Yes or No or Wait

[Greg1956]

Geoph,
You mentioned in a comment well into this thread, “there is still a gray area.” I have read and reread comments and I have concluded the gray area is when a guy is not yet ready to take the leap. As I mentioned for me the tipping point was a severe Venous Leak and none of the other treatments worked to restore my natural erection. It was crystal clear that an implant was my hope to regain full intimacy with my wife, self satisfaction, confidence, as well as partially restoring the physical appearance God had provided me.

The gray area you refer to is subjective and varies for all of us. For example, I am one horny fucker with a high sex drive and was fed up not being able to make love to my wife or fully enjoy jacking myself. If I was a widower who wasn’t dating and I had a low sex drive, I likely would not have put myself through the implant surgery.

A Venous Leak like I had may call for different action than a diminished ability to achieve a strong erection, due to an illness. If pills or injections do the job, i certainly would not give up the attributes of a natural erection for an implant. The gray area for each of us comes at the time when we are frustrated with what is and unsure of what will be. When what is gets bad enough, the choice becomes clear, or at least it did for me.

There are other factors to weigh and balance, too. Sexual activity can be good for your overall health and physical being. Lack of it can diminish self-esteem, decrease desire, cause relationships to change, and your penis can atrophy from long term ED or lack of use. The longer you put off the inevitable, which in my case was a severe Venous Leak that was not going to get better, the worse I was making my situation.

[bldoink]

I don't usually post in the implant sub-forum as I don't have one. However my insatiable urge to opine leads me to essentially repost what I posted in a thread in the injections sub-forum. I will make an addition here that I agree that Merrix's post referred to by geophed, that was in yet another older thread in the implant sub-forum, was IMHO a golden commentary on this topic.
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I really don't think it's helpful to strongly encourage people to skip the less invasive steps prior to going for an implant. At this time there are no alternatives once getting implanted. It's a permanent rather serious invasive from which there is no return.

Peyronie’s from injections is a risk but from my research is actually rare. Many people are satisfied with pills or injections long term. ED sufferers should take the opportunity to discover if those options are for them, if there are no conditions making such trials ill advised.

Allergies to the meds or conflict with other meds (like some BP drugs) can make pills off limits. Pre-existing peyronie's disease excludes injections from being an option. Otherwise I see no downside and little risk to experimenting with the less invasive options before moving on to that very final frontier.

As for VEDs, IMHO, if you aren't getting regular daily full erections you should definitely be using a VED , at least while you determine what other treatment is appropriate for you. That said, a VED may be ill advised with pre-existing peyronie's or some other diseases. That I don't know.

Don't misunderstand me and think I'm dissing implants. I think they're a wonderful thing and I may even get one some day. Currently the ED solutions I use are satisfying for both me and my wife so I see no point in rushing it.

I do realize youthful ED sufferers have other social, psychological or even physical issues, or at least issues that are different by degrees. I empathize with those youthful ED sufferers but I have no answers for them. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone else does either, at least at this point in time. I certainly don't think encouraging them to rush into the final frontier is wise. Maybe that will be the best option for them but it's a big step that shouldn't be rushed. Yes I realize the concept of time generally changes throughout ones life as does ones capacity for patience and deferred gratification.

Take the above with a cup of salt as I'm no medical professional and I'm likely full of poo.

[fabiomorz]

Hi there! I appreciate the detailed analysis you’ve shared here. I've been following similar thoughts myself. At the moment, I’m on a daily Cialis regimen, which has been working well for me. It’s given me a steady sense of function, and I have yet to feel the need for something more invasive. I did consider moving away from pills altogether, but I haven’t been able to take the leap into something like an implant just yet.

From what I've read, the decision isn’t simple, and I agree with your point about implants closing off other treatment options. I’m not yet in a position where I would regret losing natural function, but the idea of permanently losing those abilities gives me pause. It's a major step, and for now, the daily Cialis seems to do its job. However, I keep my mind open to other options that might come in the future as treatments evolve.

In the end, I think it’s about balancing the benefits against the risks and considering what I might be willing to lose in the process. Thanks for sharing your perspective—it’s helpful to think it through with others who are in similar situations.