retrogade question-- i'm new here =)

[justinsmom]

Carpla, thanks for the reply-I am sorry you are in that situation also. I know others have written to me about Justin not banking sperm-but with my family we have learned there can't be regrets-in life you make decisions based on the info you have-and alot of prayer and then you move on. Like when my dad died in 96 of melanoma-or my 5 yr old nephew was hit by a train-we can look back and say "shoulda, woulda, coulda, and "if only..." but that will consume you and destroy your life so we just move forward, one day at a time...We felt such a peace with the surgeon in Portland and felt if there was any chance for the nerve sparing it would be him but there was no way because of where Justin's tumor was and the size of it so we move on.....and we know God has a plan in spite of the "unfairness" of it all... God Bless -Lanette

[carpla]

Lanette- I am on the same page with you; we were told that if the nerves weren't spared, the retrograde ejaculation would just be a fact of life for us (although we were assured that there were certain fertility procedures of which we could avail ourselves). There are cases of temporary retrograde ejaculation due to certain traumas, illnesses, and procedures, in which drugs can be of assistance and where normal ejaculation is restored after a period of time, but we were told by both our urologist and our oncologist, as well as our GP, that this would not be the case in our situation (full template RPLND, no nerve-sparing). It will be one year since my husband's RPLND on Feb. 17, and there has been no change for him in that time.

[justinsmom]

I don't have any experience with any of this except that the surgeon who did my son's full bilateral RPLND to remove a 21 cm. mass said there are things a fertility Dr. can do, such as removal of sperm from the bladder - I don't know if any drugs will help when the nerves have not been spared. Sorry I can't help more-can anyone else shed some light on this? Lanette

[justinf]

Hello, I'm new here and am a recent TC survivor. I have retrograde-ejaculation, due to the massive 15hr surgery that removed the stage 3 tumor mass from my abdomen. Is it possible that that Tofranil drug can restore ejaculation, even though the sympathatic nerves that control ejaculation and propel it out the penis have been completely severed? I'm already on a anti-depressent called Lexapro. Would taking two different anti-depressents be a bad thing? Thanks!

[wolken]

well in my case 25mg did not work well , but 50 mg worked ..yes once a day , usually 2-4 hr before intercourse ( i know sounds kind of silly to plan it in advance ) that's when medication starts to kick in ......
thanks a lot ..it's my first child and i'm so happy .......

[mjm2005]

really??

yes tofranil is prescription drug ...no i never banked sperm ..we did it "the normal" way ....

WOW!! THAT'S AMAZING!! IT GIVES ME SO MUCH HOPE THAT SOMEDAY WE'LL HAVE OUR OWN BABY. I HAVE TO REQUEST THIS FROM MY HUSBAND'S PHYSICIAN THOUGH. HOW DO YOU TAKE IT? ONCE A DAY ? THANKS A LOT!! CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!!

[wolken]

yes tofranil is prescription drug ...no i never banked sperm ..we did it "the normal" way ....

[mjm2005]

Congratulations!!

I was able to bank sperm and my wife and i have done the ivf for the first time and it worked(so far)!!! We found out yesterday that she is 7 weeks pregnant and we got to hear the heartbeat. A Christmas present come early!!! I will be glad to help you with any questions about the process if you need me, good luck and God bless, Brian.

Congratulations to you and your Wife!!it surely is an early xmas present! unfortunately, my husband was not able to bank sperms prior to RPLND. it's so sad but hey life moves on. he's been cancer free for 7 years and as long as he stays healthy, i'm happy. goodluck to you and your upcoming baby.i'll be praying for her safe pregnancy and delivery. right now we're just taking it one at a time. if you have any inputs about our situation, i would really appreciate it. thanks alot! god bless!

/mj

[huckchef]

I was able to bank sperm and my wife and i have done the ivf for the first time and it worked(so far)!!! We found out yesterday that she is 7 weeks pregnant and we got to hear the heartbeat. A Christmas present come early!!! I will be glad to help you with any questions about the process if you need me, good luck and God bless, Brian.

[mjm2005]

i was blessed .but i never used sudafed ....i was diagosed with TC in february this year had RPLD in march and retrograde ejeculation ever since ...but my urologist suggested TOFRANIL (50 mg )....IT WORKS , i have normal ejeculation for 3-4 days after taling just one tablete ...25mg did not work in my case , normal ejeculation just one day ..
....my wife is now pregnant ( 4months ), so it works ( in my case).......give it a shot , NEVER GIVE UP ...

I FORGOT TO ASK YOU, did you bank some sperms so that your wife can get pregnant? or was it from tofranil? i'm sorry i'm so confused. my husband had his 1st surgery in the philippines and nobody advised us about banking sperms so he never did it. we were too young at that time and no one discussed this to us. thank you again.

[mjm2005]

i was blessed .but i never used sudafed ....i was diagosed with TC in february this year had RPLD in march and retrograde ejeculation ever since ...but my urologist suggested TOFRANIL (50 mg )....IT WORKS , i have normal ejeculation for 3-4 days after taling just one tablete ...25mg did not work in my case , normal ejeculation just one day ..
....my wife is now pregnant ( 4months ), so it works ( in my case).......give it a shot , NEVER GIVE UP ...

wow congratulations!! i'm so glad to hear that. is this your first baby? he's been cancer free for 7 years now i was just now a little bit concern because it's been a while. however, the only thing left in me is HOPE. hope that someday we'll also be blessed w/ a gift of life. this tofranil, is this a prescription drug? does it have any side effects? thank you !!

[mjm2005]

results

my husband's semen analysis results are : FSH = 13.6 and testosterone level = 409, is this normal? thank you again!!

[mjm2005]

thank you

is tofranil a presciption drug? thank you so much for all your help!!

/mj

[Scott]

...but my urologist suggested TOFRANIL (50 mg )....IT WORKS , i have normal ejeculation for 3-4 days after taling just one tablete

Interesting, Tofranil is an antidepressant (as you noted in a previous post), but I guess it has other uses, as well.

I see it is listed at this link with this description: "If your retrograde ejaculation appears to be related to a mild nerve or muscle problem involving the bladder, then your doctor will treat you with a drug — such as pseudoephedrine (sold under many brand names), or imipramine (Tofranil) — that improves muscle tone at the bladder entrance."

[wolken]

i was blessed .but i never used sudafed ....i was diagosed with TC in february this year had RPLD in march and retrograde ejeculation ever since ...but my urologist suggested TOFRANIL (50 mg )....IT WORKS , i have normal ejeculation for 3-4 days after taling just one tablete ...25mg did not work in my case , normal ejeculation just one day ..
....my wife is now pregnant ( 4months ), so it works ( in my case).......give it a shot , NEVER GIVE UP ...