Speaking to the Metro earlier this year, Robert Haliburton, 70, said that he got his first erection in years while watching the Netflix movie Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which starred Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell.
It’s something he’d not expected to happed after suffering from erectile dysfunction since the 90s, with a terrible accident being the initial cause of his woes.
Robert’s problems first started in 1997 when he was 43 and working on the roof of his home when he slipped off it, breaking two of his vertebrae in the fall.
It didn’t paralyse him but it took him around 14 months to recover, during which time he was ‘in immense pain’, and needed to be helped in pretty much every aspect of his life.
Robert’s problems started after he was seriously injured falling off the roof of his home. (Facebook/Robert Haliburton)
Sex with his wife Deanna was completely off the table and he said that ‘within two years my ability to have an erection literally disappeared’. At first erectile dysfunction didn’t cross his mind because he physically couldn’t have sex, but after he recovered he found his problem ‘discouraging’.
According to The Sun, his problems worsened in 1999 when he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, a condition which can result in a low sex drive.
Left unable to get an erection through normal means, Robert initially turned to Viagra, which worked for a while but soon became ineffective, before he tried a form of penile injection called Trimix. Although, this left him in great pain.
Robert eventually turned to a radio frequency device called Vertica, which he credits with giving him his first spontaneous erection for almost three decades.
However, by this point, Robert was living alone as his wife Deanna had died in 2021 after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
While Robert has found a solution for his erectile dysfunction he said he doesn’t plan to find another partner following the death of his wife in 2021. (Facebook/Robert Haliburton)
“When you’re younger, you never imagine you might outlive your partner by so many years,” he told the Metro about missing her from his life.
“I’ve learned I look after myself, simple as that, but I still feel my wife’s presence. I get a feeling she’s here with me.
“I have moments when, after all these years, I am still in disbelief that my wife is gone. I had the time of my life when she was alive.
“I think she feels I’m doing good.”
He added to The Sun that she had been ‘the most wonderful wife’ who had supported him throughout everything.
Though he’s regained his ability to have erections, he’s not interested in anyone else with the devoted husband saying he had ‘no desire’ to get into another relationship.
A couple who are no strangers to spicy cruising have shared the five downsides to their swinger lifestyle.
Bella and Jase have been documenting their sailing journey online, showcasing what it’s like to be in a non-monogamous relationship.
Despite popular belief, swingers aren’t just ‘getting off’ with everyone on-board and there are rules for passengers over international waters.
Though Bella and Jase claim there certainly are disadvantages with swinging, otherwise known as the ‘Lifestyle’.
Bella and Jase are in a non-monogamous relationship (Instagram/@4ourplay.official)
How the community is viewed
Taking to their YouTube channel 4OURPLAY by Bella & Jase, the pair said that society look down on their community.
“Well, ethical and consensual, non monogamous relationships are 100 percent valid and loving relationships,” Bella explained.
“They are not viewed this way by the majority of people.
“Just like most things that go against societal norms, there’s always going to be some kind of backlash in a stigmatised community.”
The cost of swinging
The cost-of-swinging crisis is a real thing and Jase says it’s hard to keep up with everyone.
“So there’s a lot of things that go on behind the scenes, not just the premium of paying to go to be with like minded people, but just what it takes for upkeep to keep these places running,” he said.
They have shared the five downsides to their swinger lifestyle (YouTube/4OURPLAY by Bella & Jase)
“So for us, these vacations, these trips, really are worth it, because that cost is allowing you to go to a place that you’re gonna have the most fun with, the people that you feel the best with, and we truly just love that.
“Another thing with cost is theme outfits. I think people usually don’t think about themes like that, but lots of the time, we buy new outfits for theme nights, and maybe we have a piece of it, but we buy something new.”
The couple said paying for date nights is also a big expense.
Compatibility
Although the pair meet a lot of people, there’s always a risk of a compatibility issue.
Some, they might find physically attractive, while for others, they don’t really click on a mental level.
Also, it can become a problem if the couple aren’t into both people when dating.
Jealousy
It probably doesn’t come as much of a shock when jealousy gets mentioned.
“Of all the issues we see couples struggle with most in the swinging lifestyle, jealousy is probably the one that we see come up most often,” Bella explains.
“Seeing your partner with someone else can easily bring up thoughts of insecurities in your head that can quickly escalate, if not dealt with in a proper way.”
The lack of LGBTQ plus members
Jase said: “First of all, we want everyone to welcome this lifestyle, and while gay and lesbian couples are definitely welcome, you definitely see less of them in this community.
“We have met several couples that are gay and lesbian in this space, but since there’s just not that many, and from our conversation with them, a lot of times they have told us sometimes they just feel a little bit uncomfortable. Not because they don’t feel welcomed, but just because there’s not that many of them in this space.”
Warning: This article contains graphic images that some readers may find disturbing
A man who thought he was suffering from a common ‘cold’ was forced to spend three months in hospital after a flesh-eating bug attacked his bum.
Simon English, 55, from Yorkshire, England, initially thought he picked up a virus from his wife, Kay, 55, who works as a teaching assistant.
But it didn’t take long for his flu like symptoms of a fever, cough and tiredness started to turn into something much worse.
Simon English took himself to hospital after his symptoms of a cold got progressively worse (SWNS)
After noticing that ‘something wasn’t right’, Simon visited the hospital to receive a shocking diagnosis.
Doctors told the retired fireman that he has a deadly bacterial infection called necrotising fasciitis, and that ‘one in five patients don’t make it’.
The infection results in the deterioration of parts of the body’s soft tissue – which was his bottom, in Simon’s case – and it left him in ICU for three months.
“I just felt like I was coming down with a heavy cold,” he said. “I’m one of those people where I just never get ill – or rarely.
“My wife was suffering as well, there’s always something going around at school.”
Simon was forced to spend three months in hospital after a flesh-eating bug attacked his bum (SWNS)
He went on: “It’s quite scary when you think about this bug, really – I now look like a shark’s taken a bite out of my a**e.
“I ended up looking like I was about 70 years old, after lying in bed for weeks. My nurse told me if I’d left it any longer before going to hospital, I wouldn’t be here now.
“I came so close to dying. I had four operations to fully debride it. They dressed it, and sent me back to the ICU.”
Simon was then sent for a skin graft on his bum, with some taken from his right leg. The infection was so severe, Simon even had an emergency colostomy to allow his wound to heal properly.
“I had to walk around the hospital with a walking frame,” he added. “I was in hospital for a further two months, to allow the wound to heal.”
Simon is thankfully now out of hospital (SWNS)
Thankfully, the 55-year-old was discharged from the hospital in June, but is still waiting to find out when the reversal procedure will be done.
“Apart from my stoma, I’m all healed up. My wound has totally healed – although it looks a bit funny, because of my skin graft.
“The surgeon did say of all places to get it – you’d want it on your buttock so it’s out-of-sight.
“I’ve started doing a few little handyman jobs here and there, and I would like to get back to being a part-time gardener. I’m hoping to hear about my stoma reversal surgery in the next eight weeks.”
If you asked the average male how long they could last without sex, the answer would most likely be a few months at the most.
So if they heard how long Savyasaci Das has gone without getting some, I’d expect a few lads would be knocked right off their feet.
That’s because the life coach and travelling monk has been celibate for more than 20 years – and he reckons it’s done him the world of good.
Content creator Penuel The Black Pen invited Savyasaci, who is better known as Savya The Monk, on his podcast Konvo to discuss what it’s like living without sex for over two decades.
In the YouTube clip, which was first uploaded in August this year, Savya explained that he was inspired to become celibate by another monk who had done it for seven years.
Savyasaci Das revealed the benefits of his celibacy journey (YouTube/konvo_za)
Discussing the reasoning behind his decision, he said: “There’s a subtle energy, a potency that is found in semen and when the semen is retained, then it nourishes the body.
“It nourishes the brain tissues, it allows one to have better memory and some enthusiasm on the spiritual level.
“To make one drop of semen takes about 40 drops of blood, so the system is worked to produce this sort of element that carries life.”
Savya explained that staying away from sex allowed him to ‘discipline’ both his mind and senses, as if you take lust out of the equation, ‘more than half of the job is done’ already.
“The chief agitator for the mind and senses is sex desire, so there’s two ways to deal with that,” the monk said.
According to Savya, blokes can get into a committed relationship which results in marriage and devote themselves to one partner.
However, he believes sex with your spouse should be ‘for procreation only’ rather than pleasure if you are trying to keep a lid on your desires.
If you don’t fancy that, you could go with option two and take a leaf out of Savya’s book by joining a monastery, vowing not to marry and becoming celibate.
He admitted it wasn’t ‘smooth sailing’ when he first began his journey back in 2002, but he realises how beneficial celibacy has been to him in hindsight.
He became celibate in 2002 after joining a monastery (Instagram/@savyathemonk)
“Now, I feel very fortunate that I got on this path,” Savya continued. “It’s really shed so much unnecessary burdens in my life.”
He went on to tell Penuel that he intended to stay celibate for the rest of his days after the podcast host asked him whether he had considered having children in the future.
Savya explained that due to his beliefs as a monk, he has already ‘adopted the whole world as his family’, so he doesn’t feel as though he is missing out.
“You could say I have children across the world…I’m guiding people inspiring them and being there for them throughout the difficulties of life.” he added.
The monk then made it clear that he didn’t expect people to follow his path to the letter, but said he simply wanted to raise awareness of the benefits a celibate lifestyle can bring.
He explained that love comes way above a person’s sexual desires anyway and isn’t dependent on physicalities, saying that it’s ‘even stronger and sweeter’ than rolling around in the sheets.
“Sex then just becomes a minor detail of a deeper relationship,” Savya concluded.
The topic of celibacy has been brought into the spotlight over the last few days, as I’m A Celeb star and N-Dubz singer Tulisa revealed she hasn’t had sex for three years.
She told her campmates on the ITV show: “I’m not an overly sexualised person.
“For me, it’s all about the connection and the emotions that I feel with someone and then wanting to express them in that way.”
So if you’re stewing over whether you should hop on the celibacy train, why don’t you take a look at this expert’s breakdown of the mental and physical impacts of it.
At the end of the day, whether you’re bonking or not is your business – so just chose which sounds best for you.
For some, the ordeal will be at an end but for others the clock is ticking down until they’ve cleared the month of November and can go back to jerking it without feeling like a failure.
I am, of course, talking about the end of No Nut November, for as we travel into the final month of the year, a bunch of men around the world have been once again challenging themselves to keep their hands away from their glands.
While there’s a bit of a debate over the health benefits, those who actually partake in this self-imposed challenge swear by the upsides to abandoning onanism.
Even as health experts say there’s a plethora of positives to cranking one out on a regular basis, many of those who’ve done it say it makes them feel ‘really good’ by the end of the month. That’s because they reckon it boosts their physique and they enjoy the feeling of ‘self control and patience’ that comes with sticking to the challenge.
The objective is pretty simple, just get through the month of November without having a w**k.
Depending on where you are it’s either no longer November or it’s about to be, so do you feel better? (Getty Stock Photo)
For those who’ve made it all the way through, feel free to give yourselves a hand and a vigorous round of congratulations, wherever you choose to place that hand is really up to you.
Those who’ve completed the challenge in the past have said it makes them feel ‘accomplished’ at having made it through the entire thing, which they believe has resulted in them becoming ‘mentally stronger’.
As for what No Nut November does to your body, doctors have said that abstaining from masturbation could boost a bloke’s fertility but wouldn’t bring many other tangible benefits.
Those in the medical say that regularly cranking one out can lead to you having better sleep, a boost in hormones that make you feel good, a decreased heart rate and a drop in stress.
Do you feel better or worse after that month without masturbation? (Getty Stock Photo)
On the other hand, if you’ve made it through No Nut November successfully then don’t you feel like you’ve accomplished something?
You entered into a challenge that nobody forced you to undertake where your greatest opponent was yourself and you made it, what this has proved, if anything, is up to you but you set your mind on a specific goal and accomplished it.
That’s got to feel good on some level, and now you get to join the ranks of the millions of men who also completed No Nut November.
