Day 50 of My Journey

[barrylandon]

In my earlier posts, I detailed the steps that led me to the Final Frontier...IPP surgery on May 6, 2020. To summarize, longtime use of Cialis, Levitra and Viagra all eventually ineffective despite high off-label dosages; injectable Tri-Mix (for painful erections lasting up to 12 hours and 3 ER visits for Priapism in three weeks); then various strengths of Bi-Mix, unreliable and ultimately failed too. Following that came a series of Shockwave treatments and an injection of embryonic stem cells. Fail and fail. OK, what now? I have always enjoyed making love to my gorgeous wife of 37 years and I wasn't ready to accept living the rest of my life as an impotent man or husband.
So, realizing at that point that implantation was the only option left, I began diligently researching procedures, surgeons and products. I also found FT and became a serial lurker, digesting as much information as possible from the Bionic Brotherhood and occasionally posting to learn as much as possible from all of their experiences...the good, the bad and, sadly, on occasion, the ugly!
Apparently, this was meant to happen for me because as the Covid-19 pandemic ramped up, the surgeon and surgical center I selected were cancelling "elective" surgeries on a rolling weekly basis. However, after a nearly two-month shutdown in operations, I became the very FIRST surgical patient to undergo IPP implantation at its facilities.
Upon discharge after a 23-hour overnight hold, I wasn't very swollen or in much pain but just a day later my scrotal sac was extremely swollen, discolored and painful and remained that way for a number of weeks.Ice, ice and more ice. Eventually, daily hot baths and elevation brought these under control and allowed me to wean off the narcotic painkillers to Extra Strength Tylenol. I began cycling during week three but had to stop both cycling and hot baths (doctor's orders) at week five because my incision was not healing properly. Other than a daily shower, I was instructed to keep the penio-scrotal incision area dry and covered with non-stick Telfa pads. That seemed to do the trick because at my appointment on Day 47 post-op, my surgeon not only cleared me to resume daily one-hour cycling, he actually ENCOURAGED me to take my new bionic dick for a test drive, which I did that very same night with the green light from my SO! Happy to report, the damned thing actually worked as advertised!! I nearly wept with joy over being able to do things I hadn't been able to do in the bedroom for many, many years.
I'm not one of those guys who will tell you that "I wish I had done this 10 years ago" because I wouldn't have done it until all other medical options had been tried...and failed. What I will tell you is this: I'm now at the stage of recovery when I can look ahead to what my Bionic Brothers say will keep getting better and better.
Thanks to all of you who have unknowingly supported me on my journey thus far and I hope that by journaling tonight I'm paying it forward for those of you thinking about taking this journey yourself.

[AussieFarmer65]

Thanks for this encouraging post. I've been thinking about an implant for years and having exhausted all other options have now made an appointment to see my Urologist. In some ways, I wondered if I have over researched and become anxious about the procedure. Notwithstanding, I decided that my options have dried up and I ask myself; do I want to live the rest of my life with severe ED when there is a solution. Answer - NO, NO, NO! Positive posts like yours are really valuable. Thank you.

[Gt1956]

Thanks for this encouraging post. I've been thinking about an implant for years and having exhausted all other options have now made an appointment to see my Urologist. In some ways, I wondered if I have over researched and become anxious about the procedure. Notwithstanding, I decided that my options have dried up and I ask myself; do I want to live the rest of my life with severe ED when there is a solution. Answer - NO, NO, NO! Positive posts like yours are really valuable. Thank you.

A few words of caution. I don't know if you truly live in Oz. But in the USA & perhaps where you live also. Not all urologist's preform implant surgeries. Please do a very good investigation of his background. In my state with a population of about 3.5 million people. Only 2 or 3 do penile implants & only one does any significant numbers per year.
You are doing good by researching the procedure here. Make sure that your surgeon gets the same level of scrutiny. Good luck.

[Old Guy]

Awesome Barry! I went through all the "fixes" too, Viagra, Trimix, Quadmix, which all eventually failed. Side effects were terrible too, pain in my shaft for 2 days after injecting, migraines from oral drugs, then the final frontier.
It took me months to heal though, it was a tough journey but now I'm mostly happy with the outcome. I did lose some length, and that's probably my fault for not knowing the questions to ask before going under the knife. If I had found FT before surgery the end result might have been better.
Good luck on your recovery.

[AussieFarmer65]

Thanks for this encouraging post. I've been thinking about an implant for years and having exhausted all other options have now made an appointment to see my Urologist. In some ways, I wondered if I have over researched and become anxious about the procedure. Notwithstanding, I decided that my options have dried up and I ask myself; do I want to live the rest of my life with severe ED when there is a solution. Answer - NO, NO, NO! Positive posts like yours are really valuable. Thank you.

A few words of caution. I don't know if you truly live in Oz. But in the USA & perhaps where you live also. Not all urologist's preform implant surgeries. Please do a very good investigation of his background. In my state with a population of about 3.5 million people. Only 2 or 3 do penile implants & only one does any significant numbers per year.
You are doing good by researching the procedure here. Make sure that your surgeon gets the same level of scrutiny. Good luck.

[AussieFarmer65]

Sorry GT, I pressed submit before my answer.
Thanks for your reply. Yes I do live in Australia in a rural and regional area so I have to travel to get the implant.
I've done some research and apparently the Urologist is an AMS Mentor for IPP as well as a senior University lecturer etc., so I'm assuming he is a medium volume implanter. My referring doctor said he was well skilled in this surgery. I'll find out next Wednesday week when I see him. Does anyone know what an AMS Mentor is?

[Gt1956]

Sorry GT, I pressed submit before my answer.
Thanks for your reply. Yes I do live in Australia in a rural and regional area so I have to travel to get the implant.
I've done some research and apparently the Urologist is an AMS Mentor for IPP as well as a senior University lecturer etc., so I'm assuming he is a medium volume implanter. My referring doctor said he was well skilled in this surgery. I'll find out next Wednesday week when I see him. Does anyone know what an AMS Mentor is?

English can be a tricky language at times, in my opinion. My first read of Mentor makes me think of a training facility. I.e. to mentor other doctors. But again, English can be tricky on some words. Any chance that this facility has a web site that might give you a clue as to what Mentor might mean?
As for volume surgeons. My proposed surgeon says that most of the urologist's that do implants either know or are aware of each other. He claims to do about 150 a year. Probably a little less this year because of this Corona virus mess. He also said that the vast majority of implants are installed by surgeons that only do a couple a year. I think that you can guess which group you need to look for.
I'm sure that some searching using the search function here on the forum can find you some past members in Oz that got an implant. Whether they are in your providence is what you'll need to learn. Oz is a big place & I have no idea where the population centers are.
I wish you the best luck. Your surgeon is out there, finding him is the problem.

[AussieFarmer65]

Thanks GT. I'll try and Google what an AMS Mentor is. I'll keep exploring but my referring mens health doctor gave me the impression that the Urologist would be a medium volume guy.

[barrylandon]

My Urologist/IPP surgeon (Jesse Mills at UCLA) is an AMS Mentor. What this means is that he consults with other surgeons in the Los Angeles area who are considering Boston Scientific products for their own practice.
Ironically, today is Day 100 of My Journey and I had a follow-up appointment this afternoon with Dr. Mills. When I last saw him 6 weeks ago, my incision had not yet fully healed and the pump was stuck to the inner layer of my scrotal skin, which was keeping it from descending to the bottom of my sac. Both of these issues have since resolved and all post-op challenges I faced have been successfully overcome...and everything works as intended!!!
Dr. Mills said I could stop tugging down on the pump now and cease cycling when I can pump to max without pain. He assured me that my length would not regress if I stopped cycling at that point.
For many of us men who have suffered from ED for years, it can still take some time -- even with an implant -- to leap the mental "fear of failure" belief system that's so ingrained in our psyches. I remind myself before every lovemaking session with my wife that I WON'T FAIL...I CAN'T FAIL!!! She has rewarded me by having multiple orgasms in the "woman on top" position for the first time in more years than I care to recount.
As a "grower" my entire adult life, I'm also delighted with an unexpected surgical outcome...my flaccid penis now hangs 3 times longer than it did pre-surgery. I'm a very happy camper with a wife who didn't want me to have the surgery but is now very glad that I did!!

[Waynetho]

My Urologist/IPP surgeon (Jesse Mills at UCLA) is an AMS Mentor. What this means is that he consults with other surgeons in the Los Angeles area who are considering Boston Scientific products for their own practice.
Ironically, today is Day 100 of My Journey and I had a follow-up appointment this afternoon with Dr. Mills. When I last saw him 6 weeks ago, my incision had not yet fully healed and the pump was stuck to the inner layer of my scrotal skin, which was keeping it from descending to the bottom of my sac. Both of these issues have since resolved and all post-op challenges I faced have been successfully overcome...and everything works as intended!!!

Congrats on 100 days! It's great, isn't it? I'm at 42 weeks (294 days) and I'm counting the days until my 1 year anniversary. Just made mad passionate ... to my lovely wife tonight and rocked her world as I'm sure you are doing with yours. Congratulations again and may you keep on going strong! It's a new world out there when you have a working dick!