8 months into 18-month ADT

[Handdrummer777]

Glad to join! Completed radiation Nov 28th, I was PSA 18 with Gleason (4+3)7 at diagnosis. Because of my fear of permanent ED, especially from ADT penile tissue damage (and downstream from RT) I am really, really focused on "accelerated maintenance masturbation" to keep my sexual functioning going. Despite a libido that is not always interested, this means that I go for up to several 5-10 min. erections per day to stave off atrophy and venous leakage. Intercourse with my sympathetic girlfriend is not consistently achievable, and forget about my orgasm, but we can still have fun. Daily low-dose Cialis does help -- I think every guy on ADT should be prescribed it before month 6 (I got it by asking for it after month 7). Any advice for holding onto libido during ADT?

[Handdrummer777]

My post may have seemed salacious re: masturbation. I am an ordinary guy of 68, but have found a simple means, that anyone can use, to help me do that exercise more often than I ever did before. Fear is a great motivator sometimes. Whether or not that actually makes a difference coming out of ADT, I just don't know.

[Hidden in reply to Handdrummer777]

Salacious? Not a bit. ONE of the treacherous things about CaP is all the secrecy, all of the unwillingness to talk about problems "down there" and men's problems with discussing their sexuality and their other emotions. We feel alone and are often alone with this diagnosis. That is why this forum is so critically important. This is also why I started a men with prostate cancer support group in Rhode Island. There was nothing available to us here.

[Handdrummer777 in reply to Hidden]

I appreciate yoir encouragement, dadzone. For whatever reason, I am not shy about sharing my situation, and the means I have found that actually takes advantage of my temporary inability (or great difficulty) to reach orgasm. If you don't climax, that paradoxically can help the libido stay "in the hunt."

Good for you starting the RI group! The more we prostate cancer guys talk about the ADT-elephant in the room, the better. And that elephant, by the way, will stomp your sexual functioning out of meaningful existence -- if you let it. The statistics on how few men survive ADT with sexual functioning intact are to me very disturbing.

By any means necessary -- and it may take some creativity -- as best we can we need to keep the erections going through our treatment!!

[marckus in reply to Handdrummer777]

ya may try nitroglycerin paste. lots of porn. maybe a new sex toy or two. get creative. pull out the stops.

[SantaZia]

Handdrummer777 I would keep it up. it was recommended to me by the oncologist at the MD Anderson Proton center. He said to treat it as work. I was only on Lupron for 6 months Although I wasn't treated at MD Anderson, I did receive 44 3D-CRT/IMRT Radiation shots delivered via 3D-CRT in 1.8 Gy minimum dose fractions to a total of 79.2 Gy and finished in November 28, 2018. However, I lost interest in sex and stopped mastrabation when my T Tot hit >.7 about 4 months into treatment. Three months out my T is up to 440 and I am getting erections at night. Although I still do not a strong libido I am starting to get interested again. I told my wife recently. She said I will need to stay as nice as I have been without a strong T. My T was 868 when I started Lupron and I suppose I wasn't as sensitive. Hang in there!

[Handdrummer777 in reply to SantaZia]

Yes, apparently we are nicer when we are at castrate-level T! Glad to hear things are picking up for you.

Being 68, I've been told that my T will never recover. I don't know -- I was pretty damn potent before all this silly cancer stuff got in the way. Obviously there are supplements and hormone shots that serve to boost low T. I'm just focused on going to the gym -- held the ADT weight gain to under 10 lbs, doing lots of upper body resistance training, and playing a game I invented that's a spin-off of wallball -- that simple punch-the-ball-against-the-wall game we played in elementary school.

A guy on ADT needs to burn 4,500 instead of 3,500 calories to lose that same pound, btw!

[Handdrummer777 in reply to SantaZia]

Hey you finished radiation the same day I did!

[SantaZia in reply to Handdrummer777]

Yes sir also I am 69 you are doing ADT a little long but you will survive!