9 Mths... Leakage and No Erection

Ok fellas.... here's the deal..... three PSA's post op and
they are all running less then 0.01.... that's the good news,
the bad news is..... I still leak fairly regular and there's no
activity with Mr. Happy.

I realize everyone's different and everyone heals differently,
but shouldn't I see some relief from the leakage and
shouldn't Mr. Happy be waking up by now?

I think the pads I buy are costing me as much as the surgery!
LOL.... just kidding, but you know what I mean.

The doc seems to think if I take a Cialis twice a week, that
might help the erections. As far as the leakage is concerned,
he tells me he can perform the "sling method."

Anybody out there done the sling thing? What kind of
results can I have with that? To me, it didn't sound fool proof.

Oh yeah, doc also tells me I'm suffering from "stress incontinence."
I guess as long as I don't cough, bend over, squat, sneeze or
hit a tennis ball, I'll be fine.

Can you guys bounce your thoughts back to me?

Thanks....
Happy, grateful, yet frustrated,
Tony

TonyPA wrote:
> Ok fellas.... here's the deal..... three PSA's post op and
> they are all running less then 0.01.... that's the good news,
> the bad news is..... I still leak fairly regular and there's no
> activity with Mr. Happy.
>
> I realize everyone's different and everyone heals differently,
> but shouldn't I see some relief from the leakage and
> shouldn't Mr. Happy be waking up by now?
>
> I think the pads I buy are costing me as much as the surgery!
> LOL.... just kidding, but you know what I mean.
>
> The doc seems to think if I take a Cialis twice a week, that
> might help the erections. As far as the leakage is concerned,
> he tells me he can perform the "sling method."
>
> Anybody out there done the sling thing? What kind of
> results can I have with that? To me, it didn't sound fool proof.
>
> Oh yeah, doc also tells me I'm suffering from "stress incontinence."
> I guess as long as I don't cough, bend over, squat, sneeze or
> hit a tennis ball, I'll be fine.
>
> Can you guys bounce your thoughts back to me?
>
> Thanks....
> Happy, grateful, yet frustrated,
> Tony

No incontinence treatment is highly reliable or without appreciable
risks. My uro does not advise them unless I get desperate about my
leakage. Some guys go berserk over literally a couple of drops, and
treatment costs many of them dearly. Others far prefer changing pads or
even diapers a couple of times a day to risking worsening their
situation. They ain't gettin' a knife near my crotch again until and
unless I'm leaving a trail like a 190-pound snail; too much risk for me.

Have you been doing your Kegels frequently and correctly? If not, I
wouldn't so much as take "continence pills" before doing that for a few
months. Many of us don't *see* relief; we must work our pelvic muscles
to the bone to achieve it.

Speaking of bones, ditto for "Mr. Happy". He's not likely to wake up on
his own. Just as with your pelvic floor muscles, he needs lots of
exercise. Is he getting it? And . . . how old are you? How was your
performance prior to surgery? Were the nerves spared?

I.P.

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 04:44:28 GMT, TonyPA <tonyc150@verizon.net> wrote:

>Ok fellas.... here's the deal..... three PSA's post op and
>they are all running less then 0.01.... that's the good news,
>the bad news is..... I still leak fairly regular and there's no
>activity with Mr. Happy.
>
>I realize everyone's different and everyone heals differently,
>but shouldn't I see some relief from the leakage and
>shouldn't Mr. Happy be waking up by now?
>
>I think the pads I buy are costing me as much as the surgery!
>LOL.... just kidding, but you know what I mean.
>
>The doc seems to think if I take a Cialis twice a week, that
>might help the erections. As far as the leakage is concerned,
>he tells me he can perform the "sling method."
>
>Anybody out there done the sling thing? What kind of
>results can I have with that? To me, it didn't sound fool proof.
>
>Oh yeah, doc also tells me I'm suffering from "stress incontinence."
>I guess as long as I don't cough, bend over, squat, sneeze or
>hit a tennis ball, I'll be fine.
>
>Can you guys bounce your thoughts back to me?
>
>Thanks....
>Happy, grateful, yet frustrated,
>Tony

Statistically you are a little behind the curve but at 9 months you
still have reasonable expectation of further improvement, esp on the
incontinence front. I continued to see improvement at little past the
one year mark. On the ED issue, if you aren't doing anything you
should start, in particular at the least get a vacuum pump and use it
as often as you can manage to in order to keep some blood flow going
in and out. From what I have been told the cialis or other pills for
ED are not likely to do much good if you are not getting any response
down there to manipulation. The pills work by helping to KEEP an
erection. If you can't get even the start of an erection then there
is nothing to keep. So while it doesn't hurt to use them, using them
may not be helping.

"TonyPA" <tonyc150@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:C287BF6C.11674%tonyc150@verizon.net...
> Ok fellas.... here's the deal..... three PSA's post op and
> they are all running less then 0.01.... that's the good news,
> the bad news is..... I still leak fairly regular and there's no
> activity with Mr. Happy.
>
> I realize everyone's different and everyone heals differently,
> but shouldn't I see some relief from the leakage and
> shouldn't Mr. Happy be waking up by now?

As I recall, your surgery was somewhere around the 1st of September. So,
we're talking 9 months, give or take.

The first time that I noticed the my pads were dry was about 9 months, give
or take. But, like you said, everyone is different. Some take over a year.

My first, unassisted erection was 3 days shy of 2½ years. Admittedly, I was
at the long end of "everyone is different", but it finally happened. Things
can be moved along in this department by vigilant practice. It also appears
that regular small doses of Viagra helps. I assume Cialis is similar in
that regard.

> Oh yeah, doc also tells me I'm suffering from "stress incontinence."
> I guess as long as I don't cough, bend over, squat, sneeze or
> hit a tennis ball, I'll be fine.

My nemisis was golf. I never quite got the hang of hitting a golf ball
without squirting.


The good news is you may have a long, long time to work on these problems.
Congrats on the PSAs.

TonyPA wrote:

> Oh yeah, doc also tells me I'm suffering from "stress incontinence."
> I guess as long as I don't cough, bend over, squat, sneeze or
> hit a tennis ball, I'll be fine.
You're forgetting kneeling, laughing, ladder climbing, getting up out of
an overstuffed chair, jumping, getting sexually aroused, picking up the
grandkids, or lifting or carrying any heavy load for that matter, having
bladder spasms, and sometimes even just getting tired at days end.

Even if we knew all of your particulars, it would be hard to guess where
you will end up where the incontinence is concerned. Where Mr Happy is
concerned, same story, everyone is different. One fine morning you may
wake up with a smile on your face when the unexpected happens. Wow, what
a treat that would be!!

Bottom line, count your blessings, and be patient, your psa/cancer is
what matters and you can deal with the other inconveniences as need be.
You are in a hurry, but this all might take time and you sure do not
want to go from the frying pan to the fire. If your psa was climbing,
how concerned would you be about the other stuff?? Best of luck to you
Tony, hang in there (maybe not the best way to put it?).




>

Seems I could kegel all I want..... not much is happening with kegels.
It's funny... some guys swear by it and most don't. Some guys tell
me that all of a sudden the leakage stops. Who knows. It's nuts.

I'm not quite 50 years old and performed quite well prior to surgery.
I can say, being a single guy, Mr. Happy doesn't get the exercise
as he used to. The nerves were spared from what I was told and
I requested before surgery.

> From: "I.P. Freely" <fuhgheddaboutit@noway.nohow>
> Organization: Not my strong suite
> Newsgroups: alt.support.cancer.prostate
> Date: Sat, 02 Jun 2007 22:07:29 -0700
> Subject: Re: 9 Mths... Leakage and No Erection
>
> TonyPA wrote:
>> Ok fellas.... here's the deal..... three PSA's post op and
>> they are all running less then 0.01.... that's the good news,
>> the bad news is..... I still leak fairly regular and there's no
>> activity with Mr. Happy.
>>
>> I realize everyone's different and everyone heals differently,
>> but shouldn't I see some relief from the leakage and
>> shouldn't Mr. Happy be waking up by now?
>>
>> I think the pads I buy are costing me as much as the surgery!
>> LOL.... just kidding, but you know what I mean.
>>
>> The doc seems to think if I take a Cialis twice a week, that
>> might help the erections. As far as the leakage is concerned,
>> he tells me he can perform the "sling method."
>>
>> Anybody out there done the sling thing? What kind of
>> results can I have with that? To me, it didn't sound fool proof.
>>
>> Oh yeah, doc also tells me I'm suffering from "stress incontinence."
>> I guess as long as I don't cough, bend over, squat, sneeze or
>> hit a tennis ball, I'll be fine.
>>
>> Can you guys bounce your thoughts back to me?
>>
>> Thanks....
>> Happy, grateful, yet frustrated,
>> Tony
>
> No incontinence treatment is highly reliable or without appreciable
> risks. My uro does not advise them unless I get desperate about my
> leakage. Some guys go berserk over literally a couple of drops, and
> treatment costs many of them dearly. Others far prefer changing pads or
> even diapers a couple of times a day to risking worsening their
> situation. They ain't gettin' a knife near my crotch again until and
> unless I'm leaving a trail like a 190-pound snail; too much risk for me.
>
> Have you been doing your Kegels frequently and correctly? If not, I
> wouldn't so much as take "continence pills" before doing that for a few
> months. Many of us don't *see* relief; we must work our pelvic muscles
> to the bone to achieve it.
>
> Speaking of bones, ditto for "Mr. Happy". He's not likely to wake up on
> his own. Just as with your pelvic floor muscles, he needs lots of
> exercise. Is he getting it? And . . . how old are you? How was your
> performance prior to surgery? Were the nerves spared?
>
> I.P.

Thanks for all of your replies.
Sometimes when you are 49 and still pretty active, practicing patiences
is not always easy.

It's nice to know there are a bunch of great guys out there that can
offer advice.

Thanks all.
Tony

> From: "Bob C." <BC@Bob.org>
> Organization: NewsGuy - Unlimited Usenet $19.95
> Newsgroups: alt.support.cancer.prostate
> Date: Sun, 03 Jun 2007 09:24:14 -0500
> Subject: Re: 9 Mths... Leakage and No Erection
>
> TonyPA wrote:
>
>> Oh yeah, doc also tells me I'm suffering from "stress incontinence."
>> I guess as long as I don't cough, bend over, squat, sneeze or
>> hit a tennis ball, I'll be fine.
> You're forgetting kneeling, laughing, ladder climbing, getting up out of
> an overstuffed chair, jumping, getting sexually aroused, picking up the
> grandkids, or lifting or carrying any heavy load for that matter, having
> bladder spasms, and sometimes even just getting tired at days end.
>
> Even if we knew all of your particulars, it would be hard to guess where
> you will end up where the incontinence is concerned. Where Mr Happy is
> concerned, same story, everyone is different. One fine morning you may
> wake up with a smile on your face when the unexpected happens. Wow, what
> a treat that would be!!
>
> Bottom line, count your blessings, and be patient, your psa/cancer is
> what matters and you can deal with the other inconveniences as need be.
> You are in a hurry, but this all might take time and you sure do not
> want to go from the frying pan to the fire. If your psa was climbing,
> how concerned would you be about the other stuff?? Best of luck to you
> Tony, hang in there (maybe not the best way to put it?).
>
>
>
>
>>

TonyPA wrote:
> Seems I could kegel all I want..... not much is happening with kegels.
> It's funny... some guys swear by it and most don't.

What "some guys" swear by -- or not -- means little, as each guy never
know whether it was Kegels or time or karma that cured or didn't cure
him. What we *do* know is that overall, guys who Kegel leak less.

> being a single guy, Mr. Happy doesn't get the exercise he used to.

Did her divorce lawyer get your right hand, too? Damn; he's *good*!

I.P.

Hello, Tony:

Congratulations on the post-op PSA scores! Keep those '< 0.01s'
coming!

As far as leakage ... I recall your posts in November, in which you
were talking about a 'flow.' Now, you're talking about stress
incontinence. It sounds as though you've had some improvement, just
at a slow rate. Maybe you should give it some more time before going
after more agressive treatments like slings. (Just my humble opinion,
of course.)

How often do you do Kegels? I've read elsewhere that too many
actually slows the process of strengthening the pelvic floor muscles,
as it tires them out. I do two sets of ten reps a day, once in the
morning and once in the evening.

As far as erections ... do you do anything to stimulate erections?
(Masturbate, fantasize, etc.) I started a few weeks after the surgery
(often with the stunningly beautiful wife's help but not always).
Noticed nothing until about 3 month's post-op, when she said she
thought it was getting longer when I climaxed. Since then, we've both
noticed a little improvement each time. Now at almost seven months,
it's not usable yet but it's getting there; a vitamin V assistance
helps. But I believe that the effort we're putting into it is making
the difference.

As far as your age ... I'm 51, and I think I know something about how
you feel. It sucks to have discussions like this. I struggle with my
patience, too. But what can we do, except to play the hand we're
dealt?

--charlie