Implants v Injections

[skk1939]

Hey All,

I'm new here, and I plan to post something soon "introducing" myself in the proper forum....

In the meantime, in a nutshell, I'm 51yrs old, Type 2 diabetic 7 years, which has been perfectly controlled since diagnosis. I also have a little bit of a cholesterol and BP issue - both very well controlled as well. I work out 6x a week, and actually do part time personal training. In short, I'm very fit. My ED has been developing the past 4-5 years. For the first two years, I used 10mg cialis, and everthing was cool. About two years ago, I upped it to 20mg cialis. I have been inactive sexually until recently, so about a 1.25 year break. Now.........the oral meds basically don't work. - I get a partial response maybe half the time, but its not that great. I did try Viagra, and pretty much the same as Cialis. My Dr and Urologist are a tad puzzled, because they say I'm in such great shape and take care of my diabetes, etc., they wouldnt have expected this to happen, but you never know. Wha

What does work? Injections. I'm thankful for that at least. I get about an 80% erection from .13-.14ml of trimix. I've tried uppping the dosage to get a bit better quality erection, but the only thing that changes is the duration - upping the dose gets me too near the 4 hour mark, so I just live with an "ok/good" erection.

Dr. wants me to keep on that therapy/use 2x a week, and hope for the outside chance that the oral meds "might" start to work better. I'm actually going to go to the University of Michigan department of Urology to get more in-depth analysis done. I havent completely given up on there being a solution, but my urologist says the only other thing he can do for me is an implant, but he doesnt seem to want me to go that route, at least not yet. He hasn't given me any kind of definate answer as to whats going on - he's completely guessing its blood flow in, with a possible venous leak out. I want to know exactly the cause!

My question for you all is: if injections work/worked for you, would you say still do the penile implant? I would love to her from guys who have done both. I would miss the spontinatety if I stay with injections - being limited to rpetty much just 2-3x a week, but realize there is no going back from the implant....

Thanks in advance. Pardon my typos

-Scott

[billylee]

Scott,
I am fairly new here also and I find lots of imformation. Welcome.

Did the doctor give you any reason why you should not do implant? My partner is very spontaneous so even the injection, if it worked, would be hard for me to use because of lack of planning. As to meds, like you, I get just maybe on them and because of the spontaneous situation I take daily Cialas 2.5mg. Higher dose makes me to sick to be worth it. Not surprised meds may not work for you because they only work on 70% of men so someone such as me has to be in the 30%. Heck, if the implant works as well as I read here, it got to be cheaper (I get Medicare) and I will be ready for any spontaneous desire by partner....that just sounds great.

Hope you get the answers you are searching for here.

Billy

[trucxrule]

Hey,

My story is nearly identical to yours accept for the blood sugar issues. Otherwise 52 and respectably fit with coronary artery health of approx a 39 yr old. No solid determination on me either and Orval's don't work. Started injecting PGE 1 as a maintenance therapy and similar results. I fore gone the tests as Dr said treatment options regardless the same. Shots seem to be the way to go if implant not desired. I feel like I should hold off as long as possible as new therapies are always coming and if not implants should evolve . I'd like to see products that last we'll past 8/10 years, revision updates and erosion/ length loss issues before implants would be considered.

[Dave92014]

I used viagra successfully for 10 years then that stopped working and the other 2 oral meds did not work either. My doc put me on trimix injections and they worked 95% of the time for 18 months and then stopped working. My uro doc told me he has seen this happen many times and was expecting it at some point. He said the injections are acidic so they eventually cause ED rather than solving it. He then did an ultra sound on my penis to verify the blood flow and suggested an implant. Has your uro done an ultra sound on you? The process is easy and gives a diagnostic result. I also am pretty healthy and don't have any heart issues. But my hands and feet get cold easily so that is probably another blood flow indicator.

Then about injections versus implants, the issue I would consider is that during the implant surgery there is a small chance of getting an infection which would require the implant to be removed. My doc said his infection rate is under 2% and I think that is what the best docs quote too. As far as the size issue goes, IMO if you are only doing heterosexual sex I don't think it is an issue. The woman's g-spot is only about 2 or 3 inches inside the vagina so if you end up with at least 3 inches of penis you can satisfy women fine. Also from what I have read women are much less concerned than men are with penis size and they are much more concerned with the emotional bonding values of sex. If you are doing gay sex, that may be a different situation and I have no experience with that.

The implants allow much more spontaneous sex and if your insurance covers them, the cost can be less than injections. On the other hand they do have the small risk of infection during the surgery and the surgery does have a recovery time of several months which you have to look at as an investment in the future. So there is an “apples versus oranges” tradeoff between the two methods that different people will evaluate differently based on their personal preferences and situations. IMO if the injections are working nearly 100% of the time, I would stick with them until their success rate drops. But others may make a different decision.

[franglais]

I had beginnings of ED in my late forties.... and used Viagra with success. But it gave me a headache and a stuffy nose. Prostatectomy at 51 let to permanent ED, even though my surgeon said my surgery was *textbook* and that the erectile nerves peeled away from the prostate with no problem. I turned to injections.... but NEVER liked the way the erection felt... it always felt too *tight*....
I was terrified by the idea of an implant.... but I began to explore.... and finally had it done in Feb 2012. Wish I had had it done years before! The surgery was SO much easier than I had imagined.... in the hospital overnight.... back to work in three weeks.... And now, I can have an erection whenever.... and for as long as.... I like. I have chatted with some guys who use the injections and are very pleased.... but I never was.

Best regards,
MikeH

[KMeister]

I'm 56 years old. Started having ED problems about five years ago. Did the pills; that worked for a while then less so. Did the injections; that worked for a while but kept having to up the dose for quality erection. Finally had the implant surgery. Glad I did. From what I've read, injections are just not long-term solution. However, implant is indeed a last resort. Only do it after you've exhausted all other remedies.

KMeister

[Bionic_by_AMS]

Scott,
For reading your health issues ... you are fighting a losing battle ...

Basically your BP meds and cholesterol meds along with diabetes just kill the "blood flow" needed for an erection. The ED pills are not enough to overcome your issues. Being in shape and taking care of your diabetes will not repair the existing damage to your blood vessels.
http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/high-blood-pressure-erectile-dysfunction

If increasing the injection dosage does not get you beyond 80% ... sounds like venous leak and is not curable in older males. Do you really want to continue to inject for the next +20 years? ...

"but realize there is no going back from the implant" ... that statement always makes me laugh. Going back to what? An Implant will completely resolve your ED issues.

[skk1939]

Scott,
I am fairly new here also and I find lots of imformation. Welcome.

Did the doctor give you any reason why you should not do implant? My partner is very spontaneous so even the injection, if it worked, would be hard for me to use because of lack of planning. As to meds, like you, I get just maybe on them and because of the spontaneous situation I take daily Cialas 2.5mg. Higher dose makes me to sick to be worth it. Not surprised meds may not work for you because they only work on 70% of men so someone such as me has to be in the 30%. Heck, if the implant works as well as I read here, it got to be cheaper (I get Medicare) and I will be ready for any spontaneous desire by partner....that just sounds great.

Hope you get the answers you are searching for here.

Billy

Hey Billy,

I think he isn't pushing the implants because he sees it as a last resort, and wants to be sure all other avenues are exhausted beforehand, since there is no going back. He keeps using the term "its a process". I'm just not sure the point. If the meds don't work reliably, as is now the case, how can I "count" on them? I think he has some hope/belief that over time, they may improve coupled with the injections. Even if they do, it's got to be a fairly quick matter of time till they fail once and for all. Again, right now my choice appears to be living with injections, or moving on to implants. I'm starting to lean toward an implant, but I'll give this "process" another couple months I guess. If I was specifically holding out for some "about to be released" treatment it would be once thing, but there isn't some miracle right over the horizon, so why wait much longer? I am going to the University of Michigan department of Urology this week for a kind of second opinion. They have said they will run tests like the ultrasound and/or pelvic scans, etc etc. So, I'm hopeful I will at least know whats going on, even if they can't offer a different treatment.....