I'm Bionic! Quincy's journal. Before and after pics added.

[Quincy]

Day 5, morning. Wow. I've been hard for almost 5 days straight.

Thanks, oldbeek, for the recommendation. Glad you found a solution.

Swelling and pain are both lower this morning than previous mornings. That's a very good sign, as morning pain seems to be the worst. As I ice and bathe during the day everything gets easier.

As is typical for the morning, my sac is full and I can't feel the pump very well. Icing helps with the swelling, but only the hot bath loosens whatever it is that causes the full scrotum. For my activation appointment on Wednesday, I'm now planning to be in the tub until the last possible moment. I may also take a heating pad with me. I haven't tried a heating pad to see if it helps yet, but I'll do that today. I know it's supposed to be helpful when pumping up.

Some general observations:

Ever since the surgery, my penis points a little left of center. I hope that isn't permanent. The way it is, it would still be usable for sex but perhaps uncomfortable if pumped fully up. At my current 70% I can pull it over without much difficulty, but at a higher inflation it may be more difficult. I've read in other posts that this was temporary, so I'll hope for the best.

I've had to learn a new way to sit. Like most guys, I always just flop into a chair. Now I have to lower myself gently, get may balls settled, and then finish sitting. I never realized that my balls hit a chair first when I'm naked, but then I haven't had so much time sitting down naked. When I stand, they are the last part of me to touch, and I have to be careful standing, as well. Sitting and standing also put pressure on my shaft in some way, causing a little pain, and I clench my abdominal muscles so the sore part where the reservoir is complains a little. None of it is bad, I just have to be careful.

I plan to get out and walk more today. If I am indeed past the peak of swelling, it's time to get more active. Being a diabetic, I'm always concerned about sugar levels and I find that walking helps considerably. I plan to wear something loose and cover with a shirttail instead of compressing. Much more comfortable.

[mr.skin]

the sitting issue, will this get better ?

[Quincy]

My understanding is that it definitely will get better. I know some guys here that ride bicycles for many miles now that they are healed, without any issue, and right now I can't even look at a bicycle without cringing.

I'm not worried about it at all, just letting guys know that it's tender at first. Lots of things were messed around with down there.

[jijohnson99]

I was thinking the same thing Quincy as I am diabetic to so keeping our Glucose levels in check will help with the healing and keep the infection away

[Quincy]

Day 5 early afternoon.

I'm definitely feeling better today. Both swelling and pain are down from yesterday. So if you're trying to plan when it starts to get better, for me it was between days 4 and 5.

I was able to go for an extended walk. The distance was 1.5 miles and it took about 30 minutes, so around 20 minutes per mile. Very slow compared to before surgery, but I'm happy with the achievement. There wasn't any pain to speak of until about the end, other than the pressure of having my dick pressed on in the shorts.

My wife made me a closed-ended tube of very soft fabric to put over my penis and keep the head from rubbing against my pants. We got the idea from posts by others here that recommended a baby sock, which we didn't have. If anyone has interest, she says that the material used is called "Minki" (it's super soft), and it should be sewn so the soft side is inside and the seams are on the outside. She's a keeper.

Feeling great again after a bath, and I'm hoping I'll feel well enough to do the same distance again this afternoon.

Now that things are looking up, I'll probably post a little less. Sorry this has gone so long, just trying to add things that might be of value to someone.

Quincy

[Donnie1954]

Quincy,
I can see why. What a loving wife! Maybe you can introduce it on
shark tank. Just a thought.
Take care get better every day my brother.
donnie1954@mail.com

[Larry10625]

Day 5, morning. Wow. I've been hard for almost 5 days straight.

Thanks, oldbeek, for the recommendation. Glad you found a solution.

Swelling and pain are both lower this morning than previous mornings. That's a very good sign, as morning pain seems to be the worst. As I ice and bathe during the day everything gets easier.

As is typical for the morning, my sac is full and I can't feel the pump very well. Icing helps with the swelling, but only the hot bath loosens whatever it is that causes the full scrotum. For my activation appointment on Wednesday, I'm now planning to be in the tub until the last possible moment. I may also take a heating pad with me. I haven't tried a heating pad to see if it helps yet, but I'll do that today. I know it's supposed to be helpful when pumping up.

Some general observations:

Ever since the surgery, my penis points a little left of center. I hope that isn't permanent. The way it is, it would still be usable for sex but perhaps uncomfortable if pumped fully up. At my current 70% I can pull it over without much difficulty, but at a higher inflation it may be more difficult. I've read in other posts that this was temporary, so I'll hope for the best.

I've had to learn a new way to sit. Like most guys, I always just flop into a chair. Now I have to lower myself gently, get may balls settled, and then finish sitting. I never realized that my balls hit a chair first when I'm naked, but then I haven't had so much time sitting down naked. When I stand, they are the last part of me to touch, and I have to be careful standing, as well. Sitting and standing also put pressure on my shaft in some way, causing a little pain, and I clench my abdominal muscles so the sore part where the reservoir is complains a little. None of it is bad, I just have to be careful.

I plan to get out and walk more today. If I am indeed past the peak of swelling, it's time to get more active. Being a diabetic, I'm always concerned about sugar levels and I find that walking helps considerably. I plan to wear something loose and cover with a shirttail instead of compressing. Much more comfortable.

Hey Quincy... the heating pad works great. Your bag may not be so low once your swelling goes down and after a while you won't even think about your implant anymore.

Larry

[CTR5000]

Quincy... for you to be keeping this journal since just hours post-op shows just how GREAT it all went and is going! You sound amazing too! I am beyond thrilled at your reports but you know I'm not surprised. It sounds like everything is going exactly as I shared with you! I would've felt awful if any of it seemed as if I was making it all up... you'd be cursing me out a blue streak now! LOL!

Your whole experience means so much to me. The phone call we shared, the messaging and chat times... and now to hear these wonderful day-by-day updates... I can almost hear your voice reading them to me!

Keep it UP, my friend. And hug that amazing wife from all of us. She is indeed a keeper!

Hugs ~
Colin

P.S. Would've written sooner but Jim's in another hospital admission. Sort of a "low-medium serious" one. We've been through far worse. He may be home tomorrow.

[Quincy]

Day 6, morning.

Swelling down a little more today. Usually when I wake up, my scrotum is full and packed. For the first time today, I could feel the pump and deflate button without taking a bath first. There's still extra fluid or something in there, but not as bad as it has been. Great progress.

For those that want to have an idea of what it all feels like at this point, here's the inventory:

Penis - my dick is the sorest part of me now. This is where the most trauma occurred, so it makes sense that the pain would linger the most here. There are two different types of pain involved. One is surface pain. The entire surface of the shaft is very tender. Sometimes it feels almost like it's abraded or has a sunburn. This pain isn't constant, but shows up with touch or sometimes just fires off in one spot or another for no known reason. The worst spot is still where the top of the cylinders touch, just before they narrow down to a point. Last night, I couldn't touch a couple spots without wanting to yell, even just my bed sheet, so I had to sleep with my dick out. It's a good reason to stay naked all day, as well. The second type of pain is bruising. While I don't see the black and blue skin, it feels just like then entire dick is bruised, even the head. There is a fairly constant dull ache, and pushing on any spot feels like there must be a bruise. Neither of these types of pain is really bad. Both get worse with any outside pressure, like wearing clothes.

Scrotum - pain here has almost vanished now. The right testicle still complains about the new neighbor a little, but the pain has diminished with the swelling. My left nut always hangs lower than my right, and if they'd placed the tubes on that side, it might have been easier. As it is, the right nut now rides even higher than it used to in order to make more room for the tubes and pump.

Abdomen - There is still some pain above the right testicle where the tubes go through, but it's much less than before. As I've mentioned, my whole lower abdomen has been a little sore and it shows up most when coughing or sitting up. But now I can sit up without much pain at all, and coughing, while it still hurts a little, is something I can just let happen instead of trying to minimize. Great improvements. The incision site is sore to the touch and still swollen underneath. I've seen the videos showing how much they do through that one little opening, so I'm not surprised. The swelling unfortunately makes me look fatter, and it's harder to tell my length with the extra padding. ("Does this implant make me look fatter?")

Otherwise: Walking is pretty easy, it's pressure and rubbing from the clothes that hurt. If I concentrate, I can feel the extra nut a little and there's clearly more dangling between my legs, but it's easy to ignore. Sitting naked is great, as long as I am careful sitting down. Sitting clothed is the worst since the pressure from the clothes increases over standing and my penis has to bend to one side or be under a lot more pressure. Laying down fully is good and most of the pain goes away, but the vertical dick wants to pull to the side causing some pressure. The feeling goes away after a minute or so.

I went for a second 1.5 mile walk yesterday afternoon. It was more painful than the first and took longer. Pace was a 24 minute mile. In total, I did 3 miles of dedicated walking at a fun pace, listening to music, and with other miscellaneous walking totaled 3.7 miles for the day.

Sleep was shorter at 6 hours 25 minutes, and I'd like to sleep more. I didn't wake from pain though, I just couldn't get back to sleep. I'll probably take a nap some time this morning, perhaps after a morning walk and bath.

If you're looking at a future implant, at this point I'd say "go for it". I hope my inventory of aches doesn't sound like I'm complaining, I'm not. Just the opposite, I'm delighted that this has gone so easily. I'm just trying to document the outcome. I have taken a grand total of 2 of the heavy pain meds (one while I was woozy just out of surgery) and then added Ibuprofen when needed. This hasn't been hard, just something to adjust to.

I'm excited to get to activation day on Wednesday, and almost ready for it.

Colin: Thanks for your kind words. It's just like you said it would be. Please give Jim my best and keep me posted on progress.

Thanks to all for your encouragement and support.

Quincy

[Quincy]

Day 7, morning

Wow. A week ago today I went in for the surgery. I still have the occasional "why did I do this?" moments, probably partially because I haven't been able to use the implant for its intended purpose yet.

Yesterday I walked 2 different times, logging 2 miles each time. The pace was a little faster, 17-minute miles. At one point I tried a very light jog, but that hurt immediately and I stopped. There is little pain from walking as long as I avoid any jarring steps. I've learned to walk more smoothly so that I can still get some exercise but not disturb the sore parts.

I had my best sleep yet, 7 hours 40 minutes. Though I woke up a lot, I went right back to sleep. I can now have a sheet touching me and a blanket over that, as long as I'm careful laying them over me. I can also sleep on my side again, though it's still not as comfortable as before.

Sharp, sudden pains still happen, and there is still achiness. No big deal for either one. I'm not even close to wanting to try this thing out, but the discomfort continues to reduce.

After my 2nd walk yesterday my scrotum was packed pretty tight. Instead of a bath, I decided to try a heating pad again. The heating pad worked quite well to loosen things up and I could find all the parts inside that I'd need to inflate and deflate. A hot bath still works better and somehow provides some additional relief that just feels good. Once I start inflating, I plan to cycle in the tub whenever possible and use the heating pad when it's not. I know I won't need the extra heat forever, but many have said it's helpful at the start.

I'm getting ready for tomorrow's activation. If everything looks good from the surgery and I haven't damaged something by walking too early or some other dumb move, I'll be closer to going home. I still have to prove to the doctor that I can successfully inflate and deflate before he wants me to leave.

I found a good page on the Boston Scientific/AMS site that gives detail about how to hold the pump to inflate and deflate. It's at: http://www.bostonscientific.com/en-US/p ... plant.html

As we all know, I'm not a doctor. With this thread of posts, I'm not advising anyone to do anything, to walk or not, to see my doctor, to take a hot bath, or anything else. I'm just letting people know how this went for me and what I tried.

Wishing you all the best.
Quincy