The September 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has an article "AR-V7 and Resistance to Enzalutamide and Abiraterone in Prostate Cancer" in which a variant of the androgen receptor has...
Hi - I have been lurking for a while, but I am on TRT after removal of my prostate. The RALP was performed in December, 2009 (I was Gleason 6, with 5 of 10 cores positive, with up to 30% of one core...
Hi Susan - I lurk a lot, but have been getting the T shots for the past five months. At my last physical my T level was 240, and my family doc thought the feelings of tiredness and "blahness" may be...
The answers to your question will vary by individual. I had two biopsies, and while scared to death before the first one, found them to be just annoying and undignified. I even went back to work...
Two weeks after birthday number 59, surgery also at 59...
So sorry to hear that, and I wish you the best of luck. I am in your neck of the woods, had my surgery at University Hospital in Cincinnati - if radiation is in your future there are excellent...
As said before, everyone recovers at a different rate. After the catheter came out the uro started me on 50 mg Viagra every other day, and recommended I use the pump once a day, 5 days a week, just...
I had two biopsies, both with just a local, and both were fairly mild in the pain department. Went back to work after both of them. I wasn't even given the option of conscious sedation....
Hi Viperguy - I had DaVinci on December 15, 2009, and the pain, afterwards, was minimal - my shoulders hurt the most from being upside down, and the gas - I was sent home with 60 vicodin, and used...
I teach at a College of Medicine, and had robotic surgery during the December break. I was back teaching (with pads) three weeks after the surgery. I was working from home remotely the day I returned...
Happened to me - went in after 8 days to have the catheter removed and failed the test - they kept it in an additional week, then removed it without a retest....
Hi - while every man's recovery is different, my experience was that at 3.5 months ED drugs did nothing. I am now at 10 months, and about 50% of the time the drugs are sufficient for bedroom...
The surgeon I consulted with had done over 1000 open and 1000 robotic, and had strong preferences towards the robotic technique. I was comfortable enough with him to let him decide, and knew that if...
Interesting topic - 43 gram prostate, RRP (nerve sparing) on 12/1509, no ED problems before surgery, now 8 months after surgery require either 50 mg Viagra or 20 mg Levitra to get an erection which...
I was in the OR for 4.5 hours, with about a 4 hour surgery due to a blood vessel being in the wrong place. My memory is a blank from 7:30 am (when I was wheeled to the operating room) until 3:15 pm -...
That's a good point, but the problem is that today there is not a good test to determine if someone's cancer is indolent (will grow slowly, not spread, not convert to a higher Gleason score) or if...
Hi all - interesting topic. My insurance company (Humana) will pay for 6 ED pills per month, regardless of the brand. If I already received 6 viagra, then I have to wait a month to get 6 Levitra, for...
Hi - I had the robotic surgery on Dec 15, 2009, and returned to work Jan 4, 2010 - 20 days off. I too have mostly an office job (Professor), but did have to be on feet for teaching that week. Other...
Hi Mel - just do it. I had my second one a couple of weeks ago, and due to glitches with the lab and doctor's office, it took me four days before I had the nerve to call and get the result - usually...
I wore mine below the knee, above the ankle. The hospital gave me long tubing for the leg bag so it would reach. Found it much more convenient to empty that way while out (just stick foot on toilet...
My surgery was six months ago, and on the day the catheter came out I was given a script for Viagra and told to take 50 mg every other day, and the doc's office also made an appt for me to see the...
My doc had my first PSA test at six weeks after surgery, which was <0.1. The PSA was 3.5 at time of diagnosis....
I don't know how many uro's do biopsies under general anaesthetic, although it is not inappropriate to ask. For me, other than being terrified at what the pain and discomfort may be, it turned out to...
Hi - the uro ordered a cystogram for me to have one week after surgery. In this procedure a fluorescent dye is squirted into the bladder (up the catheter) and they look for leaks where the urethra...
There are always trade-offs, but I went for the experienced old guy (the surgeon is 67 years old) and was glad I did as I had an anatomical anomaly - a blood vessel lying on the prostate that was...
Hi and welcome to HW. My first biopsy was in August, and I had a confirmatory biopsy (to see if active surveillance was appropriate) about 8 weeks later (which was sufficient time according to my...
The average is 4.5 months, but some guys have survived longer - still the mystery of PC, there is no one "type" that responds to this treatment. Clearly, more research is required to understand - I...
Best of luck to you Neil - hope it is just a little blip on the road to recovery - sounds as if it was not a very traumatic experience...
I am fortunate to teach at a major Medical Center, so when I needed a uro/surgeon I was guided to the one who all the doctors went to when they had prostate problems. He is a caring and compassionate...
Hi - welcome to the site. With your "stats" active surveillance may also be a viable option. My uro suggested it to me after my first biopsy when only three cores out of 10 were positive, all with a...
Hi Mel - my insurance required a doctor's prescription, and paid for 80% of the pump - plus, the insurance company had a negotiated price for the device, so it was less expensive than I thought it...
My insurance company will pay for 6 Viagra a month, even though the prescription called for 8 per month (I am supposed to take half a 100 mg pill every other day). Seems better than what no approval,...
Hi - The T refers to the stage, and in part, how the cancer was found. T1 means the tumor could not be felt by DRE. T1a means the cancer was found by accident, such as a TURP, in which analysis of...
This has been quite an interesting discussion, and illuminating to me. After a long period of adjustment (diagnosed on 9/4/09, removal on 12/15/09) I have taken the attitude that I can't control what...
Hi - at the urology practice I selected, they do a cystogram after one week - inject dye into the bladder (through the catheter), and look for leaks. If there are no leaks, the catheter comes out...
Another reason to get the biopsy - there are certain criteria for going on AS - Gleason score, % involvement, PSA level - I considered it, but it was ruled out by results of 2nd biopsy...
Hi Mel - I also still have this, although I now consider it an irritation, rather than a pain, so it does get better with time. What I find a little more bothersome is that I can go through periods...
Hi Mel - I view the use of the pump as rehabilitation - besides it reminds me of what an erection looks like. Not trying it for sex, but just to keep the blood flowing. I am only about 9 weeks out...
Hi - you really won't be able to make a rational decision until you have a biopsy. The thought of a biopsy terrified me, but found out I am one of the fortunate who did not find it a big deal. No...
Hi - I can only describe my own experience, but once I scheduled the robotic surgery in early November (surgery was December 15) I religiously did kegels three times a day, sets of 10, holding for 10...
The hospital gave me a lidocaine gel to use as needed when I was discharged, and it was needed....
The url did not come through - http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/32/8165...
Hi all - I also considered active surveillance after my first biopsy results (3 of 10 cores positive, Gleason 3+3, PSA 3.5, 10% involvement in one core, and less than 5% involvement in the other two...
Hi - when I left the hospital I was in a leg bag, and the nurse supplied some tubing which went from the hinge thing on my thigh down to my calf, to plug into the leg bag. Your uro's office should be...
I was diagnosed with a PSA of 3.5 (on retest was 2.7) - but it was up from 1.8 the previous year. I must be the oddball here, but the only pain I felt from the biopsy was the needle with the...
Hi Mel - I am now 7 weeks post-op and can "hold it" for only about 2.5 hours - but it is getting better every week, when my catheter first came out I seemed to be going every hour. I still can't...
Hi Mel - I also had the Foley - while the foley was in the urine was consistently bloody - and I was told don't worry, probably the foley baloon irritating the bladder walls - once the foley came...
My surgery was 12/15/09, and yesterday met doc for discussion and first post PSA test. Came back undetectable, so perhaps I now qualify for the zero club, at least until my next PSA in four months....
Hi Mel - welcome to the other side, and hang in there (as if you have a choice), the pain will go away. At least you got to walk - I had some strange anatomy and lost a liter of blood with the...
Best of luck on Tuesday Mel - Versed is a great drug - destroys your short-term memory while it is pumped through you - I can't remember a thing from leaving the staging area until some time in the...