Having doubts

[sliphill]

Well, I scheduled an implant on June 8th. I'm am 62, and in pretty good health. I do need to lose weight though. 5'11". 230 lbs. My dick isn't getting firm enough for penetration anymore, even with a rocket fuel dose of 50 units of 120/30/3/.2 quad mix. So tired of having failures, trying ring after ring with the injections. So why am I having second thoughts. Maybe because the injections were working really really good just 8 months ago, and I keep thinking that they might start magically working again. What is it going to feel like having a foreign object in my dick? I know the pain is going to be pretty bad for a number of weeks. What do I tell work, I need to take off a week to get a penis implant! I don't think so. Have I exhausted all other options of getting hard. I stopped getting morning wood about a year ago. My testosterone levels are good, really good. I should be elated that I am getting something done to help with my ED, and I am kinda. But another side of me is scared to death. I am seeing the doctor once again before surgery on the 30th of this month, so I could always call it off. Did any of you guys go through this? I think I need some encouraging words.

The doctor is a Michael Oneal, here in Charlotte, NC. I think he is a little older than me, and has been performing implant operations for 25 years.

[DonBecker54]

As long as you've exhausted all other options (pills, injections, pumps) without satisfaction, then don't worry about it. Honestly, I would rather have had an implant years ago than to have had my fully functional natural penis. The ability to have an erection stay solid for ten years straight has advantages.

The pain isn't bad. Really. It's uncomfortable, and sometimes I'd say "ouch", but not often.

Just tell the people at work you're having surgery. If they ask more, make something up or just say it's private. It's not their business. I told friends and family I was having surgery, but only told my best friend what it was for.

[DaveET1]

I posted a reply, but it seems to have disappeared.

Stop the dithering and just DO IT. You will not be sorry. Be absolutely sure of your surgeon, though.

[dg_moore]

I walked away twice before finally committing. Most of us have had similar doubts along the way, but once you're truly convinced that nothing else is going to work, you accept the decision and forge ahead. Don't worry about work - nobody needs to know the nature of your surgery. I told my work I was having a plumbing repair, and nobody ever pressed for details. Many other have used "hernia repair," which works well. In the end, it's nobody's business but yours and you don't owe anybody an explanation. Also, I wouldn't worry about a painful recovery - lots of men, me included, had very easy recoveries; you could well be one yourself. In any case, after a week or so you'll most likely be wondering what you were so worried about. Good luck!

[LesNesman1]

I had mine done in April in Raleigh NC and told my work I was having hernia surgery and a vasectomy at the same time since insurance picked up 100% of the cost. You say " hernia " and everybody becomes sympathetic. Other than down time and some pain,I should have done this 2 years ago when my wife first brouth it up.

Im 52 and have had ED for over 25 years and went through every option available, and this is going to take care of the failures( God when I think of the pussy i missed out on in life because I could not get a stiffy )

[Donnie1954]

Quiet frankly, I'm proud of this foreign object in my dick. It gives me an erection (hard and stiff) anytime for as long as I need it. You hardly know it's there unless you touch your dick. If nothing is working, an implant is the only option if you want to have sex. Happily implanted no regrets. PM me anytime.
Donnie

[cincinnatus1951]

Sliphill: Agree with the other posters. Doubts are natural. Following is a paper I developed after we wondered why it took us so long to make up our minds. Go for it, choose your surgeon wisely and don't look back.
April 1, 2017

Guys: I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the “right” time to decide on an implant. A lot of discussion about pumps and injections as well as pills indicates that a lot of men get some initial positive results, but, after time, the effectiveness declines. With injections, many report scarring and penile distortion. What’s not nearly as clear is what percentage of injection and pill users continue to have erection difficulties. Human nature teaches that the satisfied folks rarely complain. There are plenty of examples of marginal effectiveness of pills and injections, what I can’t tell is how large the percentage is.
In my own case, I went for about six months with pumps and pills with marginal results. My prostate surgeon recommended injections, which I used for about a year with inconsistent results. ( I had a Robotic assisted nerve sparing prostatectomy in July, 2013.) Sometimes, very little, sometimes too long, and never knowing how long the erection would last. I did have good firmness and longitudinal stability when it worked. At my two year surgical follow up visit, the surgeon suggested we consider an implant. My initial reaction was “They are not doing that to me!!!” We continued to bumble along. If the injection did not work (rarely) or did not last long enough, we would resort to toys and tongue. We were both able to climax; but, it was certainly not as satisfying as traditional penetrative sex. We were also getting tired of the hassle with injections. We visited one urologist (sexual medicine) specialist and he recommended “combination therapy” of pills and injections. He also recommended we consider an implant, showed us the prosthesis, gave us web sites where we could watch the surgery. We also learned of FrankTalk through a prostate cancer support group.
As we learned more about the surgery, risks, aftercare, healing, etc. the thought of surgery became less scary. My wife initially discouraged it saying we can do OK with toys and tongue, is it worth the risk? We agonized and went to see another sexual medicine specialist. He did not try to sell us on an implant, however, said none of the other therapies were working for us. At that stage 21/2 years out of prostate surgery, the likelihood of spontaneous erections returning were essentially nil. After one particularly frustrating love making session, I said to the wife, “Heck with it “I’m signing up for the implant. She agreed. I had the implant in January 2016. We had a text book recovery and we both wish we had not wrung our hands for so long. The implant removes all the hassle and uncertainty of the lesser methods.
That brings me to the point of this note. I have advised a goodly number of people both in public and private posts not to consider an implant unless nothing else works. While I still believe that to be the case. For the above reasons, I would recommend seriously thinking about an implant as soon as frustration begins to build. Essentially, once pills become less effective and you have tweaked your formulation and injection dosage without satisfactory results, I have come to believe that further avoidance of an implant is not helpful. In talking with my docs, they too, believe couples get frustrated and just give up on sex. My cardiologist even offered he would like to see way more men go for implants. He says many patients report that they have just given up.
Bottom line is I do not know how to accelerate the process to an implant. We believe we waited six to nine months too long. I also recall my almost complete rejection of the first implant recommendation. For guys who are say over age 55, are frustrated and have systemic ED regardless of the cause, I would say “Go for it”.
Sorry for the long post. Just food for thought. Cincinnatus