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Six weeks radiation October 2010 followed by brachytherapy followed by 2 weeks radiation January 2011. Prior to treatment had outstanding results with Viagra for erection and orgasm, even twice a week at times while 74 years old. Post treatment found greatly reduced function. Heard about penile rehabilitation and started Cialis with various amounts and timing and after about five months now find that Viagra is producing much better erection and better orgasm although not remotely as good as prior to treatment. Erection not long lasting (assume leaking) and orgasm is just about dry and not nearly as exciting as prior to treatment. I am very disappointed that my cancer treatment doc did not even talk about ED and when I asked, he said we can talk about it six months or so when you return for FUV. I am having some pain when first starting to urinate but do not feel that with orgasm. I am interested in finding out if my experience and progress is normal for my age of 75 and what to expect as I reach the one year anniversary of my treatment. I am presently taking 5mg Cialis daily and use 100 mg Viagra for sex. It is working and I seem to be improving with this program. By the way I found your site in the PCRI Insights newsletter – I think FrankTalk may be a great source of information and understanding as to the “normalness” of my situation. Thanks Bob

Bob:

Welcome to the clan. This is a good place and I'm sure you will find many friends here. I can't respond directly to your ? since my PCa was treated by robotic surgery. But, I do suffer the same side effects and yes; docs seem afraid to talk about ED and the issues it raises. We guys have a long ways to go in gaining acceptance for our issues in the medical world. Docs certainly would never treat women recovering from breast cancer surgery/treatments the way they treat us.

Recovery is slow and is over time. The positive point about your post is that things are improving. The combo pill therapy is interesting and please keep us posted on your response over the coming months. Have you considered pumping? That exercise is becoming an accepted part of penile rehab for many guys. I am pumping and it does make a difference for me. If you decide to try, first get an inexpensive pump from an adult toy store to see if you like the activity and it helps. Go slow and use the pump - release method to slowly bring yourself up to hard. The "medical" pumps are expensive and while your insurance may pay for part of it using a cheaper model first may make some sense. If I can help please feel free to contact me.

Enjoy the site, it is a good place.

Regards,

Dick

Regain, I have a question. When you recommend going slow with the pump, how long, in terms of minutes, are we talking about here? I'm thinking in terms of one bona fide erection with the pump and release method, how many minutes to you give it to reach the full erection? I'm new to pumping and am still trying to do the best job.

A friend gave me his expensive pump system (he has medical issues precluding its use). But about the time I received it, I found improvement in my response to Viagra. I attribute this to the penile rehabilitation plan I started with 5mg of Cialis daily use. At this time I consider things acceptable but not as good as I would like. Don't need the pump as of right now. The 5mg of Cialis gives me an erection during the night many nights and seems to promote good blood flow.

LJ:

Good question. I should have been a bit more specific; sorry. When first starting to pump I did not try to pump up to full hard with one step. As a beginner, I found that I could push too hard and create pain, discoloration and probably would create other problems. Then, and now, I pump to hard in stages. Probably 4 stages now but used 6 maybe 7 steps when I started. Your shaft needs time to adjust to the incoming blood and pressure as you grow so you don't get ahead of yourself.

At the end of a stage I wait a bit then release and then start over and go fuller before I stop again. As I reach to almost a full hard I wait longer at both ends. Then I pump to full and hold for maybe 5 mins and release and re-pump to full hard. This seems to help me expand my shaft length-wise and makes it more comfortable at my full hard. I am now comfortably, at full hard, being longer than I was pre- surgery; while that is not my main goal it does look nice thru the clear cylinder. The girth of you shaft will usually expand and my girth seems to be holding in his new expanded size- interesting.

If I want to use a ring, I remove the insert after I have pumped to full hard and grease the ring place it on the cylinder and re-pump to a full hard and slide the ring off- and go for it!!!!! Always remember to remove the ring within 20 minutes or so.

Interestingly, I don't think of the process in terms of minutes. I listen to my body and go with the flow; there being times when it is quicker than others. I do like my activities and think they help me.

If I can help further, please let me know.

Regards,

Dick

This is very detailed and helpful. These are just the kinds of details I need. I think I'm doing pretty much what you suggested with similar results, especially in the girth areas. My biggest frustration might seem like a nice problem to have, but the glans enlarges so much that my wife finds it a little scary. I've written about this before, and we're still working on it. I've had my pump only a short time, and the result feels a little unnatural, even for solo and not as sensitive as I would like. Orgasms achieved after pumping with no ring have been "over the top" in sensation, and I, too, believe that Cialis and Levitra are working much better for me because of the increased blood flow. I'm always open to suggestions for improvement. Thanks for taking the time to respond so thoroughly. This should be helpful to others who are pumping.

Bob,

Hi Bob, I had brachytherapy without the EBRT 5 years ago. Now 60. I have similar problems in terms of needing one of the pills but also problems reaching ejaculation and I'm convinced with reduced sensitivity and pleasure. The amount of ejaculate bottomed out after a couple of years but some clear ejaculate has returned. I'm circumcised and am convinced that has an impact on sensitivity but things have definitely worsened with age, anti-depressants and now the radiation therapy. You are right to prevent atrophy by frequent erections. After radiation I used Viagra for several years but switched over some resistance by docs to Cialis. It enables erections over a several day period so I think it is better for the problem.

Good luck,

Brian