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Ralph Inorio
- Male
- Branford, CT
- United States
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Thanks Eric,
I am going for he Trimix injection in January, my local doctor says its the only real thing that is a definate. I am over the whole shrinkage thing, if it is it is...
I have been reading about these enlargement exercises and home remed…
Hello Ralph,
Be encouraged. I am two plus years out from RP surgery. I've been to three doctors including my surgeon and none even mentioned a VED or shrinkage, etc. Your experience is not unusual. I have used the tri mix with success. Try that out.
Fred,
I had my RP surgery done in June 2009, and developed a stricture in the bladder neck after approx 3 months. i had it scoped at the urologists and the doctor told me there were a few options. 1 you could have it dialated (stretched) in the off…
Men under 50 or 55 often have concerns that are different from those over 65 or 70. Here's a place to talk about them.
There's no age limit; indeed, it's helpful to get the older crowd's perspective on issues whose importance changes with age.
Thanks Ken,
I am not a big fan of the pump but will do what I have to. I have enough trouble with the battery powered one so I will not even think of trying the manual option.
My urologist suggested getting the injections, which I am going to try n…
Ralph,
Well, the "el cheapo" pump from the local porno shop was a total failure. It definitely has more suction faster than the expensive battery powered pump I've been using. But, it pulls on all surrounding flesh, also, so I quickly had more of m…
I use the manual pump. For me I use soap and lather things up and use the pump. After pumping up I brush teeth. Release the pump then pump up again to shave. I put the sonctrictor bands on, remove pump and take shower while pumped up. After shower I…
Good luck,
The only constrictor bands that would work for me cut off all circulation and hurt so bad I couldn't use them. After playing around with it for a year using various strategies I gave up and threw it away ($$). Maybe I shouldn't have give…
Thanks ken,
I did finally get it to work yesterday. It took quite some lube, i will try the K&y and the Walmart kind in the future i just received and few tubes of the firma kind which is a bit costly. I also discovered that i bought the wrong size…
Ralph,
I understand that some guys shave their pubic hair in order to get a better seal. I did that at first but later found that it was not necessary - I'm just not a very hairy individual. I stopped using the rubber adapter for the end of the cyl…
Ken,
Thanks for the reply... I have used the pump for a few weeks and have a hard time with it. I get it to work occasionally but seem to have a lot of vacuum issues as you said. Tried intercourse but it didn't hold for some reason. I bought smalle…
Ralph,
I have been using K-Y jelly for several months now with good results. The Maxilube from firmamedical is much more expensive and the last few tubes I had, had large "air pockets" in them. WalMart also has a lube product that is even less expe…
Thanks mike,
I try my best to distract myself from the issue, I go to the gym in the afternoon (lunch) then I also workout at home with my wife in te evening. Its difficult to discuss some of these things with my wife, she listens and consoles me b…
Profile Information
- Have you been diagnosed with prostate cancer?
- Yes
- What brings you to the New Prostate Cancer InfoLink social network?
- Originally Post op questions, now to see if I can help someone or get help from someone.
- Would you help us grow the network? Would you tell others about it?
- Yes, i would say this site is an excellent source for info and insight on pre and post surgical expectations.
- About Me:
- IT Manager for a BIOTech firm. Technology freak,
Love to workout and play with my kids, break stuff and fix it...
Ralph Inorio's Photos
Comment Wall (11 comments)
- At 3:03pm on August 18, 2009,
E. Michael D. ("Mike") Scott said… - Ralph:
What you describe is a very normal series of events in someone with a bladder neck contracture. Loist of men have been there before you. It may be a small problem for a while, but it should also be an eminently solvable problem.
- At 2:13pm on August 18, 2009,
E. Michael D. ("Mike") Scott said…
- Ralph:
Bladder contracture is a problem for a small but significant number of patients.
The use of catheterization, cystoscopy and related techniques to resolve this problem is VERY normal and should not "set you back."
Simply ask the doctor to be very clear abpout what he wants to do and any specific risks associated with these techniques in your specific case.
I am pleased to hear that you have pretty much recovered full continence. Make it clear to the doctor that you are worried about the treatment for the bladder neck contracture setting back your recovery of continence. Listen carefully to what he has to say and take careful notes.
- At 10:07pm on July 6, 2009,
E. Michael D. ("Mike") Scott said…
- Ralph: The fact that you urine is sterile is good and simply means that there are no signs of any urinary tract infections post-surgery.
The PSA of 0.2 ng/ml, however, is something you do need to talk to your doc about. Ideallt the patient's PSA should drop to less than 0.1 after surgery, and yours hasn't (or at least, not yet). There are all sorts of possible reasons for this, so don't have a coniption ... but you DO need to talk tom your doctor and ask him why he thinks your PSA may still be slightly elevated. Don't let him "pooh-pooh" this. It may be very important ... or it could drop to < 0.1 in another month's time.
- At 12:50pm on July 4, 2009,
E. Michael D. ("Mike") Scott said…
- Ralph:
I don't think there's a problem here. It sounds to me as though your and your wife have a very caring relationship. You may indeed have had your first "dry" orgasm. Unfortunately, I can't confirm or deny that for you!
Is any of this associated with additional "signs of life?" If you think you are ready to try the Viagra, then do it!
- At 3:11pm on July 2, 2009,
Arnon Krongrad, MD said…
- Also Michael and Marcelo were in their 30s when they were diagnosed. Click to see their videos.
- At 3:09pm on July 2, 2009,
- Brent Sower, a member of this network, was 30 y old at diagnosis. I am quite sure he also did not expect prostate cancer.
- At 2:20pm on June 26, 2009,
E. Michael D. ("Mike") Scott said…
- Hi Ralph.
Any "signs of life" that suggest the possibility of return of erectile function are very definitely a GOOD THING! However, I suspect you need to wait for perhaps a couple of months from the time of surgery before seeing whether the Viagra can help things along.
I don't know anything about any "exercises" that can be carried out to help with this, but here are some other materials you can look at that may be helpful:
-- There is an online video on YouTube about penile rehabilitation by my good friend Dr. Gerry Chodak.
-- Here is a relatively detailed article (intended for physicians) on the same topic (by a highly regarded expert on the topic).
-- Here is a link to a detailed article intended for the patient community.
Last but not least, Dr. Mulhall has written a book called Saving Your Sex Life: A Guide for Men with Prostate Cancer, which you can find on Amazon.com. Some men and their wives swear by this! It also deals with penile rehabilitation.
- At 7:36am on June 23, 2009,
E. Michael D. ("Mike") Scott said…
- Ralph:
First your pathology report ...
This looks good. You have negative surgical margins, the cancer was organ-confined, the seminal vesicles were negative, etc. Your Gleason is a "good" 7. On the whole, I would say you were in good shape here. Based on these data -- and an assumption on my part that your PSA was no higher than 7 at the time of diagnosis -- I ran your data through the Kattan post-surgical nomogram, and it gives you a 95% probability of progression-free survival at 10 years.
Now, with regard to the ED ...
Some physicians recommend the use of drugs like Viagra and Cialis after initial recovery from radical prostatectomy to assist with the early ability to regain erectile function. This is NOT universally accepted practice, however.
The time it takes men to recover erectile function post-surgery varies significantly -- even in young men like you who (presumably) had very adequate (or better) erectile function prior to surgery. We really don't understand all of the reasons why this is the case. What we do know is that the degree to which the nerves are impacted by the surgery makes a big difference, so when you surgeon says that the nerves on one side of the prostate got "pretty beat up," I think you have to assume that it will take them time to recover. On the other hand, you ARE young and the nerves on the right side may well be enough.
The question you are going to need to ask your doctor is (a) whether he thinks that erectile rehabilitation with Cialis or similar would be helpful for you and (b) whether the use of a drug like Cialis in this way is even covered under your insurance plan.
I suggest you also specifically leave messages for a couple of the other young men on this forum who had surgery, and ask them to share with you information about their personal experiences of recovery. Possible "youngsters" include Brent Sower and Brian (of Marla and Brian).
Hope this is helping!
- At 4:43pm on June 22, 2009,
E. Michael D. ("Mike") Scott said…
- Dear Ralph:
Getting one's doctors to actually talk to one is an art form that can take some time to develop!
It sound to me as though you are dong pretty well with the incontinence at 3 weeks. Just don't go lifting heavy objects. That can set you back big time!
The ED is a whole other issue. It will depend on exactly what your surgeon did durig the operation (so ask him). You should also ask him about some form of sexual function rehabilitation initiative and what he recommends. Here is a link to a recent review on this topic by Mulhall (considered one of THE experts on this topic here in the USA).
- At 1:07pm on June 22, 2009,
E. Michael D. ("Mike") Scott said…
- Hi Ralph. It is normal for men to be worried about ED and related issues. You are going to need a little patience, but there are good reasons to hope that things will recover if you had a really good surgeon.
What type of surgery did you have? Did they spare both nerves? How are you coming along with incontinence issues? Have you received the post-surgical pathology report? If not, ask for a copy of it!
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