Hi. I have felt painful/tingling/fullness/“arousal” sensations in my clit for a week now. It is extremely sensitive and I feel it all the time, it is sore to the touch. This started the morning after a long period of masturbation one night. Went to the doctor and got prescribed lidocaine 5% cream. It does not help. Also got prescribed amitriptyline but scared to start it as it has many side effects and I don’t know how I feel about changing my brain. I am scared. Life has felt like hell and it’s only been a week. I’ve had suicidal thoughts. I have a loving boyfriend, best friend, and parents and I feel so terrible for feeling so awful and putting them all through this with me. When I google anything about any of these conditions, especially on Reddit, all I read are horrible stories of people never recovering, nothing ever helping, life being this way forever. It makes me cry and feel hopeless. I am begging anybody who has any success or recovery stories to please share and help me and others like me going through this experience find hope in the darkness. Thank you.

Hey everyone, I know it's a long shot but figure it's worth a try.

Bit of a niche/specific situation really - I have Tourettes and sometimes I get tics that feel like an intense pelvic tension that can cause involuntary erections and physical arousal.

It isn’t a constant feeling as my tics naturally go through cycles/phases, but when it does happen it can have a real impact when it comes to just getting on with general life stuff. So I thought I’d see if there are any other guys (or anyone really) here who have the Tourettes/PGAD crossover situation happen to them?

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice, always consult your doctor when changing medications. I am a medical professional, but that still doesn't make me qualified to speak on Your behalf. Always get a second opinion from a qualified medical professional and do your own research.

A cure for PGAD

Today I'm going to be presenting some research to the community, I am a Pharmaceutical Scientist who has been directly studying PGAD for the last three years because someone I know and care deeply for has been struggling with episodes on and off for over a decade.

To start, PGAD is a symptom, not a condition. Many different causes can all lead to the same sensations, and because of that treatment tends to be very multi-spectrum: focusing on treating individual cases instead of being able to focus on any given whole. This leads to patients being put through a merry-go-round of different options until one eventually works, completely ignoring any side effects that may happen along the way. These last 3 months mark the first time that we've had a systemic breakthrough in treatment that can not just relieve but ***cure*** *multiple disorders* that lead to this condition. One treatment option that regardless of the source is guaranteed to bring some relief. There won't ever be one medicine or procedure that will be a 100% fix for all causes, but we've found something that at the very least is working in the 90%.

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are gentle, bio-identical remedies that beautifully mirror cortisol, a protective hormone naturally produced within your own adrenal glands. They act as a soothing balm to reduce inflamation quickly and safely. There are three main levels of Corticosteroids used in modern day:

Hydrocortizone:

Non prescription, OTC

Lowest strength, safe for even newborns

Triamcinolone Acetonide:

Prescription only

Medium strength, safe for children 6+

Clobetasol Propionate:

Prescription only

High strength, safe for children 9+

These are topical medicines that come most commonly in the form of a cream/lotion base, and are prescribed nearly globally for every kind of skin condition from diaper rashes, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, insect bites, to even being taken as oral tablets or injections for spine problems and joint inflamation. They are safe, and effective, but here's what the research shows in how they relate to PGAD:

Corticosteroids lift the inflamation so that the body can heal.

A significant proponent to what is causing the sensations of PGAD is what we call a "inflamation cycle". The concept that inflamation starts, and the natural response of the body is to attack it, leading to more inflamation in an ever perpetuating cycle. Whether the cause of your condition is pelvic floor tension, dermatological issues, malformed nerves or or direct clitoral issues, even neurological, we have seen a massive remission percentage in every kind of case using Corticosteroids.

Think of it like this:

Imagine the inflamation as being a heavy, wet blanket laying over your nerves. The body can't start work on healing or restoring anything because it's not strong enough to lift the blanket! Corticosteroids step in and lift that blanket so that the body finally has time to start releasing and restoring naturally.

What we recommend:

Talk with your doctor about getting a prescription. You will see the fastest remission using Clobetasol, so it is highly recommended you exclusively get a prescription for it. I was able to get my friend a prescription in ten minutes online using RedBoxRX, but you can use any pharmacy you use. Here is the methodology:

The 'Four Week Process'

Once your prescription for Clobetasol shows up, start by applying a small dollop clitorally twice daily with a heavy focus on before sleeping. It is highly important that once you start you do not stop until the four weeks is up or until your symptoms are completely gone. Stopping this medication early has no side effects, but will make treatment harder in the future. There are no major systemic or topical side effects with Clobetasol, but it is important to not get the cream in your eyes or mouth as it will cause irritation. Some have reported that PGAD sensations and genital dysthesia can become more intense during the treatment, it is highly important that if you feel any extra tingling or increasing intensity that you keep going until relief starts! It is normal to feel worse before getting better, and most patients have reported the feeling of increasing intensity right before radical improvement. Make it to the four week marker, be strong, and your chances of seeing radical and permanent relief are high.

This is no temporary bandaid or something that will just give relief for a few weeks. This is meant to be a permanent solution to PGAD on large. Obviously some may not have success with this specific treatment, but I am here to tell you Talk with your doctor and see if they've heard of it. That's all I have to offer today, and if anyone wants to look over the large amounts of research papers to back this information up, feel free to DM me, though I do have responsibilities and cannot respond to everyone right away.

I wish you the best of health!

So which foods/drinks triggers your PGAD? I have noticed that caffeine makes mine worse. But something that I eat makes it worse either i guess but I couldn’t find it. Can sugar make that worse?

Hi, I'm really scared and trying to understand what might be happening to me. I’d really appreciate any insight or similar experiences.

About 4 days ago I started using my vibrator more frequently and at a higher intensity than usual out of boredom. Shortly after that, I began noticing a persistent feeling of genital sensitivity and arousal-like sensation.

Two days ago I stopped using the vibrator, hoping it would go away, but the sensation has continued. It feels like a mix of heightened sensitivity, mild “arousal-like” feeling, also similar to needing to urinate. It fluctuates through the day and sometime when I'm out walking and talking I forget about it for a bit, but it's pretty much constant.

I'm really worried and feeling guilty and I cry all the time, will this stop?

Hi there I am 25F and have been experiencing this for 2 days now. I woke up with the feeling the other day - feeling “arousal” symptoms in my clit, pressure, throbbing, discomfort. I made myself cum multiple times to try get rid of the feeling but it made no difference. For context I have genital herpes, which I’ve googled can sometimes cause this? I’ve had this for 4 years and just recently had an outbreak in a different place on my perineum which is abnormal for me. I also have had a porn and masturbation addiction since 12. The night before it started I had a long masturbation session - about 3 hours. Have I done this to myself? Will it ever go away?

Google does nothing but scare me. I also am in the UK and it doesn’t seem like there is much support here for this condition. I know you guys can’t help instantly but I am scared and confused and very uncomfortable. I feel like I can’t face my family or do anything normal because my mind is in my clit. Do you people have any advice? Please I am desperate, as someone having this sensation for the first time and with no support. Do you think this feeling could go away? Or am I doomed to have this forever? I feel like I’ve lost some of my childlike innocence, and my body is violating me.

I’ve lived my whole life like this. I can remember being little, I remember the first time I ended up touching myself as a kid. Sometimes I wonder if that’s what started it.

The tingling feeling never went away. I have never been able to have anything touch my private areas without it being triggered, I’d always get in trouble as a kid for adjusting my underwear, but I couldn’t help it because i was so, so uncomfortable. I can’t wear underwear anymore. When I’m on my period I have to slap the pad onto the back of my pants so it doesn’t touch me. I’m on birth control that makes me horribly depressed just so I don’t have to deal with it. It’s a trade off I’m willing to accept, but I don’t want to live my whole life like this.

I always thought everyone was like this, but I wondered how everyone was able to sit with their underwear brushing up against them, or ride bicycles, or wear shorts. It was so isolating. I thought that somehow I had cursed myself for masturbating as early as elementary school, and that it was all my fault. I developed a fear of ever doing it again, and I’m sent into a panic everytime I accidentally trigger my PGAD. I can’t feel any strong emotions without a flare up, I can’t touch soft things without a flare up, I cant dress how I want. I hoped for years that it would go away when I got my period, I was never even taught about my own anatomy. I don’t know how bad it was before, but one night I want to use the bathroom and i noticed how everytime my bladder was empty my symptoms would get worse and worse. maybe the feeling of it being full masked the tingling sensations??

Id be in pain down there after going to trampoline parks, sometimes I will randomly get stinging/painful throbbing sensations that go on and off, it’s worse than the constant buzzing. I was born a month early and baby me tried to be born even earlier, so I’ve always wondered if my anatomy was just messed up or something. I have found a way to cope with it, I don’t know if it’s healthy or not.(fixating on fictional ships because if I’m going to be aroused all the time I might as well be enjoying it. I never act on anything, im much too scared of ever experiencing that feeling again.) Im going to see a doctor for this someday, when I move out. I don’t want my parents to know more than I’ve already asked about when I was younger. I was told it was normal for years, or that I needed to gain weight. I couldn’t even put words to it for years. one day I will be free, even if it takes me chopping off my clit. id do it as a last resort.

This subreddit has atleast helped me, now that i can finally put words to it. now that i know im not alone and suffering forever. One day ill find out the cause of this. One day I will fix whats wrong with me. if you’ve read this far, thank you. its comforting to have a space where I can finally get all of this off my chest. I hope everyone also suffering from this eventually finds relief too. ❤️

Hi all!

Like many here, I found this sub when my symptoms started. Forums like these attract people who are actively struggling/have been for years, but people who got better (like I did!) almost never come back to talk about it. The end result is that people who had their first experience with PGAD find this place, doomscroll, and become completely hopeless. Additionally, Google says there’s no “cure” for PGAD. This makes sense when you understand PGAD can be caused by a few different things, so there’s no “cure” for PGAD itself, but rather you have to address what is causing it (nerve irritation? nerve entrapment? pelvic prolapse? tarlov cyst?). However, without that knowledge, all you know is “Google says there’s no cure, so I’m doomed forever.” Overall a very scary, isolating, hopeless experience. When I was in that boat, it got so bad I was contemplating hurting myself just to make it stop. So, I’m thinking we can get a thread of recovery/improvement stories going for the newcomers!!

I’m three months in with significant improvement, looking towards full recovery. I have a post in my profile with way more detail, but the TLDR is that I found a pelvic PT who diagnosed me with hypertonicity + a pelvic pain expert who figured out I had pudendal nerve irritation. I’m a few weeks into PT, medication, and lifestyle adjustments, and my PGAD has improved substantially! The biggest thing is both my PT and my doctor have assured me they had patients with PGAD who made full recoveries. It can take months (nerves heal slow!) but it happens.

If you’re someone who’s had any improvement or recovery, I’m hoping you can drop a comment so people know it’s not as hopeless as it seems

If you’re new to PGAD and reading this: you’re not alone! Don’t give up hope 🩷

I've been having what I assume pgad symptoms for like 14 days. The first week was hell, then things started to get better slightly, The last 2 days were perfect and I thought I'm on the road to full recovery, but today I decided to have a cup of coffee, 30 mins later the symptoms came back and it took it like 7 hours to calm down again....

Does anyone here have the same experience?

Hi, I’m really scared and confused right now and I wanted to ask if anyone has experienced something similar.

When I was around 14, I had my first PGAD-like episode during a very stressful/anxious period after moving overseas. It eventually went away.

Years later, I noticed that I sometimes get PGAD-like sensations mainly when taking Dexamphetamine. Because of that, I became extremely anxious and hyperaware about genital sensations.

Yesterday, even without taking dexamphetamine, I suddenly noticed clitoral sensations again, and after masturbating I had lingering feelings that scared me badly. Since then, I’ve been constantly monitoring the sensations and panicking.

Now I’m terrified that this means I actually have real Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder and not just anxiety/OCD-related hyperawareness.

Has anyone experienced something similar where anxiety, OCD, body monitoring, or fear made the sensations much worse?
Can OCD or hyperfixation actually create or amplify PGAD-like feelings?

I’m feeling really overwhelmed and have been crying all day.