Erectile Dysfunction Success Stories

vellani,

No two guys here are the same. Logically, people are more likely to remain in contact with a cancer Board if they have problems, rather than if they don't. This is as true of ED as it is of per se malignancy issues.  Some men just desire to stay informed, and some just see it as a place of friendship.

There is no "average" ED period post RP, but some generalities from what I have read here, read in books, and experienced myself.  First, every man will have some imparment post-surgery.  I have read one guy here who claimed he did not, that he was having spontaneous sex within less than a month after surgery, but that is so astronomically uncommon as to be irrelevant when a patient is realistically considering the future.  Most guys, even on the extremely fast end of the recovery spectrum, have significant imparement and numbness for at least a few monnths.

What Cleveland said, my surgeon, who has done over 1,000 DaVincis by now, told me. You should be on Cialias within a few weeks after surgery for blood flow purposes: it usually will not give an erection, but will prevent/lessen vascular tissue damage-atrophy.  He recommended vacuum pump use also from shortly after healing.

My doctor also recommended and perscribed for me Trimix, an injection shot that nearly always causes an erection within 15 minutes after injection, even in men with total ED.  I started using Trimix about 6 weeks after surgery (I can't remember now how long after surgery now, 2.5 years later) and response was immediate.  The first shot is in the doctor's office, and is a training session: either the doc or an RN has to train the patient and his wife/partner on how to administer the injection.  Injections can only be given every other day (not every day), and therefore two days later at home we injected it and had good sex then, as I said, within about six weeks post op.  Like Cialias, this feeds-assists the vascular tissue.  Many men report a little pain from the engorgement the first few times, but usually not serious pain. The needle itself caused me no pain at all, it is tiny, and the RN told me it is similiar to "a diabetic's shot," although I am unfamiliar.

For me, Cialias and Trimix did not allow spontaneous erections until several months later, but they were therapudic of the vascular tissue, and did allow decent sex.  I do not see many men write regarding Trimix here, not sure why, but you might want to ask your surgeon about it.  As I said, it gives erection even to men who have total ED, reportedly 85% or more of the time.  I am unaware of any form of danger from it.

We used Trimix only a few months, and then sex with just Cialias was possible, so I am guessing that we were having sex with Cialias only (Trimix no longer necessary) at about 6 or 7 months.  I was 59 years at that time (61 today).   Sex without Cialias was possible by one year, but Cialias remained helpful thereafter.

Trimix is not expensive, Cialias is however.  I have neer used Viagria.

My timeline was not uncommon: better than some, worse than others. Some men have very rapid recoverly, some few men, either because of age or the inability of the surgeon to do erectile nerve sparing, remain impotent for life.

We have a guy here who writes fairly regularly who was dispairing of his ED at about the 1 year point post-op. Then one day (in the last few weeks) he wrote in, and described good sex following the use of Trimix. He sounded like it revolutionized his life.  I don't feel free to give his name, but a little looking around will find his posts.   Jason above mentions diet. Eat healthy, and remember that alcohol and some meds are erection-killers, even for men who have never had surgery.

At 43, you are a LOT younger than most of the guys here, but I also usually mention that most of us are no longer young bucks any more. (The current average age in the US of PCa diagnosis is 67.)   Men, by the time they hit 60 or so, routinely start to have some lessening of ability, even if they have never had prostate disease.  It is part of the normal course of life and aging.

I hope some of this helps you and others in some way,

max

Getting a better picture now of what happened to MK, but still haven't pinpointed what happened yet. It was robotic surgery, I am guessing DaVinci? The old robotic surgery was a floor model that looked like a science fiction robot. In my DaVinci surgery, the machine looked like a giant white gleaming octopus that was overhead, with many devices on the ends of of many metal tentacles. 

I wanted to joke with the surgeon and ask just before going under "Doctor, after the operation, will my wife still be able to play with my piano?" I didn't ask.

I'm guessing either enough time has not lapsed, or maybe the surgeon was not able to spare the nerves adequately. Even so, the body has a way of finding new routes for nerve stimulation. I am still hoping MK will improve over time. 7 mos. is not long enough for a final diagnosis. I repeat, one urologist said 1 to 2 years, with active methods of keeping blood circulating to the business down there. Another circulation trick is the contraction of the muscles used during orgasm. Similar to the kegels, muscle contraction always has the dual benefit of exercising the muscle and increasing circulation to the business area.

Bad circulation as in type 2 diabetes is also a culprit in ALL forms of ED and other anomalies. Blood fails to circulate the oxygen necessary for cell function. Robbed of oxygen, organs can atrophy and malfunction. Same for your business. Without blood circulated oxygen robbed by the diabetes, there won't be any organ function in the business.

All these things must be considered, but one bad side effect is inevitable in RP... Like MK said, you lose 1 to 2 inches of length. So you may recover the hardness, the sensation, and the "diameter" before RP, but you won't regain the lost length. 

Hi,

Got to keep trying, it took me about a year to get a usable erection but was still having "limp" sex in the mean time.  Keep on getting the blood flow in that area to aid in the recovery.  I feel my firmness is back around the 95-100% range and seem to have better erections in the morning.  The pressure of performing I feel did impact me but as I get harder, the mental thing started to go away.  Never heard about the squatting thing, hopeofully my wife won't think I am freakin out LOL.

Dave 3+4

Welcome, vellani.

I believe you are correct: Boards such as these are the perview of men who need them, who have some issues to resolve.  RP continues to be either the most common first-line treatment for PCa in the US, or tied for first with Radiation overall.  Thousands upon thousands of surguries annually.  But the number of men here posting unsatisfied with surgery is a handful.  Hence, one would have to agree with your insiight that men who have done well simply leave the Boards.  Statistically, logically, the overwhelming majority have moved on, resolved their conflicts, are out living life.   The primary objective following the discovery of any cancer is its eradication.  Side-effects, by definition, are secondary.   Important, but not primary.

In terms of men I have actually known (personally, face-to-face) with PCa there have been about 10.  All (100%) chose surgery as first-line therapy.  I never heard one complaint of side-effects later in life from any of them, ever (some have since died,and of recurrent PCa).  Like me, they were blessed to be success stories, or at least regarded themselves as such, at least for a long time.

Perspectives differ with every man, as they should.  But yes, most men, obviously, are pleased with their outcomes following prostectomey. No doubt all would prefer to have never had cancer, to have never suffered pain or any side-effects.  But well enough to give thanks and move on with living life.

The surgery-radiation debate has raged here for decades, and will continue to do so.  Why ?   Be well and live life.  No man here can tell you what your sexual function will be in a year.

If you imagine the song below sung to prostate cancer, or to the gland, or to sexual ability generally, rather than to a person, then it fits the survivor's situation perfectly.   Round and around and around and around we go.  Where it all ends, nobody knows.   As Shakespheare wrote, it is "a sound and a fury, signifying nothing."

If you have surgery you will at some future time regain potency with relative quality if your experience is like most men's.  If you are like a minority of others, then not.   Any commentary beyond is bluster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InZ8OfFEmdQ

I had robotic surgury 6.5 years ago...I was 51 at the time and I was able to get an erection in about 8 weeks with the help of Cialis (or one of the other ones) I found that taking the whole pill made my head feel all stopped up...so I would break it into quarters and that worked for me...after about 6 months I didn't use or need them any longer.  First few orgasims were kind of painful, but not any longer...now they are just weirdly different than pre-surgury.  My only issue is that I found out two weeks ago that my prostate cancer has returned and I am sick about it!  Meeting with radiologist today...looks like they will be doing 7 weeks of radiation and 6 months of hormone therapy...so I guess I can kiss erections goodbye for a while and just hope that they come back after the 6 months of no use.  Best of luck for your recovery and I hope they got it all.

all the best,

Mike

Well, I'm in an in-between spot. I am 18 months out, taking daily 20mg viagra, using the pump and trying to masturbate at least once a week. I have recovered some, but not enough for penetration.  Wife is helpful, but I'm beginning to despair i'll recover even 75% of prior potency, which was good but not great before. I occasionally needed cialis, but not always. I'm 54,  6', 215lbs, fit cardiovascularly, no medical probs other than the prostate cancer. I'm on zoloft, at a minimum dose, which I understand can cause ED, to some extent, but the drug is worth it, so....   Anybody else now have decent function after not regaining erections over 18 months later???

fdg said:

18 months post Davinci

Well, I'm in an in-between spot. I am 18 months out, taking daily 20mg viagra, using the pump and trying to masturbate at least once a week. I have recovered some, but not enough for penetration.  Wife is helpful, but I'm beginning to despair i'll recover even 75% of prior potency, which was good but not great before. I occasionally needed cialis, but not always. I'm 54,  6', 215lbs, fit cardiovascularly, no medical probs other than the prostate cancer. I'm on zoloft, at a minimum dose, which I understand can cause ED, to some extent, but the drug is worth it, so....   Anybody else now have decent function after not regaining erections over 18 months later???

 

fdg,

Zoloft commonly causes sexual problems, but not (usually) the ability to get an erection. What Zoloft mostly does in men is impede the ability to "seal the deal," or orgasm.  I've used Zoloft, and it has never prevented erection, but did do the other.

fog,

i am glad, you have some responses. Since you had ED before RP, then it might take longer to get to the point of penetrative sex.

But, at least, some hope is there. You might want to try injections to get that ability to have a sex, and also, injecting might boost and speed up of erectile recovery. Everything less invasive, is worth trying.

Good luck!

MK

GeorgeG said:

As above, it can take time.

As above, it can take time. My surgeon told me about 18 months for most guys to get what they get but that he has seen it take up to 4 years. Everyone is different. He also told me that most guys get the best results standing. I found out quite by accident that squating helps me get started, like as if you were a baseball pitcher. Never read or heard that one so we are in fact all snowflakes.

 Also as above, use it or lose it. Decide on how you want to get blood flow to the area with a specific choice or a combination. I have alternated Cialis, a vacuum pump and my wife getting overime hours. I am 8 months post op and have partial unaided activity now. For the first 2 months it was absolute zero. I am 62 and had partial nerve sparing with RP.

Nothing wrong with seeking encouragement here, I hope that a few guys chime in that are back in the saddle. In the meantime, visualize your own success story. There are no gaurantees but it has worked for me in many areas. Your brain and nerves have some work to do and it's not all autonomic. You get to participate. Have you ever had trouble with performance during stress or maybe at least a decrease that needed more work? The opposite can also be true. Vince Lombardi once said that we didn't lose the game, we just ran out of time. IOW, keep working the problem and move toward success. 

Good luck,

George

 

George,

As you quoted V. Lombardi: “We didn’t lose the game, we just run out of time.”, it was perfect match how I felt at 20 and 22 months post RALP. Men are mentioned they recovered EF at 6, 8, 12 months post RP and many research papers are mentioned what you have at 18 months post RP that is what you gonna have for the rest of your life with considering age decline. At 18 months, I was still at zero spontaneous activity and no response to PDE5i like Viagra and Cialis.  TRIMIX was extremely painful up to 24 hours post injecting and BIMIX was not producing erections suitable for vaginal penetration. On my imaginary monitor, I saw flat line like PEA on cardiac monitor when heart produces last small bit and goes into flat line. At 6 months, I had a feeling that my erectile recovery is going nowhere but I still continued it very aggressively because I was not ready to lose the game. As monthis were passing by, I started feeling time crunch but still losing the game was hard to accept.

At 18 months, while entering 4th quarter of the game, score difference was getting larger and larger an I realized winning the game for me was out of reach. At 20 months, my score was disastrous and losing the game was inevitable for me. At that point in the game, I made decision: Ihave to win this game despite score and time being against me.

At 22 month, I made successful throw and scored 3 points from distance which led to win at 23 months post RP.

what I learned from this game is that endless waiting is leading nowhere.

That would be summary of my 29 months post RP with adding my PSA is <0.01.

MK

Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 said:

Wow

Mk,

Delighted, and a bit surprised, to read this after the troubles you had.

You'll be a closer pitcher for the Dodgers in a year !

Max,

i scored sex with IPP implant only.

in my case, everything else failed.

MK