Questions for men who have recovered their sexual function after RP.

[brian188]

A question for any men who have experienced the return of natural erections after their nerve sparing prostatectomy.

After that period of time that you would consider as your penile rehabilitation period including prescription medications, vacuum device, injections, etc., and when you first experienced the return of your natural spontaneous erection .......

Q. Did it happen slowly or gradually or did you just one day get your hard-on back?

Q. Was the return of your natural erections the same or similar in size, shape, angle, firmness as before?

Q. When your natural erection returned, did your level of and ability for arousal also return as before?

Q. Do you stay hard as long as you use to?

Q. Is your orgasm and climax ( of course with no ejaculation ) the same as before?

Q. What would you say was the same, and what would you say is different?

Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about you "getting your erection back"?

[AussiePete]

I'm waiting in great anticipation for replies and answers to your questions.... Sadly it didn't happen for me.
Pete

[SteveD]

I'd also like to 'follow' to learn - thanks...

[ftwabeck3533]

A question for any men who have experienced the return of natural erections after their nerve sparing prostatectomy.

After that period of time that you would consider as your penile rehabilitation period including prescription medications, vacuum device, injections, etc., and when you first experienced the return of your natural spontaneous erection .......

Q. Did it happen slowly or gradually or did you just one day get your hard-on back?

I obsessed over this question for about two years following my nerve-sparing prostatectomy in Oct 2018 (I was a few weeks shy of my 63rd birthday at the time). My SHIM score prior to surgery was 24 (max score is 25), no ED.

I researched, I studied, I prowled and posted on all the ED and men's sexual health forums and websites. I discovered one man who claimed to have achieved the holy grail -- a "natural" erection after having his prostate surgically removed. There may be hundreds, if not thousands more of these me out there -- they just quietly resume their sexual lives following surgery with no symptoms of ED. They have no need for pills, injections, implants -- nor the desire to tell the rest of us how fortunate they are.

[brian188]

ftwabeck3533.........thanks for responding. Yes, when I decided to post this questions I thought that I may not get any responses simple due to the fact that anyone who recovers there ability to have a natural erection may no longer visit this website. There is no longer a need to talk about it. But lets see if anyone remains here and will talk about it. OK............hope to hear from someone.

[RJ_in_Pa]

Brian188 - I just reached two months since my RP surgery and would love to know the answers to these questions. I’ve tried Cialis but it did nothing for me. I’m still dealing with leakage/incontinence. It has gotten a little better, but feeling yourself piss your pants (in a pad) knowing there is nothing you can do about it is very disheartening.

I sometimes wonder if the alternative, having 3 or 4 goods years, may have been better decision. I know I need to be patient, but there are times I just can’t believe how much my life has changed in the last two months.

Hang in there Brian.

[SteveD]

RJ Don't give up - my strategy was to do almost constant kegal exercises - standing, sitting, watching TV, etc. I also learned to let my bladder fill as much as possible - and then while standing in a warm shower, release some urine and then kegal as hard as possible - pee a little / kegal a lot and repeat until the bladder empties. And yes, with the excision of your urethra and the sensations your bladder experiences its hard to know when you've really emptied. Keep it up ... kegal and then shower routine. It works - it can get better!

[RJ_in_Pa]

SteveD. Thanks so much for the supportive comments and great advice. I was doing the exact opposite. I thought if I kept my bladder empty, there would be nothing to leak, but there always seemed like something would be there to frustrate me. Also, I would only do kegel exercises in the evening as to not weaken the muscles during the day when I needed them to be strong. Lastly, I am able to do the complete stop and start while relieving myself and that seems to be a good sign of progress.

Again, thanks for the helpful response.

[bldoink]

Brian188 - I just reached two months since my RP surgery and would love to know the answers to these questions. I’ve tried Cialis but it did nothing for me. I’m still dealing with leakage/incontinence. It has gotten a little better, but feeling yourself piss your pants (in a pad) knowing there is nothing you can do about it is very disheartening.

I sometimes wonder if the alternative, having 3 or 4 goods years, may have been better decision. I know I need to be patient, but there are times I just can’t believe how much my life has changed in the last two months.

Hang in there Brian.

Like most everyone I initially had pretty bad incontinence. It didn't resolve right away. Yes I did the kegel exercises. That helps. But what gave me my most improvement (after some initial recovery) was going for walks with no protection. It would force me to keep a kegel clamp on. Some serious concentration was often involved. There were times I had to hide behind a bush and times I had some mistakes. But it was the fear of a bad accident that helped me develop control. I eventually worked my way up to 4 mile walks without an accident but in the beginning a 100 yards was difficult.

I think you'll be fine. Not overnight of course, but you'll be OK. It does kinda suck there at the beginning.

[ftwabeck3533]

RJ Don't give up - my strategy was to do almost constant kegal exercises - standing, sitting, watching TV, etc.

I also learned to let my bladder fill as much as possible

- and then while standing in a warm shower, release some urine and then kegal as hard as possible - pee a little / kegal a lot and repeat until the bladder empties. And yes, with the excision of your urethra and the sensations your bladder experiences its hard to know when you've really emptied. Keep it up ... kegal and then shower routine. It works - it can get better!

Steve, you're the first person to state the importance of treating your bladder as a muscle, fill it up and prepare it to hold a LOT of fluid. This worked for me as well. And the Kegel exercises continue to be an important routine to my continence. I'd say I was in full control of my bladder about 6-8 months after my prostatectomy.