advice on deciding to get an implant -- is it better or worse than a natural dick

[Lost Sheep]

If I could maintain an erection for 30 minutes of coitus, I would not have even considered pills, much less an implant. Even 10 minutes. But it was getting down to 10 seconds or less -- even zero seconds without increasingly heavy doses of each of the three most commn oral medications. So I skipped the suppositories, injections and vacuum device (tried that twice, though).

Implant provided the most satisfactory sex for my partner(s) I have have given) since my 20s. And that is equally important to me (or more so) than my own orgasms (which were still possible, even with a limp dick, so not too much of a loss if I lost them in erection).

[antelope]

I would say that an erection by any means is better than a limp dick. It's as simple as that. Best wishes for hard times.

[SW0110]

I have been on here for about year and a half and this topic is one that always comes up, along with which brand is best.

I was so very happy with my dick for many years. It never let me down, not once. Could have drunk a little to much, still worked for how ever many hours I needed it to. Not once did it fail me. Loved my body part. Then one day, no longer.

All kinds of ed issues along with peyronies. After 2 years 9 months of ed I got a titan. An absolute miserable time period. To answer your question

Do I wish i had my old natural erection, you bet. Was that an option, No.

Pills gave a semi erection and trying to have sex with it gave me peyronies. So now ed and peyronies. Now in addition to everything else, I have to add traction and ved to my day to get some length and elasticity back, and trying to reduce the damn curve.

I already had peyronies so no way I was doing injections and damaging it anymore.

Xiaflex injections were never recommended by any doc I saw as helping the curve.

Titan was recommended so I went with it.

Now I can have a good hard erection. I still have great glans engorgement. That is absolutely no different for me than before ed. I still get a morning woodie. It is not rock hard but still shows up. After morning visit to p, it goes down. Ejaculation is totally normal as before. No difference period.

Just like old times we can f## awhile, stop, start again, she cums, I don't, start again, she cums again. I might finish then. But we just keep right on going. Most of the time we just go until she is to tired to go on.

Other times it is just a look, like I want you now, right here. Just pump up and get to it.

With an implant, no pills, no injections, no ved pump,

Want sex, have sex. Are there potential issues with the implant, you bet. What are my options.

Soft dick, no sex. Nope, not really an option.

[TANGERINE]

fascinating comments.

one thing that i do not like about franktalk is that you read about so many horror stories, so it makes one pause regarding an implant. Yet, in this particular thread, guys write in and say that the implant was an amazing life changing event. Now, thanks to the implant, I am way better at sex now than I was when I was 30 (I had PE back then and not very good erection). SO it has been a great life change for me.

I was surprised to read here that 75% of males can hold an erection for 30 minutes with no trouble. Wow, my dick must have really sucked all my life. I suppose I should have gotten the implant ten years earlier. But this is all "first world thinking" and "using modern medicine for performance enhancement." In a manner of thinking, it is a little bit like athletes using steroids for performance enhancement in their area of athleticism.

The original person, charlie17, who was asking if it is time for surgery is truly , I think , on the borderline with regards to whether or not an implant is needed. He states:

Charlie17 states:
- with 40 mg cialis I can get erections with stimulation, so I can have spontaneous sex
- I'm able to have sex 20+ times a month, usually for 30 min's or more per session
- I lose my erections without constant stimulation, within 10 seconds or so
- although I'm not depressed and have supportive relationships, it has been weighing on my mood since the injury in Feb. Good sex is very important to me

Wow, 30 minute session 20 times per month --- that is probably in the 90% level for a 45 year old !

In a way, this might be like a beautiful woman who wants to get a boob job for boobs that are already pretty nice. Let's say she is a 36 B cup size and they are a little saggy and do not fill the bathing suit and evening gown perfectly. It is understandable that she would want to become a 36 C cup size (or even 36 D) and that would be awesome looking in a bathing suit and a low cut gown. But there is a small chance of infection, a chance of some numbness of the nipples, a feeling of heaviness lugging those things around, and some judgement from those around her since she opted to be a booby girl. All that being said, I can see why she would opt for the bigger boobs if she had the time and money--why not, you only live once !

Implant is way more complicated than a boob job---there are moving parts, it is a bionic device that needs to function and be mechanical. Unlike the boobs which some would consider represent passive ornaments that are bystanders to the act, the penis is the center of the show and is the entire act.

QUESTION 1: "Should a man get an implant as a performance enhancing surgery?"

Second issue:
Charlie mentions the following problems with penile implants:

CHARLIE17 states:
- painful surgery and recovery
- Could end up with reduced sexual sensation, including possible reduction in glans engorgement
- Could become more difficult to achieve orgasm
- post surgery "angle" may make sex more difficult/uncomfortable in some positions
- with implant may lose the natural "hinge" making sex more difficult/uncomfortable in some positions
- need to replace every 8-15 years or so. I'm 45 so this could mean 2-3 revisions, and as I understand it the risks of all the con's above increase with each revision

Here are my responses:
" painful surgery and recovery"-->not an issue for me since I am willing to endure pain for significant gain, and i revovered with no trouble, but we all know surgery can go bad
"reduced sensation"-> did not happen to me, but yes, this is a known side effect in some cases
""glans engorgement limitations" --> my glans engorgement is lousy. This is because of my very severe ED and NOT because of the implant. (ie, the implant cures cure ED in the shaft, it will not cure your ED in the glans)
"orgasm difficulty"--> not a problem for me, but yes, this can be a side effect of the surgery
"post surgery angle and positions"---> yes, I am 3:00 and not 2:00. This is not really a problem (though I am not very good at hands free entry anymore--but, heck, not a problem). Any position is possible.
"natural hinge loss"--> I do not think this is an issue if you pump it up not quite all the way. In other words, you can have a rod that is like a spike which flexes very little, or you can have a hard penis which flexes more naturally. Let the woman decide what she wants.
"replace every 10 years or so"---> yup, it is artificial and it will wear out.

QUESTION 2: "Does the upside potential of implant outweigh the downside risk ?"

so, brothers, please keep the discussion going (and help out charlie17 who is on the fence regarding whether he really needs this surgery) by writing your opinions and answers to the questions on "performance enhancement surgery" and on "upside potential vs downside risk."

[Gt1956]

I'll give you a partial rambling answer. We lived 10 minutes from my work for most of my career. The times that my wife wasn't working. I could run out of work, zip home & have a 10 minute session of sex. I'd be back in time for the end of my lunch break. That gave me an orgasm & her at least one also. This was a timed event so I'll say that in my life, 10 minutes was a quickie. Most regular sessions must of ran about 20-30 minutes. I was only good for 1 shot so I made it count. Wife on the other hand didn't have a limit. If I was getting close, I'd pause or slow down until she had at least 1 big obvious orgasm. That practice returned a huge dividend back to me.
We did meet a girl who claimed to of timed her husband. He was done before the digital clock flipped to the next minute. Her nickname for him was 10:01, figure it out on your own.
I know that most men claim to bang for hours. I don't believe them. My wife worked with lots of women at a few different jobs. She said that literally to the woman, they complained about lack of sex & too quick of sex.
Onset of ED was a life changing event.
Others experience may vary. This is to merely report how our marriage worked.

[Lost Sheep]

QUESTION 2: "Does the upside potential of implant outweigh the downside risk ?"

so, brothers, please keep the discussion going (and help out charlie17 who is on the fence regarding whether he really needs this surgery) by writing your opinions and answers to the questions on "performance enhancement surgery" and on "upside potential vs downside risk."

Deciding factor for me:

The virtually certain downside of the surgery is 100% impotence. But since coital sex was rapidly disappearing for me, 100% impotence would be my situation with or without the implant.

The other risks of infection, etc were minimized by carefully choosing my surgeon and venue.

The potential upside was, by most reports, terrific.

This the choice was a no-brainer for me. I spent only a few weeks with the decision of whether or not to seek an implant.

I spent a great deal of energy minimizing the risks and maximizing the chance of a good outcome and am happy for the 14 months I spent in that activity.

I never once had the famous (infamous) "What the fuck did I do to myself?" moment.

Charlie: Say you get the implant and are unhappy with the result and would like to go back to what you had before the surgery. Is there anything to go back to?

My answer was, "No, nothing there." If your answer is anything other than a certain "No", you are probably not ready to risk the surgery. If your answer is "Maybe", then I opine that you have other reasons for wanting the implant. Perhaps valid reasons, but the would bear examination.

[charlie17]

Thank you everyone for the thoughts, opinions and insights. I know this is a common question but I've been finding all of this very helpful.

Lost sheep wrote:

Charlie: Say you get the implant and are unhappy with the result and would like to go back to what you had before the surgery. Is there anything to go back to?

My answer was, "No, nothing there." If your answer is anything other than a certain "No", you are probably not ready to risk the surgery. If your answer is "Maybe", then I opine that you have other reasons for wanting the implant. Perhaps valid reasons, but the would bear examination.

Again my reasons for getting an implant would be to hopefully address the problems I've been experiencing since I injured my penis in February and developed the venous leak I now have:

Con's:
- I get about 95% hard a best, often less
- I lose my erections without constant stimulation, within 10 seconds or so. This means I have to work hard during sex and keep things going constantly to not lose my erection. It also means I can't do positions like anything with the girl on top, and even doggy is challenging
- At times I have some penile (Peyronnie's) pain at the base where the fracture is/was after sex
- I suspect having sex with 95% hardness will contribute to my peyronnie's getting worse over time, although I haven't measured anything increase in angle since May
- I have reduced sensation/sexual pleasure. Not sure if this is due to erection quality, nerve damage, or both
- It's becoming increasingly more difficult to achieve orgasm. Not sure if this is due to erection quality, nerve damage, or both
- although I'm not depressed and have supportive relationships, it has been weighing on my mood since the injury in Feb. Good sex is very important to me and I find my current state frustrating. So does my girlfriend

My hesitation for getting an implant would be the con's of the surgery as I understand them:

Con's:
- painful surgery and recovery
- Could end up with reduced sexual sensation, including possible reduction in glans engorgement
- Could become more difficult to achieve orgasm
- post surgery "angle" may make sex more difficult/uncomfortable in some positions
- with implant may lose the natural "hinge" making sex more difficult/uncomfortable in some positions
- need to replace every 8-15 years or so. I'm 45 so this could mean 2-3 revisions, and as I understand it the risks of all the con's above increase with each revision

From the comments on this thread, it seems that since I have good glans engorgement now, I would likely keep that ability with the implant (although that may require continuing to take cialis since I take that now). That's good to know and helps me feel more comfortable with the implant.

It also seems like the "hinge" risk may just be my mis-understanding, and can be addressed by how much I'd inflate.

I remain on the fence. If I get worse I'll take the leap and get the implant with Dr Eid. If I get better I'll defer, the implant option will always be there. If I stay as I am I'm over the coming weeks and months I'm still not sure which way I'll go.

I'm planning to do a "show and tell" with another member of this forum this weekend so I can get a better understanding of his outcome and experience.

Again, I'm very grateful for the support on here from other members

[Agfa13]

Lost Sheep,

I was one of those guys that asked myself that saying...what the fuck have I done to my beautiful cock? Now it is a shriveled up little thing that the Dr himself does not believe that it is a grower, lol.
But I only went there after this fuckup...so I'd say I asked myself that question in the last 2 months of so.
Now that I have the proper surgeon doing the job, I probably will not ask that question after the 1st month.
I hope to be able to be fucking around by end of January!

If I could have survived with Bimix, I definitely would not have opted for the surgery, but this is how *I* feel.

[stephen54]

I have read many concerns about this regard in the forum. Boys that are at the edge of the implant and wonder (and worry) about things like 'I will lose size? It will be like before the ED?'

They are completely normal and reasonable concerns. Me had too. Because there is no go back after surgery. In few words, no, it won't be like before the ED. It is the same question as if a 52 man like me, without ED, ask himself if someday he would be able to have sex the same way, intensity and strength than when 20. Of if a former soccer player 50 years old asks himself if someday he will be able to play soccer as when 25. The answer is NO. Time passes. People gets older. Body evolves. Nothing will be like before. Never.

I suffered a liver desease when I was 12. It ended in a liver transplant when I was 28. From then on, my life never was the same again. I have to take meds for the rest of my life. Meds with secondary efects, such as kidney damage, high blood pressure, high levels of lipids, and even ED. All those secondary effects were told me before the transplant. Any of them could reach me in any moment of my life. Even all of them. What was sure, was the fact that some of them would affect me sooner or later.

And know what? I accepted them. At 28, I concluded that my life never would be the same again, that I would have to confront several health problems due to the meds along the rest of my life. Even that, because of those meds, my life could be shorter than the average. What was the other choice I had? Not have been accepted the transplant, which would have put end of my life in less than one year. No much for choossing, don't you think?

As bad as could be the results, the worst case was much better than death in a few months.

Life is not fear. Some people has to face problems that don't deserve. But that doesn't make them dissapear. It is not fear not being able to have sex at 25, nor at 40, nor at 60. But things happen. And when happen, we have two options: do nothing because 'things will not be like before anymore' or go ahead and accept the challenge. I could have died that day in OR. But I didn't, and that gave me 23 years more to my life by the moment. That helped me to make the decision of my implant when I realized that I could not have sex with my wife anymore. I had no doubt. Now, I am far away to be a success case. Almost 3 months after surgery, I have still pain, I have lost at least 1 cm length. I still cannot have sex with my wife because of aching. I feel almost constant disconfort in my scrotum when sat. But I don't regreat even for a second have had the implant. You know why? Because I had nothing to lose, and even if this doesn't solve my problem, I will stay like before the implant, but, at least, I will have fought ans tried. Nobody will say I surrendered and didn't try.

I love your worldview, man. You are dead on the screws right about all of that. I love this entire conversation on this thread. Such great - thoughtful - practical - pragmatic viewpoints from everyone.

For god's sake, yes...divorce yourself from the delusion that nothing materially changes in life and over a span of years. Obviously it does. Everything does. So we do our best to be dead ass honest with where we're at. That's our task. And then we've just got to commit, with the best information and the best we know of ourselves and how we want to live...we've got to commit to change something. Otherwise...the thing changes us. And fuck that.

Precious few people like change. We are told we're supposed to roll with it, go with it, blah blah. But not many really openly embrace or like change; most resist. That's why I have so much admiration for the people on this site who freely and repeatedly lay themselves bare with the realities of ED and the ones who pursue (often scary) changes with hopes that their experiences with sex and relationships can indeed improve. This is an inspiring place.

This implant thing was ultimately so fucking easy for me to green-light. It honestly was. But only when the time truly came...only in my context which was that my wife and I are intensely sexual people, we endeavor to have a really robust sex life, and I had been making the risks-vs-benefits arguments to infinity in my head for probably 2 full years. I think my mindset and my acceptance going into my surgery 2.5 weeks ago is playing a huge part in my relatively easy recovery thus far. I was very settled and very at ease in my decision. Actually...calling it "acceptance" isn't quite right. That almost connotes resignation? Which is entirely incorrect. I happily accepted the surgical option and just embraced it. My wife was like, "Um, you were smiling and giddy getting wheeled in WTF". I'm sure I was. For good reason. I have not had truly spontaneous, preparation-free sex in a decade. I have not had pain-free sex, or post-sex experiences, in a decade. I have not had worry-free long duration sex for 3-4 years since the injections started getting unpredictable. So yeah...if I'm trading a non-rigid glans, and some funky ball-pumping for spontaneity, a clear mind, an effectively infinite duration of sex...and if I can lift the veils of worry and angst and sadness away from me and my wife both? Bring on that lovely Titan. It's all a blessed opportunity in my world.

[David_R]

Show and tell sessions can be fantastic, seeing things directly instead of just talking about them (even with pictures). I've done a couple.