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how long to use the manual pump for ED

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Posted 8/8/2008 11:21 AM (GMT 0)
my doctor told me to order a pump for ED.  i have the manual one.  i hate to ask but this is the first time i have ever used one and it didn't come with many instructions.  how long a session should you use it. also, i used it last night and when i turned the pump air off, i did not maintain the erection?  is this common first time around?
Posted 8/8/2008 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
Rob,
I am about the same time out of surgery as you, considerably older, and am surely no expert in such matters. I can only tell you what I know from experience and what I have read from others. Your ED may take a while, and until it begins to return, the pump (minus the rings) will only get junior going. It will not maintain junior once the vacuum is removed. Use of the rings, which are inconvenient, will keep junior where he needs to be.

Your doc should have prescribed viagra (or one of the other similar drugs) to help stimulate the flow of blood - you might want to give him a call. I suspect your ED will return soon. From what I have read guys in their 40's seem to recover very quickly. On the otherhand, just because there is no function now, because it is very soon after surgery, doesn't mean you are lost forever.

Wishing you the best. RB

Age 61
Original data - pre-operation
PSA: 5.1
T1C clinical diagnosis, Needle biopsy - 10 cores, Gleason 7 = 3+4 in 1 core (40%), 7 cores Gleason 6 = 3+3 ranging from 5% to 12%
All scans negative
Lupron administered 4/9/2008 for 4 months (with idea I would undergo external beam radiation followed by seed implants - then I changed my mind).
Robotic DiVinci surgery - Dr. Fagin (Austin) May 19th
Post operative - pathology
pT2c NX MX
Gleason 3+4
Margins - negative
Extraprostatic extension - negative
seminal vesicle invasion - uninvolved
1st Post PSA .04
Posted 8/8/2008 2:23 PM (GMT 0)

What RB said.  I (usually) use the pump twice daily, pumping up 2 or 3 times, holding the vacuum for a half minute or so each time, then releasing it.   We have had no success so far with the rings maintaining a firm enough erection to allow for intercourse.  The pump should have a self-limiting vacuum relief valve in it, if it is a medical quality pump, so no harm is done by pumping and holding.  Once in a while I will put a ring on and keep it firm while I shower and such, just to keep it engorged for a while.  At 10 months, it's still all exercise, and I still can't hold the blood in once pumped, hence no erection.  It becomes work and an unpleasant chore quickly, but it an essential part of penile recovery, so you must work at it. 

Has the doc mentioned the other 2 legs of penis therepy- Viagra and injections yet?  If not, he should be doing so by now, in my opinion.  Its a 3 part therepy course for us persistant long term recovery types.  Congratulations on the continence, by the way...

Posted 8/8/2008 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
thanks for the help. iam on 25M of viagra a day. nothing seems to help. other than this, i have recovered. i am happy with non-detectable psa's....
Posted 8/9/2008 2:14 PM (GMT 0)
Confessions of a disgruntled patient. My primary objective was to regain continence. I told myself I would be happy if I achieved that goal. Well now that I'm continent I'm now reading these posts about ED with increasing interest. Viagra has not helped. I also tried a chemical that you inject into the opening of the penis. Lots of burning and painful ache, but no erection. I vasilate between saying the heck with it, but at 66 I hate to give up. So I guess I need to get info on the pump and my Urologist said his personal choice, if he ever has ED, would be injections. I guess I've been in denial and hoped it would resolve by itself. Any help in a web site that explains pumps. etc?
Posted 8/9/2008 3:37 PM (GMT 0)

Guy66, here's a good start, primarily discusses injections:

http://www.phoenix5.org/sexaids.html

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/551563_1

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/4/1680_50146.htm

Some about Pumps- info is less available online, by the way:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/penis-pump/MC00059

http://www.edysfunction.org/penis-pumps.html

http://www.phoenix5.org/articles/JHPBEDJarow.html

Hope these are helpful, plus there's several guys here who are something like a semi-pro amateur in their use... devil

 

Posted 8/9/2008 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you James. While reading some of this, I began to feel like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz.
Posted 8/9/2008 11:58 PM (GMT 0)
Rob2, there are a couple of things to watch for when using the pump. If it is the type that presses against your body, then press it firmly against your body. It is not that difficult, if incorrectly positioned, for the vacuum cylinder to suck a testicle up and into the tube. Now there's something that will make you react like lighting and hit the release button or lever. Plenty of lubricant around the base also helps prevent this. Another tip is to trim the hair...........not shave, but cut back to about 1/2"........if you don't you'll find when using the rubber ring, hair will wrap around the ring and cause quite a bit of discomfort when you try to remove them........ouch! Apart from that they are very effective and easy to use.
Bill
Posted 8/10/2008 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
thanks for all the help. i think i know what i need to do.
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