Should I worry about seminal discharge after peeing?

December 19, 2010 8:05 AM

Minor seminal discharge after urination: worrisome? (more tmi penis-filter inside).

Recently, I've been having one or two instances a week of urinating and having a bowel movement and then having a some seminal discharge. Should I be concerned?

The pattern seems to be that I use the toilet, and after I'm done it feels like I still have a little urine in my urethra. I try to relax and let it go, and I get a small glob of semen coming out.

Personal details: 31 years old, and no medications aside from adderall that was started nearly a year ago (the semen weirdness started in the past year, but not immediately after starting the adderall. The adderall also has a mild but noticeable affect of making urination slightly delayed). I've never had an STD to my knowledge, but haven't been tested in several years. I've been in a monogamous relationship for the past 3 years.

So... do I worry? And if the answer is no (or yes, I guess): does anyone know what's happening, physically?

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (8 answers total)

This is something you should see your primary care doctor for. He will probably test you for STDs just to be sure... penile discharge of any kind can be a sign of STIs, and he/she will want to check to be 100% sure before possibly referring you to a urologist. They may check your prostate as well, so be prepared for that to happen.
posted by honeybee413 at 8:44 AM on December 19, 2010

Echoing honeybee's advice; IANAD(Y) but to me it sounds like it might be some kind of retrograde ejaculation.
posted by greatgefilte at 9:02 AM on December 19, 2010

If it's only happening right after a bowel movement, it's probably that your stool is a bit on the hard side and is pushing against your prostate on its way out. Eating more fiber to soften your stool should get rid of this, but it sounds fairly normal. If you have great medical insurance, you can go to the doctor if it will make you feel better, but if this is your only "symptom," I doubt that you have anything to worry about.
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:36 AM on December 19, 2010

If you Google this, you'll see that many people on stimulant medications report similar problems, and it seems not unlikely that it's connected to your Adderall. Stimulants (antihistamines too) certainly can interfere with the plumbing, both in the urinary symptom you mention, as well as seminal fluids. Some men with benign prostate enlargement can't even tolerate the caffeine in coffee because the stimulant can cause pain and discomfort in the prostate.

You should probably rule out infections, but if you're clean, and don't have other troublesome symptoms (like pain/discomfort), one not-so-terrible treatment to try is having more frequent ejaculations (i.e., masturbate more often) to avoid a buildup of fluid.

You could also go off the drug and see if that helps, but I'm guessing you'd rather tolerate the mostly-harmless symptom than quit Adderall if it's working well for you.
posted by ViolaGrinder at 12:45 PM on December 19, 2010

infinitywaltz's explanation is certainly mechanically feasible, but I do not think this is normal. It's probably nothing major but I would recommend you see your doctor.
posted by Decani at 1:01 PM on December 19, 2010

I am 32 years old and this started happening to me about 2 years ago, for what it's worth.

I haven't seen a doctor about it, and likely won't bother.

Everything else seems fine, in fact I just knocked up my wife so I'm not too worried about it.

I'm not on any drugs, at all.

I just figure it's something that happens to guys as they age.
posted by anonymous account at 1:10 PM on December 19, 2010

This urologist on AllExperts.com says it's normal in some people.
posted by infinitywaltz at 2:21 PM on December 19, 2010

This happens to me after a powerful shit. Made sense to me the first time it happened due to our anatomy and the location of our prostate. The whole reproductive system works via muscle contractions, so why wouldn't a massive push make us push out a little something extra sometimes?
posted by ZaneJ. at 8:34 PM on December 19, 2010