Not enough response to shots

[tomas1]

Good luck with your recovery. My former GP only checked my PSA level and I was surprised that he didn't do the digital.
My Uro did the digital first thing and said it's enlarged, but smooth.
My new GP also does the digital exam along with the PSA.
I wonder if my original doc had some kind of hangup?

I'm not really up on what all the parts of trimix do, but mine is:
Hi-PGE 45mcg, PAP 27mg Phent 1mg.
I think that may be the strongest available, but hope more experimentation is done in the future.

[Andy425]

Andy,
Like you I had a lump with a 2.5 PSA.
Diagram of prostate 'after Biopsy' broke the whole area into 10 sections (probably why I felt so many violating jabs!!).

Yes, I was awake also. If anyone asked, I would tell them to be knocked out if possible. I didn't want to bother anyone else for a ride so I was wide awake. It was very unpleasant. I think they took around 15 samples from me.

My (open surgery) Dr showed something in each area that he called Gleason numbers. Some were very low numbers that he said meant undetectable. Several of them had the number 5 or 6 that he said would normally indicate early signs of problem but typically they would just monitor for a while. One of the areas had a 9 which he said was very high and made him recommend surgery.

As far as I know, it is standard practice to come up with one "Gleason score," which is the sum of two samples. They didn't give you one number?

I then went and got opinions from a robotic surgeon and a radiation specialist. They all agreed with the interpretations. They all agreed with what you read that robotic helps you recover a little quicker but made NO difference to the actual curing of the disease. It was the robotic guy who also said that my prostate was large and may result in nerve damage on 'both' sides.' The radiation specialist said that surgery was fine but he personally would choose radiation because he didn't like the idea of reconstruction.

"Reconstruction" of what?

Remember (as I understand it) it's not just nerve damage from having surgery or radiation -- which everyone will have to some degree -- it's when they think cancer cells have left the prostate and have invaded the area where the nerve bundles are so they purposely remove them. Better to lose a nerve bundle (and lessen chances of sexual function returning) than to have prostate cancer come back and kill you.

My recovery was roughly the same as having a non-laparoscopic hernia repair. My neighbor told me his entire belly was black and blue for a long time. I think he had quite a big incision also.

I just decided to go with the Dr I had been having checkups with for 12 years because I liked his 'bedside manner'.
Interestingly the lump was NOT on the area where he noted the 9.
My recovery was fine, home after 2 nights (he said I could go home after one night but I chose a second with medicare paying ), tubes out within a week, No pain pills taken at home, scar a bit painful for a few days if I moved certain way, bladder control almost completely back in 2.5 months.
The marginal edges with suggested radiation and the ED are the remaining problems SO FAR.
So NO I would not discourage people from Open surgery based on my experiences!

That IS interesting about the lump and "9." Also about your recovery; it doesn't sound any worse than mine. Maybe my neighbor happened to be one of the unlucky ones. But all else being equal, I don't know why anyone would choose open vs. "nerve sparing" robotic.

As for the ED problem: It's way early. As I said in my original reply, see where you are in a year or more. Good luck. Who knew before all this -- certainly not me -- but sexual function isn't like a light switch: it works or it doesn't. After prostate cancer it may come back 25%, 50%, 90% some of the time, half of the time, most of the time, all of the time. Nobody can predict. However, if you lost one nerve bundle the chances are less for any of the above examples.

I'll be 64 in three weeks and had pretty much given up on women before I had PC, so being more or less dysfunctional doesn't bother me all that much.

[trimixboy]

I had a similar problem.
What matters the most is hitting the sweet spot.

If you hit it, you can use less. If you have a near miss, then more is needed.
I think some scar tissue can build up where you inject, making it harder to get the trimix into the sweet spot.
If it burns slightly when you inject, that means you hit the right spot.
If you get no burning sensation, adjust the needle push it in harder, or wiggling it. Pull back on the syringe. If you see blood, that is good.
What I do is load up extra (total of 15) in the syringe, and when I note where the plunger is when I first feel a burn, then
make sure I get a good burn from 10 units of trimix. If it burns from the start, I stop injecting and throw the rest away.

If aren't hard enough for sex, you can give yourself a second shot. With it nice and plumb, you can feel the needle penetrate with no resistance when you get the sweep spot.

When I hit the sweet spot, its hard at least 3hrs. I set my alarm clock for 3hrs and at that point, do about 120 deep knee bends.
That exercise pulls the blood away from my dick and it will start to soften. But as soon as I lay down, it gets hard again.
I set a second alarm at 4hrs, and do another 120 deep knee bends, that last time always brings it down for good.

I have had 308 injections (including last night). Sex about twice a week, except for the hassle of injection, it is the best sex ever, though I miss the feeling of ejaculation.
I had my prostate removed 4 years ago. I get a failure from injections about one in 20 times. But more recently, I just inject again so its no real problem, though it does freak my wife out a little.
After I discovered the deep knee bend trick, I don't fear an erection that won't go down anymore. I have gone has high as 160 deep knee bends. I just keep at it in blocks of 40 until I deflate.