Bladder Cancer

[HappyJack]

Had surgery to remove my bladder and the tumor in 2006.
At the time of surgery they cut the nerves and I can no longer get an erection.
This is very frustrating for me and my wife.
Are there any suggestions as to anything that can be done to correct this or
any devices or pills etc that are available and work?

[LMFoster]

Jack: I am new to this, but I have learned this much " during surgery they can use a procedure called nerve sparing-if that works function *****may***** come back in 6 months - 3 years, possibly earlier. If the nerve was infact cut maybe not. There are 3 other alternatives all done or authorized by a urologist
1) You can get a prescription and inject yourself.
2) They can implant a pump, which you use to inflate yourself.
3) They can place implants in your penis and which would make you remain semi-rigid.
They all have drawbacks as well as advantages.
I am all new to this myself, as I was diagnosed with bladder cancer myself 6/19/09 and surgery set for 7/24. I have learned a lot myself in the past few days. I am new to this site I only found it yesterday. i use some other sites as well. I am giving you these site addresses. I use the same screen name on this and the other 3. Some of the users are quite active when they come across a new user, this has greatly helped me be more informed.

http://blcwebcafe.org
http://csn.cancer.org
http://www.bladdercancersupport.org This is my favorite


God bless.

[iplayguitars]

Seems there is not a lot of activity on this forum.
Having had prostate cancer and bladder cancer I know about ED. I've used Viagra and the other drugs and they do help, but the side effects were too much for me, I even tried the injection which really worked but I had an erection for over 4 hours and thought I was going to explode. For the last year or so I've been using the VED (vacuum erection device) and it does what it's suppose to do. It changes your sex life, but you still can have one. I keep asking my wife if she's dissappointed and she says no.It's no better or worse, it's just different and it becomes a new normal. Hope this helps a it.
JD

[HappyJack]

To: LMFoster
Thank you for your response. Good luck with your surgery. Let us know how things have gone.
GRS


To: iplayguitars:
Thank you for your response. I don't understand the injection. Please explain further.
Why did it cause you to have an erection for 4 hours? Why did you feel like you were going to explode?
Were you able to ejaculate? Masterbate?
What were the side effects with Viagra and the others you refer to?
GRS

[LMFoster]

Good luck on your sex quest.
I canceled my scheduled surgery, as after meeting the Dr. for a 3rd opinion (Dr. Chang x Vanderbilt)
he convinced my I would have a better and longer life by having Chemo prior to surgery.
So instead of surgery last Friday TODAY is day 1 of my Chemo
I will have 2 or 3 series. Day 1 Cisplattin+Gemzar, Day 8(this will actualy be nest thurs, then all trtmts on thurs) Gemzar, Day 15 Gemzar, with 1 week off then beginning over again. If all goes well after 2nd or 3rd series I will have 4-6 weeks to recover then have surgery. Thanks
Best of luck
Larry

[iplayguitars]

Well let's see if I can get this down. Viagara and the others work because they cause blood to fill your penis, but it also fills your head, like your eyes are going to pop out of the sockets and makes you feel like you have a major head-cold The injections (a prescription Caverject) is a loaded syringe that you shoot right into the penis, not an easy thing to do, at least not for me, but I did it. In about 5 minutes I had a rock-hard erection and even after orgasm it didn't go away for almost 5 hours. This is where it was really painful, even trying a cold wash-cloth hurt, I would have gone to the hospital but I couldn't figure out how to get there in that condition, The VED (vacuum erection device) is a manual pump and retaining ring, works every time, not painful and no side effects. Not very romantic but you can get past that. Because I have no prostate, I do not ejaculate but I do have the sensation of an orgasm, sometimes I think more intense than before.
Hope this helps clear up some things.
JD