The Journey - Stage One

[radiodec]

This will be long and longer. I will add to it as my journey progresses. Here is stage one.

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Radiodec’s Implant Journey:
Here is a brief recap of my implant journey for the aid of anyone it may help. I will start at beginning when the events got set into motion, but there will be large areas of time that are simply ignored. If nothing changes or nothing important happens, I will just skip the time.

September 1998: Occasional incidents of ED, one time here or there. PSA check at 4.0; will recheck in 6 months. Digital Rectal Exam is OK (by family doctor).
March 1999: Same as before, PSA recheck, 4.5. will recheck again in 6 months . Digital Rectal Exam is OK (by family doctor).
September 1999: PSA now 5.0 will do prostate ultra sound and biopsies. Digital Rectal Exam is OK (by family doctor and by ultrasound urologist).
December 1999: Ultrasound done, biopsies sent for reading. Urologist evaluation of ultrasound; very minor prostatic hyperplasia.
January 2000: Biopsy results sent to oncological urologists at Mt. Carmel, Columbus, OH. I first learn it is prostate cancer. All cores but one show Gleason 7, 8, or 9 prostate cancer. Urologists do not give good prognosis, but agree to attempt a radical prostatectomy with no assurances that they will do other than check a lymph node. Much prayer follows!
February 3, 2000: Surgery, two surgeons, operating together, perform retro-pubic radical prostatectomy. Lymph nodes clear and pathology report very good. Cancer totaled removed , no radiation, no chemo follow up required. Recovery from this leaves total ED. Urologists that did surgery make no attempt at penile rehab and go directly to caverject 20mcg for relief of ED. At this point 10 mcg of a 20 mcg dose is all that is required for an about 2 ½ hour erection.
2005: Job changes, unemployment time and the like leave uninsured, injections curtailed for financial realities.
2009: New insurance that will cover injections, but have to try and fail on each of Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis first! Back to injections. Now hit or miss at 20 mcg with lower erection quality and about 45 minute duration.
August 2012: Decision to go for implant, have studied all alternatives. Haven’t used pump, but just the thought of it is abhorrent to wife. Set September 4, 2012 appointment with a urologist we trust and that has a good reputation in community.
September 4, 2012: Urologist appointment. He has medical histories from family physician and from original surgery and follow ups. Diagnosis and recommended treatment are as expected; implant (AMS 700 LGX). Surgery scheduled for October 1, 2012 at 3:00pm

Before Pictures for October 1, 2012 Attempt:

Before 10/1

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October 1, 2012: Arrive at Hendersonville Medical Center at 1:00pm. Pre-registered so right back to surgery holding. IV started on third attempt and antibiotic infusion started. I am allergic to penicillin so they can’t use their normal “push” antibiotic since it is in the penicillin family. This also is to ensure an overnight stay. Things change! Wake up in recovery, no implant. Going to go home same day with catheter and keep my new pet snake until the 9th. Doctor couldn’t originally place catheter because scar tissue was blocking entrance to bladder. Scar tissue removed, but implant delayed to avoid risk of infection. Possible side effect of scar tissue removal is increased urinary leakage.

After Pictures October 1, 2012:

After 10/1

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after 10/1

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October 9, 2012: Catheter removed. Healing very well and possible leakage is not a problem. After a week’s wait, implant surgery rescheduled for November 7 at 11:00am.
Random Notes: To add to the list of strange feelings -
Catheter removal; tickles ? Doesn't hurt but is definitely a strange feeling as balloon end of catheter slides out, shudder.
As after photos clearly show, the left testicle is smaller than the right. This is a carryover from un-descended left testicle repair when I was in my early thirties. Portion of left was removed for biopsy at time of repair.
Yes! I could stand to lose a FEW pounds. I have lost 10 since surgery and was already losing before it.

October 24, 2012: Some vital statistics now, two weeks from the second surgery. Down to 261 pounds, regular stretched flacid length of 6 3/4 inches, unstretched about 4 1/2 or just a little more, erect length (got the morning wood to cooperate for a few seconds) 7 inches, girth is better than 5 and less than 6, things weren't cooperatng as well for this measurement.

I will generate a stage 2 with pictures just before and and after surgery once the surgery is out of the way. Is this what they call, "Tracking a Package" ?

[danny1553]

Hi radiodec

Did your uro advise you to use the VED prior to the implant surgery? I believe this is critical for the satisfactory length out come.
My doc from the very beginning mentioned number of times that the penile tissue stretching is vital for this type of surgeries.
As a matter of fact I went from 14.5cm fully erected to more than 18cm within a year with daily using of the traction device and the VED.

[radiodec]

No mention of VED at all. My current uro has come onto this scene just recently. Like September of this year. The original urologists knew how to do surgery for PCa, but I now realize that they were very lacking in knowledge of what to do after surgery. Wait a year to see how things settle out and then straingth to injections. They didn't do any nerve sparing due to the agressive nature suspected of the cancer and their desire to have the largest possible surgical margins. With only a month to the original surgery date and then the need for the area where the scar tissue was removed to heal before the original surgery is actually done, there hasn't been much time for a VED.

I don't know if my urologist is of the VED penile rehab school. He tends to be quite conservative.

By the way I will definitely be kept overnight after surgery. This is to allow proper antibiotic infusion since they can't use the penecillin relatives that can be given as an IV push.

Radiodec

[SteveTex]

Radio - FYI, I've been allergic to penicillin since I was a kid and have avoided it ever since. Never aproblem as there are plenty of substitutes. I took Cipro tabs the day before and day of and had an IV with a Kelfex derivative and all went well. I arrived at the hospital at 8:30 am and was back home same day by 2 pm.

[radiodec]

Steve,

What can I say. Very conservative urologist on my end. He has great credentials, Summa Cum Laude from Vanderbuilt Medical School, authored to papers on recurrence indicators and treatment of recurrence for Prostate Cancer. Excellent ratings, but very conservative.

My penecillin allergy showed up a significant time back but well after I was out of childhood and even then was a simple case of hives that coinceded with pnecillin treatment for infection prevention when I got scratched and clawed by one of our cats who had been injured. By the well the cat came out of everything as well as I did.

No worries about the switch, just a careful urologist.

David.

[radiodec]

I will continue to follow this topic, and I am working on a Stage 2 report to be posted when I am out of surgery and have the pieces together. Thanks to all for the concern about my penile health, it seems to be doing OK. The vital statistics are 7 inches length and over 5 and under 6 inches girth erect when I can get an erection to mearsure. That is a natural erection, not VED. Stretched flacid length is 6 3/4 and flacid length unstretched is about 33/4 or a little shorter. I seem to be in the grower category.

From what I read my wife and I will have an adjust,emt to make to the new flacid size. Oh well, a little advertising never hurts.

David

[SteveTex]

Radiodec - soon you'll be a aman-of-steel again. LOL

Just FYI, my new "flacid" state is about 3 1/2" but sticks out a bit as I think he pumped it one time after surgery. Next week, I'll see how far it will inflate. As I got the 15 cm IPP with 1 cm extension, I read where I might expect 10 cm in outside length once inflated. That would be about 5". We shall see. I was 5 3/4" pre-RPP in 2009.

[radiodec]

Now I am onlyeight days away from my second attempt at an implant. I am eagerly awaitng a good result.

Then I am anxious about what new demon will come to torment me. Second thoughts, yes. Third thoughts, if you want sex you gotta do it; case closed. The scar tissue stuff is a bit of a worry since I have a right nice scar from the RP, even after almost 13 years.

The anxiety is a little worse this time, as I have all the preparations, loose sweat pants for the initial recovery day or two, rice socks in the freezer to help with swelling bruising, help lined up to do the heavy things that I or my wife won't be able to do. All the busy work that I used to cover anxiety is out of the way done for the first attempt. My wife is even having some second thoughts; will I be too much of a pain after I get to use the implant. She likes sex, just not heaping helpings of it, and she is worried that since I am so enthusiastic about the chance to have some again that I will be come a pain.

The second wait is always worse than the first! I definitely am looking forward to the end result, but just have more anxiety about what will go on. After one example of what can happen to slow or stop things and more time to read the negative as well as the positive results out there, I wish that things had gone right on the first time around. Too much time to think is not your friend with a decision like this.

I wish it were the day after a successful implant. I am not looking to escape the recovery, just the waiting for the "final exam."

I will post a stage three with more details after things have had a chance to play out. Hope you all "enjoy" the narative.

David

[vladtepes]

radiodec

Pray for you, wish you a big success this time and fast and easy recovery
Also successful usage in the future

Vlad

[radiodec]

Two days until time for Implant! Now all the doubts really set in. Attempt two, and all the questions from time one come back with more that arrive as we adjust more to the envisioned reality. My wife of 42 years had a bery disturbing childhood and a a result has never been very keen on sex. Enjoys it occassionally, but then doesn't want any part of it especially if it is too exiciting!

The reason we started down this road is that she was wanting a little, some of the desire was to please me, and even with injections it just wouldn't happen. Then the implant journey and I got her to relax enough to allow me to take her to orgasm manually. Since then it has been an interesting ride.

Now the reality of sex on demand is sinkning in and she is realizing the she really had a good time. Now her mind has turned and she is not pleased by anything and looks back on the fun as improper and my taking advantage of her. So now she is dreading the immplant for me. At this point I am sure she would be most relieved if attempt two failed and they removed my penis. No sex would be fine with her, and she would have no worries about me cheating. Which I haven't ever done.

So now joyous anticipation is more like dread. I think I will go ahead, she may decide to swing the other way and then it will be good times for a while.

Two days and the world changes forever!

Radiodec