A Few ED questions

I have a few ED questions. First, a little background; robotic surgery May 4, all went well, cath  out on the 11th, no incontinence issues from the get go. On the erection front nothing doing. My Dr. started me on 50mg. viagra three times a week and 100mg for when my wife and I want to try intercourse. So far nothing doing. However in the last few days I have noticed some swelling and increase in the girth and some twinges in my penis which aren't really painful but feel like I need to stretch my penis. I also have feelings like I am starting an erection but when I check, the little bugger is flacid as ever. Questions, are these twinges and phantom erection feelings part of the process? I am concerned that there is no engorgement. I know its only been about 6 weeks but I am a fairly young man who had strong erections sans medication prior to surgery. I see my DR. in another three weeks. Thanks

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Diagnosed 1/26/07

Pete,

What you are describing is exactly what I experienced and still do. Viagra did nothing for me. After three months post op my urologist said that I did not need to follow the daily Viagra treatment just use 100 mg every now and then to keep the blood flow up. It took about two to three months for my penis to get back to close to what it was before surgery in the flacid state. I do get some lengthening and feel the false erections that you are having. I now use injections for sex and that is working well. It certainly helped my libido because now I know that I can perform very similar to before surgery. I have my six month follow up in 10 days and plan to query my urologist hard about the prognosis in regaining normal erections. One thing that is missing from this forum are experiences of men that have regained normal erections after say 6 or 8 months post op. That concerns me as the lack of those experiences may say that few are regaining their normal erections or that they are regaining them and just not staying active on the forum as they now have achieved all of their outcomes.

Tamu

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Diagnosed 7/6/06, 1 of 10 core samples, 40%,Stage T1c, Gleason 3+3

Thanks Tamu- I will talk to my DR. about the injections at my next appointment.

Pete,

You are a bit premature in thinking you need shots just yet. Nerves regenerate very slowly. In part, this is what you are feeling. You feel the attempt to communicate...a good sign IMHO :>) It's never too soon to discuss options however. Most studies suggest a man should begin shots at about 3 months if he has not yet regained function with or without medication. Good Luck..

Swim

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Hi Pete,
I'm about a week behind you, May 11th surgery. What you are describing sounds like a carbon copy of what I am experiencing. I'm having all the same experiences. Especially the phantom erections. When I feel like this I check in hopeful anticipation of seeing a raging erection and all I see is about a 2 1/2 inch long engorgement. As soon as I look at it quickly disappears maybe in fear that I might try to do something with it. As of about 4 days ago I was still feeling like the catheter was still in there but that has cleared up now and I'm thinking it must all be normal healing processes. The male nurse where I had the surgery recommended a soft vac pump called Prelude which we got from the Danmar Co. that is to be used for ED therapy only, not designed for intercourse, can be used in conjunction with Viagra to stimulate blood flow. I started using it 3 weeks post op and it works very well for lengthening and blood flow. I think we're probably both right on track from what I've read. I guess we have to remember the patience, patience, patience but it's really not easy!
Curt

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Age 52
Diagnosed 2/19/07
10 of 24 cores positive
Gleason 3+3=6 Changed to Gleason 3+4=7 after surgical pathology
PSA:3.3
DaVinci Prostatectomy May 11, 2007 at Univ. of Mich. Hospital
Stage: T2b
Pathology: May 16 - Cancer confined to prostate, Margins, Lymph & Seminal Vesicles all CLEAR!
Father and Uncle had prostate cancer

Hey Pete,

I am 6 months post-op and am taking 50 mg Viagra daily for therapy and 20 mg Levitra for occasional fun. Still no full response but the desire has returned and my wife and I are optimistic. If nothing useable comes up by my next PSA (7/18) I will talk to my doc about shots. I also get "phantom wood" every morning.

Good luck...

Jim

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Age 72. Diagnosed 11/03/06. PSA 7.05. Stage T2B Gleason 3+3.

Pete, I just read your thread for the first time. I'm about a month behind you -- three months post-robotic. Getting about 50% with 100 mg. Viagra, maybe 10% without. Same phantom feelings as you describe. Just wondering how you're doing at 4 months. Thanks.

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Puget

Amazing how quick we go from worrying about the cancer and then onto the erections. I know I did. Anyway, Pete you are on course for intercourse it will just take some time. I had the same identical feelings. my daVinci was 10/12/2006 and 10 months later on August 12, 2007 it came up all by himself (well actually the wife had a lot to do with it) and he did the deed and he has been at it regularly since. I had been using the vacurect pump for the last six months or so for therapy and intercourse and an occasional viagra which does make the blood flow. I made the choice not to go the shots route because the truth is like swimon has pointed out many times, It takes time to heal nerves, they are damaged and confused that's why it feels like he is getting hard but he isn't, that is why it feels like he needs to pee and get a boner at the same time neither happen. I didn't do the shots because I wanted my body to do as much as possible for itself. You can always do shots or get an implant. Give it some time to heal. More guys regain there function than you know, they just don't keep posting on this forum. 6 weeks is just not enough time to give yourself. Trust me it will come up if you are having those feelings now.