Early 30s considering implant - MANY questions

[ElbowRoom]

Hey awf_1993… it sounds like you’re going through the same progression many of us have traveled before.

It’s certainly fine to try pumps and injections, but IMO there are significant downsides to both, particularly if you’re a young single man. Both are “spontaneity killers” in that they take some prep work before each use. I ended up planning sex when I was on injections for a long time, which kind of ruins some of the fun. In my case injections still worked pretty well, but I wanted the spontaneity back.

Also injections can cause scarring and fibrosis in the corporal bodies, which can make them less effective over time and cause curvature of the penis (Peyronie’s Disease). I found pumps to take multiple uses, so you’d pump up, fuck a bit, get soft, stop to pump again, rinse and repeat. Not a great way to build excitement.

The implant has been a great solution for me, it’s on demand and produces extremely hard erections if desired. It only takes a few seconds to inflate, and women would never know it’s there unless you tell them.

But keep in mind there are downsides to implants too. You can have complications, infection, etc, that can make it frustrating. At your young age you’d probably have several revisions to replace the device over your life, they typically last 8-10 years, but yours might last 20 or it might last two, there is no way to know. Either way you are looking at several surgeries over your lifetime, with a slight increase in infection risk each time.

The implant is fantastic if you want to have amazing sex as much as you want, but in the rare case the surgery or recovery goes sideways, it can be quite traumatic.

[Tokyo_123]

My urologist had an interesting approach to this question. He said there really isn’t a point to testing for venous leak, because it doesn’t change the treatment plan. The test involves inducing an erection with an injection and b serving with Doppler the rate at which blood then escapes your corpora. My doc essentially said I had a very high probability of venous leak, based on my description of a lifetime ability to get an erection under certain circumstances, but extreme difficulty in maintaining it.

Venous leak is essentially a failure in preventing blood from leaving your cavernosa once it gets in. It hinders getting an erection in the first place, but also in keeping it. For those that have it, it can often manifest as something that looks psychological, because you are capable of getting erections, especially when relaxed, such as when masturbating by yourself. And as a result it is deeply intertwined with our history of blaming ED on psychological issues.

Let’s say a Doppler test confirms you have venous leak. So what? It doesn’t change the treatment plan, which is pills first line, injections second, and implant if neither work or produce a satisfactory sex life.

Let’s say it doesn’t confirm you have venous leak. Now what? It could be your insurance doesn’t cover the implant, claiming it’s psychological. Or the patient gets confused and blames their psychology. Or it could even be a false negative. Or whatever.

The point is: the treatment plan is for erectile dysfunction, not for venous leak. It doesn’t really matter *why* you have ED, what matters is how you solve it.

Venous leak can come about because of an injury. So a Doppler test may make sense if you are trying to rule out a sudden onset of ED for psychological reasons. But if your ED is chronic and not responding to pills, it’s not psychological.

My advice: if your urologist recommends a Doppler test, great. But I would focus more on the solution for your ED rather than the reason for it, because the reason doesn’t matter for your treatment.

Strongly disagree. The reason why so many men have erection difficulties is due to a weakened heart. This could be the canary in the coalmine, so to speak, and could be indicator of future heart attack. I want to know what is wrong with myself, in case there are other issues that are related.

Personally, I wanted to know why I had ED issues. It also gave me closure. Also, as I recall the test was only $200, took 30 minutes or so. After tested, my doctor told me I had the near worst case of Veanous Leakage he has ever seen. My issues were not physical, not emotional, and I am thrilled to know it's cause.

[awf_1993]

Hey all, coming back with a few more questions as I get closer to consulting with a professional.

- When fully inflated, does it internally feel like a normal erection? That same physical urge? The weight, the warmth, the throb of a natural erection, that sort of thing? Or is that a feeling you give up in exchange for the artificial hardness and stability?

- Since there is no refractory period, is there any difficulty in continuing penetration after you ejaculate? Does the sensitivity shift at that point at all?

- Is there any situation in your normal daily life where you'd notice or be bothered by your flaccid implant? Sitting with your legs crossed, shifting in a chair, squats, anything like that you find different or that you avoid, because of the implant?

- When did you stop telling yourself you were crazy to consider this, or crazier yet go through with it? It seems the more comfortable I get with the idea, the more my fear tells me that I'm insane for thinking about this, and that i'm blowing this all out of proportion somehow.

- Is your implant an inflatable or a malleable? And how would the differences between the two affect any of the questions above? ^

Thanks again, you guys are an invaluable resource

[ElbowRoom]

Hey all, coming back with a few more questions as I get closer to consulting with a professional.

- When fully inflated, does it internally feel like a normal erection? That same physical urge? The weight, the warmth, the throb of a natural erection, that sort of thing? Or is that a feeling you give up in exchange for the artificial hardness and stability?

- Since there is no refractory period, is there any difficulty in continuing penetration after you ejaculate? Does the sensitivity shift at that point at all?

- Is there any situation in your normal daily life where you'd notice or be bothered by your flaccid implant? Sitting with your legs crossed, shifting in a chair, squats, anything like that you find different or that you avoid, because of the implant?

- When did you stop telling yourself you were crazy to consider this, or crazier yet go through with it? It seems the more comfortable I get with the idea, the more my fear tells me that I'm insane for thinking about this, and that i'm blowing this all out of proportion somehow.

- Is your implant an inflatable or a malleable? And how would the differences between the two affect any of the questions above? ^

Thanks again, you guys are an invaluable resource

The erection from the implant feels remarkably similar to a natural erection, that same sense of internal tension, the throbbing when you flex your pelvic floor, all of it. There’s not much sensation from inside the corpora, and since that’s the area replaced, it feels the same.

I would not say there’s anything you have to avoid, but you do have to be aware. I have a 28cm Titan implant, and my flaccid penis is now quite large, almost 8” long. I can run and do resistance training normally, but I have to wear snug underwear to hold it all in place and if in public I have to be aware of what others are seeing. Long baggy shirts can help. With a smaller implant it might be easier, but the flaccid with an implant is almost always more visible than a natural penis.

You can keep going after orgasm, but you’re quite sensitive and so might need to slow down a bit until things calm down. But yeah, if you want to fuck all night you can. I sometimes sleep inside my girlfriend at about 60% inflation, and wake up that way in the morning.

At some point you get tired of treating your ED…pills, shots, pumps, rings…and want a cure. An implant is the cure for ED. You simply don’t have it anymore, you can be on demand, as long as desired, regardless of your physical state. Tired, drunk, sore muscles, sick or injured, it doesn’t matter. Squeeze the pump and you will get hard. It’s not perfect, there are potential complications, bad outcomes, device failures requiring replacement, etc. But if everything goes well you are free from ED. Whether you are at the point in your journey to accept the risks to get the benefits is something only you can answer.

[LGXDownunder]

Hey all, coming back with a few more questions as I get closer to consulting with a professional.

You've had some really great replies already, most of which I would agree with. I'll add my 2 cents worth on your latest questions from my own experience, should it help.

- When fully inflated, does it internally feel like a normal erection? That same physical urge? The weight, the warmth, the throb of a natural erection, that sort of thing? Or is that a feeling you give up in exchange for the artificial hardness and stability?

Physical urge is the same and not really a function of the implant. Obviously you do have to manually create the erection yourself rather than it happening naturally from sexual arousal. That said, yes it feels perfectly normal and sensation, orgasm etc are all still there. In my case it took many months before sex felt normal and the implant felt just like a part of my body. I don't believe that I've given up anything, but rather gained additional functionality. I can be fully erect almost instantly whenever and wherever I want. My penis stays erect until I decide that I'm done with it.

- Since there is no refractory period, is there any difficulty in continuing penetration after you ejaculate? Does the sensitivity shift at that point at all?

I'm post prostatectomy so unfortunately can no longer ejaculate, but I can definitely keep going after (dry) orgasm. I tend to fuck for a long time continuously and sensitivity can build up but nothing significant. The implant stays hard even after you cum so you can keep going indefinitely.

- Is there any situation in your normal daily life where you'd notice or be bothered by your flaccid implant? Sitting with your legs crossed, shifting in a chair, squats, anything like that you find different or that you avoid, because of the implant?

Not really. Just about everyone has a much larger flaccid penis post implant. If you were a grower previously like me it's actually a welcome change!
I think I gained more than 1.5 inches flaccid length over previous, but there's now not a big difference between flaccid and erect size. I did find the extra flaccid length a bit uncomfortable initially but soon got used to it. It can cause more of a bulge in my clothing depending on what I wear but TBH I don't really care and probably no one else does either. I do get occasional smiles from younger women, but at my age I'll take it . For occasions where it matters I'll dress in loose clothing. For active pursuits that I do like cycling, hiking etc I haven't had any issues. Very well endowed guys can sometimes have more of a problem but most seem to find ways to deal with it.

- When did you stop telling yourself you were crazy to consider this, or crazier yet go through with it? It seems the more comfortable I get with the idea, the more my fear tells me that I'm insane for thinking about this, and that i'm blowing this all out of proportion somehow.

I wrestled with the idea for nearly 3 years before I finally committed to an implant. My ED was sudden onset due to surgery causing 100% profound loss of any level of erection whatsoever. I was told that my erectile function would return eventually but nothing was further from the truth.
Based on that advice I refused to consider an implant and wasted several years on pills, injections and other treatments that all failed miserably, and none was convenient or spontaneous. And I believe injections did more harm than good during the very brief period that they worked, by causing scar tissue/fibrosis. Like many I was initially apprehensive and kept shaking my head at the idea of shoving large foreign objects permanently inside my dick and scrotum. But after a lot of research including on Franktalk, I couldn't wait to get into the OR and on the table. No regrets other than not doing it sooner.

- Is your implant an inflatable or a malleable? And how would the differences between the two affect any of the questions above?

Mine is inflatable. I can only give you that perspective from actual experience. With a malleable you don't pump it up, rather bend it into position, so your penis is effectively always at fully erect length. Sensation etc I would think should be much the same but I haven't had an MPP. The differences are mainly simplicity and possibly fewer future revisions. Many guys love their MPPs. I didn't go with one because one of my priorities was to restore size I lost due to atrophy from ED. An IPP is more likely to achieve that.