Good News on the ED Front & Why is Every Man Different?

Travelingman

18 days post surgery, my wife & I started cuddling & I got a pretty decent erection. Later that evening I took 50 mg of Viagra & about 45 minutes later we tried again. This time the erection was very firm & I was able to have an orgasm by self stimulation. We did not try intercourse as I have been very, very incontinent. Interestingly, once I got an erection, there was no leakage at all. My surgeon told me he saved both of my nerve bundles but I was amazed at how soon I was able to get an erection. What is extremely frustrating is that I can't seem to make any progress on the incontinence front. I am now 22 days post surgery & I can only hold urine in my bladder if I am sitting or lying down. I have tried the Kegels but can't seem to find the right muscles. Most everyting I have read says that these muscles have nothing to do with the muscles in my buttocks but Dr. Walsh's book says to squeeze your buttocks together as if you are trying to keep a quarter from falling out. So now my questions for you guys who have been through robotic surgery. First, have any of you seen progress on the ED front this quickly? If so, did your surgeon ok this activity this soon? I think that the whole orgasmic process puts a lot of strain on the area of the operation. Second, is my incontinence problem typical or should I be worried? Last, is Dr. Walsh right or is it a different set of muscles that will help me gain control of my bladder? Before the operation, I could stop my flow of urine. Now I can't stop it no matter how hard I try & I don't know where those muscles are. I also read in Dr. Walsh's book that an antihistamine such as Sudafed has helped some men with incontinence. Have any of you tried it? I would really appreciate any feedback.
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PSA 18, Gleason 3+3+6, Age 58, Rising PSA since 1999, Biopsy 5% of one core
Robotic surgery 10/26/09 T2B Tumor 30% of prostate involving left & right lobes NOMX Gleason 3+4=7 Urethral Resection margins & resection surface clean Seminal vessicles clean

JohnRH · Regular Joined: 23 Aug 2009 Posts: 42 Location: Denver

Ref. urinating and muscle control, Walsh's description worked best for me. I might add that you hold this imaginary quarter between the cheeks wayyy down low at the bottom of the buttocks, right behind the scrotum, so when you tighten the buttocks you do so at the very bottom, almost pinching upwards and slightly forwards. Yes, they are buttock muscles but not like you are just flexing the big portion of your glutes. To me it is a pinching up from the very bottom, toward the scrotum and penis. And as often as possible I urinate from the standing position, starting and stopping several times during a session. It still takes a couple of seconds to stop the flow, hopefully that improves.

I am 7 wks post-op and nearly 6 wks post-catheter and I'm soooo close to being pad-free. It's a relief just to be close, even if I'm not there yet.

On the ED front IMO you are a lucky man to be getting erections so soon. I'm on Cialis (20mg twice a week) and I'm getting barely discernable additional blood flow. I "think" I've had a couple of "soft" orgasms so far, but it is very weird not having any ejaculate as proof positive. The first time the tingling was so intense I broke out in a fit of heavy laughter. Go figure. I'm 63 years old and grateful I didn't have to give up the good old-fashioned way at a much earlier age. I trust my functioning will improve also. It is early yet.
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07/2009 DX with Gleason 4+3, PSA 4.1, age 63 1/2.
09/2009 DaVinci RRP; Gleason 3+4; Stage pT2c, NX, MX; neg surgical margins, neg for extraprostatic extension, neg for seminal vesicle invasion; est. tumor involvement 10% of prostate
12/2009 PSA <0.01, 04/2010 PSA <0.01

denny · New User Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Posts: 5 Location: NZ

Firstly I was told that because of my age & condition (54, 72kg & fit all my life), and my good pre-op sexual functioning, my chances of maintaining potency were high. What they didn't tell me was that in most cases it takes at least 12 months of frustration & anxiety to get anywhere.

Post-op I was getting reasonable erections then after about a month there was a sudden loss in feeling & even partial erections became rare. I am not sure why, my urologist wasn't that helpful. From my readings, I suspect that it was further nerve during healing?

My orgasms are strong but I pee when it is a good one. All I can do is avoid drinking for an hour or so prior and empty my bladder totally before hand. My continence is good & this problem is reducing with time but it does prevent me from just letting go of everything at climax.

100 mg Viagra worked for me the first time I tried it about 5 weeks after surgery. I haven't used it much because my wife is not that supportive so I do my own thing and keep the blood flowing.

At 5 months post-op erections seem to come & go, maintaining them for intercourse is the obstacle. The last month there seemed to be a decline so I called my urologist. He says it just takes time & perseverance, and not to give up. Depression just makes the situation worse.

The funny thing is that straight after talking to him & feeling despondent, I have had a string of nocturnal erections this week which have woken me up!

My take on it is to keep stimulated so those nerves kick into sending out signals. At the moment they don't make sense but one day they will sort themselves out.

Good luck
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denny

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