A bit disappointed

I can understand your frustration, but as you stated, it is stillearly in the recovery process.
Michael

Hi gedman- Yes, I agree, it might be a little early for you and for most of us, that is also the case.

You are on the right track....keep that therapy going...and if nothing else seems to be working then trimix is the next step and it is certainly a game changer and the sooner the better. You will be amazed at how your attitude improves once you can have some good sex with your wife

I really, really wish I had been educated like you are on ED therapy....not enough happening at the Dr's office in a lot of cases about this.

Good luck and let us know how it goes...we are all here cheering for you !!!!

Cheers,

Curt

You have every chance of a good recovery but it is way too early to be expecting much response from your best friend.

I would tend to say you have the cart before the horse. Healing the systems comes before using them.

The nerves had to have been pretty traumatized in the surgery, so they need time to heal.

put tons of unrealistic pressure on yourself.  that's a great way to ensure success.

ed

 

The great unknown in surgery is ED. It's just that simple. But 5 weeks out and little response in that department should not lead to a feeling of defeatedness.

My Uro is in on a lot of stuff at Hopkins. ED is his expertise, particulary in young men after all types of urological surgeries, disease, and disorders. He point blank told me, "Taking the meds how I'm going to suggest is not guarantee that you will recover erectile function either quicker or at all. What I will tell you is that you need to TRY to get aroused. If you do that and you then take the meds, any of them, you have an excellent probability of regaining full function. There is no data that the meds do anything to make erectile recovery quicker or more complete. I want you trying to have intercourse 3-4 times per week with or without meds. If you feel a response w/o, I want you taking something prior to your next attempt."

It's not verbatim, but it's pretty close. Personally, I wanted to know immediately if I could get any response, but I was worried about my urethra pulling out of my bladder so I held off. I gave in three months or so. I was sort of lucky in not being rushed because my wife was pregnant so not into it so much. My physical therapy, as I call it, was up to me. But by 4 months there was some movement on that front. I was probably trying to have erections about 3-4 times per week and regularly would have orgasms in those attempts. Not always, but many times.

With the use of meds 18 months out, I work very well. BUT I hate the SE's of those meds. I get a full on headache that hangs on for 36 hours. I don't get the back pain or other SE's, but the headache, eye pressure, and the feeling that my blood pressure is peaking is just terrible to me. So I avoid them if at all possible.

I'd like to report success in the sex department just last night with no meds. The wife and I were watching tv and started necking and VOILA! I knew I was getting close to feeling like I could do it, but I even sort of surprised myself. She said, "Wow. That was really nice." It was too. The closest thing we've had to pre-surgery sex. No planning, no waiting for the pill to start its affects, just... hey, there it is.

I'm certainly not telling you this to gloat. I'm telling you this to give you hope AND to let you know you need to have patience with yourself. Know your body. If you don't, learn it. I really think that even more than the regimented taking of meds that some uro's suggest, it was the trying so frequently thru these 18 months that have gotten me to this point. I think I've taken less than 12 pills in 18 months. But I have been good about trying to perform, either with the wife or on my own.

Good luck.

Hang-in, Gedman.

As a guy who has not been through treatment yet, all I can say is that it seems early. Relish the success you've had so far and stay positive.

John

iSpark, that happened to me the other day too. I was like, it's working ! I am taking the Cialis too and seen signs but I'm in no hurry being just 3 weeks out. I just want to heal right and stop this leaking. It has improved though.

Logoslidat,

For men with temporary nerve damage that gives them ED, injections help keep the erectile tissues working while the nerves heal. While there is some possibility that intracavernous injections can lead to scarification in the injection area (and possibly contribute to peyronies disease) a lot of doctors think that for men who don't get natural erections (even temporarily) the injections help to bring blood flow to the penis and keep the tissues working normally. A man with normal erectile function will get several erections a night while he sleeps (during REM sleep episodes) and this keeps his organ operational even if he never has sex. While a man's nerves are recovering from surgery he may lose the ability to have these nocturnal erections while leads to poor oxygenation of the tissues and various atrophic processes such as fibrosis, and replacement of smooth muscle with collagen. Any local damage done by the needle when a man injects is more than compensated (usually) by the oxygenation and exercise of the erectile structures.

Logo,

The answer is yes.

If the nerves are completely gone, the injections cause an erection that would not otherwise happen.

If the nerves are damaged but partially there, the injections help with a more complete erection.

If the nerves are completely intact but not yet working, see above.

In all three cases, the injections cause an erection, which stretches the tissue, breaking away any plaque that is slowly building up in the vessels, and might eventually keep erections from being possible, nerves or not.

Will injections cause peroynies? Maybe, mabe not. No one really knows what causes that. That is why users are told to alternate sides and locations as a precaution.

Edited for clarity:

 

In all three cases, the injections cause an erection, which stretches the tissue, breaking away any plaque that is slowly building up in the vessels, and might (speaking of the plaque, not the injection) eventually keep erections from being possible, nerves or not.

Post Edited (142) : 4/29/2013 6:13:28 AM (GMT-6)

Logo,

From te tone of your response, I think you may have misread my response, so let me rephrase:

In all three cases, the injections cause an erection, which stretches the tissue, breaking away any plaque that is slowly building up in the vessels, and might (speaking of the plaque, not the injection) eventually keep erections from being possible, nerves or not.

 

I have not seen any information that would imply that injections would ever make natural erection impossible if the nerves recovered. What I have seen is a doctor's published work, where he believes that a long term buildup of plaque will cause significant atrophy, and that it is importatnt to prevent that.

Logoslidat,

I think I understand that the question you are asking is not quite the one we are answering. You are worried that -- by causing an erection by methods that don't use the nerves and the nerve endings that release nitric oxide in the corpus cavernosus -- those nerves and nerve endings might not have any work to do and might atrophy from disuse -- similar to someone whose leg muscle strength declines because they start using a motorized scooter instead of trying to walk. You are asking, in short, might the nerves atrophy from disuse because the injections circumvent them and they are not needed?

I think the answer to that question is also no. For one thing I am not sure if there is a use-it-or-lose-it type exercise requirement for nerves. But, more to the point, there are two occasions where the nerves will have messages to send on: 1) when a man is in REM sleep (nocturnal erections), and 2) when he is sexually excited. The injections don't interfere at all with 1) above. Men sleep and dream normally despite using injections while they are awake. And, a big part of a man's recovery of normal erectile function is to restore his confidence -- if you can't get your head in the game your batting average is going to be lousy. Lots of men report that the dose of injectables that they need goes down over time and this, I think, is because the injections help restore their confidence and this helps them get "in the mood" which, in turn sends messages down the nerves and the nerve endings start releasing nitric oxide again which works with the injectable meds to make them work better at first and eventually to hopefully make them unnecessary.

Its a bit like walking with a cane after you break your leg. If it gets you up and about then it exercises your leg more than sitting in a wheel chair.