Finally tried the VED for a few minutes

My advice is to go ahead and hurt yourself while being careful that you don't hurt yourself. That is to say, the devices are designed so they can be quite uncomfortable without causing any real injury. You do want to go slow to give your erectile tissues a chance to expand. If you go too fast the VED will pull in your Johnson and then start working on other nearby body parts that don't much like to be in the tube.

You might also want to use a bit more lube. Sometimes things don't expand correctly because they are stuck to the side of the tube.

The idea is that you have already suffered atrophy, and you are in rehab. So to expect "full size" day one is a guarantee of disappointment.

The pills keep the blood flow going, but until you start having erections, they don't help with maintaining size. Two different tools for two different parts of the problem.

Twice a day, every day was my uro's prescription. No rings, not used for intercourse, just pump it up a little more at a time, then release.

This is rehab, with all the ups and downs (yes, pun also intended), not a miracle.

142 said...
The idea is that you have already suffered atrophy, and you are in rehab. So to expect "full size" day one is a guarantee of disappointment. .

Well, I wouldn't say I was expecting full size day one, I'm not a very optimistic type, but I was not expecting that much downsizing. But, I may need to apply a lot more pressure, plus with many more attempts? and who knows. I was definitely a bit tentative, cautious.

So atrophy happens that quick, within a couple of months? Or actually, it seemed I was decreased almost immediately. Maybe I was getting false hope from Mulhall's tape where he talks about usually you have a max of 6 months without erections before irreversible tissue damage sets in, which I was guessing included atrophy. Though he does say in some cases quite quite a bit less time. Still, they don't really even start the injections until about 6 weeks out, and I am not very far from that ( 8 weeks) and just starting injections. Then again you do say expectations too high for "day one", so maybe there can be some improvement? One can only hope.

Worried Guy said...
I have the Augusta and use it every couple of days - for therapy and size maintenance.
I made some modifications (you knew I would) that make the process easier, more effective, and less expensive.

1) I glued a piece of rubber under the handle and about 1/2 inch away from the hinge. Why? So I can hang the Augusta unit from a carefully sized loop that goes around my neck and the "unit under test" while it is in the desired position of function. That way I can be hands free once the system is attached and evacuated.

2) I do the deed while in the shower so I can maximize the hang time while minimizing the wasted time. While hands free, I can be plugged in and still brush my teeth, wash my hair (rinse and repeat), shave, and even wipe down the shower door making the wife happy - all while Auggie does her best to turn me inside out or look like a John Holmes wannabe.

WOW! What an innovator! You can use that thing in the shower? Mine says never SUBMERGE the pump, but I apparently it can handle a shower.

Worried Guy said...

3) I use shaving cream instead of the expensive K-Y jelly lube they recommend. I can't see any functional difference and a spritz of shaving cream only costs a penny or two.
What an excellent tip! I was already wondering how long that lube would last and how much it would cost.

Worried Guy said...
4) Using a Sharpie I marked the plastic tube with a ring denoting the farthest point of extension for the "device under test". The mark makes it easy to see progress - or lack thereof.

So it sounds like it does result in some progress? Because, I must admit, progress would be well appreciated!

Worried Guy said...
5) I presume you have already changed out the poor quality, rusty screws for the fancy, GFMPH issued, stainless steel components.

I have not!

Worried Guy said...
Easier, more effective, less cost, and it looks better too. Sounds like a wiener winner to me.
Good luck,
Jeff

At two months out the rehab should be twice a day. Pump to erection for 20 seconds about 5 times and the last time hold for 5 minutes. Easy does it wins the race. If it is too much, release and start again. The concept for rehab is to have the blood flowing in and out. Some of us will never get natural erections again (I'm one of them, after 5 years out, I'm not holding out hope). After Peyronies hit me a couple years out, I started doing VED again daily to help straighten things out. VED is great for penile rehab and necessary for me to have sex. It works and it is the only game in town. Regards Inkhorn

Geez, you guys accounts of the device making me cringe. Sounds like a lot of pain with a little gain, thankful I never had to use one.

Good luck ahead, sounds like you are working the problem in the right direction, but it will require additional patience to get to the point you desire

D.

Bill,

I am in the ultra rare zero-ED club, for which I will always be thankful. It never made sense, since I went into a non-nerve sparing operation. Due to surgical difficulties, surgeon unable to remove right side nerve bundle, surgical notes stated that it was "left intact, but damage". Surgeon and I fully expected full and total ED. I had my original catheter in place for 63 days, and I sometimes wonder if all that extra cath time helped healing in that area, just a guess. To this day, my surgeon will take no credit for my good luck in that. Said it made no medical sense.

As far as incontinence, it would have to be explained. I had the opposite problem, I had constant stricture problems at the bladder neck, due to still another surgical difficulty. My problem, was that I couldn't go on my own, and required lengthy periods of being a variety of catheters. Ultimately, when my surgery failed, and I had radiation, the radiation badly damaged my bladder and bladder neck, and I was on a Suprapubic catheter for nearly a year straight. This required the ileal conduit surgery, where a stoma was formed, and my bladder was by-passed entirely. I urinate into a plastic bag via the stoma. Without the bag (also known as an appliance/device), I would be entirely incontinent peeing through a hole in my side. I have no sensation of urinating, as there are no nerve endings in a stoma.

The good part of zero ED ,however, is negated by the fact that the radiation damage left me with severe chronic pain and chronic fatigue, meaning the gift of no ED is hampered by so much pain. Kind of cancels its self out most times. But it is what it is.

Hoping to see a good report from you on the injections. Many men here with long term ED use the injections with great success and little effort, once they master the technique. Hope that is the case with you too. Good luck.

David

I didn't care much for the VED at first, and I'll confess that I haven't used it as much as I should, but it grows on you, to coin a phrase.

I get nocturnal erections and semi on a fairly regular basis and I've taken cialis daily since the cath came out. I had some mild ED prior to surgery, so this hasn't hit me as hard as a lot of guys. We adjusted to it and we've been happy. It's just another speed bump in life.

I've started using the VED more lately and we like it. I haven't been that hard since my 20's. Once I broke in the constriction ring, it's not uncomfortable and I don't get cold like I used to. We don't see any loss of size at all. In fact, I may have gained a little, judging by how her hand fits now.

This can work. I'm thinking about MUSE. I'm not sure I want to deal with a 3 hour erection, though. (OK, I'll settle for 2 hours)