One year post implant and not doing well

[Redsf4040]

Earlier this month I had my one year anniversary for my implant surgery. I heard so many wonderful stories about the success of implants but that is not the case for me. I wanted to wait a full year to give my body time to heal.

A brief background. I am now 60 years old, I am in great shape physically as I regularly do both cardiovascular and weight training and when people find out my age they often remark that I look much younger. My problems with ED started about 11-12 years ago. Viagra worked for a long while but I had to gradually increase my dosage and eventually it stopped working. I tried the other ED drugs with no success. I tried the VED and it did next to nothing. I did the trimix and super trimix and the only thing I got from that was peyronie's disease due to injection site swelling.

I ended up having the implant earlier this month. My insurance is with Kaiser and I went with the high volume Urologist Dr. Kai Li. The surgery went great. No significant pain and no other complications.

I do not know to measure my length before surgery but I noticed pretty quick that erection size was smaller. With daily cycling for a year it did get bigger but not sure if it returned to pre surgery size. I always thought my erections were on the small size.

The implant is Boston Scientific, Accessry Ams 700 Penile Prosthesis; Rear Tip Extender; Ams 700 Lgx Ms Pump.

My sense is that after surgery the sensitivity/feeling of my penis was less than before surgery, I hoped with time that this would get better but it has not. I would not say it is numb but definitely has less feeling.

I have not been able to obtain ejaculation except for 2 times (one back in November and a 2nd in December). I hoped that it would get better but it has not. I can masturbate with a hard effort. But to be honest with you, I did not spend a lot of money, time and stress to achieve some half hearted results through masterbation (which also carriers a stigma for me for religious reasons). So I am viewing the surgery as a failure. I did have a post implant appointment with my surgeon at about 6 months and he recommended I take Amantadine 2 hours before attempting intercourse. I did that but it is not helping.

The surgeon is not available for any additional follow up appointment (video or in person. apparently a promotion has changed his schedule) so being with Kaiser the only way to communicate with him is through email.


See below email from the Surgeon that I received last week when I reported my results:

Thanks for the update. The implant solves the erection issue, but not the orgasm issue. The implant is just a mechanical device. The threshold to orgasm happens in the brain and has many inputs such as degree of stimulation (visual, touch, smell, etc) and other factors. The only trick I have in my book is the amantadine which I'm sorry is not working well.
I would recommend seeking a sex therapist in the community. This is not something we have at Kaiser.
Kai Li, MD
Department of Urology

I was hoping to get some peoples comments about my situation. Is the doctor correct that the Amantadine is the only option post-surgery option? Should I pursue therapy with someone with sex therapy experience? This is going to get really expensive as insurance will not cover this. I know results with counseling therapy are not assured. Should I accept that the implant was a failure for me? Any other advice?

[Old Guy]

Your doctor is right; the implant only controls the erection. Did you have sensitivity issues prior to getting the implant? At one year post the nerves should have healed by now.