How Long Does Erectile Dysfunction Last After Surgery
According to Cancer Research UK, after prostate surgery you may experience erectile dysfunction from anything between three months to three years. This is because prostate surgery may injure the nerves, muscles or blood vessels required for an erection. Some men may also experience erectile dysfunction for the rest of their lives and require treatment to achieve an erection.
Having a radical prostatectomy will also leave you with a higher chance of getting erectile dysfunction than having a nerve sparing prostatectomy. According to the NHS, before treatment, 67% of men who had prostate cancer said that they could get erections firm enough for intercourse. After getting a radical prostatectomy, they were asked again after 6 months, and this decreased to 12%. In contrast, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, approximately 50% of men who receive a nerve sparing prostatectomy who could have erections before surgery will maintain this ability long term.
Getting Help For Sexual Dysfunction
Many treatment options and supports are available for sexual problems. The best outcomes occur with a combination of treatment for erectile dysfunction and counselling to improve coping skills and your relationship with your partner.
Your urologist will be able to prescribe and advise you on treatment options for erectile dysfunction. Also, the Prostate Cancer Centre offers support groups and information for men dealing with sexual dysfunction following prostate cancer treatment.
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Why Is There Increasing Concern At This Time Regarding Erectile Dysfunction Issues Following Radical Prostatectomy
The reality of the recovery process after radical prostatectomy today is that erectile function recovery lags behind functional recovery in other areas. Patients are understandably concerned about this issue and, following months of erectile dysfunction, become skeptical of reassurances that their potency will return.
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Chemotherapy Drugs For Prostate Cancer
The drugs listed above are only a sample of what is available and is used to illustrate a truth. Because of the range and variety of drugs used in both these treatments the impact on sexual function can range from sever to insignificant.
Hormone replacement therapy for prostate cancer, for example, can often impact sex drive rather that create erectile dysfunction. It is important to work with your physician to explore all available treatment options. How to keep a healthy erection?
How To Treat Erectile Dysfunction After Prostate Surgery
Prostate surgery is challenging enough. But to make matters worse, such an operation may impact ones sex life. The prostate is a vital part of the reproductive system. Its responsible for producing fluids that carry sperm.
So when the prostate is affected, this can lead to conditions like erectile dysfunction.
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Dealing With Erectile Dysfunction: For You And Your Partner
The following information is based on the general experiences of many prostate cancer patients. Your experience may be different. If you have any questions about what prostate cancer treatment services are covered by your health insurance, please contact your health care provider or health insurance provider. This education material was made possible by a Grant from the California Department of Justice, Antitrust Law Section, from litigation settlement funds to benefit Californians diagnosed with cancer or their families.
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Can You Get Hard After Prostate Removal
Many people are worried about the quality of life after prostate removal. Especially when it comes to erection problems and restoring normal erection function. Can you get an erection without a prostate?
Surgical removal of the prostate gland can change your sex life. And the odds of restoring full erections to have sex after prostatectomy will vary based on the patients age and nerve damage.
Although it is often technically possible to spare the nerves, some are cancerous and must be removed. If the carcinoma is not affecting the nerves in charge of erection, then robotic prostatectomy can have the precision needed to spare these nerves.
At 60 years or younger, patients with both spared nerves have the highest odds of getting full erections two years after surgery. But, the older the patient and the bigger the nerve damage, the harder it is to regain full erections. Some patients dont regain their erection after prostatectomy surgery.
If you are bleeding while erect or the side effects of surgery are decreasing your quality of life, talk to a urologist.
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Life After A Radical Prostatectomy: A Real
Reposted from Greater Boston Urology.
In October of 2013, Les Cavicchi underwent a radical prostatectomythe removal of the prostate gland. Les had been diagnosed with prostate cancer a month earlier after undergoing a TRUS biopsy.
Less cancer was localized, meaning it was contained within the prostate gland itself. He didnt need further treatment for prostate cancer after the surgery, only regular monitoring of his PSA.
However, Les did suffer from common side effects associated with radical prostatectomies, specifically urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Q: So lets get right to it: You were dealing with incontinence after your radical prostatectomy?Les: The thing about any kind of prostate procedure is youve got to deal with incontinence. This was a big issue for me for a while. I had purchased padded undergarmentsa whole case of them, because I didnt know how long this was going to last.
Men wonder why this particular side effect happens. The prostate gland is the primary organ for controlling urinary flow in normal physiology. When you are rising frequently during the night, and/or having difficulty starting urination, these are signs that the prostate is beginning to grow in size and interfere with this specific function. Every mans prostate gets larger with age it does not necessarily have anything to do with having cancer. It is a separate reality.
Women dont have a prostate. What do they use? Kegel muscles!
About Greater Boston Urology
Options After Initial Pde
The options for nonresponders to PDE-5 inhibitors include injection therapy, intraurethral prostaglandin, vacuum erection devices, and penile implants. The concomitant use of the PDE-5 inhibitors is discouraged in the regulatory documents for all 3 PDE-5 inhibitors. Nonetheless, there is a rationale for combination therapy. Corpus cavernosum smooth muscle relaxation, and hence penile erection, is regulated in part by increases in smooth muscle synthesis of the second messengers cyclic adenosine monophosphate and cyclic guanosine monophosphate . Intraurethral or intracorporeal prostaglandin E1 increases both second messengers. Therefore, in men with failure of PDE-5 inhibition or prostaglandin therapy, a synergistic effect might occur with combination therapy.
Along those lines, in my practice, I also combine sildenafil with intracorporeal injections in men after radical prostatectomy who are experiencing failure of intracorporeal injection therapy. The combined use of sildenafil with injection or MUSE therapy, though logistically cumbersome, has allowed some patients to avoid implant therapy.25
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Sex After Prostatectomy: How To Have A Healthy Sex Life After Surgery
Medically reviewed by Kristin Hall, FNP
Prostate health issues such as benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer affect hundreds of thousands of men in the United States every year.
If youve been diagnosed with a serious prostate issue, your healthcare provider may suggest a prostatectomy a surgical procedure in which your part or all of your prostate gland is surgically removed from your body.
Prostate removal surgery is usually highly effective at treating cancer and prostate enlargement , but it can potentially lead to complications.
These include some sexual performance issues, such as erectile dysfunction and difficulty ejaculating normally.
Although these effects can change your sexual experience, many men are still able to enjoy a fulfilling, satisfying sex life after prostate surgery by making certain lifestyle changes and using medication.
Below, weve talked about what to expect if youre scheduled to undergo a prostatectomy and want to maintain an active sex life after surgery.
Weve also explained how you can have a healthy sex life after a partial or complete prostate removal, whether through exercises to improve sexual functioning, medications, devices or a combination of different approaches.
What Are Pelvic Floor Exercises And Can Improve Erection Quality
As we age, we lose muscle tone throughout your body. That includes the muscles that men need to maintain erections. However, there are physical exercises men can do to reduce erectile dysfunction. The best ones are known as pelvic floor exercises or kegels.
Those muscles are the core of how your body and therefore keeps erections strong.
The process starts with identifying the muscles you need to activate. Thats best achieved by lying down with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Thats when you breathe out and squeeze your pelvic floor muscles for 3 seconds.
Its important that you identify the right group, at the base of your buttocks, on either side of your perineum. It can be easy to mistake other muscles, such as the legs or stomach for the pelvic floor.
Once you are confident you have the right muscle group, then doing the exercises in a seated or standing position three times a day can firm and strengthen the muscles, with a likely improvement within four to six weeks.
Some men find that after the initial strengthening that options like Pilates become appealing as not only are there many exercises which improve the pelvic floor, but they can improve overall posture and strength.
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Are There New Strategies In The Near Future That May Be Helpful In Improving Erection Recovery After Surgery
Neuromodulatory therapy, represents an exciting, rapidly developing approach to revitalize intact nerves and promote nerve growth. Therapeutic prospects include neurotrophins, neuroimmunophilin ligands, neuronal cell death inhibitors, nerve guides, tissue engineering/stem cell therapy, electrical stimulation, and even gene therapy.
Introduction To Nerve Regeneration
Three sets of nerves are important when a man has sex:
Because of their location, sandwiched between the prostate and the rectum, the second set of nerves can be affected during radical prostatectomy. The other two sets of nerves cannot be affected. Regarding climax after surgery, roughly 80% of men describe climax as being equally satisfying after surgery as before, 10% say that it is better and 10% say that it is less intense.
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Life After Prostate Surgery Worse Than Men Expect
By Kerry Grens, Reuters Health
5 Min Read
NEW YORK – Nearly half of men who undergo surgery to treat prostate cancer find themselves with greater incontinence problems and less sexual function than they had anticipated, according to a new poll.
Before the surgery, some men in the study had expected to get better urinary and sexual function a year after the procedure — a misbelief that the researchers say is out of step with the reality of prostate cancer surgery.
Those results were surprising, said Dr. Tracey Krupski, an assistant professor of urology at the University of Virginia, and who was not involved in this study.
Any intervention that you do to a patient, whether it be surgical or radiation, is never going to make the person better than they are at the present time, Krupski said.
According to the American Cancer Society, one out of every six men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point.
While there is controversy over how to treat low-risk tumors, some of which may never cause any harm if left untreated, surgery and radiation are common options when the disease is more advanced. Every year, tens of thousands of men select surgery for their treatment.
As part of the new survey, 152 men who had part or all of their prostate removed for cancer treatment filled out a questionnaire before surgery. They first had counseling to educate them about the risks of the procedure, which include erectile dysfunction and incontinence.
How Soon After Prostate Cancer Treatment Can I Be Sexually Active Again
This will depend on what type of treatment you have had and how you feel. It could be several weeks, for others it may be a lot longer for erections to return. Some men will never be able to keep an erection without the help of artificial methods like medicines or medical devices . If you were having problems having erections before treatment, this will not get better after treatment.
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What You Can Do Now
Sexual side effects from prostate cancer treatment are often temporary, especially if your doctor used nerve-sparing surgery. While your body recovers, you can try a few things to maintain your sex life:
- Let your doctor know about any sexual problems youre having right away. Although it can be hard to talk about sex, being open and honest will help you get the treatment you need.
- See a therapist. Couples therapy can help you and your partner understand and deal with sexual issues.
- Take care of yourself by exercising, eating a well-balanced diet, reducing stress, and getting enough sleep. Looking and feeling your best will give your self-esteem and mood a boost.
How To Maintain Your Sex Life After Prostate Surgery
Although prostate surgery can affect your sexual experience and performance, getting surgery to remove part or all of your prostate doesnt mean that you can no longer have sex or enjoy a satisfying sexual life.
If youve recently had prostate surgery, its important to talk to your healthcare provider before you make any changes to your health habits. Theyll be able to inform you about what you can do to restore and improve your sexual function after surgery.
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Sex When Youre Single
If you are starting a new relationship, sexual problems and other side effects like urinary or bowel problems could be a worry. Some men worry that having problems with erections will affect their chances of having a new relationship. Fear of rejection is natural, and everyone has their own worries, whether or not theyve had cancer. If youre single, you may want time to come to terms with any changes prostate cancer has caused before you start having sex or dating.
Try talking over your worries with someone you feel comfortable with, such as a friend. Counselling or sex therapy may also help if you would prefer to talk to someone you dont know.
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Or Cryotherapy
Treatments such as High Intensity Focused Ultrasound or cryotherapy may cause fewer erection problems. Researchers are still looking into these treatments and their long term side effects. There is still a risk of erection problems with these treatments. For example, to treat your cancer properly, the doctor may not be able to avoid the nerves.
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What Is Erection Restoration
UCLA HealthThe Mens Clinic offers a penile rehabilitation program for men after prostate cancer therapy. You do not have to have your cancer care through UCLA Health to see the specialists at The Mens Clinic. The idea of penile rehabilitation is to optimize blood flow to the erectile tissue as it is recovering from surgery or radiation therapy.
Can Impotence Occur After Prostate Surgery
Consider your options
If youre undergoing prostate surgery, you may be concerned about how it will affect your sexual function. Erectile dysfunction is the inability to become sexually aroused and have an erection.
The condition has many complex causes. It can be caused by a physical problem, an emotional issue, or both. Regardless of the cause, ED can affect both you and your partner.
Many body systems play a role in sexual arousal. These include:
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How To Improve Your Sex Life After Prostatectomy
When this kind of erection treatment is not enough, patients opt for vacuum pumps or penile implants. Injections for erectile dysfunction after prostate surgery can also help.
Studies indicate that penile injection can be one of the efficient treatment options. Limited trials show that medications like papaverine, Bimix, and Trimix can improve sexual confidence and self-esteem. Including satisfaction and erectile function.
Physical therapy for ED can be another option. Targeted penile rehabilitation exercises can engage and strengthen the ischiocavernosus muscle.
This muscle is capable of maintaining penile rigidity. But, neither of these treatments is completely effective. And they can have side effects. Talk to a doctor to choose the best option.
Experts can also suggest lifestyle changes as a key component of every erectile dysfunction treatment. Its important to eat healthy after prostate removal and supply the body with the necessary nutrients.
Sticking to low-fat dairy, lean protein, and plant-based consumables can benefit the body in the long haul. Aphrodisiac foods like oysters, dark chocolate, and maca root powder can help.
Recovering From Prostate Surgery
The patient can usually leave the hospital within a day or two, but the incision site will likely feel sore for a few days after. The patient will most likely not be able to drive for at least a week, but should be able to return to normal activities within a few weeks.
During the recovery, the patient may experience several side effects including:
- Urinary tract infection
- Ejaculatory dysfunction
- Erectile dysfunction
After the surgery, its possible to experience erectile dysfunction for a few weeks, a year, or even longer in some cases. This is because the surgery might potentially injure one of the nerves, muscles, or blood vessels that are involved with getting and maintaining erections. There are other factors that could influence the severity of the erectile dysfunction during recovery as well and so it can be difficult to predict how any specific person may recover from the surgery.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation has reported that about half of all men undergoing nerve sparing surgery will regain their pre-surgery function within the first year of the surgery.
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