Embarrassing erections at 33

I was kindly given details about this forum from somebody at the psych central Q&A forum and advised to post here for any advice.
I am a 33 year old man writing out of sheer frustration because I suffer badly from an embarrassing problem of unwanted erections. It's all very well when you're 17 but it's mortifying and frustrating at this age. I worry about it all the time - I had my appendix out at 31 and even after the op, when they were examining the scar, I had a visible erection (nobody commented but I was embarrassed). It does happen to men our age, but there is nobody to talk to about it and I am getting so down - truly upset and frustrated about it. I still suffer with persistent unwanted erections on a pretty much daily basis-yes, thinking about sex / being around attractive women etc doesn't help, but I often get them for no reason at all. I get nervous in the summer about it and always worry about it on beaches etc. I have taken to wearing tight briefs under my work trousers to hide it which can be uncomfortable and irritating. Ex-girlfriends have been very mixed in how understanding they've been about this issue-some have been welcoming at first and hated it after a few months. It was a big part of my last relationship breaking down. Currently Im single again and this can and does accentuate it. I get very down about it and have thought about seeing a doctor many times-it's just the embarrassment of it all. It's just, at 33, I truly thought that this would no longer be such a problem. Some days are fine, most days are problematic but some days are just unbearable with hourly erections that are just a total pain. I just wanted to ask am I alone here, and has anybody ever managed to find a solution or 'magic pill' to stop it. Advice needed and please, no jokers. Thank you in advance.

Im really sorry your experiencing this. Personally i don't think anybody on here is going to be able to give you any proper insight into what is going on - they might be able to lessen your anxiety by revealing that they themselves have been in a similar situation but i think really your just gunna have to bite the bullet and go to the doctor to find out whats wrong - it might be something psychological or physical and no doubt you've probably done plenty of your own research but why not finally put your mind at rest and get a professional opinion? Perhaps you could specify what doctor you want to see or go to a specialist clinic if there are any near where you live? I have nothing else to offer really in the way of advice but we're all here to support you if you need it. There is a physical sickness/injury forum on here so maybe you might want to try posting on there as well? good luck.

Thanks bb2023 - I appreciate your reply and you not taking the p*ss out of my situation. I was worried that people would just make me out to be a freak or turn it all into a joke. It has been something that has embarrassed me for nearly 20 years now - it was a nitemare at college and I thought it would have calmed down by now. It seriously affects my life - everything from the clothes I wear/buy to going on dates. I am so embarrassed about it all, but I appreciate your reply. Thank you

have you had your testosterone level checked? maybe it is too high.

Your very welcome - i don't know how anyone can make fun of another persons health problems, its just cruel and uneccessary and its simply not how ive ever operated. I know your certainly not alone in your problem so i would just try and get the appropriate help as soon as possible and reclaim your life. Good luck buddy

Okay, this is a weird question: how often do you masturbate? Does it help? My husband has a really high testosterone level, and he needs a "release" multiple times a day to avoid that problem.

This is such a personal question - I dont know if I want to admit / answer it on here. Can I PM you?x

If you were talking to me about the PM, I'm fine with you sending a message.

Thank you - I have just seen this. I will pm you.

Update from sender - 6 months after posting this on here, I thought I would update in case any other people come across the post. I went to the Dr (with the support of a few truly lovely people on this forum) and he took me seriously. He prescribed me fluoxetine - its main form is as an anti-depressant, but apparently it can also be used to lower libido, particularly in men. We tried 20mg for 3 months and now it has been 40mg for the last 2 months. Initially I felt very hopeful indeed about this. However, irritatingly, it has not had any affect at all on either my frustration or on the unwanted erections.
Blood tests showed high testosterone, out of normal range, but not serious enough to consider hormone therapy (according to my GP) - something like the top 0.5% of men or something like that. There's a whole load of other things they measure, but the long and short of it was that yes, my testosterone levels are very very high for a man in his 30s, but 1 in 200 men will also have levels this high (god knows where they are?! it is hard to find any help if you google / search for anything to lower erections. usually its the opposite - you just get loads of stuff about viagra etc etc).
So now, I'm in a limbo with everything and feeling utterly sick of it. I am still single and this is definitely exacerbating the problem, and I am still hopeful that the fluoxetine will somehow magically kick in and give me some relief from the frustration. But it seems like this has not changed in the last 6 months and anybody with any advice at all - it would be very gratefully received indeed.

I take fluoxetine as an anti-depressant and miraculously it returned me my sex drive which, I thought, would never make a come back. Maybe you are also having an unusual reaction to this drug. Also, the full effect is expected to obtain within 6-8 weeks. I feel that it has been enough time for you to lose hope in this particular drug. As for your google searches, the words are so heavily spammed (as in "webspam" not "mail spam") as to make searching utterly useless. You need to find some other way of fetching info. You poor thing!

Thank you so much for being kind - I still havent managed to get any useful information anywhere. I despair about it sometimes. Summer's here now and it gets much worse in the Summer - I dread it every year. Thanks again for being kind x