My Journal

[mr.skin]

Very valuable information. Thanks for letting us know.

[Larry10625]

Hey everyone,

I finally remembered to call Eid's office. I asked one of the staff members if there was any issue in not pumping your implant for long periods of time. She said that nothing detrimental would happen, ie shrinkage or malfunction. She said that sometimes if you go a long time without cycling that the lockout valves may get stuck, but with a hard squeeze they will go back to normal. She recommended pumping once per 2 weeks to avoid the valves getting stuck.

So, in my case, if I go a while without a sexual partner and I don't masturbate, then its ok for me to not cycle at for a while.

Well, that is not what Dr. Eid, himself, told me. Don't use it = lose it.

Larry

[merrix]

Three years update

This will be a different one. Because if I would spend the time describing my implant, how it works, my length development, etc, it would more or less be a copy of the previous update. I think that there are a couple of issues though that keep changing (improving) at this stage.
One is how natural the implant feels. Both when flaccid and when having sex. In the beginning, and by beginning I mean the first 1-2 years, I still thought that it was uncomfortable to have sex fully inflated. So did my wife. Now I always use full or very close to full inflation. It feels totally natural and my wife oddly enough loves it nowadays as well. In my case, I guess it is a combination of the implant itself having softened, we know that the stiffer Bioflex in the Titan does have a longer break-in period and that it softens over time as it absorbs fat. I also believe that I have just gotten used to the implant in my dick and do not feel the discomfort from full inflation as I did in the beginning. Now I just enjoy the fun of having sex with a railroad spike. There is a lot of fun moves you can do with a dick that barely flexes a millimeter under pressure.
As for my wife, why she likes the harder implant now is a tougher question to answer. Her theory is that she thinks my own blood flow is better now at full inflation than it was before. She remembers thinking that my dick felt artificially hard before when too fully inflated. It was like skin over a rod. When less inflated it felt more like flesh between the implant and the skin. Nowadays she thinks my dick still feels natural even if super-hardly inflated.
I can’t really judge what she says, but we both enjoy it (the sex with a fully pumped extremely hard Titan) for sure.
And the other issue which I still after three years think keeps improving (or excelling) is the feeling, the mind, the attitude towards the implant. In a perfect world I would not have had a venous leak since puberty. In a perfect world I would have been a stud with a natural dick. In a less perfect world I would have had a mild ED which would let me become the natural stud by taking a pill of Cialis every afternoon. But that was not how it happened to me. I needed an implant. And that is a tough one to accept. I have accepted it a long time ago, heck, I accepted that before I had the surgery of course. But in my case it has taken a long time to fully accept that and stop thinking of what could have been. I am not the type who digs a hole and bury myself in it. Heck, I had ED since my teens but still dated, got educated, got married, got kids, made a career, made myself a really good living.
I still don’t feel 100% comfortable with pumping my dick up for having sex. But it’s getting closer. And I am definitely comfortable enough to enjoy the sex. Of course, sex is double joy. The sex itself, which could even be called enhanced compared to a natural dick because of the abilities which come with an implant. But mostly because it is sex with 100% focus on the sex itself instead of focusing on worrying whether (or rather when) the crap dick will fold.

After reading a couple of posts here on FT debating some of the never-ending issues I did some research. Ended up doing more than I thought and wanted to share what I found.


Titan and LGX. Which will make you longer?

First of all: I am no doctor, I have not done any research myself in length outcome of implant types.
But I have done some talking with the above and I have done some reading.

The claim by some people here on FT is that LGX will make a dick 20% longer. How anybody can still believe that is beyond my understanding. IF the interpretation is that the 20% length increase refers to post operative erect length compared to pre operative erect length.
If so, why don’t we see a truckload of guys here on FT with dicks 20% longer than before surgery? The fact is that nobody here has reported anything like that.

The answer is of course that an LGX will (or rather can) expand 20% when inflated compared to its deflated length. Which is not a bad thing, because it means that your erect dick can be up to 20% longer than your flaccid, equal to your flaccid being 17% shorter than your erect dick.

Since I know that, despite the obvious lack of any reports on FT of people gaining 20% length, the claims will still pop up – I spent some downtime while travelling trying to find data on this.

While doing so, I stumbled across data on which device gets harder when inflated and on the reliability (i.e. life span) of the different models.

So here goes:

No. Sorry, but the LGX does NOT make your dick 20% longer.
Yes, the LGX will over time make your dick a bit longer, but so will a Titan. And according to some research, the LGX doesn’t even grow dicks more than a Titan.
Yes, the Titan does make your dick harder than the LGX. But how much practical meaning has the difference?


One study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5654325/) looked at the same as above, but also at hardness measured as at which axial pressure the implant folds/kinks.
Two lengths were used (18 & 21 for AMS and 18 & 22 for Titan). Two cylinders of each length were studied for each brand. Three different inflation pressures were used.
Tried to get the tables to look authentic when posting here, but failed. Looks like shit, but I'm sure you can figure out how the columns fit together.

Results:

Inflated cylinder length, cm (increase)
PSI LGX 18 cm LGX 21 cm Titan 18 cm Titan 22 cm
10 19.15 (6.4%) 23.05 (9.8%) 18.2 (1.1%) 22.15 (0.7%)
15 20.85 (15%) 23.95 (14%) 18.4 (2.2%) 22.2 (0.9%)
20 21.1 (17%) 24.45 (16%) 18.45 (2.5%) 22.75 (3.4%)

As we can see, there was no 20% increase at these inflation levels but at 20 PSI the LGX is getting close.
Titan only has very small increases.
This could mean that an idea of the difference between erection and flaccid will be around an inch with an LGX, but basically be the same with a Titan.

Implant girth, cm (as measured around two cylinders)
PSI LGX 18 cm LGX 21 cm Titan 18 cm Titan 22 cm Comparison at 18 cm
10 8.22 8.22 9.25 9.00 Titan +13%
15 9.00 9.00 9.77 9.25 Titan +9%
20 9.00 9.00 11.31 9.51 Titan +26%

The LGX does expand some in girth at higher PSI than lower, but seems to quite quickly reach a maximum and then not increase anymore even if pressure increases.
Titan seems to continue to increase with increased pressure. Linear for the 22 cm, but exponentially for the 18 cm. This difference between the 18 cm and the 22 cm Titan is odd in my opinion.

Load at kinking, lbs
PSI LGX 18 cm LGX 21 cm Titan 18 cm Titan 22 Comparison at 18 cm
10 0.65 0.60 1.70 1.40 Titan +162%
15 1.05 0.80 1.75 1.55 Titan +67%
20 1.40 1.20 1.85 1.7 Titan +32%

Researchers measured the load at which an implant fixed in a vertical position kinked at. This is to stimulate the ability for the implant to penetrate without bending. More important the higher the resistance is in whatever the fuck you want to push your implant in to…!
The Titan has a huge advantage, which is larger at lower inflation levels than at high inflation levels. This could be viewed as that the LGX can too some degree compensate for the Titans’ higher stiffness by inflating to extreme levels.
Or it can be viewed as that the Titan can be used at a comfortable lower (and more natural) inflation level and still be superior in rigidity to a maximum inflated LGX.

Another interesting finding in the study was that there were remarkable differences between the two cylinders of each size they tested on the AMS, but not so with the Titan.

Device LGX Titan
Size (cm) 18 18 21 21 18 18 22 22
PSI Length (cm)
0 18,0 18,0 21,0 20,9 18,2 18,2 22,1 22,1
10 19,2 19,1 22,7 23,4 18,2 18,2 22,2 22,1
15 21,0 20,7 23,7 24,2 18,4 18,4 22,2 22,2
20 21,2 21,0 24,0 24,9 18,4 18,5 22,7 22,8

As you can see, differences between two cylinders of the “same” size of the LGX were quite large, especially for the longer 21 cm cylinders. Close to 1 cm at high inflation. Manufacturing quality? 1 cm is definitely noticeable. Imagine having one cylinder going 1 cm shorter than the other when fully inflated. Not good.


Three other studies looked at what almost everybody here wants to know, length. And especially how length can be increased with the two brands from cycling.
Here goes:

LGX
One study measured length and girth pre-op and after 12 months on 22 participants implanted with the AMS LGX. They found that all of them increased girth, but only 27% maintained length and 73% lost length. Length in this case was measured as flaccid stretch test. Average flaccid stretched length pre op was 12.5 cm and 12 months post op was 11.2 cm. A loss of 1.3 cm on average.
Quite remarkable considering the whole idea of the LGX is to increase length…
http://neaua.org/meeting/abstracts/2016/P4.cgi

Another study showed better results for the LGX.
They measured erection and flaccid stretch length pre op and at 12 months post op. 45 participants. All with the LGX.
Flaccid stretch length increased 1.1 cm (8.5%).
Erect length increased 0.5 cm (3.6%)
http://www.ajandrology.com/article.asp? ... last=Negro

And then there was a study looking at the size development after surgery for the Titan.
31 impotent bastards were implanted with a Titan and measured at immediately post-op, 12 months, and 24 months post op.
Measurement Post-op to 12 months Post-op to 24 months
Flaccid stretch +1.04 cm +1.83 cm
Circumference +1.08 cm +1.39 cm
Erect length +1.14 +2,13
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5000799/

The problem when comparing these studies is that the Titan study does not compare to pre-op, only to immediately post-op.
And of course, the two completely different results on the LGX is an issue which raises questions on the validity of the studies.
Nevertheless, my conclusion is that I think the LGX length-gaining advantage can be seriously questioned. The Titan study shows impressive gains from cycling as well. The authors do point out that a requirement is aggressive sizing during surgery.
This is in line with what I was told by Dr. Eid – a perfectly sized Titan crinkles when flaccid and straightens when inflated fully. This means there is “spare length” to exert tissue expanding pressure when cycling.
I am living proof that it works this way, as I have increased both length and girth compared to both pre-op and post-op. My gains from post op are larger for length and less for girth compared to the study results. And I did not cycle nearly as much as the authors of the study suggests.

That’s it for this time.

[purcelldds]

Thanks Merrix, always informative, relevant and thorough. I think at the end of the day, both devices when properly installed by a highly skilled surgeon can deliver excellent results. Obviously there are pros and cons to each, as you clearly highlighted, and that is where communication comes into play so that a man and his surgeon can make the best choice based on their anatomy and priorities as to which features are most important to them.

The simple truth of the matter is that we are all limited by the natural physical dimensions of our penis and no device is going to make your penis longer than that, period. Any length "gain" from pre-op is likely the result of regaining some that was previously lost or the implant having the ability to push or stretch your penis beyond where you could ever get with natural blood flow.

As for gains over time from initial post op, I think there are so many factors such as device break in period, post op pain and swelling limitations and just getting better using it and the body accepting it over time. Ultimately either device properly installed and sized is going to push/stretch our penis to its physical limit but no more.

I am just over two weeks implanted by Dr Eid so I'm very early in the process. I'm leaning towards continuing to cycle twice daily into the indefinite future and assess how things go over time. That approach may or may not change. Your journal has been a great source of information for me, thank you!

[Cnidium]

Hey everyone,

I finally remembered to call Eid's office. I asked one of the staff members if there was any issue in not pumping your implant for long periods of time. She said that nothing detrimental would happen, ie shrinkage or malfunction. She said that sometimes if you go a long time without cycling that the lockout valves may get stuck, but with a hard squeeze they will go back to normal. She recommended pumping once per 2 weeks to avoid the valves getting stuck.

So, in my case, if I go a while without a sexual partner and I don't masturbate, then its ok for me to not cycle at for a while.

Well, that is not what Dr. Eid, himself, told me. Don't use it = lose it.

Larry

Can you explain what Eid told you since on its face seems to be contrary to what one of his assistants is saying. IIRC, Merrix has stated multiple times that Eid does not think there is a need to cycle the implant beyond the first few weeks (I think its 4 weeks) post surgery. But this does not necessarily account for very long periods of time without inflating at all.

I think the implications of this are huge. The first being do we lose size with Titans if we dont inflate them for a number of consecutive weeks? And the second issue that comes to mind is unnecessary wear and tear of a mechanical device. IMO If it doesn't need to be used, then why use it. In my case, I dont care about masturbation. Therefore, if I am not sexually active for a long period of time (ie a month+), then it may actually be better for me not to cycle the device at all in order to maximize its mechanical life.

I think this is an important issue for many of use because we want to minimize the number of number and frequency of surgeries, and we are paying out of pocket.

Maybe the prudent thing to do is to actually contact Eid directly and ask the question directly. I actually have not spoken to him a single time since he called me post-op to check how my suture removal went (I see this lack of contact with him a good thing because nothing bad has ever happened where I felt I needed to contact him).

Merrix, Larry, or anyone else, can you please remind me how you have contacted him directly post-op so I can ask him.

Thank you guys,

[dg_moore]

Hey everyone,

I finally remembered to call Eid's office. I asked one of the staff members if there was any issue in not pumping your implant for long periods of time. She said that nothing detrimental would happen, ie shrinkage or malfunction. She said that sometimes if you go a long time without cycling that the lockout valves may get stuck, but with a hard squeeze they will go back to normal. She recommended pumping once per 2 weeks to avoid the valves getting stuck.

So, in my case, if I go a while without a sexual partner and I don't masturbate, then its ok for me to not cycle at for a while.

Well, that is not what Dr. Eid, himself, told me. Don't use it = lose it.

Larry

I've had my Titan since 2008. I've never used it and very rarely inflate it, often going for months without doing so, but it still seems to work just fine. I don't think there's any reason to be obsessive about frequent inflation.

[Larry10625]

Thanks Merrix, always informative, relevant and thorough. I think at the end of the day, both devices when properly installed by a highly skilled surgeon can deliver excellent results. Obviously there are pros and cons to each, as you clearly highlighted, and that is where communication comes into play so that a man and his surgeon can make the best choice based on their anatomy and priorities as to which features are most important to them.

The simple truth of the matter is that we are all limited by the natural physical dimensions of our penis and no device is going to make your penis longer than that, period. Any length "gain" from pre-op is likely the result of regaining some that was previously lost or the implant having the ability to push or stretch your penis beyond where you could ever get with natural blood flow.

As for gains over time from initial post op, I think there are so many factors such as device break in period, post op pain and swelling limitations and just getting better using it and the body accepting it over time. Ultimately either device properly installed and sized is going to push/stretch our penis to its physical limit but no more.

I am just over two weeks implanted by Dr Eid so I'm very early in the process. I'm leaning towards continuing to cycle twice daily into the indefinite future and assess how things go over time. That approach may or may not change. Your journal has been a great source of information for me, thank you!

Hey;
Dr. Eid called me after I left a message on his office voicemail. As for cycling, he said if you don't use it, you lose it..so if you aren't sexually active everyday, you will need to cycle it. I am not 100% sure of the consequences with the Titan but I know that with my LGX, length and girth that I recover is in danger of atrophying.

Larry

[strongagain]

Hey;
Dr. Eid called me after I left a message on his office voicemail. As for cycling, he said if you don't use it, you lose it..so if you aren't sexually active everyday, you will need to cycle it. I am not 100% sure of the consequences with the Titan but I know that with my LGX, length and girth that I recover is in danger of atrophying.

Larry

Who is sexually active every day??? Cycling every second day is fine I suppose.

[Smetro]

Who is sexually active pretty much every day?
I am

[oldbeek]

Who is sexually active pretty much every day?
I am

. Lucky to have someone to screw!