day and I may still wake at times, but rarely now.