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Vacuum Erection Device Recommendations

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Posted 12/24/2006 6:35 PM (GMT 0)
This is for those that are using vacuum devices. I just got mine yesterday which is a Vacurect. I have used it twice so far to exercise the erection. It took a while to get to the right tension ring. I have a couple of questions for those with experience. The erection that I do get with it does not have as much length as my normal erection prior to surgery but does have a lot of thickness. Is this what others are experiencing? Also, the penis is very red looking after removal of the vacuum device but with the tension ring in place. This goes away quickly after removal of the tension ring. Again, is this what others are having? The erections so far have no stiffness and the penis just hangs down. Does this improve with more exercising? Finally for those using the Vacurect, getting the tension ring off is easy up to the head of the penis and then it is difficult. Any suggestions on how to improve that? My guess is that I am going to have to use more lubricant.

Thanks for any and all help.

Tamu
Posted 12/24/2006 6:44 PM (GMT 0)
With vacurect I have been pumping up for therapy excercise twice a day about five minutes each session. I start with the largest ring and move on down to the second largest. I have noticed that the little guy is not as little as he was. There is more length and girth now when he is just hanging around. Night time erection sensations are returning. I have now had penetration intercourse with my wife. I think the excercise of pumping up letting off pumping up letting off is really helping with healing. The excercise is not sexual at all and that is the way I look at it. It is like doing our 4 mile walk loop and weights. It is just part of doing what you can to improve your overall health and well being. I hope Jeff will think a little about it. Maybe you can encourage him to "excercise" without intercourse it definately will improve things. Good grief has he always gotten laid when he got ahard on? If so LUCKY DUDE in my younger years that would mean getting laid every 20 minutes. yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Posted 12/24/2006 8:14 PM (GMT 0)
Tamu,

The rehab routine is to stretchand fill the penis for at least 10 minutes a day...without the rings. Slowly pump and relase until you have learned how to comfortably use the pump first. Find out just how to achieve a full erection. When you get it there you should see a return of your length and yes, a fuller look. If you're sitting while using the pump your penis may actually look shorter. It isn't. In reality it's been pulled a little further inside by surgery but over time, most notice little difference in erect length. Give it a bit of time and it'll all work itself out.

Getting the hang eyes   if it, like anything else, takes a few days to a week to really feel comfortable. Once you feel you've gotten a good handle on using it, then increase the rehab time to a couple of 5-6 minutes erections once or twice a day. At least once every other day anyway. That 's about all Paul was able to manage and he did fine.

The constriction rings are meant to hold an erection, not excersise the tissues. Don't use them unless you and the Missuz are in da mood :-)

Swim

 

Posted 12/24/2006 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
Swimom,

With the Vacurect you cannot pull a vacuum without the rings unlike the Erectaid. I believe that what I need to do is follow the procedure 56pontiac is using and stay with the larger or next size down ring. I have gone down to the ring that will hold the erection but now I understand that I should just keep the pump on for about five minutes and not try and hold the erection.

Tamu
Posted 12/25/2006 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
Tamu,

Oh, now I get whatt you're talking about. It's the cuff/ring thing! Slow without the snow here in Michigan!

Swim
Posted 12/25/2006 9:16 PM (GMT 0)

swimom said...

The constriction rings are meant to hold an erection, not excersise the tissues. Don't use them unless you and the Missuz are in da mood :-)

Certainly one can use the rings for m*sturb*ation, too!  No Missus required!
Posted 12/26/2006 12:49 PM (GMT 0)
thanks guys and gals, for having this discussion. I laughed at your comment, 56Pontiac. no, he didn't get laid every time and I need to remind him about that. I'll pass on the info about the exercise regime. Tamu, Jeff tried a smaller ring and had a heck of a time getting it off, too. like Swim said, it will take a little time getting used to it, but the more we use it, the better everything will be. kat
Posted 12/28/2006 5:08 AM (GMT 0)
So, has anyone here had a recovery of full erection capabilities, after using the vacuum devices? I am only 5 months post-surgery, and starting to really wonder where I will end up.
Posted 12/28/2006 5:15 AM (GMT 0)

swimom said...
...This takes time....a cm (an inch) a month to be exact and there are at least 8 cm of healing to do.

Can you explain what you are referring to when you say there are 8 cm of healing to do, and it taking one month per cm (or inch?  I'm not sure if that part is a typo, as an inch is 2.54 cm).  Are you saying that there are 8 cm of nerves?  And is that a commonly understood thing that the nerves heal one cm/month?
Posted 12/28/2006 6:12 AM (GMT 0)
Ah Rehab, you caught me with my math down! The length of nerve that needs to heal/regenerate is about 8 cm on average.
Posted 12/31/2006 2:04 PM (GMT 0)
I am having the same exact problem as Tamu. It pumps up or swells up but it is not a stiff enough erection for intercourse. When it is removed the pumped up effect goes down pretty quickly. I have tried the smaller size rings and the smallest one I "crammed" myself into and pumped it up it was  like tourniquet and really pinched and even with that the blood drained back out pretty quickly. There is no way I can even think of using the next size down. Is this the way the vacuum works or are other devices different? Anyone with experience with different devices or this one if you have any ideas it would sure be helpful. I don't know if I am going to keep this or not. If it doesn't somehow get the erections where you can use them I will send it back.  
Posted 12/31/2006 3:49 PM (GMT 0)
the first time Jeff used it, he had an erection that we could have intercourse. the last 2 times we used it, he did not. he gets very frustrated and hasn't used it since (about 5 days ago). he keeps saying he needs to use it daily for rehab, but hasn't. so we're not sure where we're going with this either...
Posted 12/31/2006 6:11 PM (GMT 0)

Okay, I am with mrlincoln and M. kat on the Vacurect.  I have been using the Vacurect everyday for rehab and exercise since getting it about 10 days ago.  My wife and I have had intercourse once with it and have not tried again but when we do I believe that we can have intercourse.  What I am experiencing is a lot of variation in response.  When exercising with a large tension ring I tend to have some of the scrotum sac getting suck up into the tube and that does pinch.  I have found that by using a smaller ring and making sure that I try and hold the pump up as I pump it that it tends to prevent this from happening and also gives me a better reponse.  I have found that over the 10 days using the Vacurect twice a day and holding the erection inside the tube for 5 to 10 minutes that have gained relaxed length and erected length but little stiffness.  I had one that was almost like normal but it has not repeated.  M.kat, Jeff really needs to try it daily before getting frustrated.  I am going to give it about one more week and if I do not see better results I am going to send it back and make an appointment to get set up for injections. 

Tamu

Posted 12/31/2006 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
Well, here we are at the low-end of the spectrum with a $75 pumperoo. It works great and we got it for the therapy (it's not here for the party as Cialis works just fine most of the time :-), plus we're still dealing with activity leakage after five months. (Full control when sitting or sleeping). Not fun at all.

Sooooo, the pump seems to blow everything up at the base, which is kind of weird. To the point where it fills the whole tube and then it sort of fills out toward the tip, but not so you could actually enjoy it. Any thoughts here? Husb. if following instructions to the letter as far as I can tell.
Posted 1/1/2007 9:36 AM (GMT 0)
I use ErecAid. I have had varying quality of erections, but they have generally been better over time. At the suggestion of an ErecAid support person, I have been using two rings when I want to produce an erection for intercourse. That has helped tremendously. I still get a fair amount of scrotal tissue caught in the rings, though. Yesterday I think I have had the best intercourse-quality erection so far. Previously they have felt not stiff, or rubbery.

I don't know anything about the injections, really, but I'd say keep trying with the pump, if you have a good one. What can it hurt?
Posted 1/1/2007 9:38 AM (GMT 0)
One question I have: does one need to be concerned about the tip of the penis touching the base of the pump? I am not sure how the pump creates the vacuum, and if it would cause pain if the penis touched that area during the pumping process.
Posted 1/1/2007 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
Raheeb, I'm not sure why it would matter if the tip of the penis is touching the pump. Jeff worked with the pump this morning and did achieve an erection worthy of intercourse. we find that it works best if he is behind me. it is still not like before surgery, but then it's only been 4 months, so we won't complain too much. we still have a ways to go, though, and I will continue to encourage him to use it for therapy. I don't see how it can hurt anything...only help with recovery. he has also not been taking the cialis. I need to get it refilled and add it to his daily pill regime. :) happy new year!
Posted 1/1/2007 7:54 PM (GMT 0)

M. Kat said...
Raheeb, I'm not sure why it would matter if the tip of the penis is touching the pump. Jeff worked with the pump this morning and did achieve an erection worthy of intercourse. we find that it works best if he is behind me. it is still not like before surgery, but then it's only been 4 months, so we won't complain too much. we still have a ways to go, though, and I will continue to encourage him to use it for therapy. I don't see how it can hurt anything...only help with recovery. he has also not been taking the cialis. I need to get it refilled and add it to his daily pill regime. :) happy new year!

I just didn't know if the vacuum "creator" would injure the penis.

My initial success was intercourse from behind as well.  But this was after many times using the pump alone to produce erections.

The Cialis is a pain because my insurance doesn't cover it - hopefully yours does.  I do notice that the Cialis has improved general blood flow (i.e., not just when trying to produce erections).

Posted 1/5/2007 2:04 AM (GMT 0)
I'm not using a pump but lovemaking and some manual stimulation is starting to produce some results. Nothing really useable yet but there is some definite improvement. It feels like the blood is beginning to flow again! My doc confirmed what Swim said about the nerves taking time to heal so I am going to "wait and watch" (not the PCa kind)

I wonder what others have experienced by doing this instead of using the pump and the pills?

Thanks all..........

Jim
Posted 1/6/2007 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kat, I finally got the pump (Vacurect) - caught up in the Christmas mail, I guess. Still practicng with it. I don't find it very comfortable with the ring on. Not sore, just uncomfortable. I can get an erection with it. I will try the position you menitoned. Up here in Canada the Viagra and Levitra are quite expensive (over $20.00 per pill) how is around your place?
I also need ot use it a couple of times a day as suggested. For me it has been 6 months tomorrow since the surgery and I get partial erections without any pills or the pumps so I am sure the blood flow is there, just not enough yet. I was also told it takes quite a while (up to a year) for the nerves to heal. So we keep trying.

Thanks to you all for the feedback and encouragement. I no longer have any leaking - stopped about a month ago.

Army45
Posted 1/6/2007 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
I have a question for all of you. When we went to Jeff's 1 month check up and he put Jeff on the Viagra, we asked him about using a pump and he kind of frowned on it, mentioning scar tissue development. but I see many of your doctors prescribing it for rehabilitation. Have any of you heard anything about the scar tissue thing?

I know that it takes a long while for damaged nerves to heal, but I've read in many places that another concern is that the tissue in the penis itself needs erections to stay healthy (since it is usually used to several times a day being full of oxygen rich blood). So the pump makes sense if for no other reason than that.

I want to be able to hash this out with our Dr. the 16th, so I'd appreciate your insight and any info you received form your Dr.s

bec
Posted 1/6/2007 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
Bec,

Not all Doc's believe in the same methods. Jeff's is a bit behind the times and very conservative with treatment. I have noticed where there is managed care there is a stingy Doc pretty often too! The less a managed care Doc perscribe, the more they are rewarded. Not that Jeff's is one of those mind you. He just sounds a little old school.

The "scar tissue" thing he's referring to is Kelami's Syndrome, a Peryonie's
(PAY-R0nie's) like condition that does on occasion occur with men after urethral manipulation. Got news for that Doc...if Jeff were to be one of the rare cases, the pump would not have caused it. The deed is already done.


Doc's aren't 100% sure if it's something with surgery or with urethral manipulation when it comes to prostatectomies. Paul developed a dorsal curvature at just about the one year mark but....it was something I could see immediately after surgery, not months later. A woman knows her family! I'd notice if anything at all were different! It took until he healed enough to have stronger erections that it was really obvious. Although his surgeon didn't mention the possibility...and he should have...it also hasn't really altered his lifestyle or healing either.

Pumps, if misused, of course will cause damage. It's also a fact that if used right, they often prevent it! In fact, VED therapy is one of the most common treatments for men with Peyronie's!

Good Sources for information on the use of pumps can be found in Urology Times and Medscape Urology. Good Luck and go get em Bec.
Sometimes it takes the patient (or wife!) to bring his Doc up to speed on things.

Swim
Posted 1/9/2007 1:13 PM (GMT 0)
Army45, here in the US (and with our insurance not covering it), each cialis pill is $12. however, there is a website alldaychemist.com that several people here have purchased the various ED drugs from at very good prices. they feel that the drugs are safe, too. most people say that after 1-2 years, they are getting erections again so there is hope!

thanks, Swim, for sharing your wonderful knowledge!!
Posted 1/9/2007 9:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Kat, still working on the pump and have various results. I get enough of an erection for intercourse but it doesn't last long. I am a little afraid of pumping too long. Any ideas?

Army45
Posted 1/9/2007 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
Army45,

I have been using the Vacurect now for about three weeks. Like you I can get enough of an erection with the pump and Viagra for intercourse but it does not last long. I have tried smaller tension rings but they were to uncomfortable and it is difficult staying with the moment when that tension ring is reminding you it is there. I use the Vacurect everyday for rehab purposes but find it lacking in what I want when having sex. I am going to keep the pump for the rehab but I am going to make an appontment with my urologist's PA to get started on penile injections.

Tamu
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