Going Bonic!

[vajim1]

With me and most likely you the jock strap top was just below the glans and very uncomfortable.

[Lost Sheep]

So glad you are doing well. If I had just the one incision I'd be very comfortable right now. My balls are bruising now but there is no swelling and no real pain. Keeping my penis straight and flat against my abdomen pointing at my belly button is the most difficult challenge I'm having right now. Hard to believe I have to keep it like this 3 more weeks +.

I consider it worth it, as the scar tissue supporting the proximal end of the implant will form to keep your (inflated) erection pointed up, in a more natural orientation for sex.

If, as vajim1 experienced, your penis and your jock strap's top/waistband do not get along, you could sew a taller jock strap (and of a softer material) easily enough. Just have to get used to the waistband being really high on your waist. Of course, if your penis sticks up past your PANTS beltline, that is another story.

As for me, I stayed pretty much pantsless until allowed to deflate. I had the leave time from work, a good helpmate around the house and decided that taking it VERY easy was the best way to optimize my outcome. Stayed on my back for the first two weeks.

[brianroa7]

Today is my third week post-implant! I on April 1, I had a Titan 22 cm implanted through a penile scrotal incision. I also had to have a counter incision because of prior abdominal surgery. My ED was caused by cancer treatment.

I thought I would give an update for those contemplating an implant and wondering about recovery. Of course your individual results will likely vary some.

The good:
Considering what's been done in the surgery I'm feeling really well. Absolutely no bruising or swelling except the first day or two I did have a tiny bit of bruising which is long gone. I think having the drain in over the weekend after my surgery really helped with that a lot. I'm really pleased that I seen to wake up with engorgement of my glans. This also seems to happen during the day when I think about finally getting to use this thing. I also had an abdominal incision for the reservoir. That has been pretty tender when I make certain moves. It is quickly getting better too. No pain at all in my scrotum during this whole thing. . I've been amazed at how the boys have gotten used to their new house mate.

The not as good:
My penis is sore as it adjusts to the cylinders. At first it was just the tips in the glans that hurt and that is some better. The puncture wounds from the pull strings for the cylinders are completely fine and the glans looks normal now. Now my shaft is sore too. I don't think this is anything to worry about but I've taken more Tylenol this week than I did in the first two weeks. I think a lot of this pain comes from being semi inflated for so long and pointing upwards to my belly button. I asked my doctor how important this is and he told me that he feels that you get a nicer upward curve to your erection if you do this and it looks a little more natural. Warm compresses help with the aches at this stage. I'm willing to do this but I have to say this has been the hardest (pun intended) part of my recovery. I am also slightly concerned about a curve to the left in my penis. My doctor says it's because I'm only inflated to 60%. He thinks things will straighten out just fine once I start cycling. He thought the cycling they did during the operation showed it to be nice and straight. It was straight before so I'm hoping that it will go back to normal.

The bad:
Dealing with insurance! They are denying coverage on most of this. They paid for a few things but not the implant portion. I knew going in that insurance was going to deny this, but was told by Cigna to go ahead and have it done and then file appeals. I'm okay with that but I do hope insurance ends up paying in the end. If I have to end up paying for it myself I still think it's worth having it done.I have filled an appeal and I'm going to remain calm until we walk through the process. The Cigna customer service people have been helpful getting the appeal filed. They have told me that this will probably end up going for an outside review. One of the hardest parts in all of this insurance mess is getting a hold of the plan documents. They seem to be very adept at making them hard to find the specifics on which they deny coverage Everyone tells you to look at the summary plan description but it has nothing about implants in there at all. Trying to get the full plan description is like a search for the holy Grail.They also said I should ask for an exception to the exclusion in my company's policy since this is directly related to my cancer. I've read a great piece about gender inequalities when it comes to implants: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl ... 965078.pdf. It gives me some good strategies for fighting to get this covered. If anyone has any advice about navigating insurance denials I'd love a private message on how it worked for you.

Overall I would still do it again at this point since I think it will be worth it. I knowa lot of people are converted more about loss of length than anything else. My number one focus is to get a working penis again and I can tell already that once I'm healed and ready to go that my penis will be too.

Advice: keep a positive attitude going in and throughout your recovery. Know that there will be differences now in your body. Work with what you have and don't make judgments about your outcome early on. My doctor said things will be changing for about 6 months and to try and hold off judging success or failure until then.

Sorry for the ultra long post but I've had others help me asking the way and thought this might be helpful to someone thinking of getting an implant.

10 days to go to start cycling!

[frank66665]

@ brianroa7 thanks for your update, you had peyronie before implanting yourself

[brianroa7]

No, I had a nice straight penis before surgery. This was confirmed by an artificial erection right before surgery began. My doctor thinks that right now I'm just seeing wrinkles in my implant and that things will straighten out once I can fully inflate. He said they inflated fully twice before waking me up from the procedure and everything looked great-no curve. When he called my wife he told her that he was very pleased with the final result.

I'll get to see it fully inflated on May 2! Then I can start cycling myself.

[Zoso22]

I'll get to see it fully inflated on May 2! Then I can start cycling myself.


How come you have to wait so long to cycle, is this normal when going through the scrotum ? If going infrapubic can you cycle earlier. My doctor said I would be having sex within 3 to 4 weeks post op

[brianroa7]

It was going to be 3 weeks for me to start cycling, but I had a conflict with scheduling an appointment that week. Aslo I think it varies depending on type of surgery and health issues, etc. I don't think I was helped by the fact that I had 2 surgeries for my cancer (HDR Brachytherapy) through my perineum in the last 6 months. Those two were harder surgeries on me than the implant was. I was really uncomfortable for weeks after them.

I was disappointed with the wait, but I'm trusting my doc on this one. So far, I don't think my recovery could be going any better considering everything.

I'm willing to wait a bit if he feels like it will be worth the wait.

[Zoso22]

It was going to be 3 weeks for me to start cycling, but I had a conflict with scheduling an appointment that week. Aslo I think it varies depending on type of surgery and health issues, etc. I don't think I was helped by the fact that I had 2 surgeries for my cancer (HDR Brachytherapy) through my perineum in the last 6 months. Those two were harder surgeries on me than the implant was. I was really uncomfortable for weeks after them.

I was disappointed with the wait, but I'm trusting my doc on this one. So far, I don't think my recovery could be going any better considering everything.

I'm willing to wait a bit if he feels like it will be worth the wait.

Definitely listen to the doctor, you don’t want to hear him say “I told you so”.
Getting anxious about my implant date!

[Old Guy]

brianroa7 - good to hear you're doing well. My insurance didn't want to pay even after being told pills or injections no longer work. Talked to a female from insurance company before. Think she was trying to talk me out of it or find a reason to deny it. Turned the tables and asked her about her life status, she said married, early 30's and trying to have kids. So, I asked her what if your husband had ED? Would you be happy the rest of your life without children or sex? I got approved.

[frank66665]

brianroa7 - good to hear you're doing well. My insurance didn't want to pay even after being told pills or injections no longer work. Talked to a female from insurance company before. Think she was trying to talk me out of it or find a reason to deny it. Turned the tables and asked her about her life status, she said married, early 30's and trying to have kids. So, I asked her what if your husband had ED? Would you be happy the rest of your life without children or sex? I got approved.

good Old Guy, every now and then you have to get your balls out as we have a limp dick