Shrinking penis?

Hi Oldgraf,

You need to get yourself an appointment with the ED Clinic if you can. Or if not try and get your GP to prescribe a vacum pump such as the Somaerect and they also might prescribe Tadalafil. You need to exercise your old chap to make him younger again and stop further shrinkage. You can also buy a cheap pump on Lovehoney for about £30. They will do the job but are not nearly as good as the Somaerect in my experience.

So…..Get Pumping to keep him fit for Humping! It’s certainly helped with me😊

Good Luck,

Derek

I understand what you're saying but then why isn't that advice routinely given out by the NHS to anyone on HT?  I started on Zoladex for a three year course in Jan 2020.  At no time during that three years was the subject of ED raised by them, or any advice proffered as to use of a pump to maintain penile health and offset future problems.  I took it for granted that my libido would disappear and I'd face total ED but I never thought it would have long term implications because they never told me it would.  As I mentioned in my earlier comment I haven't had an erection in nearly four years. From what you say I may face difficulty when my testosterone eventually returns.  It doesn't trouble me personally,  I'm 68 and haven't been in a relationship since my marriage ended 10 years ago, and am very unlikely to ever be in another now.  Given that, a libido would be nothing but an inconvenience to me.  But the NHS weren't to know that, and as I said the subject has never been raised by them and no advice offered.

It's a big issue that proactive sexual and other types of support are missing in most treatment centres. This is something I bring up with clinicians when I can. I've done a conference presentation on it, and a class for trainee CNS's, and also a presentation for staff at one particular hospital. About 200 clinicians have been at my Surviving Hormone Therapy presentations (or variations of it just for clinicians).

At the most base level, few clinicians actually have much idea about the real impact of hormone therapy and how to look after patients on it. Hormone therapy is often initiated in urology at the same time they refer you to oncology. A point I've brought up many times with clinicians is that you can't give informed consent for a treatment if you haven't been told what the issues with it are and how to look after yourself on the treatment. I don't actually think most of the clinicians prescribing Hormone Therapy would be able to describe that, even supposing they had the time (which they don't in a 20 min consultation). Hormone therapy is really an oncology treatment rather than a urology treatment, but even if oncology were responsible for initiating it, I don't think the patient awareness of the issues would be any better.

When oncologists have been surveyed about support for patients on hormone therapy and in particular sexual support, they think patients should be getting support, but that is isn't their responsibility. When asked if they proactively refer patients for this support, they say no. Even for the few patients who do pluck up the courage to ask, in many cases no useful support is delivered.

One of the great things about support groups is they do discuss these issues, and that does give some patients the courage and empowerment to ask for support, knowing what should be available.