Community Input

[splitpeach]

My Dilemma: I'm late 30s, ED since teen. Been using injections for last seven years.

If I get an implant it will be a Rigicon. I have the option of getting one implanted by a leading surgeon in 3 weeks. I need to let them know now.

My dick is fine, nice size, good shape etc. Injections still work for me in some way but they're becoming less effective, less longer lasting and I'm getting tired of having to obtain them, carry them and sneak off to take them.

What would you all do?

I'm concerned about penile shortening, sensation loss but most of all shape change.

And of course there's no turning back.

Too young?

Too functional (with injections)?

Its a departmental trial they're doing so Rigicon may not be offered otherwise with them for some time after this. That's the other issue.

I want the Rigicon and I want it done by this surgeon.

Also, I wanted to do it after summer if anything. Why go through recovery all over summer. I want to be recovering in the "off season" over winter.

[GoodWood]

I won’t tell you what you should do, but I’ll tell you what I did.

Once the maximum-dose injections stopped lasting long enough for me to relax and enjoy sex, I knew it was time for an implant. When the window gets so short that you feel like you have to rush before the shot wears off, it stops being enjoyable.

My recovery was easy. I never needed any narcotic pain medication—ice packs and ibuprofen were enough. I was back at work on day 11. With my surgeon’s approval, I was able to gently masturbate on day 9. I was cleared for sex at 3 weeks, and by 4 weeks I was having very vigorous sex with multiple partners.

I had the surgery at the end of March last year, and I had an awesome summer.

[lasthope2.0]

I'm not shy about admitting that my sensations took a huge hit after the implant. My only regret is not trying Trimix up to the max dose before jumping directly from pills to the implant.

Most guys here seem to have good sensations, which is encouraging news for choosing the irreversible implant pathway.

[splitpeach]

I won’t tell you what you should do, but I’ll tell you what I did.

Once the maximum-dose injections stopped lasting long enough for me to relax and enjoy sex, I knew it was time for an implant. When the window gets so short that you feel like you have to rush before the shot wears off, it stops being enjoyable.

My recovery was easy. I never needed any narcotic pain medication—ice packs and ibuprofen were enough. I was back at work on day 11. With my surgeon’s approval, I was able to gently masturbate on day 9. I was cleared for sex at 3 weeks, and by 4 weeks I was having very vigorous sex with multiple partners.

I had the surgery at the end of March last year, and I had an awesome summer.

Very helpful. How was your size over last summer compared to now?

Sensation change?

Appearance change? Surfboard?

What was a negative change?

[splitpeach]

I'm not shy about admitting that my sensations took a huge hit after the implant. My only regret is not trying Trimix up to the max dose before jumping directly from pills to the implant.

Most guys here seem to have good sensations, which is encouraging news for choosing the irreversible implant pathway.

What was the change in your sensations and did they improve up to now?

[GoodWood]

I won’t tell you what you should do, but I’ll tell you what I did.

Once the maximum-dose injections stopped lasting long enough for me to relax and enjoy sex, I knew it was time for an implant. When the window gets so short that you feel like you have to rush before the shot wears off, it stops being enjoyable.

My recovery was easy. I never needed any narcotic pain medication—ice packs and ibuprofen were enough. I was back at work on day 11. With my surgeon’s approval, I was able to gently masturbate on day 9. I was cleared for sex at 3 weeks, and by 4 weeks I was having very vigorous sex with multiple partners.

I had the surgery at the end of March last year, and I had an awesome summer.

Very helpful. How was your size over last summer compared to now?

Sensation change?

Appearance change? Surfboard?

What was a negative change?

The journal post in my signature details my implant experience including measurements and pictures.

I quickly (within the first couple months) got right back to my preop size.

I had absolutely no decrease in sensitivity. In fact my brain interprets the sensation of having a rock hard rigid shaft as “OMG I’M SO TURNED ON!!”

The shape of my inflated implant is more oval than my previous shape, but I wouldn’t call it surfboard. And no one I’ve had sex with has mentioned any issue with the shape. Any comments have been positive and along the lines of it being big.

I haven’t had any negative changes and have no regrets. I love this thing.

[Old Guy]

No, you are not too young. If it's broken you fix it. I used Trimix for a couple years. When the injections began to be unreliable it was devastating, depressing and I thought my sex life was over. The bad about injections is the timing. You need to plan sex. Start getting frisky but then excuse yourself to go stick a needle in your penis. What a mood killer. I always wondered if there were any long-term effects as well.
My thought on getting implanted is do it asap. The lack of erections can lead to size loss. I fought ED for 13 years before implant and lost length. Wish I had found Frank Talk back then and not 5 months after my surgery.

[LGXDownunder]

My Dilemma: I'm late 30s, ED since teen. Been using injections for last seven years.

If I get an implant it will be a Rigicon. I have the option of getting one implanted by a leading surgeon in 3 weeks. I need to let them know now.

My dick is fine, nice size, good shape etc. Injections still work for me in some way but they're becoming less effective, less longer lasting and I'm getting tired of having to obtain them, carry them and sneak off to take them.

What would you all do?

I'm concerned about penile shortening, sensation loss but most of all shape change.

And of course there's no turning back.

Too young?

Too functional (with injections)?

Its a departmental trial they're doing so Rigicon may not be offered otherwise with them for some time after this. That's the other issue.

I want the Rigicon and I want it done by this surgeon.

Also, I wanted to do it after summer if anything. Why go through recovery all over summer. I want to be recovering in the "off season" over winter.

splitpeach, I have been reading your concerns for some time. I do get your dilemma, but ultimately no one can make that decision other than yourself.
If it was me I would go for it immediately, but I'm about 30 years older, had zero erectile function and every other solution had failed.
At your age the main concern for me would be how many revisions you may need during your lifetime, assuming no further medical advances improving implant longevity, or making them redundant altogether. Some of the other concerns are a risk, but most of us seem to have successful outcomes and those fears are never realised.

By all accounts you have possibly the best and most experienced implant surgeon in the UK. Sure, he gets the odd complaint like they all do, but I would have been very keen to have him do my surgery if he operated here.

I don't have the Rigicon AX but my AMS LGX has similar properties and I haven't noticed any significant shape change. Possibly very slightly more oval, but it's so trivial that no one would notice other than me. I did have temporary shortening post op (very common), which I recovered over a period of months with regular cycling. I also had some numbness at the base of my shaft above the penoscrotal incision, but it has almost gone now and has never affected the most sensitive parts or my ability to orgasm.

I live in a mild climate, so the recovery period timing wasn't a consideration. But in my experience post op conditions like cold glans and pain are worse in cold weather. I would actually prefer to recover over summer, especially in a colder climate. And the typical recovery period usually isn't all that long, to get to a point of relative comfort. Sex can often resume fairly quickly, depending on your surgeon's protocols and your own healing progress.

Yes it's a one way street, but I have no regrets having 24/7 on demand, robust, adjustable erections within seconds, that only retreat when you want them to. And over time I regained my pre ED erect size, orgasm 100% of the time from PIV sex, and now have an impressive flaccid hang as a bonus.
It really depends on how bad it is for you as things stand. I'm with Old Guy, if it's broken fix it, but it depends on your own definition of broken.