PRP for loss of sensation?

[crkckr]

For those of you who have tried or are thinking about trying PRP Injections (platelet rich proteins) I have some information that might help out a bit. First off, PRP and stem cell therapy are definitely not the same thing! Nor are they related!

Everyone, even us old guys (I'm 70) has stem cells, although the older you get it's likely the fewer you will have and the less effective they will be. Doctors that are trained in the art can draw your undifferentiated (mesenchymal) stem cells from bone marrow, usually from the hip, just like they would do for a bone marrow sample. Be it known this is likely to hurt like hell, too! However, the number of stem cells needed and the number gained using your own bone marrow can leave a huge gap. While you may need millions, you will likely only get hundreds of thousands. It's a relatively easy process to replicate your stem cells BUT! (Yes, thats a huge but!) Doing so in the USA results in what the FDA says is a drug, making it totally illegal to do here! Anyone that says they have a vial of mesenchymal, or undifferentiated (those that can become any type of cell) stem cells in the USA that they are willing to sell you is flat out LYING to you! It is totally illegal here!! Your own stem cells, yes. Replicated cells (even your own) are not! If you need those millions you will have to travel outside the USA to get them, either from an umbilical cord from a live, healthy birth or your own from a bone marrow sample. I would urge anyone looking into this to check out Regenexx. In general they only treat orthopedic injuries but if you go out of USA (Panama in the case of Regenexx) you can get literally IV injections of living stem cells. The last I checked 4 years ago this treatment required a 2 week stay and cost around $15,000. I'm sure it's gone up by now.

PRP on the other hand is relatively simple process to do and perfectly legal, unless it's replicated. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to do with a blood draw and a centrifuge. Injecting, however, should be done by a professional who is trained in the procedure and knows where, how much and how to inject the solution. Some can be general, "just in the general area" injections (these can even be done at home if you're not adverse to the sight of your own blood and have a centrifuge... as always, research is key! Google is your friend!) while most orthopedic injections should be done by fluoroscope and someone who knows what the hell they are doing! Again, PRP injections are generally used for orthopedic type injuries.

However, from personal experience, I know that they can also (sometimes) help heal nerve damage. But be warned, it's a hit and miss, shot in the dark kind of thing and results will vary drastically from one individual to another and even one part of the body to another.

At best, you will see no improvement for 2 to 3 weeks, then (possibly) a gradual improvement after that. In my case, I was given a shot of something called AmnioFix from a company called MiMedx, originally to repair some small but very painful tears in my left Achilles tendon (2018). Not only did it fix my heel, it apparently fixed the cubital tunnel syndrome in both elbows, the small rotator cuff tears in my right shoulder (the left one was repaired surgically), and most surprisingly of all, the damaged nerve in my back at T3/T4! That, BTW, I lived on morphine for 15 years due to chronic pain and was told was never going to heal, regenerate or reroute because it was a damaged (due to a herniated spinal disk) spinal nerve, that, like the spinal cord, would never heal, regenerate or reroute!

Be aware that the AmnioFix IS NOT the same as PRP, although they are vaguely related. AmnioFix is essentially ground up umbilical cord (from a live, healthy birth and sold legally by the birth mother/parents) that is strained and filtered but does NOT contain any living stem cells. It does contain growth factors, something called allographs (sp?) and a list of other chemicals I can not remember but that are listed on their website, that promote healing..

It is not the only such product on the market but be warned that none of them are covered by most insurance companies or Medicare (no matter what your doc might tell you! There is currently a huge scam going on involving Medicare and doctors that believe the products sold to them by certain distributors are covered. Currently, they are not. However, that could change in the near future... hopefully). So for now, plan to spend anywhere from $400 to $600 per injection (and up! Possibly WAY up! ) with no promise nor guarantee it will work, especially when it comes to something esoteric like Parkinsons, MS or our penis problems! There is very little research being done on anything other than orthopedics at the moment but that is not stopping some companies from making fantastic claims about their product and the number of diseases they say they can treat or cure. Basically there is currently no regulation (and unfortunately, no FDA enforcement) regarding what some companies are advertising, with the exception of claims regarding stem cells. And even then enforcement by the FDA is spotty at best.

So do your homework before you give anyone a penny and certainly do your homework before you let someone experiment on your penis! As far as I am aware, there are no clinical trials being done on the effects of PRP or solutions such as AmnioFix on any penis or ED related problems (subject to new, valid information I may not have!).

Please, also keep in mind, I am NOT an expert* on this subject, nor am I doctor... I've just done a little more research than most. There may well be someone doing actual clinical trials or research on ED related diseases that I am simply not aware of. So take all of this with a grain of salt. But whatever you do, research into the products and companies is a MUST in this area. It is currently a "buyer beware" market for now so check things out very carefully before you spend any money or submit to potential experiments on any of your body parts!
Cheers,
crkckr
*an x (ex) is an unknown quantity while a spurt is a drip under pressure!

[Martin6469]

Interesting. Thanks for the very detailed analysis.