IMPOTENCE Stories

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Dr. Chris Steidle - Northeast Indiana Urology

Erectile Projectiles

The following two stories were posted to the Internet's Prostate
Problems discussion group:

1. During one of my support group meetings, a lady stood up and told
me I should stop telling
my patients when an erection will return. Her story:

"You told my
husband after his radical surgery that it may take a year
before he can have an erection. He tried and tried and finally gave
up. He waited a
whole year and on the anniversary he decided to celebrate the one
year after
surgery. After all, you told him one year, and that night it
happened." She
was convinced it happened this way because I implanted in his mind
a specific time. I learned something and from that day on I don't
give a date. I tell the patient to follow his heart and try whenever
he
feels ready.

*************************

Many years ago before the nerve sparing operation, I get a nervous
phone call from one of my
patients in the middle of the night. "Doc, you told me that after
surgery I
wouldn't be able to have erection. It's a year after the surgery and
I
had a very strong erection. Is this normal? Is something wrong? You
told me
I would not have it any more." I replied, "That will teach you not
to listen to Drs. There is nothing wrong. I'm glad you didn't
believe me."

What probably happened is that inadvertently I preserved the nerves.
Conclusion-- avoid saying to anyone with such authority "You
can't do it." Always leave the door opened for hope and miracles.

Smoking and Impotence

Smoking over a period of years can damage and block the blood vessels
in the penis,
resulting in the inability to sustain a normal erection. Damage
usually isn't noticed for decades and is often discovered only after
it is too late.

Feedback and Advice From Patients

Mike: Re your quiry about sex without a prostate . . . Remember that
orgasm is MENTAL not totally physical. 12 yrs ago I had a TURP and
thus any ejaculations "backed up" into the bladder . . . but the
orgasm was
still there. 3 yrs ago I had RP & RT thus am totally impotent but
all
was NOT lost. The injections work quite well and do create an
adaquate
erection and orgasm during intercourse. ENJOY !!!!

"Brad, I still beg to differ with you. According to Tabor,
impotenceis the 'inability
of the male to achieve or maintain an erection.' If the surgeon can
spare either the left or right or
preferably both neurovascular bundles, there is a a decent chance of
regaining potency."

"Mike, you're changing my term sexual dysfunction into impotence.
The two are
different---impotence being a drastic form of sexual dysfunction.
You can define impotence any way you like, but there will still be a
100%
rate of sexual dysfunction after RP, because there is more to sexual
function than an erection. There is the quality of that erection that
is
usually not as hard or sensative as before RP, and without a climax
that
is as strong or intense as before RP, and of course no semen.
If you don't think these things are important go talk to a high
school
class about cancer surgery sometime. (Whatever you do, don't try to
rationalize that all prostate cancer patients are old and don't care
about
sex.)

Men will care more about seeing prostate diseases looked into if
they realize just what they mean to them, what the issues are. If on
the next TV show about
prostate cancer someone stands up and says, 'Well, you have a 100%
chance
of having sexual dysfunction,' it would stir up some needed passion
to get something done about prostate cancer. Men have this mindset
that I'll have surgery and be cured of cancer. They
don't picture the diapers or the weak penis or the weak ejaculation
that
invariably results, but they are pretty upset afterwards, when they
are
then too embarrassed to talk to anyone about it."
Brad H, MD

"I think it is very important to be
honest about the 100% sexual dysfunction rate from RP. Saving the
life and quality of life are both
important. The patient has to know the truth so that they can make
an
informed medical decision.
I have a lot of problems when we urologists say that patients are
potent
and happy. I have little problem if our patients say they're potent
and happy."
Brad H, MD

Light Side

A couple tried to conceive a child but had no luck.
So, they went to the doctor. The doctor examined the woman, ran a few
tests, and determined she could in fact get pregnant. The doctor
then wanted a sperm sample from the man. He gave the couple a
sealed sterile jar, and sent them into an exam room to get the
sample.

They were in the room for an hour, and it was time for the clinic
to close when the couple came out. They looked very embarrassed,
and produced an empty jar. The doctor asked if there was a problem.
The man
looked at the ground and said,

"Well, doc, I hate to admit I had a problem with this. I tried,
but my hands got tired. I tried with my left hand, I tried
with my right hand, I tried with both hands, nothing. So my wife
tried to help me, and then SHE tried with her left hand, and
tried with her right hand, she pulled and pulled, but it just
didn't help.

"Then we found some vaseline in a cabinet. But that didn't help
either. She tried using
her mouth, but she just ended up
with a sore jaw. We couldn't figure out what else to do."

The doctor said, "Do you have a problem with impotence?"
The man said, "Impotence!? Hell no, doc, we couldn't get the damn
jar open!"

************

An elderly couple shuffled into the doctor's surgery. "What's the
trouble?" asked the doc.

"Well, I seem to be impotent".

The doc looked at his notes and said, "Checking my records I see
that you're eighty five and your wife is eighty three - and you
complain
of impotence! When did you first notice this problem?"

"Last night, and again this morning".

*****************

Cobra's Blood? -- Anecdote vs Science

First message: Thanks for informing us that there is a
restaurant in North Vietnam that sells cobra's blood to enhance
prolonged erection.
I guess what I was told in L.A. is right and the cobra's blood is not
only an aphrodisiac but also a stimulant. I don't know about the
bat's blood, as I have never heard any
legend about the properties of this type of blood.

Reply: There must be legends some where in Asian mythology and
ancient
literature about the beliefs associated with the cobra's blood or
the bat's blood, for whatever stimulation it may give. Modern
scientific thinking must find this to be utter nonsense as the
cobra's blood, or the bat's blood, is just an animal blood which
gives protein to the body just like the pig's blood or the chicken's
blood consumed as common food by the public.

Personally I don't think the stimulant effect of cobra blood is
nonsense,
as long as there is no evidence. A lot of things science
can not and will not be able to prove. However, it is important to
distinguish
ancedote from what is scientifically proven . . .and before we reach
a scientific conclusion it is necessary confirm with experiments and
observations by different people.

An Odd Cause of Impotence

There once was a farmer who had a cow named Daisy. He decided
that
it was time to increase the size of his herd, so he sought the
services of
a neighbor who rented a bull for stud work. A price
was set. The farmer was overjoyed - finally his cow would be
productive.
The man with the bull, however, would not bring the bull to the
farmer's
farm, insisting that the cow be brought to his place. After an
argument,
the farmer agreed.

The next morning, the farmer was confronted with a terrible
problem:
how would he get the cow to the bull? It was ten long miles from his
farm
to the bull, and Daisy was the most uncooperative bitch that had ever
been, so he couldn't walk her there. He hadn't been able to afforded
one
of those new horseless carriages, and none of his neighbors had one
either. After much thought, he asked a friend for help, and they
loaded
Daisy onto a cart and began pushing her to the stud farm.

Up and down the dirt road they pushed, and finally, after 9 hours
of
back-creaking work, Daisy was in the corral with the bull, ready to
be
mated.

The farmer asked, "How will I know if it works?"

To which the man replied, "If it works, she'll be eating grass in
the
morning. If it don't, she won't."

With that, the man let the bull loose. The bull ran at Daisy,
mounted her, and began his work.

The next morning, the farmer looked outside at Daisy. She wasn't
eating grass. Really upset, the farmer ran outside, called his
neighbor,
loaded her into the cart, pushed it down the ten mile long dirt road,
and
had her serviced once again.

He awoke the next morning and asked his wife to look at Daisy, to
see
if she was eating grass. Much to his dismay, she wasn't. Furious,
he
again called for his helpful neighbor and they pushed the cow to the
bull.

This scene was repeated every day for a week. The farm work was
getting behind, and the farmer was suffering from impotence due to
the
exhaustion of pushing that damned cow to the bull. When he awoke on
the
morning of the eighth day, he asked his wife "Is she eating grass?"

His wife said, "No."

He said, "Well, is she just standing there?"

And his wife said, "No."

The farmer screamed,"Well what the heck is she doing then?"

To which his wife replied, "She's sitting in your cart!"

.