Pump problems

The pump should always work if all is being done correctly but is not an erection in the conventional sense. It draws the blood in through suction and is not your body doing the work. Viagra and Cialis increase blood flow chemically but are not your body doing work either. They are all “helpers”.

The recovery can take many months since your “electrical” system has been disturbed by the surgery and nerves grow slowly. It is also possible that it may never come back or not enough to get the job done but that is something that takes at least a year to figure out. Give it some time..

Tom T: I think the "pump" he was talking about is a Vacuum Erection Device (VED) not an implanted penile prosthesis.

Rich: Vacuum Erection Devices almost always "work" for some slightly disappointing meaning of the word. As long as the device seals well against the base of the penis and it pulls an appropriate level of vacuum inside the tube it will draw blood into the external part of the organ. This keeps the tissues oxygenated and stretched out and helps prevent atrophy. A normal, healthy man gets several erections a night while he sleeps and this keeps his erectile tissues in good shape. But when the erectile nerves aren't working well these nocturnal erections don't happen and things tend to shrivel unless erections are achieved by some other method. Since both your nerves were spared it is sensible to hope that natural erections will return as the nerves recover from the trauma of surgery. But, even with nerve sparing, such recovery takes time and isn't guaranteed. (Six months to a year is fairly typical for recovery when it happens.) While you wait your doctor will probably prescribe pills to make the most of what your erectile nerves can accomplish.
In the meanwhile, Mr Unreliable needs oxygenation and exercise. That's the main purpose of the VED. You should bear in mind that only about half of the erectile structure pokes out of your body. The erectile chambers continue into your body and sort of socket into the bottom of your pelvis. The pump only pumps up the part that sticks out and that part will only stay big and hard while the pump is actually drawing a vacuum. If you stop pumping some of the extra blood will go to the part of your penis inside your body and you will be left with a disappointing chubby instead of a proper erection. We have a few men on the forum who use a pump for sexual activity and they need to use a constriction ring to prevent the blood from leaving the external part of their organ. Candidly, most guys find this rather unsatisfactory but it can be better than nothing.
A few rules for using your pump: 1) use more (water soluble) lube than you think you need. It helps the pump seal around the base of your penis. 2) If pumping is uncomfortable (but not painful) then you are doing it right. 3) If your penis deflates when you take off the pump that is expected -- most medical-grade pumps come with constricting bands that you put around the pump and then slide off onto the base of your penis before you remove the pump. (This part does sort-of hurt if you are doing it right.) 4) Using your pump is therapy; make a schedule (a few times a week -- ask your surgeon). 5) Right now you should be taking pills and using your pump regularly while you wait to recover you natural erections. Give it time. But bear in mind that there are more options if your recovery falters.