Trouble with vacuum pumps

Posted by graybeard46 @graybeard46, 4 days ago

Despite surgery and radiation and now one more hormone shot , I bought a vacuum pump 2 months ago, I’m totally frustrated with it , I can get an erection close in size before surgery but not hard enough for sex , any suggestions, I’m not ready for implant or injection but will be after my second hormone shot wears off in 3 months

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harvey44 | @harvey44 | 1 day ago

In reply to @heavyphil "It’s always amazing to me how confounding these PSMA PET’s are. The say you need about..." + (show)

I understand the frustration. I have been a proponent of the wait and see experience but I'm beginning to get more concerned. I have always thought that if we find a cancer, maybe it could be treated with radiation and possibly removed. It's a shame to start the miserable life of ADT without knowing where the cancer is located.

spino | @spino | 6 hours ago

I [suppose I should be] well, actually, I am grateful that sexual performance is currently my major symptom of PC! Although I do have an aching in my hip that I wonder about...."hopefully" just arthritis?! Like I say, symptom of PC. Currently I'm having success using sildenafil before encounters, and a VED (vacuum erection device) for penile smooth muscle exercise when I am not sexually active. I do not use the VED for encounters. I tried various things before this, and spent about 2 yrs doing injections. I wish I had started using the VED sooner, but that was yesterday. The RestoreX tension device did not work as well as the VED does, and the sildenafil and tadalafil gave me no results and major side effects for a long time. Now I get some results with the sildenafil and manage the side effects fairly well.
How I use the VED: Over time, I have discovered that cycling the VED between reasonable (significant, but still comfortable) vacuum and no vacuum for 10-20 minutes is the most effective. Increased vacuum or decreased time do not help. Since it is for exercise, I only use it when the penile muscles are otherwise staying flacid.
As far as spontaneous nocturnal erections, I do sometime get a hint from time to time. It may be correlated with having used sildenafil within the prior 24 hours. It also may correlate with being over tired and not being able to sleep--so maybe it is also happening but not noticeable while I'm asleep? I did consider a ring that gives a record of arousal on a smart phone, but ultimately decided that additional data wasn't going to change much.