Post surgery +4 days

Sounds Good Jim
Jim,

Sounds like things are improving by the day. Congratulations on that.

You are right on with trying to lengthen your walks. Everyone will tell you that W&W are the quickest ways to recovery. Walking as much as you can helps the body recover from the surgery and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. Drinking as much water as you can helps to keep the system flushed and maintain elasticity in the bladder, which you will need when the cath is removed. You will by nature start to think about how much you drink after they take the cath out, so go for it now and drink all you want and can.

Try not to let the cath interfere with the walks. Stay lubed, fasten down the tube with tape or straps or whatever so movement does not cause irritation and keep walking. It is the best thing you do for yourself right now.

Here's hoping that when the cath is removed you have a very speedy recovery to continence.

Good idea to order the pump now. Your doc should provide you with a rehab program for that area that may include some of the ED drugs. The drugs are helpful for the continuation of blood flow and not necessarily trying to get you to the fully functioning stage at this time.

The nurse in charge of the Penile Rehab program for my doc explained it this way. The male body is self regulating to keep blood flowing to the penis. Nocturnal erections are the method for doing this. While we may not realize it, men normally experience 4-6 of these per night. It is just nature's way of working. I am on the low dose of Cialis (5mg), one per day, and have been since week 3 following surgery. While the meds are primarily there to facilitate the blood flow mechanism, I am also starting to see signs that I am beginning to respond to stimulation as well. I am only 5 weeks post surgery. I'll take it as a good sign.

Keep posting as you progress. Your posts will help the next guy who finds this site as he begins his own journey down the PCa path.

Good luck and God bless,

Sonny

jhagerup said:

Thanks Sonny - interesting
Thanks Sonny - interesting concept on nocturnal erections.
I've used Cialis before and have found it very effective, but very expensive. I'm hoping the VED is a cheaper way to achieve the same result.
Walking is a problem today because the weather outside is horrible. I'm trying to walk up/down steps indoors instead.

Cialis
Yes it is expensive and a crying shame that the insurance companies treat it as a recreational drug when it comes to recovery from PCa treatment. My insurance company won't approve more than 5 pills per month and that at a co-pay of $60 for the 5 pills. So I asked my pharmacist how much for me to buy the 30 doses (5mg) at retail cost and she said $120.00.

There is definitely something wrong with the math with the insurance company. But that's another story.

What I did do though was schedule an appt with my local Uro following my return home from surgery. Nice guy and very understanding when we discussed the drugs and insurance. He went out and came back with samples for a 7 week supply of the 5mg and a package of 7, 20mg pills for me to try when I was ready for a test of full functionality.

Maybe you should talk to your local doc about him giving you some samples. They are in all the Uro's offices and it doesn't cost them anything to give them away.

Give it a shot, what do you have to lose.

Keep us updated,

Sonny