I know the title is a bit provocative, but in the end that's exactly what happened to me (resp. will happen).
After reading here at FT for a very long time, I registered some time ago and am only now getting around to introducing myself and telling my story. I don't really have any more urgent questions about implants, I've learned everything I need to know here. Thank you very much for all the information I was able to gather here!
About me: I'm from Germany and was born in 1983, I'll be 40 in about a month. I will try to be as brief as possible, but I would like to share my background with you. In 2004/2005, when I was in my early 20s, I took Propecia (Finasteride) for hair loss. Then within a few days or almost overnight in the spring of 2005, I noticed that I couldn't get good erections anymore. I knew that this could be a side effect of Finasteride and I stopped taking it, but it never got better. Over the years, I was able to counteract it with PDE5 inhibitors like Cialis and Viagra, but the effect became less and less over the years. Around the end of 2013, I noticed that I had a huge drop in the effectiveness of the pills and since then it has been extremely difficult to get a sufficient erection even with very high dosages (400mg Viagra and other experiments). By the way, I don’t have any other risk factors for ED: I’m slim, do a lot of sports, don’t smoke, non-diabetic etc..
I have, of course, been following the research on "Post Finasteride Syndrome" for years and have been involved in all sorts of experiments discussed in the relevant online forums. From various dietary supplements, changes in diet, lifestyle, training, to shockwave and hormone therapies, and so on and so forth. I have tried everything under the sun and spent thousands of Euro. Nothing has had even the slightest effect on my erections: they just got worse and worse over time. I am basically a positive thinker and tend to be rational. But of course all this has a massive impact on my quality of life and mental state. You know what I'm talking about. Over the years, of course, I have seen many doctors and urologists. None of them could help. Either it's "in my head" or there was Viagra - that's it.
In 2020, I came into contact with a vascular specialist and andrologist here in Germany who is also one of the leading implant specialists. I wanted to know what the situation was with the arteries and veins in my penis and had an intensive examination. The result: venous leakage. In view of my age, the doctor agreed to perform a venous ligation on me. Knowing full well that this is more of an experimental nature and that success is not guaranteed or even rather unlikely. Since he had performed this operation successfully before, we gave it a try.
Since I have also "suffered" from an upward curvature of the penis since birth (this has never really been a problem...), he suggested that I have venous ligation and penile straightening at the same time. The operation took place in the summer of 2020. At first, the penis was straight afterwards and I also noticed a slight improvement in erections. However, both effects only lasted a few weeks, after which it was back to the way it was before. Although a little effect from the straightening is still there today. But that doesn't do me any good, because I can hardly get any erections. In early 2022, I convinced the doctor to try a second vein ligation, as I have often read that it has a better effect after the second attempt every now and then. He agreed. The second operation was in March 2022. 3-4 weeks of slight improvement in erections, then the effect disappeared again and I am back to 0.
Of course, I kept thinking about implants in parallel, but I wanted to try everything else first before taking this step. By the way, other forms of therapy like VED or injections don't give me erections at all. With luck, a chubby one. During a consultation with the surgeon a few weeks ago, we went through all the details and questions about implants. He mentioned positively that I was the patient of his who was already the best informed of all his implant patients, thank you FT
He suggested a Titan implant, but without pressuring me one bit. He said that the implant would help me very well and that I was a very good candidate. But the decision is mine alone. I may well get an appointment relatively soon, at the end of February. If this date doesn't work out, it would be in October (due to professional circumstances).
I will keep you updated. If anyone has any questions or tips for me, please feel free to contact me!
Cheers,
daddel
