(1) For those of you who had a radical prostatectomy, how many have recovered to where an erection capable of penetration without pills, needles, implants, etc has occurred?
(2) If you have recovered erectile capability, was it an "overnight" event, or are there signals along the recovery process that indicate functionality is returning?
Question 1, is to get better data than that presented in Mulholland's book (Saving Your Sex Life, p.68) which cites 22 studies from 2000 to 2007 where results vary widely. Patient numbers per study ranged from 42 to 25,561 (mean/average 1,646 patients); percent "capable of having sexual intercourse" ranged from 12% to 96% (mean/average 48%; standard deviation 25%).
Question 2, is for yours truly to be on the lookout for something positive happening "down there". Waiting 12-24 months (post surgery) for results, to me, is bullshit guidance.
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baw1955
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Oops on misspelling author's name. CORRECTION: It is Mulhall (not Mulholland).
Don’t drive yourself nuts over ED.... most guys here are the same. Find other ways to exercise and de stress .. get daily exercise to extend life. No sex should’nt evolve into no intamacy or affection . One year from now if you achieve undetectable with adt ,then sex will just be an after thought. . There are other ways to express love.. Don’t loss or abandon those ... APC is not a game . It’s not about sex or loss there of . It is about living diminished with less and accepting this as a new way of life... welcome to the club!
"Doctor," the embarrassed man said, "I have a sexual problem. I can't get it up for my wife anymore. "Mr. Garrett, bring her back with you tomorrow and let me see what I can do."
The next day, the worried fellow returned with his wife. "Take off your clothes, Mrs. Garrett," the medic said. "Now turn all the way around. Lie down please. Uh-huh, I see.
Okay, you may put your clothes back on." The doctor took the husband aside. "You're in perfect health," he said. "Your wife didn't give me an erection either."
I was 49 when I had rp and it took quite a long time to recover. i had nerve sparing which is very important, not sure if yours was. I used caverjet in gave myself shots for a year or two but slowly recovered the ability without shots. I am on intermittent therapy and when on Lupron or Eligard you can forget it. When off, I use viagra or ciallis with great results. don't give up on it but with hormone therapy it is, for me not achieveable!
Use a vacuum pump. They work well. Use it 1 x a day to keep the tissues from shriveling up. This is a use it or lose it deal to maintain the tissues since you no longer have nightly erections like you used to. Vitamin c, in normal amounts, seems to help too. Daily aerobic exercise helps blood flow. Persistence is the only way to speed things up. Waiting for it to just happen will result in no improvement. This is the advice my Doc gave me and it works. Remember, what you are really doing is blowing up a balloon. In reverse.
You could try arginine. Use a fraction of a capsule if headache is a problem. It helps a bit.
I do not see any replies addressing the OPs question 2. I am curious also. And I have not found anyone who is further along this journey to answer that question for me either.
Post surgery the bigger concerns are incontinence and survival. Regarding the last mentioned, what grading of cancer is reliably known to exist from laboratory examination of removed tissue/s. For the first mentioned, get going pre-op on the necessary pelvic floor muscles with advice from a physiotherapist who uses ultrasound to guide you.
Erectile dysfunction in some measure, possibly total, is to be expected. It takes some time for nerves to recover, two years and during that time you cannot become disheartened. Do not depend on the urologist for advice in that respect. Another thing, if the penis doesn't receive increased blood flow regularly through part erection at least then it will reduce in size. That is life. Get a referral to a medical practioner who specialises in ED.
For the surgery and immediately after, DO establish a good relationship with one or two of the prostate cancer nurses. They do not mind a few calls after the usual quick discharge form hospital. Also, make certain that you have a contact with a prostate support group that is local to you. Go to the regular meetings and if you have a partner who can attend the meetings, do that together. I am single.
"Like golf, we have to play the ball from where it lies", Dr Charles "Snuffy" Myers, Beating Prostate Cancer: Hormonal Therapy and Diet. Just do that: concentrate on doing the best you can with what life delivers you. Remember that others walk the same path and will support you if you seek them out. That is enough for any man.
Best of luck and know that there are others who are thinking of you.
I don't know if this is a sign or not, but I am on ADT almost a year out from RP. I use injections because the ADT totally killed things, but lately I have been able to reduce the injection dosage to a level that did not work before. I am going to take that as a good sign.
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