In males, both urine and semen pass through the urethra. A muscle near the head of the bladder holds the urine till you're ready to urinate. This muscle or sphincter contracts when you ejaculate, thereby preventing the semen from entering the bladder. Sometimes, due to an injury or underlying medical ailment, the bladder muscle fails to contract. As a result of this, the semen ends up in your bladder, instead of coming out of the penis. This is commonly referred to as retrograde ejaculation. Although the condition is not life-threatening, experts from the best IVF treatment hospital in Mumbai suggest that it can significantly impact your ability to impregnate your partner. Despite the absence of any ejaculate, you will still feel pleasure while having sex. The only difference would be that it would be a dry orgasm.

How to know if you are suffering from retrograde ejaculation?

As per the leading infertility doctors in Pune, people suffering from the condition often tend to have cloudy urine. This is due to the presence of semen which instead of going to the urethra, enters the bladder. The sperm mixes with the urine and is passed along with it when you urinate after you've had sex.

Another sign that will help you know if you have retrograde ejaculation is that you've been trying to have children with no success. However, retrograde ejaculation accounts for only 1 to 2 per cent of the cases related to infertility in men. The reason why men with this problem find it difficult to have children is not that their sperm is not viable, but because their sperm is unable to reach their partner. For a successful pregnancy, it is important that the sperm, ejaculated by the male, swims towards the fallopian tube of the female where it fertilizes the egg. However, in the case of retrograde ejaculation, there is no sperm, hence no fertilization.

What causes retrograde ejaculation?

Retrograde ejaculation is a result of some physical problem and has nothing to do with any psychological issue. Anything that affects the reflex of the muscle at the opening of the bladder can cause this problem.

• In the majority of the cases, it is caused by certain medications like antidepressants or medicines taken to treat high blood pressure or enlarged prostate.
• Nerve damage could also be the reason behind the lack of ejaculate because of retrograde ejaculation.
• This can even be caused by certain conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or spinal cord injury.
• Surgical procedures performed on the bladder and prostate are also known to cause damage to the nerves controlling the contraction of the bladder muscles.

Risk factors that can elevate your chances of retrograde ejaculation.

Retrograde ejaculation is more likely to affect men who have diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, or have had surgery involving your prostate or bladder. The risks are also high in people who are on medications to treat enlarged prostate, high blood pressure, or depression.

When should I see a doctor?

It is pertinent to consult a doctor if you've been experiencing dry orgasms lately as it could be because of retrograde ejaculation. Though this condition is not serious and not something to worry about, you should still seek medical advice and consult experts from the best IVF & ICSI Treatment Hospital in Indore. Your doctor may ask to collect your urine sample to check whether you have this problem or not. They might also ask you to masturbate before you give your urine sample as it would be then easier for them to detect the sperm in your urine. If there's a high level of sperm present in the urine, then it means the dry orgasm is because of retrograde ejaculation.