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Good point on pump position. I could not feel the deflate tabs til about week 4. Week 5 I could feel the entire pump.

I have asked myself the same question many times: Is it really supposed to be this hard, and how on earth is an 80 year old with some arthritis in his hands going to make it?

The pump can be very, very hard to press for the first pump sometimes, especially in the beginning before it is broken in. Much harder than you would ever imagine.

I would call myself pretty strong as well - somewhere in your league.
However, I mostly use two hands to do the first pump.
I also could never get to my maximum hardness level with one hand. Absolutely no way. Perhaps half way. Which still would be a decent hardness, for sure good enough for sex. But I prefer truly rock hard, and to get there I need two hands for the last 20-30 pumps. Only with two hands can I make it 100% full.

Anyway, I can let you know my grip technique, and if it helps you then all good.

Assuming I am standing up, I take my dominant hand (right) and place the index and middle finger behind the bulb.
Not the finger tips, but rather the middle joints of the fingers, sort of cupping the bulb with the fingers.
Next, I take my thumb and place it on the front side of the bulb.
Then I basically do the same thing with my left hand.
I take my left index and middle fingers and place them on top of my right index and middle fingers.
I take my left thumb and place it on top of my right thumb.
Now I have two hands, the three strongest fingers of both hands.
I basically have all the grip power of two hands. Not losing much on leaving out the two weakest fingers on each hand.
From here, I just press as hard as it takes.
With a one hand grip, I could probably do around 20 pumps.
With this grip, I can do 60.

And in your case, when the pump bulb is really stuck, I don't think I could fix it with one hand.

Just one word of caution. Since with this grip, and some strength behind it, you will be able to put a lot of force on the pump.
So be sure that it really is the pump bulb you are pressing. It is spherical. Not box.shaped. Be sure about this before you break anything.

Good luck.

Thank you all for the reassurance. I'm seeing the doc tomorrow so hopefully we get this figured out. He assured me I'm not going to lose any size by not cycle for these two days.

I struggled with the first time too. Like you, I have a strong grip. I was frustrated and angry that after all that pain and swelling, I got the defective pump. Went back to doctor and in 30 seconds he was pumping it up. After a full inflation, he had me deflate, and coached me through my first time. My comfort hit the roof when I felt that bulb crush, and felt fluid flow. I struggled for about a month after that getting the valve to trip, but sitting in a hot tub, making sure all the tubing was straight, I was able to cycle every night. It got easier everytime. Looking back, the one hint he gave me that made the most sense was to hold my penis up against my stomach when pumping, minimizing the chance of any kinking of the tubing. I had fewer problems following that advice. Good luck and let us know how it gies.

Good suggestions but hard to soak in hot water when the op is at work. I suspect that his best strategy is to cycle the pump up & down a lot to get it broke in. Then it should be easier to use for work. I think his main worries relate to his profession. Man's gotta eat & pay the bills.
Good luck.

The valve on my AMS was very sticky and wouldn't open. Keep messing with it and cycle often. It will get easier.

Update:

Saw my doc on Friday 2/21. He squeezed the pump and clicked the valve at the same time, and it began working. He inflated me to about 70% then deflated, then had me do it once myself.

Once home, I did it entirely myself and it worked perfectly. The doc explained because this is a very large implant, it will take 40-50 squeezes for it become fully erect. So I did just that and wow! It was just as a big if not a little bigger than before, but just as importantly, it worked (see attached pic). I sat there and had tears streaming down my face.

After more than twenty years of absolute fear of sexual situations (if I didn't have my Trimix), my ordeal is finally over. No more painful injections, infections or ugly bruising. And yes, the other benefit in shooting porn, is that I'll be able to go as long as I need to without doing 2-3 shots in one day.

So one more question guys- how long was it post surgery before you masturbated and how long before actual sex? The official recommendations say 4-6 weeks. My doc's physician assistant said that's to prevent infection, and has nothing to do with the implant itself. My incision is healing incredibly well (see attached pic). Do y'all agree on that?

It varies from doctor to doctor and person to person. Infection is a really bad deal as many doctors just remove and flush and do not replace. Then there is a 6 month wait before another attempt can be made. This usually results in loss of size. Some will place a malleable in to help with size loss and few will do full revision. I was to activate at 3 weeks and cleared for sex at 4 weeks but I still had stiches after 8 weeks that did not dissolve. I did not masturbate until I was cleared for sex but I was very afraid of infection. Given your occupation I would talk to my doctor about this. I would guess that the incision would need to be completely healed. After that I would pay very close attention to the incision site and anywhere else for abrasions or brakes in the skin. Maybe your doctor would have solutions if this happens.

The incision doesn’t yet look fully healed. Did the doc use stitches and / or glue?

Just an opinion. I always felt that the infection risk was due to internal bleeding that created a site for infection to start. Personally, I would recommend that when you return to work. That for the first few weeks that you only accept roles that are on the easy or to say gentle side. If my hunch is correct & the internal bleeding is the danger. It would be difficult to detect. Perhaps a close self examination looking for bruising or new bumps would be wise the following day after a shoot.