A former porn star has shared why he left the industry and the effects it had on his body.
Christopher Zeischegg, who was known as Danny Wylde in the sex industry, worked as a porn star for eight years.
At the beginning of his career, Christopher could make as much as $300 per scene. In the years that followed, he started asking for $500 - $700 a scene and even landed a contract with a production company that paid him a very comfortable $4,000 a month, of which he'd only have to work six days.
While he was eventually making decent money and not having to work ridiculous hours, Christopher ended up having to leave the porn industry on medical grounds.
Filming sex scenes requires an important component - the male star having an erection.
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The average erection will last a few minutes to half an hour so, to prolong his boners (pun very much intended), Christopher would take erectile dysfunction tablets. The condition is thought to affect around 30 million men in the US.
Eventually Christopher went on to be diagnosed with priapism, which landed him in the emergency room three times.
Priapism is a disorder in which the penis maintains a prolonged, rigid erection in the absence of appropriate stimulation.
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On his third hospital trip, a doctor warned him of the devastating side effects it could have on his body if he continued to use the tablets.
"A doctor said to me that if I kept using the drugs, I could cause some serious long-term damage, like scar tissue build up in my penis, which could lead to impotence. I quit performing in porn the following day," Christopher told The Independent.
He denies that he had a physical addiction to Cialis (a drug to treat ED), but thinks he might have been 'psychologically addicted'.
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Christopher didn't have any major side effects when he stopped taking the drug, but did note that he started to experience performance anxiety and would end up taking Cialis before going on dates.
"I was still in my twenties," Christopher reflected.
"There should have been no reason that I needed to do that. But I had developed this idea about myself, and I didn't want to let my partner down, or make them think that I was anything less than a 'porn star' in bed."
After a few months, the retired porn star started to feel comfortable 'with my body and with my sexuality' again without the help of ED drugs.
Topics: News, Sex and Relationships, Life, Health
Niamh Shackleton