Anxiety before surgery

[Trek50]

Having my surgery next week. I have a lot of anxiety about it. How did you deal with the anxiety before your operation? I keep talking myself in an out of it in my head.

[JohnHC]

Fortunately for me I didn't have much anxiety beforehand. I had already watched several you tube videos of the operation ( start to finish ) and while a bit squeamish, the thought of not having to take the Trimix shots ( which I had acclimated to ) anymore or having to plan out our fun time made it a lot easier. The only second thoughts I had was thinking about what recovery was going to be like, how much pain, how much swelling, etc there would be. I was fortunate in that after having 4 back surgeries this would be a breeze I kept telling myself that. I really didn't have any pain to speak of but the bruising - my scrotum and penis were a nice shade of purple as well as a rectangular spot just above my penis ( I assume where they pushed in the reservoir.) The swelling made it a bit difficult, scrotum was about the size of a softball, and both the swelling and brushing were in full force end of day after and start of second day. Most of both of those was over with by day 9, it's now day 14 very, very little bruising and only a very small area in my scrotum is still a bit puffy ( right near the pump.) Ice will be your friend for at least 5 to 6 days - use frozen peas - it actually conforms to the area better and lasts plenty long enough and is cheap. If pain is an issue stay on top of it and don't miss a dose of pain meds, it's very hard to catch up if you miss a dose, again I was lucky and only took my pain meds the day after surgery and I really think I could have done it without the meds or just over the counter Tylenol. Everybody recovers at different paces so your mileage will vary.

[Jage64]

I just kept thinking "what's the alternative?" My dick didn't work. So I can either decide to do nothing and I'd have maybe 30 more years of no penetrative sex, or I take the plunge that so many other VERY happy men have taken and give myself a chance at a great sex life.

Do nothing, you already know what you've got.

Do something, odds are very high it'll be fantastic. You have nothing to lose.

I kept telling myself that. I too was anxious, but mainly just because I'm a big baby when it comes to surgery and pain in general.

I iced for the first few days nearly 24 hours a day. No bruising to speak of, very little pain (never took a prescription pain pill), extremely easy recovery. If I could recommend one thing, it'd be ICE.

[ThailandBound]

That final month prior to surgery was difficult for me too. Not many choices that we make are truly irrevocable, but this one is. As Jage64 mentioned above, “what choice do you have?” If your ED can’t be fixed with pills and shots, you are faced with a lifetime of non-penetrative sex. It still wasn’t an easy decision to make, but this forum and the YouTube videos of Drs. Perito & Clavell gave me courage.

Have you read the journal of forum member “Tangerine”? It truly is a landmark exploration of one man’s implant journey from beginning to end. In the report he writes about his concerns and worries. We all have them. You are not alone. I was alone in a hotel the day prior to my surgery, and truly it felt like the loneliest day of my life. An all-encompassing sense all day of “am I really going to do this tomorrow morning “

I did and I’m now 4 months postop. Happy with everything. There is a period of adaptation to the “new me” that we all experience. Cycling. First sex. Sensitivity (improves continuously over time), mental aspects.

You’re going to be fine. Here’s the link to Tangerine’s article.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16298&hilit=tangerine

[Old Guy]

Having my surgery next week. I have a lot of anxiety about it. How did you deal with the anxiety before your operation? I keep talking myself in an out of it in my head.

OH YES. Implant was my first surgery as an adult. Don't think I slept the two nights prior. I totally did not know what to expect because I knew nothing about implants except it would allow me to have erections again. I had not found all the great information here at Frank Talk yet. My surgeon picked out everything.

My only suggestion to calm down is consider the other side, no erections, no sex, NO FUN! ED sucks and it is wonderful to have the option of an implant. Think of the days following of all the sex you can have, any time for as long as you want.
Best of luck. You can do it!

[Buzzer]

I was not in the best of health when I started this journey. I also freaked out 24 hours before surgery. But during the surgery you will be knocked out and won't feel a thing. After surgery you will have the recovery. Mine is a little rougher than many. My issue was with the pain management plan after surgery. Some have had very little pain, but not me. I was prescribed 5 oxycodone pills one every 24 hours and extra strength Tylenol one every 8 hours.

When you are asked what level is your pain on scale of 10
Mine was 10 out 10 for the next 6 days straight. I could almost not move at all. I almost passed out several times because of the pain.

Then after talking to my doctor on day 6 she told me to go to the emergency room. When there they checked my incisions and verified I did not have a infection. This all checked out fine. A very smart nurse reviewed my pain management plan and concluded that what I was given was not nearly adequate. To prove it the nurse and doctor administered a dose of Delaudnin and my pain subsided almost immediately.

So my doctor revised my medication to one oxycodone every 4 hours (not one per day) and 2 regular strength Tylenol every 6 hours.
I am doing much better and my pain is only a 4 to 5 level. As result, I can feel my healing begin to take hold and after only 2 days of this new pain plan I feel a lot better.

Now as you read the stories of others, they did not have anywhere near the issues I had, so your mileage may vary.

You will have a lot of inflammation everywhere from this surgery and Ice is s very important to mitigation of this. But for me Ice did not have a lot of impact. What would have helped me most was ice and Motrin. But because of drug interactions limitations I cannot use Motrin or others, only Tylenol.

It is very important that you prepare for the worse and be ready. If it was not for the support of my wife I would be in big trouble right now.

I still think I have made the Right decision to get the surgery but the first 2 weeks are kind of rough.

I have a ckeck up on May 3, 2023. My final doctor vist is Jun 2, 2023. Then I will be able to activate the pump.

My surgery was Penoscotal and got a 21 cm AMS 700 CX unit. There are no RTE's.

I got very good support from my medical team and still do

Here my wife has saved my life and I love her for it.

My walking was severely affected and I got a special brace for the Toilet and a walker to enable movement from chair to bed and back. I got the Sepertec underwear in Bamboo fabic and this helped a lot, but I did not have these until day 8. I wish i had gotten this ahead of the surgery.

Preparing is important and you may have to get some things you may not use, it is better to have it ahead of Time then suffer for several days waiting for it. I realize not every one can do that

Bill

[silver daddy 1960]

Trek50

Everyone's advice above is spot on and advice heard many times on this site which I applied to my situation. If you are still wigging out there is still one more option. Ask your Dr for a week's low dose of Valium to take the edge off. It was suggested some time back on FT and it definitely helped keep me from running screaming from the hospital and get a good night's sleep beforehand.

[Rider1400]

As others have said. It’s as much mental as physical. Go into it with a positive attitude and read read read and inform yourself of what can and what will happen and what to expect. Past this, put it in the Drs hands. I had a shoulder reconstruction surgery 15 days prior to my implant so I had two surgeries to recover from at the same time. The shoulder was much worse and at times didn’t even consider any discomfort with the implant!! Lol. Brain will focus where the worse pain is.

[Trek50]

I appreciate everyone's advice. I had a bad experience with a TURP that resulted in blood clots in my bladder and additional surgery. I couldn't urinate for over 8 hours and was privileged to have had 8 caths, of increasing size, inserted during that time. They kept clogging due to blood clots. I think the trauma of all I went through with my TURP is making me more nervous about this. However, as others have noted, the alternative is to not have penetrative sex for the rest of my life. I'm definitely going to do this! Thanks for all your support.

[aussiePeyronies]

It's normal to be nervous, especially considering where the surgery is.

I kept telling myself, I have chosen the best surgeon, and I am under the care of the best surgeon in Australia.

After talking to my surgeon, asking him all my questions, and seeing how competent and helpful he was, I felt much more at ease.

Hope this helps.

J