Hello Everyone Dealing with PCa:
I am happy to report that just after B's 4th anniversary of surgery, his PSA reveals a big, fat ZERO! For those of you wondering how a 51 year old (now almost 56) is doing after going through the RALP (robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy) in 2/2007... I am here to tell you, as I am the historian in the family.
B's urinary continence was a non-issue almost immediately. Every once in a great while, if he laughs unexpectedly or very hard, he will have a drip. Barely. That's it. He has now regained his pre-surgery sexual function. It took a lot longer than he hoped, but even in the fourth year there have been gains not seen in the second year, when satisfactory erections, penetration and completion starting occuring even without Viagra. What is happening now are more nocturnal erections, and reaction to non-touching stimuli. Yay!
For those of you in the middle of recovery, I'll report that when we were in it, we read it would take about 18 months for return of sexual function after robotic assisted prostatectomy, but it didn't sink in. The shock of the whole experience made us both hypersensitive to recovery and it was like a race to a finish after surgery, with a lot of anxiety attached. We wanted to live first, so we arrived at our treatment decision in a couple of months, but we desperately wanted to heal. The sexual question was like the elephant in the room, because there are no guarantees, which makes it hard to trust the fact that time must take its course with surgery.
If anyone in our age group, gleason score and general vicinity is interested, here is my advice. Try to trust that you will have great improvement over time. Give yourself a break but don't stop doing what helps keep the tissues healthy. Viagra type medications, manual/oral stimulation, rings and/or pumps are what I am referring to. In our case, we only used Viagra for the most part-the penile ring was a drag-never got a pump.
The other thing I need to touch on is the fact that B's orgasms were not the same after surgery and he was gravely disappointed for a long time! It was something we had no idea about! However, time took care of that, too. The healing nerves finally got healed and his orgasms are not only great but actually better, he says, than before the prostatectomy. This took about 3 years.
In addition, B is now fully entrenched in a free-weight training regimen (3 days a week for an hour), as well as the cardio he always did. I think that it has helped his self esteem a lot, as he feels stronger than he did in his 40's! His total blood work has never looked better than since he started that weight training!
I am grateful that B started checking his PSA in his 40's. PCa gave us the gift of appreciating life to the fullest, and now we have regained what we had before it in terms of our sex life. The urinary continence was never a problem.
I know that many of you have not experienced the success we have achieved and I so wish it was NOT the case. I do believe that meditation/Reiki/visualization was instrumental in our recovery, along with diet and exercise, as perhaps prayer is for others. I would strongly urge a holistic approach when looking at treatment. It is amazing what the mind can do to help the healing process.
Best Wishes to all, and Namaste!
Becky