3 month report

jhagerup

It's been 3 months since my RP surgery. Here is an update:

Surgeon: about 250 procedures before I came along.

Complications: In the 1st 4 weeks, had some blood clotting requiring re-catheterization. Difficult, but just a bump in the road.

Incontenance: Since day 1 - no diapers, wore a pad for a week or so, just to catch small amounts. After a couple weeks - completely dry. My sincere thanks to my surgeon for this fact !

PSA: I've had two tests since surgery - both zero. Halleluja!

Emotionally: Fantastic - I feel like a very lucky man!

ED: Had some ED before surgery so no great expectations here. No success with pills yet, however, injections are generally effective after you get the dosage and procedure right. Pump is useful for rehab and not much more (although with bands, it "can" work, although not the most pleasant experience). I've ordered some L-Arginine to see if that helps. The ED part of the experience is certainly a problem but it's slooooowly getting better with help from an understanding wife (critical). An excellent book to get is "Saving Your Sex Life" by John P. Mulhall, M.D.. He talks about rehab, which is not something that was covered in great detail by my Dr. Rehab is critical because certain muscles can attrophy, possibly leading to permanent ED. The book claims that you need to start rehab as soon as possible and there have been studies that waiting 6 months can cause permanent damage. Don't take my word for it though - get the book. It's $12 on Amazon.

Thank you for your prayers and support, and thanks to God for getting me through a difficult year. It can be a challenge waiting for surgery, waiting for PSA results, waiting for complications to clear up, etc., but having faith helps a great deal, and I hope my experience can provide hope to those that are just starting on this journey. I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.

Jim

lewvino

Glad to hear you are
Glad to hear you are improving. Love to hear about the 0 scores. My six month PSA is on Feb.15.

Larry

fathersson

Good for you Jim
I am sure your good fortune will continue.

WHW

Congrats Jim
It's always a pleasure to see posts like yours. Keep them zeroes a coming.

My you flunk the test over and over again by always scoring a zero.

Sonny

60 years old when diagnosed
PSA 11/07 3.0
PSA 5/09 6.4
Diagnosis confirmed July 9, 2009
12 Needle Biopsy = 9 clear , 3 postive
Gleason Score (3+4) 7 in all positive cores
da Vinci 9/17/09
Post Surgery Pathology: GS 4+3=7
Stage: T3a
Tumor Volume 12.5%
positive margin, extra-prostatic extension
30 day PSA 0.4, 50 day psa 0.53, 64 day psa 0.6
IMRT completed 1/15/10 35 treatments- 70Gy