potency recovery following surgery

Hi~ Dave7,   Did you just find us??   What are your specifics?? It let’s all of us know where you were and where you are today!!!   There is so much information on this forum… start reading and learning… and you’ll start having replies soon!!   Glad you found us!!!!                               Sending a “Warm Welcome” …to You!   I know we can “all” make your journey smoother just by being here for you!   This is a great forum !!! which you’ve joined… so stay with us.   It helps “all of us” ~ to help you ~ if we know where you are on your path. So ~ Please stay with us and take our hand when you need it! Hope to hear from you soon…  Keep posting.... OKAY!!                      “God Bless You”   It's a little prayer   ~   "God BlessYou" ...but it means so much each day, It means may angels guard you   and guide you on your way.   Take care and know our thoughts and prayers are with you. In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy   **Buddy & I chose to have the "wide excision RRP" so can't respond directly to your post but we...did want to welcome you... mama bluebird - Lee & Buddy… from North Carolina Link to our personal journey…>>>      Our Journey ~ Sharing is Caring   April 3, 2006  53 on surgery day RRP / Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy with "wide excision" PSA 4.6   Gleason  3+3=6    T2a   Confined to Prostate June 29th ~ PSA Less than 0.1 Non-detectable

My basic details are below in my signature. I am coming on 6 months post surgery. I think I have been using an ErecAid pump for maybe 2 to 3 months. I take 20 mg Cialis every other day and 100 mg Viagra when I want to be sexually active and think I need it.

My experience with the pump has been mixed. The technician I bought it from recommended using it daily. I probably average about 4 times a week, sometimes every day, sometimes a couple of times a day.

Cutting to the chase, I have had so-so erections when I want to have sex, and have had a few failed attempts at having sex. The ErecAid comes with multiple rings, and I had no success sustaining an erection with any of them. The technician advised me to use two rings, which I've been doing with better success.

Without the pump, in the last month to 6 weeks, I have started to have some firmness, but not enough for intercourse - I would describe it as enough to make m*sturbation interesting (I still don't get why that is a banned word in a prostate cancer forum...).

Erections with the pump can be a pain in the ass. I frequently have scrotal tissue or hair stuck in the rings. The rings can be painful. I think they also sometimes make it difficult for me to orgasm, if not impossible. But I soldier on...

The downside is the erectile dysfunction. On the bright side, I guess physical therapy on the penis is more interesting than dealing with a bum knee or something like that...

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Prostate cancer diagnosed:  May 15, 2006 (age 40)

Gleason score:  3+3=6

daVinci radical prostatectomy:  July 25, 2006

size of tumor:  approx 1.1 inches

post-surgery Gleason score:  3+4=7

negative margins from surgery

number of pads/day at 3 months after surgery:  3 to 5

number of pads/day at 4 months after surgery:  1 to 2

first post-surgery PSA:  0

ongoing post-surgery treatment:  Cialis every other day, Viagra "on-demand", ErecAid pump daily

The word from EVERY guy I have personally talked to face to face that got his erections back to working ok said it took at least one year. I guess we have to be patient they (the doctors and some guys that have had the surgery) sugar coat and sort of mislead you to believe this surgery is not really a big deal, and you will be "up" and running in no time . Well, it is a big deal your old body has been majorly invaded and injured severely. So, I will keep entertaining myself with pump therapy and drugs. You gotta have a sense of humor. If you don't find it funny just look at yourself in the mirror while you're wearing the pump pretty sexy huh? If you have good partner you can make some pretty fun games out of it all. Remember every day is a gift nobody gets out of here alive so, relax sit back and enjoy the ride.

Some days are more frustrating than others.  I realize it takes time for the nerves to heal and I am seeing very very slow periodic incremental progress.  The uncertainty of the end result is hard.  The truth is, it may or may not return.  I have found that the more I dwell on the issue the less progress I make.  It's a mental thing as well as physical.  I just have to not think about how Mr Happy is doing, as once his status crosses my mind, whatever advances he was making are lost.

I've read some positive posts about the tri-mix injections.  However my urologist  is very cautionary about the potential for a priapism (a prolonged erection that requires emergency medical attention).  I'm going to meet with a different urologist that specializes in ED.