Dumb question I know….

[Bent Ben]

Not a dumb question. I read a lot of posts before I was confident what cycling was/is.
My dr recommended 30 mins twice daily. I also do a flaccid clock stretch pulling my penis to 12,3,6 and 9 on a clock. I do this every time I urinate and it has flexed up the stiff Titan, I believe.
I did VED for 2 months prior to surgery and believe it help for a good outcome. I had an aggressive PD curve and the VED definitely loosened up the plaque making the surgery easier for my dr. I have not been cleared for post VED, but I plan on it when cleared, which should be after my 15 week appt in Jan.

[Gt1956]

I’m new to this site and considering an implant for my worsening (seemingly by the day) ED. As I read about all the newly bionic brothers, I see many references to “cycling”. Could you please share what exactly cycling is? Again, please forgive the dumb question from the newbie!

Cycling before implant is also beneficial. One does this using a VED (Vacuum Erection Device). This emulates the usual daily erections a man (without erectile dysfunction) gets (often at night where he does not even notice). These daily erections do several things; bring fresh blood into the penis to oxygenate the penile tissues; maintain size; maintain elasticity.

There are two protocols I know of. One is to pump up to an erection (inside the VED) and maintain that erection for about 30 minutes (sometimes adding a bit more vacuum as tissues relax). Do this twice a day for about 30 minutes. The other is to pump up to an erection inside the VED and release the vacuum, allowing the erection to go flaccid. This usually takes about a minute, then repeat for 30 minutes. Twice a day. Note that neither of these protocols use the constriction ring that one would use to have sex. Also note that a vacuum is a vacuum and the penis does not care if one uses a medical-grade VED or a novelty-store (sex shop) unit or builds one by cobbling together a simple cylinder, tubing and automotive vacuum pump. As long as one gets a good seal and does not overdo the vacuum, it is all the same. Medical grade ones may have a longer service life and offer added utility (vacuum gauge, for instance).

The history of VED use is interesting. 10 years ago, VED use was not often recommended. But studies showed that pre-op VED use gave benefits. Post-op VED use remained controversial until just about 2020-2021 and is now gaining acceptance among implant surgeons.

Remember, and do not forget: DO NOT OVERDO the amount of vacuum!!!! It should be safe to pump up until you feel a pleasant strain in your penis (at this point your penis should be about the size of a natural erection or a half-inch more, due to the "pulling forward" effects of the vacuum). But no more than that!

What is the benefit of the vacuum device after implant?

Good question. The popular test that is posted frequently showed the implants being inflated to 20psi. I asked my dr about that testing method. He claimed that most men can only get around 12 or so psi out of their pumps. Really efficient guys might hit 14 psi.

By using a ved you're creating a vacuum around your erection. In essence that creates a larger pressure difference between what is in your implant vs the atmosphere around the implant. Thus your implant can/should stretch a little more. Cycling is just stretching your implant trying to soften it & perhaps regain any lost size.

[2435tjklAS]

The way I think of "cycling" is simply any time you're exercising your dick. The purpose of doing so is maximizing the implant to make sure it is biggest it can be and working at peak performance, as well as to exercise your penis to treat and recover the problems that led to you here needing an implant in the first place.

This involves first the literal definition, inflating it by pumping in the saline ideally to the max and then deflating it after some time. Beyond that, VEDs, stretching flaccid lengths, Perito's THE exercise, etc all count and are done to maximize the device+dick.

I also think it's important that if a doctor tells you to do cycling for 15 or 30 minutes a day, you don't need to take that literally and never do more, if you have the time and ability. I'm not even saying you MUST do more, and that amount of time consistently might be enough, but pretty much all medical departments give safer directions to minimize any potential injuries, but not to maximize the benefits.

The truth is penises can take a whole lot of abuse, much more than I thought of before I got into all this. And that's one thing I'm glad the PE (penis enlargement) idiots taught me - most of them probably get ED eventually, but at least they proved dicks are certainly not easily broken.

Though I'll end with the opposite point that you've got a whole year or more left of cycling, so there's absolutely no rush. Do what you can do.

[Lost Sheep]

I’m new to this site and considering an implant for my worsening (seemingly by the day) ED. As I read about all the newly bionic brothers, I see many references to “cycling”. Could you please share what exactly cycling is? Again, please forgive the dumb question from the newbie!

Cycling before implant is also beneficial. One does this using a VED (Vacuum Erection Device). This emulates the usual daily erections a man (without erectile dysfunction) gets (often at night where he does not even notice). These daily erections do several things; bring fresh blood into the penis to oxygenate the penile tissues; maintain size; maintain elasticity.

There are two protocols I know of. One is to pump up to an erection (inside the VED) and maintain that erection for about 30 minutes (sometimes adding a bit more vacuum as tissues relax). Do this twice a day for about 30 minutes. The other is to pump up to an erection inside the VED and release the vacuum, allowing the erection to go flaccid. This usually takes about a minute, then repeat for 30 minutes. Twice a day. Note that neither of these protocols use the constriction ring that one would use to have sex. Also note that a vacuum is a vacuum and the penis does not care if one uses a medical-grade VED or a novelty-store (sex shop) unit or builds one by cobbling together a simple cylinder, tubing and automotive vacuum pump. As long as one gets a good seal and does not overdo the vacuum, it is all the same. Medical grade ones may have a longer service life and offer added utility (vacuum gauge, for instance).

The history of VED use is interesting. 10 years ago, VED use was not often recommended. But studies showed that pre-op VED use gave benefits. Post-op VED use remained controversial until just about 2020-2021 and is now gaining acceptance among implant surgeons.

Remember, and do not forget: DO NOT OVERDO the amount of vacuum!!!! It should be safe to pump up until you feel a pleasant strain in your penis (at this point your penis should be about the size of a natural erection or a half-inch more, due to the "pulling forward" effects of the vacuum). But no more than that!

What is the benefit of the vacuum device after implant?

Frankly, I am unsure. I have not investigated it deeply because I can no longer get a good seal around the base of my penis, so the question is academic to me now. As I understand it, though, it helps in cycling the implant, reducing discomfort/pain and engorging tissues not stretched by the implant itself (mainly the spongiosum).

[2435tjklAS]

Cycling before implant is also beneficial. One does this using a VED (Vacuum Erection Device). This emulates the usual daily erections a man (without erectile dysfunction) gets (often at night where he does not even notice). These daily erections do several things; bring fresh blood into the penis to oxygenate the penile tissues; maintain size; maintain elasticity.

There are two protocols I know of. One is to pump up to an erection (inside the VED) and maintain that erection for about 30 minutes (sometimes adding a bit more vacuum as tissues relax). Do this twice a day for about 30 minutes. The other is to pump up to an erection inside the VED and release the vacuum, allowing the erection to go flaccid. This usually takes about a minute, then repeat for 30 minutes. Twice a day. Note that neither of these protocols use the constriction ring that one would use to have sex. Also note that a vacuum is a vacuum and the penis does not care if one uses a medical-grade VED or a novelty-store (sex shop) unit or builds one by cobbling together a simple cylinder, tubing and automotive vacuum pump. As long as one gets a good seal and does not overdo the vacuum, it is all the same. Medical grade ones may have a longer service life and offer added utility (vacuum gauge, for instance).

The history of VED use is interesting. 10 years ago, VED use was not often recommended. But studies showed that pre-op VED use gave benefits. Post-op VED use remained controversial until just about 2020-2021 and is now gaining acceptance among implant surgeons.

Remember, and do not forget: DO NOT OVERDO the amount of vacuum!!!! It should be safe to pump up until you feel a pleasant strain in your penis (at this point your penis should be about the size of a natural erection or a half-inch more, due to the "pulling forward" effects of the vacuum). But no more than that!

What is the benefit of the vacuum device after implant?

Frankly, I am unsure. I have not investigated it deeply because I can no longer get a good seal around the base of my penis, so the question is academic to me now. As I understand it, though, it helps in cycling the implant, reducing discomfort/pain and engorging tissues not stretched by the implant itself (mainly the spongiosum).

I've been meaning to put together a comment with the current research but mostly putting it off, possibly because it's over my head. But here's what (I think) I know:

Dr. Wang on 05/2022 wrote about what research has been done with post-op VED use:

Penile size has been a concern for many patients and implant surgeons. Few studies evaluated the use of VED to improve thep enile size in men undergoing penile prosthesis placement. Theearliest such study was a phone survey of 12 men who had been utilizing VED following penile implants and found that 11 of the12 patients reported improved erectile rigidity and girth when using the VED concomitantly.16 Another prospective study investigated VED use after penile implant for PD as part of postimplant rehabilitation in 145 patients. There was significant reduction of residual curvature and improvement of IIEF-5scores.17 A third study looked at the VED use preoperatively for at least 10-15 minutes/twice daily for a minimum of 3 months in 13men with severe corporal fibrosis. VED appeared to soften corporal fibrosis and facilitate placement of penile prosthesis. Patientsalso had a mean increase of SPL of 0.92 cm after penile implant scompared to preoperative lengths.18 Lastly, a study randomized51 patients to 10-15 minutes daily VED use preoperatively versus no pre-op interventions and found that daily VED for at least 1month led to a statistically significant increase of SPL by a meanof 0.8 cm compared to the control group.19

Wang, R. (2022). Is There Still a Role for Vacuum Erection Devices in Contemporary Sexual Medicine? The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 19(5), 682–685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2022.02.013

Earlier I mentioned being surprised Dr. Wang didn't mention these other studies I know about that should have fit, but later realized I was an idiot, lol. The doctor is prob. right.

But for something new there is a recent study on this topic after Dr. Wang from October 2023:

All patients regularly used the VED. A statistically significant improvement of IIEF-5(26 vs. 24; p = 0.02), "yes" to SEP2 and 3 (85% vs. 55%; p < 0.001, 85% vs. 50%; p < 0.001,respectively), was reported between the two groups. Moreover, the PDQ overall scoresignificantly improved between the two groups (-16 vs. −11; p = 0.03). Thirty-fivepatients maintained a complete correction of penile curvature (zero degrees) at 6 months(92.1%). In the treatment group, no hourglass deformities were reported. On the otherhand, in the control group, one patient reported a mild hourglass deformity at 6 monthsof follow-up. Finally, in the treatment group, we obtained a longer total penile length(median + 1.5 cm) in comparison with the control group. The overall satisfaction rate was98% in the treatment group and 96% in the control group, on the basis of the PatientReported Outcomes. Twenty-five patients (65.7%) had normal penile sensitivity, whereas13 (34.3%) reported mild hypesthesia. Fifteen patients (39.4%) continued to use on-demandtadalafil 20 mg for 6 months from surgery

Cai, T., Capece, M., Ceruti, C., Tiscione, D., Puglisi, M., Verze, P., Gontero, P., & Palmieri, A. (2023). The Use of Vacuum Devices as Adjuvant Therapy before and after Penile Curvature Surgery in Patients Affected by La Peyronie’s Disease: Results from a Comparative Study. Clinics and Practice, 13(5), 1244–1252. https://doi.org/10.3390/clinpract13050112

If you ask newbie he'll say there's problems with the approach of all the existing studies (though I am curious for his thoughts on the new one. Both attached). And the thing I think I realized is that he's not wrong. It's complicated but there are a lot of potential problems using a VED post-surgery, and one thing about that is there's no reason whatsoever you need to. You'll get all the "gains" you possibly can, but yes it will probably take a little longer.

And I don't think I can really disagree with that.

I'm happy I learned about VEDs after and still use them very often. Even if there are any potential problems caused by them it's surely not permanent. Your dick is probably a lot stronger than you think it is.

If you're a new patient considering getting an implant because you've had quite serious erectile dysfunction for the last 6 months, or 1 year, or 5 or 10 or whatever, your dick is not as strong and thick as it was when you were a horny 22 year old. I feel like whenever that question is asked, online or in real life, men almost never admit that their dick is, in fact, smaller. But, um, it's true. Obviously. I'm not smart enough to explain all the reasons with the penis long-words blood-flow tissues repair and everything else, but other people are. The medical research on VEDs pre-implant is more than sufficient to confirm their safety and efficacy. They provide surgeons with a much better opportunity at sizing your implant in a way that best meets your (maximum) natural erection.

If you want to use one after, I'm happy I did. But probably not necessary.

[ThailandBound]

I’m new to this site and considering an implant for my worsening (seemingly by the day) ED. As I read about all the newly bionic brothers, I see many references to “cycling”. Could you please share what exactly cycling is? Again, please forgive the dumb question from the newbie!

Cycling before implant is also beneficial. One does this using a VED (Vacuum Erection Device). This emulates the usual daily erections a man (without erectile dysfunction) gets (often at night where he does not even notice). These daily erections do several things; bring fresh blood into the penis to oxygenate the penile tissues; maintain size; maintain

What is the benefit of the vacuum device after implant?

Forces blood to glans, spongiosum, and any remaining tissue in the corpora. Blood flow in is a good thing. VEDs do the work for you.

[Stayingstrong]

Cycling before implant is also beneficial. One does this using a VED (Vacuum Erection Device). This emulates the usual daily erections a man (without erectile dysfunction) gets (often at night where he does not even notice). These daily erections do several things; bring fresh blood into the penis to oxygenate the penile tissues; maintain size; maintain

What is the benefit of the vacuum device after implant?

Forces blood to glans, spongiosum, and any remaining tissue in the corpora. Blood flow in is a good thing. VEDs do the work for you.

I had tried VED pre- implant but I found that the unit would wind up sucking up my balls.
How do you prevent this? It can be quite painful

[ThailandBound]

Forces blood to glans, spongiosum, and any remaining tissue in the corpora. Blood flow in is a good thing. VEDs do the work for you.

I had tried VED pre- implant but I found that the unit would wind up sucking up my balls.
How do you prevent this? It can be quite painful

You need a smaller circumference rubber grommet. Some of those grommets are very soft and pliable, so look for one more rigid. Also, place your palm over your nuts as you begin to vacuum, putting pressure on them downward while your penis enlarges. Then, remove gebyiur hand and press tight against your pelvic bone, not giving your balks room to migrate upward.

[Gt1956]

Forces blood to glans, spongiosum, and any remaining tissue in the corpora. Blood flow in is a good thing. VEDs do the work for you.

I had tried VED pre- implant but I found that the unit would wind up sucking up my balls.
How do you prevent this? It can be quite painful

You need a smaller circumference rubber grommet. Some of those grommets are very soft and pliable, so look for one more rigid. Also, place your palm over your nuts as you begin to vacuum, putting pressure on them downward while your penis enlarges. Then, remove gebyiur hand and press tight against your pelvic bone, not giving your balks room to migrate upward.

It helps to be realistic about what diameter of cyclinder you should get. I knew that it was unlikely I'd ever get to a 2" diameter. I bought the cylinder the next size bigger. I think it was 2 1/4", maybe 2 1/2". No nut sack sucking with mine.