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Posted 1/2/2013 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I had the Da Vinci procedure done 3 years ago and am still cancer free. I was 57 at the time. My Dr at the time was the most experienced with this procedure in my area having done over 200 to date. I was diagnosed very early and was in the very early stage of the disease. My wife is 10 years younger than me and we had a very active and fulfilling sex life and after a lot of research thought it might be best to just wait and get tested every 3 months to see if there was any progression. I was very concerned with erectly disfunction following the surgery but the Dr said he hasn't had a patient not return to normal yet. Most within 3 months to a year after surgery. With his confidence I decided to go ahead with the surgery.

Well here I am 3 years later and still not able to achieve an erection. The Dr has since moved out of the area and is practicing in another state so I no longer see him. The doctors now tell me the odds of me achieving an erection now after 3 years is slim. Nothing they have recommended has worked with any real success. Penal implant is not an option as I can't afford the surgery.

Has anyone else had a similar experience and been able to achieve an erection after 3 years. Every day that goes by I feel I should have just waited.
Posted 1/2/2013 3:00 PM (GMT 0)
Oh your story some so familiar. My Uro only wanted to talk about implant and my insurance will not cover it. I finally found a different Dr to start me on injections and I now have a sex life back. Its not perfect but I am not complaining. Have you tried the injections?

Best of luck.

Cajun Jeff
Posted 1/2/2013 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
No I haven't. No insurance at this time so I can't afford it.
Thanks for the response.
Posted 1/2/2013 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
Rossz,

Lots of guys who do have insurance find it difficult to get their insurance to pay for injections. I pay cash for my Trimix. The good news is that on a per-use basis Trimix can be one of the least expensive ED treatments. I get 35 shots per bottle and the bottle costs $140. That's four bucks a pop. Less than half the price of pills (which don't work for me). You will need to pay for a couple of doctor's appointments -- one to talk about injections and get the scrip, and another for the doctor to show you how to inject -- but after that initial expense Trimix is quite afforable.
Posted 1/2/2013 5:04 PM (GMT 0)
Rossz,

I use the Trimix. It is under my insurance, so the cost is full the first part of the year as I deal with a high deductible, then a copay applies. My pharmacy helps a bit by packing the liquid in two vials of 5 ml rather than one of 10. This lets me use from one, and freeze the other (there is about a 6 month "shelf life" when frozen).

I also hit up any doctor I see for ED pill samples - Cialis/Levitra/Staxyn/Viagra. They do get them, it just depends on how they want to hand them out.

Also, "slim" is not "none". I try to remember that myself.

And, Welcome to HW.

 

Posted 1/2/2013 10:04 PM (GMT 0)
at 3 years out, i would doubt that you will have any real hope of a natural healing with your ED, which is a shame, and that prospect is one of the risks that everyone of us surgery guys took on when we made our treatment choice (I had surgery first myself, then radiation, but never have had any ED issues - I lucked out on the other end of the spectrum of outcomes).

the suggestion of injections is probably your best prospect. many men here do that and most have had good results from it. as jeff said above, its not perfect, but it still a doable solution, and may help to bring that part of your life back to you.

david
Posted 1/2/2013 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks all for the advice and encouragement. I'm glad I found this sight. Wish I had found it 3 years ago when I was trying to decide what to do.
Posted 1/2/2013 11:54 PM (GMT 0)
One additional thing that is worth mentioning is that your best chance of recovering natural erections, even after three years, is to find a way to have frequent, useful unnatural ones. It is a recurring theme on this site that men who have had slow recovery (or no recovery) after surgery often find that injections "jump start" their recovery. They need smaller and smaller dosages per shot and sometimes they wean themselves off the needle altogether.
Posted 1/3/2013 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
Rossz, My insurance does not pay anything for ED related stuff. The injections is the least expensive and most effective treatment I have found at this time. Best of luck.

Cajun Jeff
Posted 1/3/2013 4:53 AM (GMT 0)
I too will have to chime in here. I had robotic surgery 4 years ago, and though I can get decent erections through extreme masturbatory stimulation that would never happen during normal sex, which is a simple way of saying I can't have sex with my wife without help. Oral meds do nothing, trimix works really well. And my insurance has never paid for trimix. One vial of the stuff is around $95 and at 10 ml per/shot is dirt cheap. I could get 30 or more shots at that rate for one bottle. Now there is no real spontaneity with trimix, you have to decide to do it, and go in the bathroom and shoot up, and in 5 minutes every thing is working really well. And trimix is better for early morning sex, on weekends, when you don't have anywhere to go, since the erection still will last at least 2 hours, no matter how low the dose you go. Taking it at bedtime may mean not a whole lot of sleep that night. Anyway, if you want some intimacy with your wife/girlfriend, this is as good as it gets. I don't want the implant even though my insurance wourl pay for it, I'd be afraid something else would go wrong and then I'd never have any sex again! Something is better than nothing in this area..............
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