Loss of sex drive alongside loss of sexual function
Hi everyone
I have been reading forum posts and various articles, but I didnt really get the answer to a question I have (I know it is sort of silly which is maybe why I cant find an answer)
For those who lose sexual function after radical prostatectomy - I read lots of posts where people have lost the function- but do you also lose the appetite? Do beautiful women still make you dizzy?
Sorry if his is insensitive or phrased badly - but as someone waiting on test results I am nervously trying to understand what a new reality might look like
Hi,
As long as you still have normal testosterone levels you will keep your libido that is or was normal for you. After RP, your sexual function will almost certainly be affected.
You should talk to your doc or a sexual specialist for penile rehabilitation. Hopefully your cancer will not return.Complete loss of libido after ADT injections plus Erleada. Even though my aged sex drive had diminished anyway, the drop to zero has been disorienting and sad. Not talked about enough since we need support and it is mostly just given "lip service" type advice. I miss my old urges!
I know exactly what you mean. When I came off Lupron after 2 years and the T started to rise, I started getting urges again, and not sure my ED from radiation would be bad, I still enjoyed the urges. So nice to feel normal again
But alas, my PSA went up and I was started back on Lupron and Erleada which has lowered my T and PSA, but for sure, no more libido.
The doctors , both radiation and medical oncologists, don’t real want to hear about your urges or feeling, they just want to save your life.
Still thinking about a focal therapy to kill the remaining cancer, just to get off the Lupron and Erleada. Just to feel not so tired and abnormal anymore. But, now 5 years later and almost 70, don’t know if I have the energy to give a shit anymore.
I did not have a prostatectomy; I had 28 sessions of proton beam radiation. I was on Eligard for 6 months (two 3-month injections); Eligard remained in my system for 9-10 months total (based on testosterone levels). Certainly had a loss of libido during that time, but did not experience any ED. Once the Eligard left my system, libido returned. Very satisfied with how things turned out.
I finished my 28 radiation sessions, still getting that hip injection and on two different pills until July, that would make one year I was wondering if my libido would return.
Libido is such an individual issue. I will say my overall libido at almost 77 isn't what is was but I have found a definite loss of libido since recovering from a course of ADT. My testosterone is back to baseline in the 450-500 range and I can perform with my partner but without a definite starter with a massage or film stimulation there is no major desire or sex dreams. Is this psychological or physiological? Possibly both? I'd be interested in others' experience after the post-treatment return of testosterone levels.
