My husband is 6 weeks post-op and during great. His test results have been the best you could hope for. His doctor started him on ED med's at 4 weeks with poor to no results. We are waiting for pre-approval from his insurance company for a VED. He has only been on the ED med's for 2 weeks but already he is getting very discouraged. Is this normal results from the med's for this early on or should we be concerned? I don't completely understand what kind of timeline we're on concerning all this. The doctor is so vague about this. Can anyone help?

Hi - I am 53 and had surgery 4.5 years ago. The wonder drugs do absolutely nothing for me - tried several times but a total waste.

I went through a great deal of depression - recognize it and get help. I did not and had a great deal of trouble coping with everything.

There is no instant rebound from the land of impotenct - I still am so we have had to explore other avenues - there will never be a way that it was. This was and still is difficult for me to accept.

Good luck - urologists are good at surgery - they don't deal or hardly listen to the emotional after affects.

Hi - I am 53 and had surgery 4.5 years ago. The wonder drugs do absolutely nothing for me - tried several times but a total waste.

I went through a great deal of depression - recognize it and get help. I did not and had a great deal of trouble coping with everything.

There is no instant rebound from the land of impotenct - I still am so we have had to explore other avenues - there will never be a way that it was. This was and still is difficult for me to accept.

Good luck - urologists are good at surgery - they don't deal or hardly listen to the emotional after affects.

Hi Ron,

Good post, sorry to hear. Hope you are doing better.

My husband was sort of in this situation. I couldn't handle him that way. His father's advanced case didn't help things but talking together and a psychiatrist that deals with this particular situation did. Thankfully. We still have our days.

Please don't say you still struggle. I'm hoping, with time, things get better. And, there are alternatives, like an implant, which we have already agreed would be the last resort.

Glad you are healthy! Hope you are doing well.

Debbie

[QUOTE=clover45;3281738]My husband is 6 weeks post-op and during great. His test results have been the best you could hope for. His doctor started him on ED med's at 4 weeks with poor to no results. ...QUOTE]

It sounds like your husband's doctor gave you both no guidance on the timing for recovery. That's sad, but at least he prescribed the drugs. While I have had no experience with surgery, from what I've read and heard, that is good practice.

My impression is that it takes the great majority of men months if not a year or more to recover as fully as they can. While a few men bounce back very rapidly (probably more who have had robotic surgery), six weeks is an extremely short timeframe for recovery. Just the surgical trauma to the areas involved takes a while to heal.

If you want to check out what published medical research has had to say about this issue, go to the free Government website (our taxes at work) www.pubmed.gov and try a search string like this one: " potency recovery AND radical prostatectomy ". I just did that and got 60 hits. If the study has an abstract, you can click on the hypertext authors list and read it.

Good luck,

Jim

Jim,
You’re exactly right about our doctor and post-op information or should I say lack of information. I went with my husband to several of his pre-op appointments and had a list of questions ready to ask the doc. But since his operation I haven’t been able to go with him. At his last visit (at 4 weeks) he gave him a prescription for Viagra and suggested we purchase a VED (he said it was optional). Then he said he wanted to see him back in 3 months and that was it. I just feel like we’ve been left on our own to figure this all out. There should be some kind of support system in place to help with all the questions and physical and emotional trauma this horrible disease creates.

Well we just pasted the 8 week post-op mark. The ED meds are still giving very limited results but there does seem to be a slight improvement. We’ve been turned down twice now by the insurance company about a VED. So we’re going to be ordering one this week and paying for it ourselves. We’re still fighting with the insurance company to pay their part of all the medical bills, and next is figuring out how we’re going to be able to pay our part.

Well that’s how things stand with us at this point. We don’t really know what we’re doing but we’re trying our best and holding on to each other for dear life. I love my husband so very much and I want to have many, many more years with him. I hate this stupid cancer. It helps so much to be able to turn to all of you on this message board for help and support. Thank you all for being there.

Clover45

Jim,
You’re exactly right about our doctor and post-op information or should I say lack of information. ... I just feel like we’ve been left on our own to figure this all out. There should be some kind of support system in place to help with all the questions and physical and emotional trauma this horrible disease creates.

...Well that’s how things stand with us at this point. We don’t really know what we’re doing but we’re trying our best and holding on to each other for dear life. ....

Clover45

Here's a book you might like to have: "The Lovin' Ain't Over" by Ralph and Barbara Alterowitz, prostate cancer survivors, after an RP as I recall it. They have spoken an the series of annual/biannual conferences for prostate cancer patients and have given other talks around the country, and they have a website with links.

Jim

Here's a book you might like to have: "The Lovin' Ain't Over" by Ralph and Barbara Alterowitz, prostate cancer survivors, after an RP as I recall it. They have spoken an the series of annual/biannual conferences for prostate cancer patients and have given other talks around the country, and they have a website with links.

Jim

I just looked up this book which was released in 1999. There's an updated version, published in 2004 (at a lower price too) called Intimacy after Impotence. Haven't read either, but just thought I'd pass this on.

Another source of information is the support group " Us too". Find out if there's a local chapter operating out of the hospital where your husband was treated or if not the nearest major cancer center. They usually meet once a month and get knowledgeabe speakers on most subjects of interest to prostate cancer patients, survivors and their spouse or S.O." At these meetings even if the subject that evening isn't of particular interest you'll have a chance to mingle with the other participants during the social/refreshment period where sharing of personal issues and experiences takes place.

I just looked up this book which was released in 1999. There's an updated version, published in 2004 (at a lower price too) called Intimacy after Impotence. Haven't read either, but just thought I'd pass this on.

Read this book and it is lousy. The suggestions may be good if you never had a sex life! LOL