ED and pump

Three and a half mos post robotic DA Vinci. Use pump one a day but still have ED. I know it can take a while, but I'm only 52 and wife is starting to wonder about me. Does anyone pump twice daily? Will it help? Feel some stirrings but no erections yet.

Hi,

Your wife many not want to hear this, but assure her that there is NOTHING wrong with you -- and also let her know that it can take up to several YEARS before the nerves fully reawaken. This is surgical and has NOTHING to do with you. Some take weeks, some take months, some take years -- even those who recover quickly have no say about it.

Everyone's situation is different -- thus NOBODY can be prodded to produce their own instant recovery, so your wife is being unfair to you. Essentially, the nerves will recover when THEY are ready to recover and all you -- and her -- can do is wait it out for however long it might take.

Take care,
Chuck

Resident of Highland, Indiana just outside of Chicago, IL.
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate.
Right posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Abdominal drain removed the morning after surgery.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, PSA <0.1. PSA tests now annual.
Semi-firm erections now happening 14 months post-op & VERY slowly getting a bit stronger.

Franco,

Even with full nerve sparing most men will have at least some ED for the first six months or more. There is no reason why you can't pump twice a day. Lots of guys do. But while you are waiting for your natural erections to come back (as they probably will eventually) you should talk to your doctor about ways to make sure you get enough blood flow to keep things healthy. A pump is a good option but it works better if combined with another therapy.

If the pills work for you then taking a pill a couple of times a week (and pumping on the other days) would be a good choice. For most men the pump tends to draw a 50/50 mix of venous and arterial blood and it is not as good at oxygenation as the pills or shots. But the pump does a good job of keeping the stretchy tissues exercised.

If the pills don't work for you (yet) then you might want to talk to your doctor about doing injections for a while. Injections will let you get erections even while the nerves are not yet working. The injections bring oxygenated blood to the area, help keep the tissues healthy, and would let you have relations with your wife if you like. Again, on days when you don't inject you can pump.