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Depression over ED

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Posted 7/13/2007 1:27 PM (GMT 0)
Listen up, SWIMON is right on 99.6% of the time. God bless you Swimon for all the help you have posted, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Posted 7/18/2007 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
I'm both encouraged and discouraged by what I've read on the post. I'm 5 weeks post-robotic surgery. No incontinence, other than a few drips now and then, but very little response in the "fun" department. I started on 50 mg Viagra a week after surgery. This week, I increased to 100 mg with no measurable difference in response. Sooooo depressing. Dr says nerve sparing was very successful, and just be patient. How can you be patient when Viagra doesn't even work, especially when I had no problems before surgery? I'm beginning to believe I'm in the 30% or so who don't recover no matter what. . . . What a bummer. I know I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am. But I guess we all think we're going to be the "star" and walk out of surgery with a b---ner (my brother-in-law, bless him, experienced his first erection while the catheter was still in place and has never had to resort to any chemical or other assistance!) I'm pretty p----sed off at Dr for not really counseling me about this before I made the decision to have the surgery. He's a great surgeon but has pretty lousy communication skills. I still can't get a real sense from him of what to expect over the next few weeks or months. "Just be patient." That does a lot of good. Had I known the real devastation of losing my ability, I might have chosen a different option.

Wait, pray and think happy thoughts, I guess.


Age: 60
Surgery 6/7/07
Gleason pre 3+3=6
Gleason post 3+3=6
CA confined to prostate
First post-op PSA will be taken in Sept.
Posted 7/18/2007 4:03 AM (GMT 0)
By the way, to be brutally honest, my scrotum and penis feel cold to me. Not "ice cold," but just colder than usual (before RRP). I haven't talked to dr yet, but wondered if anyone else has ever experienced this? Should I be concerned?
Posted 7/18/2007 4:09 AM (GMT 0)
Hey puget, Before surgery, I thought, well it's better to be alive than be able to have sex and die young. As you probably read at the beginning of this thread, I was pretty depressed about the ED. I took my first dose of Viagra last night. I got a little response but not enough for penetration, but at least it tried. The doctor warned me it would still take time. I'm 3 months post op and thanks to a very understanding wife and the support of this forum, I've learned to accept this and have faith that it will return someday. My doctor told me that if it's still no good after 2 months, he'll consider giving me injections. I discovered an new problem, my insurance doesn't cover the Viagra or Levitra prescription. Anyone know where I can get a good price on Viagra? I paid out of pocket to give it a try.
Anyway puget, don't despair, I think our day will come, eventually.

John
Posted 7/18/2007 10:34 AM (GMT 0)

John,

At Swim's recommendation, I tried alldaychemist dot com for sildanafil.  It is less than $1 for 100 mg and the pills cut in fractions easily. 

I found this group professional and reliable and the quality (questioned by some here on this sight) has never been an issue.  I recommend them.

CCedar

ICTHUS

Posted 7/20/2007 8:18 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the encouragement, John. I guess I was just having a down day. 100 mg viagra seems to be helping more. Nothing like before surgery, but a start. Patience, patience, patience . . .
Posted 8/4/2007 11:37 AM (GMT 0)
It is jolt to your mind and body but time (Does) heal all wounds. Probably the most important thing for you to do is be sure you are on a viagra maintenance program as soon as possible following surgery. You need to keep blood flow to the penis until the nerves hook up. It can take a year or two for all nerves to regenerate. In my case , my urologist didn't inform me about this issue and now I have scarring in the shaft that probable has hindered my recovery. After a few months , I do remember starting to get night erections. I did try injections and Muse but that was painful. In time my penis kept getting more responsive and eventually I would get an arousal from mental stimulation. It has alway continued to get stronger with time even up to now. I have lost a couple of inches and some girth. but have been able to make penetration for a couple of years. I still don't reach a climax the normal way , however with the aid of a hand massager, I don't have any problem by myself or with my wife.
One thing I found out that after surgery, I spent more time satisfying my wife than ever before. She (really) benefited the most from my surgery and I found I got a lot of satisfaction from taking care of her. Now she has become an (animal) if you know what I mean. Our love has actually gotten stonger as a result.

Ron
Posted 8/4/2007 10:11 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for sharing your experince, Ron.  It's comforting to know patience has paid off for you, at least in large part.  Lately, sometimes in the middle of the night, I'll wake up with what feels like it should be an erection -- you know, "inside."  But not much actual physical manifestation -- maybe a little thickening.  I take that for a good sign, since I didn't even have that a couple of weeks ago.  Viagra helps some, but I'm really hoping over time I won't even need that.  Things do seem to be a little better.  Still a long way to go, but stories like your's are encouraging.     
Posted 8/5/2007 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
puget,

I have also been getting night and morning wake up "erection" feelings, but like you, nothing there....  strange as it really feels as it is there...  I also consider this a good sign...   On viagra sessions, (I switched to Caverta...  Viagra generic at $2 pill), I have been getting good results...  The last one about 50-60% erection and penetration with climax...  Wife said starting to feel like the "old" days...  :-)    No pumps or toys...  Tried a ring a coupe of times and got a bruise...   I am about 13 weeks

post op...  (4/24)... 

Finally comfortable with the continance now to start using the hot tub again...  :-)

Ray

Posted 8/5/2007 7:45 PM (GMT 0)
I wasn't aware there is a generic form of viagra.  I'm paying about $160 for a month's supply.  Talking to insurance company about coverage, but getting a bit of the old run-around.  They say it's covered for post-op therapy, but then they tell the pharmacy to charge me the full retail rate.  Anyway, can you get the generic through pharmacy or only off internet-Canada? 

Puget.

60 yrs old

8 weeks post Da Vinci

Gleason 3+3=6 pre and post op

Margins clear

First PSA due in September

Posted 8/6/2007 5:28 AM (GMT 0)

puget,

I explored the generics from India in June as my health plan did not cover any ED drugs and Viagra was costing me $11-12 a 100mg pill which was then cut in half for my 50mg dose every other day...  worked out to $100/month...

This was a post I made that has a lot of info about what I found searching around a little.  Look at it and scroll down to my response around 6/3/2007

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=826201&g=826613#m826613

The generics are not approved by the FDA for sale in the U.S., but are extensively sold in Canada and other countries.  I had recommendations from others to look at alldaychemist.com (Most call it ADC) as it was a reliable internet outlet for them.  I also was sure I did not want any China boiler room pills or pills of what I thought might be lesser quality, even from the India pharma's.  I looked at the financial information, sales, and if they had any approved drugs (other than the generics) that were approved for sale in the U.S.    What I found was that there were some $0.54 cent pills that others have used with good success, but I leaned towards the large pharma's who also had a large amount of other drug sales in yhe U.S.and their pills were $2 a pill (100mg).

Ranbaxy made Caverta and they are a very large respected company from the info I found on the web,  along with a few of the others.  I ordered 64 for $128 plus shipping from ADC with my bankcard and sale confirmation and shipping was prompt.  I did not need to send an actual presrcription.  Two mailer envelops arrived from India in good shape.  The pills were in bubble packs...  very professional packaging like U.S. pill bubble packs...  Manufacturer and expirations dates clearly labeled...  Also the expiration dates were far in the future, so I firmly believe I did not  get any outdated or overstock pills... 

Caverta 100mg are sold outside the U.S. as an equivalent generic to Viagra 100mg.  Caverta pills are reddish and triangular in shape, but list the chemical makeup the same as Viagra...  I even talked to my doctor about them and my research and the cost difference... He did not blink an eye and made a general neutral response...  I realize that he cannot actually say they are OK or formally approve them...  

I have taken Caverta and my remaining Viagra staggered for awhile and can say the Caverta and Viagra work the same for me.

In fact,  the Caverta only costing $1 a "dose" vs $6 a dose for Viagra takes a little pressure off of the whole situation.  Another year or so, the U.S. Viagra patent will run out, and then the pills will probably be only $0.50 each!

All this discussion just represents my thought processes and actions and are not a recommendation for anybody to do anything different from what their doctor's tell them...  Just passing along my experiences...  :-)   Everybody should use their own due dilligence and care in their PCa journey...

God Bless!

Ray

Posted 8/6/2007 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Ray.  I'll check it out.  The current cost is a bit much. 
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