How to deal with the depression pre-implant?

[Kuttley]

I’ve dealt with depression before mainly while hooked on drugs but this is different. I’m not really sure how to deal with this. Before I ran into ED I was in the gym daily, now I can barely get out of bed. I’m young and my options are implant or no sex. Has anyone sought professional mental health help for this? Did it help? Did this feeling go away after surgery or did it make it worse with the additional time needed to recover?

[Rider1400]

I dealt with a good deal of depression and almost lost my marriage With the battle of ED! I never sought help other than trying to talk with the wife about it. That in itself was a rollercoaster. All I can say is if your mind is right about the benefits of what an implant can do you can use that to get thru the recovery! I personally felt like a ton was off my shoulders immediately after surgery because I knew I had just done the one thing that would fix my ED to the best it can be fixed! It took several months to get my marriage back on track. Was a learning curve to believe in my new dick! And trust that it would stay hard! Sounds strange but I had dealt with a failing dick for over 10 years! If what you say is true and your penis isn’t functioning tha. You are definitely ready and at the point that an implant is your best and final option. If you go into it with a totally positive attitude that your doing something that will improve your sex life, your mental state, and your physical state, than you can get thru the recover. It’s not an overnight fix but I was so positive thru my recovery that the battle was already won by the time I could use it!! Hang in there and seek help if you can. A good psychiatrist might be just the thing you need….. and a bionic dick!! lol

[SCOOTER12]

I was depressed too brother. Just keep moving forward. Life gives us all obstacles. It’s the people who do whatever it takes to fix their situation that come out on top. It’s the people who don’t let life's obstacles stop us. The strong find solutions and move forward. Whatever it takes.

[SCOOTER12]

Also, get back to the gym. It’s my life saver.

[Old Guy]

Dealing with the depressing effects of ED is one of the toughest things a man faces. You just have to keep moving forward now that you've realized what ED is doing to you. Find a good doc, get things fixed. Life is too short to go around broken.

[SteveD]

Thanks for being honest with yourself - it's a great start when we 'call it what it is.' Yes - depression is somewhat common when you've had ED for any length of time - you're not alone in that category. If you've been considering the value of some counseling - try it. You'll have the benefit of having a good sounding board - learn some coping strategies - and understand more about how ED affects us guys. At any point you can choose to stop counseling - but we can bet that you'll get something out of it.

In my personal experience - I didn't realize how profound my depression / anxiety was until almost 2 years of total loss of erections. Thank goodness for FT, really caring friends and an incredibly supportive wife.

[Witheringhog]

I was sad, not sure if depression was a better word for how I felt. But once i found out about the implant and read Frank Talk back to 2019, not every post but ones that seemed interesting i felt a peace, either do something about it or give up on sex was the choice running through my mind. Option 1, get a dick you can always count on, maybe have some horrible pain, maybe lose length and girth, but can always have sex. Or 2. Live life on a different level, option 2 could be good too, focus on work, retire asap and enjoy other things. Help others golf etc…. Life would be good either way.

I went option 1, had very little pain, lost zero length or girth, if anything gained length and couldnt be happier.

I agree with keep working out and eating clean, use the time before your implant to get in the best shape of your life and then lay pipe like a mad man. The implant works.

[SteveD]

Witheringhog
Don't give up on 'helping others golf' - some of us need LOTS of help!

[Flounder]

I haven’t used professional mental health help myself. However, I know others who fought depression stemming from various causes whom credited professionals for helped them. So if you have the resources to get professional mental health services along with an implant, I think it’s a no-brainer to do so.

This is just the opinion of a non-professional who delayed getting an implant until forced to decide between implant or giving up on penetrative sex.

I don’t mean to sound trite but the best way to get over your pre-implant depression is to move forward and get the implant. My only regret is not getting my implant sooner. I missed out on too many years of quality sex fighting a loosing battle with ED. It was a huge relief when it was over even though my recovery wasn’t the easiest. Things can seem dark when coping with a bad situation with no relief in sight.

Maybe I’m the odd ball but I looked forward to surgery day. I read a lot here prepared myself that the first couple days could be rough. But getting through a couple rough days is bearable when better days lie ahead. I never thought of recovery as depressing. Perhaps anxious and impatient at times but overall I viewed recovery as a time of healing and building back to a complete man. Every day gets a little bit better and recovery transitions to celebrating moving on.

[BelleBite]

I second what scooter12 said: GET BACK TO THE GYM! in my experience it is the most effetive way to keep the "black dog" of depression at bay.
You might also want out seek out some counseling help. Not sure where you are located but check out the Maze Mens Health site shown on the FT home page. They are based in NY but their site includes some recommendations for professionals in other locales.
They specialize in mens' issues dealing with ED and sex in general. In my opinion, you will find the counseling more helpful if it comes from a trained sexologist. I found that the guys at Maze were amazingly reassuring, open, thorough and compassionate.
Check it out.