Post Op so far

[Alabama2015]

I had surgery implanting the Coloplast on the 9th--6 days ago--. My experience is similar to others I have read about but the more the better. I also have a few suggestions.

As a preface, I want to say that a several weeks of discomfort is expected and was not a deterrent

I flew to Baltimore from Denver on the 7th and met with the Dr. on the 8th. I was set for the first surgery for Wed. the 9th.

Day 1. I have to say that the pain after the surgery was more than I expected. I had a sever burning sensation under the scrotum. I stayed in the hospital over night. I had a hard time sleeping and requested pain meds very 4 hours. Apparently they prescribe oxycodone in 5 or 10 mg doses. I was prescribed 5mg every 4 hours. If i kew then what I know now I would have asked the Dr. to give the nurse flexibility to give me 10 mgs if needed. I know he would not have had a problem with that. For those getting the surgery it wouldn't hurt to ask for the larger dose on an as needed basis.

Day 2. The pain subsided considerably by the time I went back to the hotel. There was still pain and although I could have gotten by without pain meds I did take them from time to time. Sitting as opposed to laying down was painful. I was scheduled to fly home to Denver the next day. With my level of discomfort sitting I really could not imagine getting on an airplane for a 4 hour flight in 24 hours. I even tried to get my reservation changed but was unable to do so. My Dr. said I would be OK to fly.

Day 3. By the time i needed to go to the airport I was really without pain. Some discomfort when moving around. But no more pain. The flight back (just like the Dr. said) went just fine. It was a non even. I did get a wheelchair in both Baltimore and Denver to get me to the gate and in Denver to the baggage pickup. If you are traveling for the surgery I do suggest the wheelchair to keep you off your feet. I took a few tylenol for the flight, but no other pain meds.

Day 4, 5 and 6. No pain but still discomfort. Moving around is done carefully. Every now and then I will move in a certain way that stretches the stitches and that is momentarily painful. I enjoyed watching the Masters to kill time. No pain meds.

Day 7. One of my worries going into the surgery was whether I would be able to attend a court hearing on "day 7". There was no option, I had to be there. Well it was no problem. I walked a couple of blocks to the courthouse, sat for a hour waiting my turn. I would not be ready yet to go to work (I am retired) but getting out to the grocery store etc feels good. No pain meds.

One other observation. It is still a little difficult to pee. I think it is because the implant is partially inflated so it is like trying to pee when you have an erection. Has anyone else had this experience.

I had my survey with Dr. Andrew Kramer in Baltimore. He was very caring and a good listener. He came by to see me in the hospital 3 times post op. On Sunday (day 5) he emailed me to see how I was doing and gave me his cell phone number to call with any questions. I was very impressed by him and he does a LOT of these.

[billylee]

Glad you got the surgery out of the way and are doing well. Careful not to stretch those stitches (personal experience). You should see most the swelling going away now and the color come and go. Just take care of yourself and it will be a day by day healing and feeling better experience. In some ways my body, and me, is still getting used to new hardware. I am at five weeks tomorrow and still partially inflated. According to what I am doing, the feeling partially inflated is good or a little of a nuisance, but for most part, to me, good. Get some good comfortable underwear to hold it straight up (assuming he told you to do so, scrotal approach especially). Any of the H front styles seem to be good, then it is whether you like cotton or polyester/spandex, legs or not, pouch or not, etc. i am beginning to like boxer brief and poly'span. jockey micro performance has a horizontal split (opening) and Adidas has NO split. Jockey Pouch models are nice but are more cotton so may not be as wicking as poly material in the summer.

Take that pain med even when slightly needed, no use having to much discomfort if you do not have to, and you are still early post-op enough that ice can be your friend, probably more than you realize. I think I had swelling I did not realize that I had.

Good luck.

billylee

[RogerM]

Congratulations Tcasper1. I'm glad you went through with the surgery. Just take it easy for the next 3 or 4 weeks. My doc told me not to lift anything more than 10 lbs. until 3 weeks post-op and then gradually increase from there. I'm now 5 weeks post-op and the pain is all but gone & I'm looking forward to pumping-up and taking this thing out for a test-drive. Take care.
Roger

[Alabama2015]

I am now 16 days post op and have no pain. My penis just feels a little "full" and throbs a bit. Yesterday and the day before I felt good enough to go to the golf course and practiced some short game.

I was about 30% inflated leaving the hospital and was instructed to deflate at day 14. I have pretty easily located the deflate buttons, but as hard as I try I am just not sure if I have deflated. My penis points down to abut 5 o'clock. I think I am going to have to inflate more and then deflate again to see if I can tell the difference. But that worries me that I might get it pumped up to a level of some pain and not be able to deflate it (I guess that is the disadvantage of being 1500 miles from my surgeon--but I think that was a good decision anyway). The Dr. has told me I am healing really well and it is ok for me to inflate (is it painful to inflate). to deflate it does pull on the stitches and creates some pain so I am going to wait a few days to give the inflate/deflate a try.

The do filmed the procedure for educational purposes and offer for me to see it. I don't think I am ready for that quite yet...but maybe when I get completely healed

All in all things are going really well I think.

[RogerM]

16 days post-op seems pretty early to begin inflating/deflating. Are you sure Dr. Kramer wants you to pump-up? I had a Titan installed & my doc wants me to wait until the end of week 6.

I'm at the end of week 6 now but haven't pumped-up yet. I had a small tear on my incision about a week ago when my 10 lb cat jumped from the floor to my lap and her paw landed right on the incision. I'm healing fine but will probably put off inflation/deflation by about a week. I've been getting familiar with the pump & OTR; I think pumping-up will be fairly easy but not sure about deflate. I plan to pump up just a little - enough that I know I've pumped it up but not enough to cause pain (hopefully) then practice deflating. I want to get really good at deflating before I pump-up too much.
Roger

[Alabama2015]

From what I have read on this site 16 days does seem a little early but I checked with the Dr. and he said it would be OK. So yesterday I cycled it twice. Inflation was pretty easy once I got the hang of it. I put the pump between my fingers and my palm (giving me more strength) and squeezed and it was pretty easy. It took about 15 pumps to be fully hard. but I am not sure I am getting it fully deflated so it feels pretty stiff and I have some throbbing.

I emailed Dr. Kramer (on Saturday) and he got right back to me telling me to wait until Monday to begin cycling (day 19... I guess based upon several emails we have exchanged). This seems early based on everything I have read here so I will verify that with him before I start. when I did inflate it was not painful. His web page states that one is able to have sex after 4 weeks which I was skeptical of---but now think is possible.

I can't say enough good things about Dr. Kramer, as have many others on here. The surgery went great I think and his followup (some unsolicited and done in answer to my questions) has been extraordinary (in my career I represented a lot of Drs.and found them to be very difficult to get ahold...and sometimes not too friendly when I did reach them... of so it is unusual to get the kind of timely response I am getting especially from someone who is as busy as I think he is) response . So I feel very confident in his current advice. I am anxious to get started in this phase of recovery.

RogerM...how are you pain wise after 6 weeks. Before i got this done I had planned a safari trip to Africa 7 weeks post surgery. I have a Lot of money invested in this (but i do have partial travel insurance). In advance of the surgery the Doc said I would be OK by then. I am interested in hearing from you and other on how you feel after 6 or 7 weeks and whether you would be able to bounce around in a truck over bumpy roads for a few hours at a time.

[stringerbell]

tscasper (and others) : Kramer did my surgery and I was fine and ready to pump up at day 14-16 also, his recovery times are just different from most others else out there. Most people say it takes 6-8 weeks but I'm agreeing with you, he did it in such a way that my recovery was drastically different from what has been "commonly expected" from this surgery and at many other centers.

[ronbstewart]

I am now 27 days post op, nave not tried pumping above the 40% inflation my Dr done. I'm still feeling around down there to make sure I know where the correct switches and button are since mine was a duel implant AMS 700 and AMS 800 in one operation. I'm 74 and still work a full 40 hrs (in office) I have been on my Harley and Honda Trike several times since my operation with no major issues. I'm heading to Louisville, Ky in my RV this coming week end. I don't expect traveling at this point would be a major problem. I'm looking forward to having AMS 800 activated on May 12th. Urine control after prostate removal for cancer was a bigger problem for me then ED. Hopefully both will be under full control shortly.

[RogerM]

Tcasper,
I'm between 6 & 7 weeks post-op now & not feeling any pain or discomfort down there. I don't think I'd have any problem going on a safari at this point. Have fun!
Roger

[proactive]

I had mine done June 20th 2013 and by Aug 10th I was on the potomac river driving a bass boat. I may have only been doing 40mph instead of 60+ but I was out there. Unless you are going horseback riding you should be fine.