Following up from their previous video answering questions on incontinence, Linda and Galen answer questions they often hear at community health talks on surgical solutions to erectile dysfunction. If you're thinking about getting an implant to fix your ED, here's answers from folks with first hand experience.
What is often missed in discussions about ED and male incontinence is the impact it has on partners. In this touching follow up to Galen's story, Linda shares what it was like from a wife's perspective. It really has an affect on the entire family.
Galen and Linda Bird travel the country sharing their story to help men learn about solutions to ED and incontinence. In their first post, Galen and Linda talked a little about insurance and intimacy. Now Galen shares what led him to seek out surgery to solve his ED and incontinence and how it changed his life. It's a great little story and I don't mind telling you I got a little choked up watching it. If your story sounds similar to Galen's please know that you can get help. Also, Galen has graciously offered to answer your questions directly by telephone in Missouri (please be respectful of the time zone) at 816-392-6444.
Here's his story.
After a CHT that focuses on erectile dysfunction, I often hear audience members ask, "What's erectile dysfunction?" or "Is what I have erectile dysfunction?" Experts often unknowingly pepper their speech with jargon. Add to that the embarrassment many men feel from their condition and you have a recipe for misunderstanding. With this post, I want to provide a nice simple definition of erectile dysfunction and the top six phrases for it. Let's start with the definition:
Erectile dysfunction is the inability to maintain an erection firm enough to have sexual intercourse.
And now the top six (blog friendly) terms I hear for sexual dysfunction:
- ED
- ER
- Erectile Restoration
- Impotent
- Impotence
- Limp dick
So, those are the terms I hear most often. If any of them describe your condition, you might be suffering from erectile dysfunction and a visit to your urologist might be in order.
Tomorrow, we'll talk incontinence.
[Photo Reelady]
So, your surgery has been scheduled and you are all set to go. But what should you be ready for after your surgery?
Post-operation recovery
Depending on the type of surgery you undertake, recovery may require up to a few days of hospital stay, and a number of weeks of home-recovery—i.e. radical prostatectomy is major surgery. During this time most patients will experience a period of incontinence (due to damage to the urinary sphincter) and will have to wear a catheter. You should be able to return to a normal diet after a day or two.
The other typical experience is a period of impotence. While drugs may assist with achieving erection, prostate cancer surgery eliminates the possibility of ejaculation (by removing the seminal vesicles)—though orgasm will still occur.
Diet
After your surgery, it is likely that you will be on an all-liquid diet. This should quickly progress back to regular foods. However, you may want to consider some long-term adjustments:
- more fruits and vegetables—foods high in lycopene (such as tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, asparagus, salsa and grapefruit) have been found to improve prostate health.
- more nuts and seafood—foods high in selenium have also been found to be beneficial. Look to tuna, nuts, oysters and shrimp.
- more fiber, less fat—increase your intake of whole grain foods, and limit fatty foods such as fried chicken, french fries, etc.
Pain
As with any surgery, there may be pain or bleeding following your operation. These side effects should go away after a few weeks—if pain persists, contact your healthcare professional.
Infertility
With the seminal vesicles removed, it is no longer possible for semen to travel down the urethra, prohibiting the fertilization of an egg.
Urinary incontinence and dysfunction
After prostate surgery it is common to experience urinary incontinence—everything from urinary leaking to complete loss of bladder control. Urinary dysfunction (pain during urination) is also common, and is caused by the close proximity of the prostate gland and the bladder. Bowel dysfunction may also occur due to damage done during surgery.
We are very excited to have Galen and Linda Bird on Brokenhandle! When Galen was 63, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent prostate surgery to have the cancer removed. After the surgery, Galen suffered from erectile dysfunction (ED) and incontinence. Galen and Linda suffered with these complications until Galen received an artificial urinary sphincter and a inflatable penile prosthesis. Now they travel the country sharing their story to let others know that there are solutions for incontinence and ED. In this short segment, Galen and Linda answer two questions they hear frequently: did your insurance cover the cost of your artificial urinary sphincter and inflatable penile prosthesis; and how does the IPP feel?
There's much more to their story that we want to bring you but I wanted to share this post with you before Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving!
Dawn sat down with Dr. Tom Walsh of the University of Washington's Department of Urology to ask what are the most important things to consider before contemplating penile prosthesis surgery. An excellent speaker, Dr. Walsh called out three things patients should consider:
- Patients that have had the surgery have a remarkably high satisfaction rate (95%)
- It's not a completely natural erection - don't expect the erection you had when you were 18. However, as the erection does not depend on blood flow, it will last as long as you want it to, which may partially explain the high levels of satisfaction
- Like people, every surgery is unique so spend sometime finding an experienced surgeon. Experience also counts before surgery as a good surgeon will lead you to a penile prosthesis on a pace that is best for you.
This is Dawn's last post with Brokenhandle. She'll be providing us with some advice going forward but her schedule is too busy for her to commit on a regular basis. We really appreciate her helping us establish the site!
In my first post with urologist Dr. James Kuan, we learned what incontinence is and what your treatment options are. In this post, Dr. Kuan wants you to know that you don't have to live with incontinence: you can live dry. Ask your primary care physician or your urologist about your options.
I recently had the good fortune of meeting Dennis who was diagnosed with prostate cancer during a routine physical and elected to have a radical prostatectomy. Unfortunately, a side effect of his prostatectomy was ED. He and his wife had questions about penile implant surgery and were frustrated with being unable to connect with someone who had gone through this type of surgery. Dennis offered to share his experience so that others might be saved the same frustrations.
After serving as a naval officer, Dennis led a successful business career as president of his Seattle company and as an outside Director on the board of a privately held New York company. After retiring, Dennis and his wife have remained active in their community and church. This is his story.
“I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer during a routine annual physical and elected to have a radical prostatectomy. There are two worrisome side affects: urinary incontinence and ED. I have been lucky in that my PSA readings for the past two years have been undetectable. Looks pretty good that the cancer is gone. I have had very little problems with urinary control but I did end up with ED. I am fortunate to have chosen Virginia Mason Medical Center for all my health care needs as they have a large Urology department and take a team approach. Soon after my ED was diagnosed I started an educational process that took me through Viagra, Cialis, vacuum and injection therapies. I had negative reactions to these, which led to the question, ‘what now?’
I met with Dr. Govier, the Chief of Surgery and also the head of the Urology Department at Virginia Mason, where he explained the IPP (Inflatable Penile Prosthesis) procedure. I instinctively felt this was what I was looking for but had a very difficult time researching what one’s life style is like post surgery. I had lots of questions about the recovery, how one felt with this implement installed inside the body and its reasonable functionality. Because my questions were not getting answered I postponed the surgery almost a year. I was finally able to connect with a couple AMS patient advocates and their partners. My wife and I had questions about the surgery and they were able to answer all our questions. I am now convinced this is what I want and am scheduled for surgery in November. I am confident the AMS penile implant, Virginia Mason and Dr. Govier come together as an exceptional team and am looking forward to the outcome."
I am so happy Dennis offered to share this deeply personal experience and look forward to his thoughts on questions I hear regularly from patients. As Dennis’ story shows, it can be frustrating to find information from a patient’s perspective. My hope is for this to become a place for you to find answers. Please feel free to ask questions or share your experiences below. And remember, there aren’t any dumb questions!!
The doctors of Northwest Urology invite you to attend an informative seminar relating to effective treatment for ED and incontinence. Feel free to bring your spouse or partner. The doctors will be presenting information about these conditions and treatment options. There will also be remarks from a previous patient so you can hear about his experience first hand. These conditions have such a profound effect on a man's dignity and self esteem and they are treatable. If these issues are a concern to you, I encourage you to attend this event and learn more. Hope to see you there. Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Registration: 5:30 PM
Seminar: 6:00 - 7:30 PM Skagit Valley Hospital
Cascade Conference Room
1415 E Kincaid Street
Mount Vernon, WA
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Registration: 5:30 PM
Seminar: 6:00 - 7:30 PM Skagit Valley Hospital
Cascade Conference Room
1415 E Kincaid Street
Mount Vernon, WA
View Larger Map
