ED Corner

Pete, you do continue to make me proud!

You forgot the part where a man must take command of his own health care Pete. I mean this in the best possible way but I gotta take some heat off women who are made to feel somehow responisible for the male species. Maybe after a decade of being the perfect, patient partner, I no longer have the same views as I once had. We can only do what we can do.

Some, many men and women for that fact, believe that women have this endless source of strength and holding up the world is our lot in life. A weaker partner will either drain the stronger one to his/her level of misery or the stronger one will survive but the union often becomes broken. The other side of it could be, they work together and accept moments of frustration as part of the problem solving process..... and just move forward! Trials such as dealing with PCa are very successful when both people work together toward a common goal with equal effort and no excuses. Excuses aren't reasons. Excuses obstruct our view and puts limits on what we can do to help ourselves and each other. Every cancer, every serious condition or illness is is a couples disease. As long as there is a union between 2 people, there will be complications. Its how we deal with those that matters I guess.

God Bless, Swim

Thanks Swim,
I learned a lot from you. As usual I have no time to write. The more I work the more I have to do. One day soon I'll write you about my ongoing battle w/ my hormones, some day I'll get it right!
Love to all!
Your friend,
Pete

Thank you all for the thoughts and advice. I do think that there is a level of depression here. I will push Kurt to go see the doc. He and I both know that the doc said he should be at 50% now and with meds and pump, he is, so that is a positive. Kurt will be very happy to know that others have experienced the "bubble". We have tried the insert, Kurt didn't like it so maybe we will just have to get creative. I have some TheraPutty in my car. Maybe that would work...... Will let you all know. And no, TheraPutty is not a sexual item, I am a speech therapist and work closely with occupational therapist who use it daily with their patients. Courtney

Hi all,
I'm sorry to be stepping on everyones ED problems with my own issues, but here is the only place I can contact Swim, who has helped me out soooooooooo much in the past!
Swim, no my breasts are fine, not sore at all and actually hard as rocks along w/ most of my upper body. Down below the fellas have gotten to be the size of lima beans! Who would have thought that in a couple years they would go from the size of apples {after surgery} to where they are now?? But thats not a problem either. Heck, I've gotten over Mr. Happy's prminant shrinkage from the penile atrofy suffered durring "the depression/no sex years." If there is one thing I've learned about P.C. is it can destroy the fragil male ego in a hury and if you let it. If you can't "GET OVER IT" and realize there is much to life and love than having "a big one" in your pants, you are going to have one misserable existance!!!!! The "PC experiance has taught me that my loving wife has plenty of fun-buttons that can be pushed w/o being hung like John Homes!
I'll fill you in on my thyroid problems later. You told me a long time ago to get it done, I should have!
Your buddy,
Pete

Hey Pete,

Sorry to hear you are having problems. But Swim can fix you up. She is something else, isn't she?

I'm getting my T level back up to the normal range and tapering off the Prozac. Another couple of weeks and I'll find out what PCa has really left me with. As the T level goes up, so does the sex drive but I can't generate anything useful yet - after 7 months. MaryLu has been very patient but its time to get it on. At my July PSA I'm going to ask the doc about the shots.

Hope you get things sorted out, buddy. I know you have been through hell and hope you get comfortable again soon.

See ya later...

Jim

Hello All,

Figured I would post my ED status so far... This is somewhat graphic in nature, but honest... and I found that it has helped me immensely in my worries about this part of the recovery.

At around 3 weeks post DaVinci (had 4/24), and after taking a 50mg Viagra (2 weeks), I was getting about a 20% erection. Using my fingers to make a "ring" and starting at the base and moving up, we could get about 2 -2 1/2 inches of somewhat firm erection. This along with some creative positioning with my very understanding wife was enough for some minimal insertion... just enough for a pleasant feeling and some nerve memory stimulation at the end. Not much, but something.

Now at 4 1/2 weeks, we are getting slightly more erection... about 30%. Once again, with fingers, could get about 3 inches firm the end. Enough for somewhat better insertion. This time, after insertion, the base remained firm enough (even though the tip got soft) for a little more in/out stimulation for both parties. This is the first time we didn't have to work so hard at "parting". The position that is working for us is that we are both on the bottom, but like an "x" to each other... where I straddle one of her legs and she hold the other one up and above me a little. This seems to give max amount of entry and easier ability to have fingers help with initial insertion. Still not enough erection for traditional positions, at least with our particular body geometries for which we all differ.

No real climaxes for me yet, but that is complicated by the fact that I have been taking Lexapro (an anti-deprssion SSRI) for the last 6 months and a side effect for me was delayed ejaculation (pre-op -- and that was a side effect we BOTH liked ), so I am not suprised now with the less than normal erection, position, and level of activity. I may try a Lexapro "vacation" (skip med for a day or two) and try that to see what happens.... This first time we tried sex at 1 1/2 weeks, I did get a little climax that was pleasant, but that was after a day I forgot to take my Lexapro.

Thanks you all that post to this forum as reading about everybody else's recovery experiences from both the male and female viewpoints are invaluable to the mindsets of Avis and myself and the resultant worries about this jouney we never expected to be on!

Ray & Avis

I have a question about the injectyions, I have read that they have to be refrigerated, I travel quite a bit on business and would like to take the meds with me. Any experience in that?

Kat,

You know who John Homes is, right? **** throb known as much for his schlong as his death from AIDS. If John Homes did one good thing it was that he brought more attention to AIDS research and awareness. Saw a video of his once or twice. Interesting....."that's all there is to say about that, as Forrest Gump would say.

Swim

 

Ok guys, I'm sorry I said anything about Mr. Homes, we don't need to talk about him here, we have enough problems w/o thinking about him!
Swim, what are L-Arginine and Vasa Flow? Some kind of suplaments or one of those adds you see on TV or something legitament ? I finally got my long awaited testosterone / PSA test done this morning. It's the 1st psa test I've had since I've been taking testosterone and have been sweating it a little. I've had to cancell my appointment twice already and y'all know how have it is to get another. I also got some free samples of Viagra and another perscription, I've been going El-natural for a while and thought I might try to sure things up a bit, especially with a freebee! Now I'm waiting to see the best Endocrinologist in these parts to see if I can get all my hormones tightend up too. I know you told me I should do just that a long time ago but I've just had too much on my plate for the last 6 months. I got to get Pete right again! All I do is sleep and work and that ain't right! Then there is the 290lbs while dieting and doing the testosterone thing every day, something is just wrong! Sorry to whine, my wife says I have more that Ernest & Julio combind! Much love and prayers for all!
Your friend,
Pete

Dont know how we got on the John Holms subject but please, my question has not been answered, can you travel with the meds for injections?

Found this on the L-Arginine on the Mayo Clinic website:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/l-arginine/NS_patient-arginine

..."Arginine is considered a semi-essential amino acid, because although it is normally synthesized in sufficient amounts by the body, supplementation is sometimes required (for example, due to inborn errors of urea synthesis, protein malnutrition, excess ammonia production, excessive lysine intake, burns, infection, peritoneal dialysis, rapid growth, or sepsis). Symptoms of arginine deficiency include poor wound healing, hair loss, skin rash, constipation, and fatty liver.

Arginine is a precursor of nitric oxide, which causes blood vessel relaxation (vasodilation). Preliminary evidence suggests that arginine may be useful in the treatment of medical conditions that are improved by vasodilation, such as angina, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, erectile dysfunction, heart failure, intermittent claudication/peripheral vascular disease, and vascular headache. Arginine also stimulates protein synthesis and has been studied for wound healing, bodybuilding, enhancement of sperm production (spermatogenesis), and prevention of wasting in people with critical illness.

Arginine hydrochloride contains high chloride content and has been used for the treatment of metabolic alkalosis. This use should be under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional.

Most people likely do not need to take arginine supplements because the body usually makes sufficient amounts. "...

I might have to buy some and try it.... It is pretty cheap.

Ray

Hello,

We traveled with Caverject. Keeping it cool wasn't too hard. I used a very small foam container we had lying around and started with a cold vial. Once we got to our desitination I moved it to a cup of ice (wrapped the vial in a small piece of bubble wrap) for the duration. A fast food cup of ice was enough to keep it cold.

P.S. the thermos idea is a great idea!

Paul

Hey Folks,

The following is the result of several months of experimentation with various ED meds. Swim's advice and encouragement have been inaluable in getting me through this.

I have found that taking 50 mg Viagra and 1000 mg L-Arginine about 2 hours before dinner seems to work better than trying taking the meds on a full stomach. I still get a good reaction later in the evening and, if things turn romantic, I take a .02 - .05 ml shot of Trimix. When I use the Viagra and L-Arginine I don't need very much Trimix and using less has to better in the long run as far a doing damage to my tender parts.

The Trimix that I take contains phentolamine, papave and prostaglandin.  I don't know what the quantities of the ingredients are.  The 5 ml vial costs $75 and that is enough for over 100 injections.  The medicine expires before I ever use that much.  I wish I could get a smaller vial at less cost.

I get Viagra from AllDayChemist.com. Their prices amount to about 50 - 60 cents for 100mg pills and I have had no credit card problems with them. It takes a few weeks for the order to arrive but considering the cost of domestic Viagra, it is well worth the wait. I cut the pills in two and take one a day with L-Arginine.

I had ED before cancer and used Viagra and Levitra with various levels of success. One of the plusses of going through this experience is that using the routine mentioned above, we have a dependable sex life once again. Not knowing if things were going to work caused anxiety which in turn worsened the ED condition. At my age, spontaneous boners are out but on-demand boners work just as good.

Good luck everybody, what would we do without each other?

Jim