My Intro

[padraig1001]

Greetings, everyone,

I came on this site quite by accident. I was Googling 'kegels' yesterday and one of the links came to this site. It appears to be one that might be useful; it's nice to be able to visit with people concerning sensitive topics.

I am a prostate cancer survivor. I had a radical prostectomy approximately fifteen years ago. Unfortunately, even though my surgeon 'thought' he was successful in his attempt to keep the necessary nerves alive so that I could have a little feeling 'down there,' he was not successful.

I've done pretty much everything. My surgery was at Mayo in Rochester. Once I discovered I was impotent, I had several appointments at the Men's Clinic and tried the normal meds (didn't do a thing), tablet insert into penis (didn't do a think), and eventually shots (didn't do a thing). I pretty much gave up until about six months ago when I received info on a vacuum pump. I was leary, but after visiting with my doctor and getting the prescription (Medicare Approved), I ordered one. Wow! What a surprise to see that little guy poking his head up again!

I'm now in the process of therapy, generally on a daily basis. I have a few problems, mainly in getting the ring off. It is kind of difficult and I have actually bruised myself in doing so. I did go into the chat room yesterday for the first time. The overall advice appeared to be to get a larger ring. I use the middle size and it does a great job at keeping the blood in the penis; I think a larger size would not be so successful. I only have the two sizes and when I called for tech support, he told me that only 3% of the population require the larger size; take my word for it, that ain't me!

I would like to know who uses the pump for therapy, what all they do for therapy (e.g., do they include masturbation as part of the therapy and why--directed by doctor? whatever?). Also want to know if the therapy helps in continence.

Thank you, for taking time to read my rather long intro.

[antelope]

Welcome Pad,

You're going to find there are a lot of "pumpers" on this site. Some do so just for exercise; others pump in order to have sex as well. I'm sure you will get several replies related to your pumping questions. I'm sorry the other therapies didn't work for you. Pills didn' t do much for me either, but I finally found a workable solution last fall with trimix injections. I'm curious as to what formula you were injecting. Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't have a better response. You might want to talk to the uro about trying a different forumlation: bimix, trimix, quadmix, etc. etc. I'd sure cover the full range of options before giving up on injections. That's not medical advice; just relating my experience. As I always say, it's worth a shot.

Look forward to seeing you in the chat room.

Greg

[Josh_14_11]

Thanks for the intro, Pat. And glad to have met you in chat!

It sounds like you've already explored quite a bit on the website, but if something's unclear you can always PM the guys (esp. for more recent, active postings in the forums) or ask the guys in chat.

Good luck with "Adventures in Pumping!"

[3mtrship]

Hello padraig1001 and welcome.

I have dealt with Steve at the below site for my pump. It came with three rings and they work for me.

Site Follows: http://www.noogleberry.com/shop/

He has several larger, up to 7-8 piece, sets of rings reasonably priced with ears to help get them off easy with no brusing. He can be trusted and gives very good customer support. Please consider him and get back to us with your feedback.

Jim

[JimStars]

Pad,

I'm now in the process of therapy, generally on a daily basis. I have a few problems, mainly in getting the ring off. It is kind of difficult and I have actually bruised myself in doing so.

I took a look at the Erec-Tech pump rings in the on-line images. They seem ridiculous -- but that's just my opinion.

Everyone soups up their pumps to get em to work better and the first step is to get some Osbon rings (no matter what kind of pump you have). They're definitely the best and most durable -- i have a couple that have been in use for almost a year -- daily use -- and are still going strong. I also noticed that your pump comes with a bottom insert sleeve piece. I have never used one of these on my pump (which is an Encore). I can't see how it could be very comfortable and sure would get in the way of the rings ( supposedly can also be used with no rings??). But I guess using it is optional -- and might help keep delicate stuff from being sucked in. That brings up another important operating instruction. Get em by the balls and never let go! Always, Always hang on to them while pumping -- if they start to slip, deflate and get em and hold em. There is just no other way -- Hold em!

Also depending on your comfort level/pain tolerance you might like to try a Penile Sleeve (see other areas of this site for info) -- even can use with the Osbon or other rings over it. Yeah even more money burned but they really work. Also most people use TWO rings ... maybe two different tensions -- just works better and longer time before you lose flation.

hope this all helps!

J