Psychologial effect of implant

[merrix]

I am seriously considering an implant after life-long ED.
.
I just have one question to all you guys out there who have done it:
ED is a twofold problem: The physical and psychological. I think there is no question whether a successful implant surgery solves the physical problem of not being able to get a good erection.
But what about the psychological part? I am afraid I will still feel 'impotent'. That I will feel as unnormal as before. Sure, I will be able to get an erection. But will I feel like I still have ED, that I still can't do it like it 'should' be done? That I'm a 'fake'?
Even if this still is a big improvement - solving one of two issues - I would just like to know how you guys feel about this issue after an implant surgery.
Thanks in advance.

[C_lab34]

If you search for psychology of an implant, you'll find that I asked this exact question a few weeks ago. This is one of my primary concerns. I'm 29 and have had venous leak ever since I can remember, and it's something that is always eating at me, undermining my self confidence and happiness. I've had a very fortunate life in pretty much every other respect, but because of my ED issues I've always felt like a biological failure, like I was less than a real man. On the top of that I am very thoughtful to the point of being quiet neurotic and anxious much of the time, and I have thought that even if I get an implant, I'll still know, deep down, that I am dysfunctional. But another poster mentioned eye glasses and various other devices and enhancements that improve quality of life, and I realized I had been thinking of it all wrong. I also wear eye glasses and I don't think of myself as deficient in that regard. I'm just happy I can see well, and the glasses are fully integrated into my life without negatively affecting my self image. I now believe that most likely, the implant will feel the same way. You'll just be so thrilled you can get and keep an erection without constant coaching and maintenance that the doubt and deprecation will melt away. PS. I am closely following the sclerotherapy thread and have gone back and forth on whether or not it's worth trying before getting an implant, so thanks for your posts in that thread as well.

[ED2013]

I had lifelong Ed due to VL as well until I was implanted. I went from shying away from women due to lack of confidence, to knowing I can satisfy any woman if given the chance. Zero to hero. The mental torture of Ed effected my confidence in every aspect of my life. Not just in bed. Now I'm confident, as a man should be. I suggest a consultation with a top implant surgeon or two and taking it from there. If you decide to get implanted, I highly recommend you going with a high volume surgeon.

[Anonymous 3]

ED has a huge impact on men's psychological well being and self image and it is a vicious cycle as well. The more times you fail in bed the worse you feel about yourself which of course can lead to more failure in bed. I believe the trick is to break the cycle and for me, my implant was the break. Even after having the implant, some of the old feelings remained. What if I'm too short? What if the device fails? But nothing succeeds like success and after a few successful encounters, the worries subside. Yes I am short, but it was successful. No I didn't loose my erection at all, not even a little bit. It was spontaneous, no getting out all the paraphenalia for injections and taking 20 minutes to do it all and then waiting for the drug to work. No dragging out the pump and messing with that. No taking a pill earlier in the evening and discovering that the thing didn't work and my wife is too tired anyway. Another $15 wasted. All of that stops. Once you catch on to operating your device, it's a minute or two of pumping and you're good to go and it doesn't matter if you deflate afterwards or not.

The implant is far less articial than what I have just described and I don't feel like a fraud at all. It works and works well. And as I have said before, if you are totally impotent as I was, what do you have to lose? The vast majority of implant operations are very successful and as you have discovered the satisfaction rate is very high, higher actually than any other treatment, including oral medications.

[billylee]

Changed to the better in both ways. DO IT.

[charlesr]

Four months post-implant and I don't feel even remotely impotent. Just went from an automatic to a manual

[merrix]

Thanks guys for all the feedback.
I was and am pretty sure I'd feel just like you all describe. Just want to turn every stone before moving on.
Thanks again.

[RelievedofED1]

ED is awful for some of us. And made worse if urologists look at you like you are asking for something extraordinary and unnecessary like some of mine did. I totally got it that I should be thankful for not having cancer or a life threatening disease which I was very thankful for. That said since it appeared I might be around for awhile I wanted to explore all the options for a satisfactory erection before I died or was too ill with something else to be able to have sex for other reasons. My stress level and wifes stress is lower than it has ever been in 33 years. We would have survived and been happy without the implant but we are way happier with it. I dont have any worry now that I have an on demand erection. Works great if the only issue is impotence. That said it wont make you bigger or a relationship better that is in trouble from other reasons. Some docs have preop psych evals to be sure the patient is realistic about what a stiff penis will fix or not fix. In my case it has been great.

[flman48]

I have only had my implant 4 weeks, got cycled for the first time today and I already notice a change in attitude......for the positive.

I feel like a missing part of my life has been given back to me, I feel whole again. ED does terrible things to a guys self esteem as you all know. Now I know that I will NEVER fail to achieve an erection when the time comes, I will be able to perform 100% of the time. Just knowing this without ever having used it yet has boosted my self esteem by a truck load.

[KMeister]

I am seriously considering an implant after life-long ED.
.
I just have one question to all you guys out there who have done it:
ED is a twofold problem: The physical and psychological. I think there is no question whether a successful implant surgery solves the physical problem of not being able to get a good erection.
But what about the psychological part? I am afraid I will still feel 'impotent'. That I will feel as unnormal as before. Sure, I will be able to get an erection. But will I feel like I still have ED, that I still can't do it like it 'should' be done? That I'm a 'fake'?
Even if this still is a big improvement - solving one of two issues - I would just like to know how you guys feel about this issue after an implant surgery.
Thanks in advance.

No negative psychological effect for me. In fact, I feel just the opposite--very happy that I can get an erection whenever I want.

KMeister