Erecting the Erection - Medication

I have a prescription for daily 100mg sildeafil, that does give semi tumescence most of the time, helps with the incontinence but did make me itch all over,even cutting the pills in half was still effective but still was itching, left them off for now whilst taking other medication for the osteoarthritis. Next time at GP may ask for 25 mg.

Thanks Chris

Edited by member 10 Jul 2016 at 21:29  | Reason: Not specified

I am 60 years and almost 18 months post op.  Prior to the op had an active and satisfying sexual relationship with my wife who has continued to be supportive and active in my recovery throughout. We laugh a lot.

I have a question or two about ED but first need to give the background, so bear with me.

I have been using a pump regularly along with Viagra during this last year or so, as rehab therapy.  Initially found the pump not very good for gaining a full erection as my old man tended to pivot at the base.  When used with Viagra that helped.  I found the side effects of Viagra were not nice mainly aching neck, blocked sinuses and headaches, but I persisted with it. I also found that I could get an erection enough for masturbation with Viagra but not sufficient for penetration I had to use the pump and rings for that.   That worked reasonably well, but immediately after orgasm I had to get that damn ring off as it was so uncomfortable.  I tried the SureRelease rings which were much better as they could be ripped off after orgasm and the discomfort went away immediately.  By attaching a piece of string to the finger holes at the side of each ring my wife could easily pull the strings after orgasm and the ring ripped away easily.  But of course there were only two  of these rings provided with the kit and these specific rings are not provided on prescription.  No problem, we can buy them privately.

Throughout this time the Uro nurse used the standard response "Well its early days".  In fact I heard that expression so many times it became a joke between my wife and me.

Anyway after about 13 months  I was referred to the ED clinic (can you believe I had never had an appointment with them up till then). The consultant said that the Viagra and pump had probably achieved all they are going to achieve in terms of rehab and recommended Caverject.  An appointment was made with the ED nurse in another three months.   I have to say I was pretty annoyed at this point as having been told that it was "early days" for the last 13 months, now suddenly it wasn't early days anymore!!http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-yell.gif

So we had the appointment and have used Caverject 6 times now with the following results.

1. Afternoon. 10ug. Erection 2 hours.  Painful ache.

2. Afternoon. 7.5ug. Erection 3.5 hours. Painful ache and panic setting in.

3. Morning. 2.5ug.  Erection inadequate for satisfaction.  Went away within 1 hour.

4. Morning. 5ug. Erection 95% adequate, not satisfying enough for my wife. lasted 1.5 hours

5. Morning 7.5ug Erection 1.5 hours.  Good erection and satisfying

6. Afternoon 7.5ug Erection 2.5 hours Good erection and painful ache

My ED nurse said that they are trying to get approval for a new injection which results in less pain apparently. Waiting for that!

So my first question - has anyone else found that the length of erection time apart from  being dependant on the dose also appears to be dependant on time of day?  I wonder if it is down to the metabolism at different times of the day.

Second, does anyone know the name of this new injection and what the progress is within NICE for approval?

My main question -  Having gone through the year or so of "early days" and now being told that the pump therapy and Viagra has "probably done all its going to do" so I am now on injections, are there any of you out there who have still regained almost total erection capability beyond 18 months post op.  In other words is there still hope that I may get full recovery and is there anything I can or should do to help things along?

Thanks in advance for your input.

D

We use muse not caverject and find that duration is more about state of mind,mood,concentration stimulation and position. I am 26 months post op and despite being told my nerves were not spared with plenty of stimulation and no medication I can get 90 per cent swelling/tumescence but I cannot get  a full erection. You might want to look at some of my posts on page 4 of this conversation, you do not need an erection for vaginal intercourse. You may both need to adjust your techniques and adapt to the new norm. 

Using lube to get the rings on may also make it easier to get them off, I did often get a black and blue penis from removing a tight ring, try using two slightly larger rings.I have an ongoing stricture and have not used the pump that often but on the occasions that I do I can get a full size penis but again no strength but still very usable.

http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/posts/t9839-One-wife-s-story-of-ED

Have a read of the above link and you will see you do not need to give up hope, recovery can take longer than the two years that is frequently quotes .

Thanks Chris

Hey Pablito,

what do you mean with "ED Consultant"? Are you speaking to a doctor or just a "friend" who is giving you some advice on how to tackle your problems in the right way.

1.) Saying that the best recovery is made 6-12 months post OP is not particularly wrong but also not applies to every person that had to go through a surgery. I've read a lot about patients that made continuous improvements during longer periods of time.

Following two statements are interesting:

"The NYU Langone Medical Center has claimed that it can take most men up to a year after prostate surgery before they can experience an erection. The NYU Langone Medical Center has claimed that it can take most men up to a year after prostate surgery before they can experience an erection. The timetable for this normally states that sexual function will be restored between three and twelve months after prostate surgery. In rare cases some men may see no improvement up to two years after surgery. However, this doesn't mean restoration isn't possible."

"Most men will continue to see erectile-potency improvements up to two years after surgery, so we would expect to see even better outcomes by then"

Both statements to be found here alongside more information on if and how to restore sexual functionality after a surgery. I think it is a bit discouraging if your consultant gives you the impression that you won't be able to restore your sexual life if you haven't been able to in the first 12 months. It's simply not true in every case.

2.) Treatments like Viagra, Cialis etc., so called PDE-5-Inhibitors cause a chemical reaction in your body that increases the blood flow into your penis so you can get a better erection once your sexually aroused. This chemical reaction starts at some point after you take the medication (for Viagra it is 30-60 mins, for Cialis its less ... should work within the first 30 minutes) and stops after some time as well (for Viagra after 4 hours, for Cialis up to 36 hours which is a big advantage of that medication). So you definitely don't have to take that medication for the rest of your life if at some stage you will be able to get an erection without any aids again. If your consultant spoke about Cialis for daily intake he was right to a certain degree. You take it daily and therefore will lose the effect after not taking it anymore. Still, if you recover to being able to get a natural erection you don't need to take the medication any more for sure. You can read it up i.e. here to get a better understanding.

So for now I would take the medication as you were lucky enough to get a prescription which helps you afford it but also don't give up on other options. Also look closely on what happens at stages where you don't take that medication (if you don't take the daily dosage which I personally wouldn't recommend anyways) to see if you are back to "normal". Remember that it's not always just physical trigger but also psychological ones. So maybe taking the medication and any aid that will help you to get comfortable with yourself again solves the problem after some time.

Wish you all the best and don't always believe everything without questioning. For sure these guys are experts but still ...

Dan

Hey LynEyre,

what exactly are you disagreeing with apart the timeframe the medication starts to work? For sure the 1 hour window is solely reflecting the facts given on nearly every resource you can find online. I know it also highly depends on each and every individual and also on the circumstances under which you take the medication. So i.e. food intake can have an influence amongst a lot of other things.

You are right in assuming that I don't take any of the mentioned medications at the moment but I had to at some stage of my life. For me Viagra in particular kicked in much quicker than the numbers you are mentioning.

I solely stumbled upon this post whilst doing my research and wanted to encourage Pablito as his post was indeed a bit desperate. I have no direct link to prostate cancer but as I already said had touching points in my life with ED. I also understand that with your family being directly affected you act much more sensitive to that topic. I didn't want to offend you or anybody in any case by commenting without having a direct link to prostate cancer.

Dan