← Return to Artificial sphincter: Was it difficult to learn how to use? Tips?

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@pmccharles

How did this work out can you use it

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Hi. I had the AUS activated on 4/3. For the good news, I am now entirely dry. I don't even need to wear a pad inside of briefs and can go back to wearing boxer shorts, which clearly would not work with wearing a pad. The activation was kind of rough with the urologist having his female Physician Assistant do the activation. There was quite a bit of tugging and pinching of the scrotum. I had been concerned that pre-activation the device wasn't hanging low enough in my scrotum to allow me to feel with one hand where the two tubes were at the top of the device which directions say should be held to stabilize the device when operating it. But I can now feel them with my right hand while I operate the pump with the left hand. One apparent problem is that I am NOT experiencing the 60 to 90 second flow when I pump the device. Instead I get a squirt, generally a spray often missing the toilet bowl, followed by 5 or so seconds of a slow stream before it peters out. I have to pump the device several cycles in this manner to feel that I have emptied. I messaged the urologist on the portal about this difference in the way it functions but he didn't sound concerned in his response and it is several months before I am scheduled to see him again. I generally get an urge to urinate about every two hours, but I know I am not drinking enough water, which I need to do to cut down on UTIs, and wonder how frequently I will need to urinate when I increase the water intake. I am going to get a post void residual test at my local urologist to see how much remains after a cycle of squeezing the pump several times in a row to empty. All things being equal I am happy with the results. It is a luxury to not squirt a leak when I do any of the activities that used to trigger stress incontinence.