My Husband had a radical prostatectomy in Feb 08. While he has been fortunate not to experience incontinence and erectile dysfunction -he has developed (and diagnosed) with severe depression. He had a Total Knee Replacement in 5/06 and had had chronic pain in the knee to ankle and foot since 8/06. It is evident that soon after the prostate surgery his tolerance to deal with the chronic pain diminished. He is relatively young, and in spite of the pain, up until the prostate surgery you would never know that the pain was interrupting his life most of the time. He's been working at a physical job that he loves and has hobbies. Since the surgery he barely makes it through the workday. Earlier this week he came home from work and thought he was having a heart attack. His Dr diagnosed him with severe depression and anxiety. He also saw the Podiatrist and they gave him Lexapro and Lyrica - they feel there is nerve impingement in the TKR. I am sorry to give all these gory details but his decline has been so apparent - both his physical and mental decline since the surgery. He has lost a great deal of weight - he has lost a lot of muscle tone it is scary. His PSA was 0 in April, and his surgeon told him he didn't have to come back to be tested until September? From all my reading it really should be 3 months. I advised him to see his Urologist this week! I now this all must sound crazy - but I am / we are scared. I thought it and mistakenly so, thought it could be to do with testosterone levels. I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you! Joanie
Hi Joanie, I had prostatectomy last April. A week following surgery I had a terrible bout of depression. It seem to last for a week. I could hardly get out of bed. I called my family doctor and he offered to write me a script for celexa. I gave it a great deal of thought and decided to forego a tranquilizer. I fought thru the feeling. The cloud lifted. I will admit that this surgery is a life changer and should be taken seriously. Meaning that anyone who has been diagnoised with PC should speak to other men that have gone thru a radical prostatectomy. Your partner and or spouse can make all the difference in the world. Her support is critical. It is my understanding that it takes a solid year to get back to some degree of normalcy. Testoserone replacement is dangerous. If there is a radical dormant cancer cell running around (I have been told by my urologist) this can cause a reawakening. Like adding fuel to a fire. It is not been a full year since the surgery but there are days that I will tell you that are good days and shitty days. I too wish you the best. Mark