Erectile Dysfunction After Stroke: One Survivor’s Courageous Truth About Intimacy and Bowel Control

When Anshul Bhadwaj collapsed at his gym in Delhi at just 27 years old, he thought his life was ending. The thunderclap headache, the dizziness, the vomiting he was certain he was having a heart attack. What he didn’t know was that his brain was bleeding, and the hemorrhagic stroke he was experiencing would challenge not just his ability to walk, but his sense of manhood, dignity, and identity.

What Anshul shares in this conversation is what most stroke survivors won’t talk about: the loss of erectile function, the inability to control his bowels and bladder, and the profound shame that came with both. But his story isn’t just about loss, it’s about the courage to speak openly about these taboo topics, the journey back to dignity, and the mission to ensure others don’t suffer in silence.

The Stroke No One Saw Coming

Anshul was living the demanding life of a political journalist in India long hours, intense deadlines, and relentless pressure from his news channel manager. The stress was so extreme that even when he was hospitalized for hypertension in 2023, his manager told him to bring his laptop to the hospital and work from his bed.

“Life of a journalist in India is very stressful,” Anshul explains. “It looks good from the outside, but not good from the inside.”

That unmanaged hypertension, blood pressure exceeding 180/86 despite medication, was a ticking time bomb. On February 27, 2025, while working out at the gym, Anshul felt a sensation behind his brain, followed by severe dizziness. Within moments, he collapsed.

Because stroke awareness in India is remarkably low, no one at the gym, including Anshul himself, recognized what was happening. He thought it was a heart attack. Even when a friend drove him home and his father rushed him to a chemist, they were given electrolytes for what they assumed was low blood pressure.

It wasn’t until hours later, when his sister noticed he was having seizures, that the family finally took him to the hospital for a CT scan. The results were devastating: a brain hemorrhage. One junior doctor even said within Anshul’s earshot, “He’s going to die soon.”

The Loss That No One Talks About

After emergency angiography and coiling to stop the bleeding, Anshul survived. But survival came with challenges that went far beyond the left-sided paresis that left him unable to walk or use his dominant hand.

“I lost my manhood at that time,” Anshul shares, his voice steady but vulnerable. “I’m sharing this for the first time.”

Erectile Dysfunction After Stroke: The Silent Struggle

For approximately one month after his stroke, Anshul experienced complete erectile dysfunction. As a 27-year-old single man, the psychological impact was crushing.

“I used to think, what will happen in the future? Nobody will marry me. Nobody will accept me,” he recalls. “I was thinking I was not a man now.”

The shame was so profound that he couldn’t share this with his family or doctors. In Indian culture, discussing sexual dysfunction carries immense stigma; people judge, people assume you’re “less of a man.”

But what Anshul eventually discovered through his own online research was that erectile dysfunction after stroke is a common neurological symptom, not a permanent condition. As his brain healed and his testosterone levels recovered, his erectile function gradually returned over the course of several weeks.

“I want people to know about this. This is not a shame thing. If something like this can happen, people need to accept it. This is happening to them too.” — Anshul Bhadwaj

Bowel Control After Stroke: The Reality of Lost Dignity

Perhaps even more challenging than the erectile dysfunction was the complete loss of bowel and bladder control. For the entire time Anshul was hospitalized for 35 days, he was unable to control when or where he would urinate or defecate.

“I used to pee in the hospital bed only,” he explains. “I was wearing diapers. I would vomit everywhere. I couldn’t control anything.”

What made this experience even more traumatic was the response from some of the hospital nursing staff. Rather than showing compassion for a neurological symptom, some nurses expressed frustration and even mocked him.

“They used to ask me, ‘Why don’t you tell us to take you to the washroom? Why are you doing this in the bed? You’re wasting our time,'” Anshul recalls. “I used to tell them, ‘I can’t control it. I don’t know why I’m doing this. I want to control it, but I can’t.'”

This lack of understanding, even among medical professionals, highlights how little awareness exists around the full spectrum of stroke symptoms, particularly those that affect intimate bodily functions.

The good news: Like his erectile function, Anshul’s bowel and bladder control gradually improved after returning home and beginning physiotherapy. Within a month of leaving the hospital, he no longer needed diapers and could independently use the bathroom.

The Psychological Recovery: From Hiding to Healing

The physical challenges were only part of Anshul’s journey. The psychological impact of losing these fundamental aspects of bodily autonomy sent him into a dark period of shame and fear.

When he first started attending physiotherapy sessions, he would wear a traditional Sikh head covering and a face mask, not for COVID protection, but to hide his identity.

“I was scared people at my neighborhood would recognize me,” he explains. “They would see how I was walking and start laughing at me. I didn’t want to face people.”

The breakthrough came when Anshul began working with a mental health therapist who helped him confront his fears directly.

“She told me, ‘These are your fears. This is not reality. Stop wearing this mask. Don’t come again wearing this mask in front of me,'” Anshul remembers.

That single month of therapy was transformative. It helped him reclaim his dignity and realize that his worth as a person and as a man wasn’t defined by his temporary physical limitations.

What Healthcare Providers Need to Know

Anshul’s story reveals critical gaps in stroke care, particularly around:

1. Patient education: Survivors need to be told that erectile dysfunction, incontinence, and other intimate symptoms are common neurological effects, not personal failures


2. Nursing sensitivity: Medical staff require better training on the neurological basis of bowel/bladder dysfunction after brain injury


3. Mental health integration: Psychological support should be standard protocol, not an afterthought


4. Cultural competency: In cultures where discussing sexual health is taboo, providers must create safe spaces for these conversations

The Path Forward: Recovery and Advocacy

Today, six months post-stroke, Anshul continues to work on his left-hand motor skills and is waiting for medical clearance to return to the gym. His blood pressure, while improved, still requires monitoring.

But something more powerful has emerged from his trauma: a mission.

“I want to spread stroke awareness in my country to every household,” Anshul declares. “I want to have a stroke awareness series on my news channel. In India, awareness is very low. People don’t even know what stroke is.”

His willingness to discuss erectile dysfunction and bowel control openly, topics that carry immense shame in his culture, is already breaking down barriers and helping other survivors realize they’re not alone.

For Newly Diagnosed Stroke Survivors

Anshul’s message to anyone facing similar challenges is clear and hopeful:

“Don’t lose hope. Everything will get back. If you’re not able to walk right now, you will walk. I’m walking. I’m talking properly. Everything will get better with time. Don’t fear anything. Nothing is permanent in this world.”

He’s right. Just as seasons change, so too do the challenges of stroke recovery. What feels impossible today, whether it’s walking