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injections and tablets

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User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 17:41

Hi everyone,

 

My husband, who is on hormone therapy, has had an appointment with his ED nurse today, who has shown him how to do the injections. It was quite painful. Any tips on how this can be less painful? Also, the nurse told him to stop taking his daily 5mg Cialis, is that because the two together could cause prolonged erections? Ian is going to try and see how it goes with the injections- if he finds they are not having any effect on his libido, (he seems to feel it might,) then he would stop using them. I guess then he could go back onto his daily Cialis? He is managing to use the pump nearly every day, and will not stop doing this. He had his operation last year in February and finished radiotherapy on the 1st of March. So maybe him starting the injections is a bit premature?

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 19:16
Using the pump as much as possible is a must. If he’s on HT then nothing can change his libido. Daily Cialis is great for keeping blood down there etc , but if he ain’t mentally interested then Cialis won’t work. The mind controls the drug if you understand ?? Injections still need a mind-set but not as much. I’m not your hubby but they aren’t that hard in my opinion. Just prep it then bite the bullet and stick it in. That’s me talking - every man has had worse pain hitting their thumb with a hammer :-))

If it’s only a year yet there is loads of time. I used injectables and they bolstered my confidence enough that the Cialis was enough. Don’t give up ok, love and support is crucial x

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 18:28

Knodel 

I was prescribed a pump and offered injections at six weeks post op. I opted for muse rather than injections, in hindsight the wrong decision. I didn't get the pump until a few weeks after the prescription.  I Started using the muse about three months post op. 

Thanks Chris

 

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 20:30
I think you are confusing libido with erectile function, Knodel. His libido will be zero or very low because of the hormone therapy - it has switched off his testosterone. Cialis & injections won't affect his libido at all.

Injections can produce an erection even when a man has no libido, but they can't make him want or enjoy sex. Cialis in a large dose (10mg / 20mg) can help a man to get an erection but he has to feel randy for it to work. Cialis at a daily dose - 2.5mg or 5mg isn't so much for getting erections but to keep the blood flowing and bring oxygen to the genitals to help maintain penile health.

So the question is, why did the ED nurse prescribe the injections? Because he said that he still feels randy even on the HT but can't get an erection? Or did she not ask about whether he has any libido? Did she know that he is on HT? Or are the injections purely to use occasionally to maintain penile health and reduce the risk of penile shrinkage?

Re the pain ... did he say that inserting the needle was painful or that the resulting erection was painful afterwards? The needle is so fine it is unlikely to hurt, but watching someone stick a needle in your penis, it is no surprise that some men will feel pain because they were expecting to! If the pain was a prolonged ache afterwards, that is an issue and sometimes, it is bad enough for a man to decide not to use the injections again.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 22:57
The great thing about the injections is a guaranteed erection that will last as long as either partner could wish for.

This is regardless of desire and is something that is really useful when you find yourselves in an unfortunate and hopefully temporary situation.

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 23:43
The injections don't work for everyone though Francij - for some men they don't work at all and for others they work sporadically; in our house, they work about half the time so far from being guaranteed :-(
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 08 Jun 2021 at 07:41

What has your husband been prescribed.  Do you mean giving himself the injection is painful or is he in pain because of the injection?  I can only use invicorp as the other injections had me doubled over in agony.

 

Edited by member 08 Jun 2021 at 07:43  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 08 Jun 2021 at 08:22

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
The injections don't work for everyone though Francij - for some men they don't work at all and for others they work sporadically; in our house, they work about half the time so far from being guaranteed :-(

Urologist obviously oversold them to me then, he said he could give me an erection "stood naked in front of the hospital in a snow storm".

 

User
Posted 08 Jun 2021 at 09:10
I think it is quite common for urologists to be super-positive about ED treatments, and then the ED nurses add a bit of realism :-/

I have seen it posted so often here - "the specialist says that even if I have some ED, there are loads of treatments" That is true but they don't all work for everyone. NHS data suggests that 10% of men never have an erection again after nerve sparing RP even with the help of tablets, pump or injections.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

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User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 18:28

Knodel 

I was prescribed a pump and offered injections at six weeks post op. I opted for muse rather than injections, in hindsight the wrong decision. I didn't get the pump until a few weeks after the prescription.  I Started using the muse about three months post op. 

Thanks Chris

 

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 19:16
Using the pump as much as possible is a must. If he’s on HT then nothing can change his libido. Daily Cialis is great for keeping blood down there etc , but if he ain’t mentally interested then Cialis won’t work. The mind controls the drug if you understand ?? Injections still need a mind-set but not as much. I’m not your hubby but they aren’t that hard in my opinion. Just prep it then bite the bullet and stick it in. That’s me talking - every man has had worse pain hitting their thumb with a hammer :-))

If it’s only a year yet there is loads of time. I used injectables and they bolstered my confidence enough that the Cialis was enough. Don’t give up ok, love and support is crucial x

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 20:30
I think you are confusing libido with erectile function, Knodel. His libido will be zero or very low because of the hormone therapy - it has switched off his testosterone. Cialis & injections won't affect his libido at all.

Injections can produce an erection even when a man has no libido, but they can't make him want or enjoy sex. Cialis in a large dose (10mg / 20mg) can help a man to get an erection but he has to feel randy for it to work. Cialis at a daily dose - 2.5mg or 5mg isn't so much for getting erections but to keep the blood flowing and bring oxygen to the genitals to help maintain penile health.

So the question is, why did the ED nurse prescribe the injections? Because he said that he still feels randy even on the HT but can't get an erection? Or did she not ask about whether he has any libido? Did she know that he is on HT? Or are the injections purely to use occasionally to maintain penile health and reduce the risk of penile shrinkage?

Re the pain ... did he say that inserting the needle was painful or that the resulting erection was painful afterwards? The needle is so fine it is unlikely to hurt, but watching someone stick a needle in your penis, it is no surprise that some men will feel pain because they were expecting to! If the pain was a prolonged ache afterwards, that is an issue and sometimes, it is bad enough for a man to decide not to use the injections again.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 22:57
The great thing about the injections is a guaranteed erection that will last as long as either partner could wish for.

This is regardless of desire and is something that is really useful when you find yourselves in an unfortunate and hopefully temporary situation.

User
Posted 07 Jun 2021 at 23:43
The injections don't work for everyone though Francij - for some men they don't work at all and for others they work sporadically; in our house, they work about half the time so far from being guaranteed :-(
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 08 Jun 2021 at 07:41

What has your husband been prescribed.  Do you mean giving himself the injection is painful or is he in pain because of the injection?  I can only use invicorp as the other injections had me doubled over in agony.

 

Edited by member 08 Jun 2021 at 07:43  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 08 Jun 2021 at 08:22

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
The injections don't work for everyone though Francij - for some men they don't work at all and for others they work sporadically; in our house, they work about half the time so far from being guaranteed :-(

Urologist obviously oversold them to me then, he said he could give me an erection "stood naked in front of the hospital in a snow storm".

 

User
Posted 08 Jun 2021 at 09:10
I think it is quite common for urologists to be super-positive about ED treatments, and then the ED nurses add a bit of realism :-/

I have seen it posted so often here - "the specialist says that even if I have some ED, there are loads of treatments" That is true but they don't all work for everyone. NHS data suggests that 10% of men never have an erection again after nerve sparing RP even with the help of tablets, pump or injections.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 08 Jun 2021 at 14:23

Thanks for your replies- Ian just wants to try the injections to see if it effects his libido- I doubt it as well. The ED nurse knows he's on HT. He told him to stop all the tablets if he is to use the injections, but I thought 5mg Cialis for maintenance might still be OK to take all the time (he's been taking it since after his operation). I will try and persuade hubby to leave the injections until he is off the HT. I'm now used to not having sex (since the end of October), and it would be worse if the injection has no effect for Ian. We try to be intimate in other ways- dancing, massaging, etc. It is damn hard! But thank god, not forever! Hubby is trying to come off HT after 18 months rather than 24, because he has really bad hot flushes, about 30 a day. He will also try acupuncture. Ian is not keen to use estrogen patches, as they can cause more side effects! I'm not sure if his penis was sore during the injection or after it. Need to ask him. Which injections don't have to be refrigerated? This whole experience is a nightmare, and we have problems with my son as well, who is 21 and has been living at home for the last two years, after being kicked out of his first year at university, and now he just sits in his room and hardly goes out. We've tried to get him to speak to therapists, but he refuses, he does speak to the mental health nurse at our health centre, but that's only 20 minutes per week, and sometimes its only every 2-3 weeks. Sorry to be offloading all this, but it hasn't been easy for us, and my son's situation has been harder for Ian than his cancer! We just don't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet! BTW- my name is Francine!

 
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