Message to the Lurkers/Newbies

[Gt1956]

I have been reading and reading. Still trying to understand. After several years finally made my mind up, to myself. I just had my Post Op, and I almost tried from anxiety and nervousness. The Uro had called me in relaxation pills. I survived a war, walked in jungles, even jumped out planes, but this Implant has me a nervous wreak. I wonder, Is pussi worth it all? Scheduled for the Op 2/8/2024. My timeline goal is to walk by my birthday, in June. Yes, I hear many of you saying, slight discomfort, soreness, to slight pain, no meds needed, etc. But when I see what's gonna be done to a very delicate area, All I see and feel is PAIN. Yes, gonna be man enough to get it, but I hope I will have some good things to say. The Uro thought I was interrogating him. I had my list of 30 questions.....Made him answer them one by one.

Things to consider. A big part of torture is playing the fear of pain on the victim. I learned that as a kid watching a movie I think call "King Rat". Set in a Korean war era pow camp.

In my case, I had a partial circumcision in 2013. So I had a little experience with penile pain & surgery trauma retraction. My advice is to wrap your mind around the fact that almost every case of pain is TREATABLE. Let your dr know of your concerns & fears. He should be able to reassure you.

My wife has endured multiple surgeries so I knew that generally around the 3rd or 4th day was the worst. I had saved a couple of pain pills from a root canal & held them in reserve. Sure enough I did hit that pain wall & used 1 extra each of two days. Fear did set in that maybe I didn't have enough. Remember that fear vs pain comment from above. Funny fact was that once over that hump I did have two left over pills from my implant drs prescription. So I could of actually taken 2 doses early & been fine.

Acetaminophen & ibuprofen can be taken together if you alternate the doses. I bought a 100 pill bottle of each in generic & used them. That combo is surprisingly effective. Another odd fact, I'm mildly allergic to ibuprofen. By alternating doses I did not break out in hives.

Txagq8 & I have very similar outlooks. We're similar in age but have had different life experiences. I'm sure that if you can articulate your concerns that either us or the forum as a group can walk you through this. It it doable & survivable. Back to conquering that fear, the pain goes away. You did survive jump school, you got this.

[ThailandBound]

A thread like this is a good time to post a link to the best journal i have ever read on the forum discussing every aspect of the implant. It’s a small book actually, written by our forum brother “Tangerine”. A must read for you new guys!

viewtopic.php?t=16298#p146383

[DeadlineDave]

Dave: so how’d you like Dr Kansas?

I like Dr. Kansas just fine, and actually better and better as it goes along. A friend who is an anasthesiologist said he thought he was a bit of a salesman, but when I saw him for venous leak maybe 6 months ago, he said there was no surgery that could reliably correct it, and I think he mentioned implants, but he didn't do anything like a "sell."

I find him confident and re-assuring. I still have edema and he couldn't deflate me at 2 week appointment, and when he said next was in 4 weeks, I said I wanted to come back in 2.....he was quick with a "no problem" and scheduled it.

He has some videos as spokeperson for Boston Scientific and ed in general, and I watched those a handful of times and was comfortable in his manner.

My GP confirmed that he does more implants than anyone else in this area, and that's a good thing.

[Txagq8]

Dave: so how’d you like Dr Kansas?

I like Dr. Kansas just fine, and actually better and better as it goes along. A friend who is an anasthesiologist said he thought he was a bit of a salesman, but when I saw him for venous leak maybe 6 months ago, he said there was no surgery that could reliably correct it, and I think he mentioned implants, but he didn't do anything like a "sell."

I find him confident and re-assuring. I still have edema and he couldn't deflate me at 2 week appointment, and when he said next was in 4 weeks, I said I wanted to come back in 2.....he was quick with a "no problem" and scheduled it.

He has some videos as spokeperson for Boston Scientific and ed in general, and I watched those a handful of times and was comfortable in his manner.

My GP confirmed that he does more implants than anyone else in this area, and that's a good thing.

Good to hear! I had a great urologist at Scott & White in Temple but he was in his late 70s/ not doing implants….so when we had a scheduling issue I elected to roll the dice with Dr Kansas and was very happy I did. There are times I question why we did me the way he did but I have never once questioned the outcome.

It’s funny in retrospect but they had me cycling very early…like in 3 days….and I had a little swelling but was mainly bruised. I accused him of knocking me out, dragging me to parking lot, and running over my crotch with a Suburban. Anyhow I drove down every other day for first 2 or 3 weeks because I told them I wanted to be comfortable operating this thing, I lived 85 miles away. They were totally accommodating!

[runaway11]

Don't be afraid to throw your hat in the ring in here.
We have walked a mile in your shoes
We know your fears, trepidation and concerns.

There is no such thing as a dumb question.
I, too was terrified at first but so many great people in this forum stepped up
and REALLY helped ease my mind.

In fact, I found my Doctor thru this site(Thanks again, guys!)

It's a gigantic step, we know.
But we are a brotherhood and we look out for each other exclusively.

Anyone who is shy(like me) can PM me directly if needed.

Like my friend ThailandBound says..."The water is warm come on in"


Best wishes to all in 2024.

Running is a very important part of my life and I've heard several guys on here talk about how uncomfortable it is to run without an implant.

This is a big concern of mine.

Are you still comfortably able to run marathons, HikerMan?

[ThailandBound]

Don't be afraid to throw your hat in the ring in here.
We have walked a mile in your shoes
We know your fears, trepidation and concerns.

There is no such thing as a dumb question.
I, too was terrified at first but so many great people in this forum stepped up
and REALLY helped ease my mind.

In fact, I found my Doctor thru this site(Thanks again, guys!)

It's a gigantic step, we know.
But we are a brotherhood and we look out for each other exclusively.

Anyone who is shy(like me) can PM me directly if needed.

Like my friend ThailandBound says..."The water is warm come on in"


Best wishes to all in 2024.

Running is a very important part of my life and I've heard several guys on here talk about how uncomfortable it is to run without an implant.

This is a big concern of mine.

Are you still comfortably able to run marathons, HikerMan?

I ran marathons in the past but gave up running to give my knees a break. Now, i am routinely on the elliptical, hard, for up to an hour. I am completely unaware of the implant.

[HikerMan]

Don't be afraid to throw your hat in the ring in here.
We have walked a mile in your shoes
We know your fears, trepidation and concerns.

There is no such thing as a dumb question.
I, too was terrified at first but so many great people in this forum stepped up
and REALLY helped ease my mind.

In fact, I found my Doctor thru this site(Thanks again, guys!)

It's a gigantic step, we know.
But we are a brotherhood and we look out for each other exclusively.

Anyone who is shy(like me) can PM me directly if needed.

Like my friend ThailandBound says..."The water is warm come on in"


Best wishes to all in 2024.

Running is a very important part of my life and I've heard several guys on here talk about how uncomfortable it is to run without an implant.

This is a big concern of mine.

Are you still comfortably able to run marathons, HikerMan?

\


Hello!

My story in a nutshell.
9 marathons, 75+ half marathons, 200 or so 10k's, one triathlon and my left hip tapped out.
My left hip was replaced 3 years ago, strangely my right hip is totally fine.
I found out thru my chiropractor my left hip was actually about an 1/8 in. shorter than my right unbeknownst to me after
20+ years of running.
Which obviously caused my hip issues.
This was before my IPP.

I was always very athletic and I really drilled My Doctor about what I could and couldn't do after my procedure with him.

He basically gave me a total green light to do whatever I wanted, as long as it didn't involve hard impact.
Avoid contact football, Boxing and MMA and you can do pretty much do everything else.

I still hit a heavy bag and shadowbox though.

After my IPP I resumed swimming, hiking, horseback riding, racquetball, bicycling and whatever else I want to do.
In fact, I break the rules once in a while and go out for a quick 3 mile run.(Don't tell my hip surgeon..LOL!)

I don't feel a thing.

I have to remind myself this implant is even in me.
It doesn't shake, jiggle or move any different than what nature put in me to begin with.
I plan on retiring in 4 1/2 years.
I also plan on tackling the Pacific Crest Trail.....all 2,700 miles of it.
I'm not worried at all about this implant.

If you're body is able you should able to run marathon after marathon with no issues or discomfort whatsoever.
I think your surgeon has ALOT to do with how well your body responds
But, PLEASE run this past your Doctor and ask him what you are asking me beforehand
There may be some issues I'm not aware of.

This implant is a marvel of technology.
With a just a couple of limitations, you can still do 99% of ANY athletic endeavor you want do.

Hope this helps.
Best wishes,

Shawn
AKA Hikerman