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How about the Pump- question from Aimzee

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Posted 3/15/2011 8:15 PM (GMT 0)
I'm gonna move this into it's own subject thread to get better exposure.

She Asked:
HOW about THE PUMP?

I really don't know if this will get noticed, but my husband is still having trouble with getting an erection. He has tried the ED pills but not with any regularity. So, now on March 28 he will be going for a conference regarding the PUMP.

Does anyone know anything about this? I was wondering if I will feel anything? I do hate to admit, but this is more imporant to him than it is to me. I am just so grateful he is cancer free and we can enjoy other aspects of our lives together. Yet, I do sense his anxiety and want to make him happy. ANY ADVICE?

Thank you,
Aimzee
Posted 3/15/2011 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
Long-term pump user here.

They do work, but aren't for everyone, and you don't really know how it will work for you until you try it. As with most things, you need some practice to get the best results.

I started with a cheap manual pump from an adult store. The constriction rings (really sleeves) provided were pathetic, so I substituted office rubber bands. My plan was to try it for a bit, see how it worked out, and then maybe get a better one. However, a few running repairs later, the cheapie is still going strong, so this cheapskate is going for full value :-)

I suggest that hubby start daily pumping solo for the exercise, not expecting great things at first. Gradually pump to full size, then add the constriction rings. There is more practice needed here to get the amount of constriction right, again best done solo.

Then he can unleash the beast on you :-) As far you are concerned, you may notice a difference in size. I am a little wider than before, as skin puffs up that didn't before. My wife does not notice the constriction rings at all. But as always, your mileage may vary. Good luck.
Posted 3/15/2011 9:19 PM (GMT 0)
Aimzee,

I tried the pump and the one I bought was from a medical supply house. It is a manual model though some have a battery powered pump. I have not been able to get the thing to work consistently. I have trouble getting it to seal over the penis. No vacuum. I can get a partial erection on my own and thought this might help but it is a bit frustrating. I tried it on my thigh just to be sure it was not leaking and yup... got a nice vacuum. I think the seal part is what needs to be evaluated closely before buying. No returns on the device once the package is opened.

Good luck to you and your husband.

Don

Posted 3/15/2011 9:37 PM (GMT 0)
I have a pump made by encore. It has a rubber sleeve that goes around the penis first to help make a seal and it works like a charm. Right now I'm just using it for therapy.
Hopefully fun to come later. Gonna get dicey the wife is going through the "Change" and it's tax season and she's busy as all get out (Cleaned that up).
Posted 3/15/2011 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
Aimzee, there is one small drawback to the pump- namely the hinge effect. Normally an erection runs back into the belly, at least close to half an erection is internal , however, the pump will only inflate the penis with blood back to the base of the abdomen if just pumping for therapy and not using rings, or back to the ring. This creates a erect exterior and flaccid interior for anything behind the ring. This does cause problems with some men, resulting in less than satisfactory erections and use of same.

If hubbie is going to go the pump route, I would suggest he consider buying a medical grade pump that will do the same job, but costs less than $100, rather than the $500 plus you will get in a doctors office. the one I and a lot of others here use is medically safe, and costs less than $100. As Piano says, he uses a cheapie one and gets good results, so there's a very wide variation in cost, for what is basically the same function.

Just for info only, here's the one I am talking about. There's a battery powered one of the same model for about $90, but I find I prefer the manual, if the user has good hand dexterity. I've used both..


www.vitalitymedical.com/encore-impo-aid-manual-vacuum-erection-device-otc.html
Posted 3/15/2011 9:40 PM (GMT 0)
Aimzee,
I have one of those 'fancy' (expensive) medical grade pumps. It will inflate, but the second I hit the release button everything disappears. I tried the rings and found it so painful I quit. Using the pump does not feel good at all. I do it a couple of times a week while in the shower to keep blood circulation working. I'm still hoping that maybe I will get lucky and things will start working again.
I guy can dream.
I have since moved on to double-strength Trimix that is working a little bit.

I am not complaining. I'm dry and my PSA is <0.01 so like our hero Sonny says: "Every day is a bonus."

Jeff (The dry one with the wittle, wimpy winkie)
Posted 3/15/2011 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
Don,

I find it necessary to push the rim of the tube quite firmly into the pubes to get started. Others trim the hair from around that area and use a little lube like KY Gel or shaving cream to help the seal. I do neither.

If you are getting a pump, I suggest one that will be a snug fit around the base of your erection. My pump tube is 2" internal diameter, and I find as the erection progresses, the base expands to form a new seal, so I can forget keeping the seal at the rim -- which the vacuum will tend to keep anyway.

Occasionally I find I don't have a good seal, so I remove the pump, reposition things slightly and try again.

So my experience based on one pump is to avoid a tube that is too big, as that will make it harder to get a good seal.
Posted 3/15/2011 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
The main purpose of a pump for the recovering PCa guy is tissue infusion, organ stretching and therapy for the penis and abdomenal parts of the penis. It will seldom 'jump start' or give a miracle penile nerve repair/recovery, but is used rather to keep the penis and assorteds healthy, stretched and used to being erect. As a substitute for erections, it may or may not be useful. Some guys swear by them for intercourse, others say they don't work well enough to be beneficial. So if you are gonna use the pump, approach it with the attitude that it is being used for therapy, and later, as you become trained in how to use it, it probably can be used for sex also. It isn't a magic wand to restore things the way it was before, but it does have it's place in the recovery process.

As an aside, you can begin to start to think about the notion of injections as the next step in the process of pump, pills, pricks. The injections will do much more good , as far as therapy and tissue health than the pump will, as they will include all the penis, both external and internal, plus you get a useable erection out of it. There is some studies that say early use of injections will speed the recovery, repair and regrowth of penile nerves in some case. All the more reason to seriously consider them...
Posted 3/15/2011 10:27 PM (GMT 0)
I have used the classic osbon pump for 9 years with success.

Both my wife and I have had a good experience with it.

It does take a little to get use to.  If you read others, your husband needs to practice several times a week just pumping up and then letting it down.

It is true that once you release the vacuum he will go down but the rings will do a good job.

The one thing I found is that you can pump too much and it gets uncomfortable the same with the rings.  The wrong rings will delay orgasm since they do deaden feeling.  

There are various rings to use as well as combinations.   A little trial and error since each of us has a different size organ and the affect can vary.

Go to it, it works and we have an  enjoyable time using it.

Any questions, let me know.

Tom

Posted 3/16/2011 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
DaSlink, I think we have the same device. The rubber seal does not help much.

Piano, you are correct that it will seal if it is pushed in hard enough. I guess I am a wimp as the one time I got it to work my pubic bone was sore for days after.  And the tube is 2 inch diameter. Only in my wildest dreams. tongue

On the serious side my doc told me it was doubtful that I would ever regain erectile function of any type. In the last three months I have been getting mild erections in the morning and at night so I though I would try the pump.

Don

Aimzee, apologies if I am hijacking your thread.

Posted 3/16/2011 2:45 PM (GMT 0)

The pump is great!  It got me my life back.  After prostatectomy in 2006 I got minimal natural erection back.  Viagra like drugs, I tried them all, gave me headaches and sinus congestion and didn't help much.  My Dr. set me up with a pump from Augusta Medical.  If you follow their advice, you'll have great success.  It does take some practice, though.  Any time I have questions, I call their help line and get great suggestions on how to make it work better.  It's a good idea to use it every day at first, to get used to it.  Don't wait until the "mood" is right to experiment.

Try different size tension rings to get the one that's comfortable.  It should be reasonably comfortable or it's not the right one.  It's great to have a useable erection that lasts for a long time!  My wife loves it!  Also, when fully erect, it is more stimulating and orgasm is more intense.

The pump is not a perfect solution, but for us it makes love-making fun again! yeah

P.S.:  It probably help that I am an engineer and like to figure out how to make things work.

Posted 3/16/2011 9:35 PM (GMT 0)
Bobbo: welcome to the forum. I also have an engineering background and that helped with the running repairs.

Two other thoughts:

Don mentioned the difficulty of getting a seal at the base, which I generally find fairly easy to do. I think this is where anatomy counts for a lot. Don may be rather bony in that area, while I have a little built-in cushion just the right size :-)

James mentioned the hinge effect and I experienced this too early on. However over time, this has improved for me to such an extent that I hardly have it at all. I think there are two factors in this:

1. I am more expert at getting the constriction rings as close to the base as possible.

2. As time goes by, we recover some natural erectile function. I think that in my case at least, the part of the penis that is inside the body becomes partly erect in sympathy with the part outside. So if you see signs of natural function returning, you may also find the hinge effect reducing.
Posted 3/17/2011 1:40 PM (GMT 0)
I forgot to mention how important it is to get the tension ring as close to the body as possible.  That's one thing that makes the Augusta Medical system work well. The ring also is more comfortable that way. 

To get a tight seal, use a lot of the special lubricant around the rubber ring that pushes against your scrotum.  I have trimmed and shaved pubic hair at times to help with the seal.

Sometimes the tension ring catches too much scrotum and that can cause discomfort, so there's a delicate balance point.

Pratice and patience are so important.  Pump a little at a time and wait for the blood to fill and the penis to stretch.  It also helps to pump until almost fully erect, then release the pressure (without removing the pump), after you go limp for 10 seconds, pump it hard again.  Do this cycle about 10 times or so every day for a while.  If you practice regularly, it will be more comfortable when you need it!

I really miss the natural erection I got before the surgery.  It doesn't just "happen" and I feel defective or broken.  But, with the VED, I can feel "normal" again.  Before surgery, I never realized how important it was to have an erection.

 

Posted 3/18/2011 1:21 AM (GMT 0)

Aimzee,

I personally, have never liked the pump. I use it for therapy but have never had much success using it for intercourse. I have a medical grade device that I bought in the urologist office. It is a little tricky to use, the hinge effect is very real for me and I was never able to overcome it. I also had trouble with the constriction rings; I had to wear two of them to be able keep an erection. The only thing worse than putting them on was taking them off, I found it to be more trouble than it was worth. However, once I start using injections, things really turned around for me. I have been using Trimix for over a year and I couldn’t be more pleased. My only regret is that I didn’t start sooner. Once I got past the thought of injecting myself, I really started to rebound. I still use the pump for therapy, and I believe it will be a help to anyone. Tell your husband not to fear the needle, it’s really not a big deal and the results are well worth it. Kudos to you for being supportive, I have a very supportive wife and that makes all the difference in the world.

Good luck,

Lynn

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