Erecting the Erection - Medication

I am getting the Somaerect ll and will take all comments onboard but sometimes there seems to be a battle about who or what is right so it will be a trial of errors for me.

What works for one may not necessarily work for the other!!

Chris/Woody

Life seems different upside down, take another viewpoint

Hi, Walnut.
At today's meeting with the CNS for erectile function the pump she was talking about was the somaerect. www.iMEDicare.co.uk makes quite a lot of the importance of getting the right size ring. The way it works here is that I would go to a separate Wellman Clinic to be shown how to use it. (I'll do an update about today's consultation later ...)
I shall try to investigate all this on the internet this afternoon, but the curtain hangers are in!
All the best,
Henry

Somaerect 15019 was the pump and some rings of varying sizes.

Somaerect 15222 size y were 3 additional rings.

It was explained how to use it and I was given a detailed instruction sheet but never had an actual practical demo.

ED consultant made the recommendation and a rep from imedicare was in clinic, he did all the paperwork to give to the GP.

Thanks Chris

Chris J , I can see what you mean about the lube. I ended up using nearly all the paper towels they gave me. I can see it become annoying but I'll give it a go and see how it is for me . I was told that standing up is the best way to use the device , with the tube pointed down at a slight angle. Lying down apparently is not as effective but I guess it'll be trial and error.

Yes I'll be trimming down below now. I have a beard so when I trim up top I'll have to remember to trim below as well !

I liked immediate ease of operation as well. So simple and smooth. It was really good to see my fella returning to normal again. The reps could sense how I felt and they said that was one of the best parts of the job - customer satisfaction !

Chris PB , were you given any instructions with the pump? You don't want to get into bad habits re usage. I'm now glad I was shown how to use it before I will have it and can see why the hospital wanted me to have the demo first. The application of the 2 constriction rings looks fun to master.

As you know I started this ed lark at the end of Jan and here we are towards the end of April . I have no pump yet, but you see your uro nurse , what a week ago and here you are , already to pump ! Is there no justice ??? But I am ahead of you re Cialis but you do have the lower Psa level though !

It seems that the reps see far more RP patients than HT/RT patients. They were interested in my RT tattoos , when I asked why , I was told we only see a handful of RT /HT patients each year, we find them fascinating !

If it hadn't been for this site then I wouldn't had done anything about this. And Chris PB , I think you'd say the same. How more have been overlooked like us ?

But it was a good day with something positive.and plenty of laughs along the way . Just need the actual prescription now .

Thanks

John

Well a good day all round then, But Surr, why aren't you taking the pump on holiday with you? As long as it is in the checked-in luggage you will be fine. Ours has been on every holiday with us - good job we don't have to book her a seat of her own :-)

:-0

The reps said they'd been to the adjacent RT centre at the hospital this morning. Hopefully they were able to get a message across there to help patients like us.

However as you know being on HT, with the immediate loss of libido and the rigours of RT meant for me at least, that seeking ED help was the last thing on my mind then. I had enough to contend with, getting over fatigue and returning to work. It's only been in the last 4-5 months ( probably as I joined this site) and speaking to a RP friend that I thought about doing something.

But if by posting here it helps others regarding this, then surely this is one of the reasons for this site existing. I would say though that last year I more or less bypassed any post on ED.

This was because the dangers of penile atrophy had not been spelt out to me and I thought that these posts had no real relevance to my situation. How wrong I was.

All I had been told was that by going on HT I would lose interest in sex. Nothing more.

I did post about ED - first visit to GP and Penile Rehab as separate posts in January , partly after my initial consultation with my GP about ED. She had just been on a course run by PCUK the previous week. She wants ALL patients to be aware of atrophy. To date about 3-400 people have viewed them, hopefully some men will have taken action. She was horrified that I'd been overlooked.

Keep pumping and taking your twice weekly tablets. Me ? I'm a daily man .

Keep well

John

Thanks for the info . I shall look into this, as you say it's much cheaper than the Vibererect ( quoted about £170 ex vat as PCa patient) . I must say that the Viberect looked really good though but if there are cheaper but just as effective options around then it all be worth an investigation.

Cheers,

John

I would be very cautious about the Viberect John - the research on its efficacy was done with a group of men from age 25 - 40 (mean age was 26.9), none of whom had ED. For men with partial erections, the stimulation may produce a stronger, firmer hard on but it is not going to produce an erection in a man unless his nerves have repaired. It might be more useful (and cheaper) to buy a TENS machine. That's not to say the viberect mightn't be fab for getting an orgasm but don't rely on it to cure ED.

My other concern would be to check with the urologist or oncologist first. The vibration should in theory be like a very, very vigorous hand-job only much more so but I would want to know whether there is any risk of activating / dispersing any left-over cancer cells. That may not be the case but conscious that men with PCa shouldn't have back massages etc except from a physio / masseur / chiro that is specially trained, I wonder whether this could carry the same risk?

Tihs.  No one has ever warned me of this.  Not that I have had any back massages, or any massages for a while now, :-(

Is anything else risky?  Is very very vigorous hand applied exercise risky in any way?

dave

Hello fellow sufferers -men and women
So after 11 months now of committed daily pumping and no actual natural function at all since RP , being the proactive kind of guy I am , I decided to self fund and take daily Cialis 5 mg .. I've been on it just over a week with my doctor"s permission. Side-effects seem to be indigestion and making my normal back ache worse.
And so the planets aligned and jiggy jiggy occurred this morning , and a definite healthy 50% erection erected. Not enough for penetration but big smiles haha.
Thing is , reading other's posts , IS this any better than pump alone ?? Yes lovely to be harder without all the paraphernalia, but only a lazy lob. Now I don't know what to do re Viridal injections to get a full useable erection ( if not painful ). ED nurse yesterday texted to me to NOT mix these drugs. He didn't even suggest injection dose reduction ( which was my plan of action ).
I think I'm gonna stick with 4 months Cialis now I've bought it , use the pump daily for exercise , and maybe risk an injection when we next feel fruity , which isn't that often these days tbh since this disease hit us. I'll make it a lunchtime so I can get to A&E if needs be.
Best wishes travellers
Chris

Reported as smap.

Dave

Hi L
Please take the time to try Colwick Chris' Flaccid sex. We just couldn't get round to it but tried the other week. It would be inappropriate to say too much but with time and effort we both agreed it could be awesome. Google the 'scissors' position where you are perpendicular to each other. You need a big bed , lube if needed , two pillows and then just relax , breathe. I was amazed at what I could achieve by doing absolutely nothing !!!

Hi Chris

Good to hear that you are back on the bones, wish I could say the same.

I take 5mg daily of Cialis with no side effects, and a 20mg when the notion takes me,  I too have noticed a reduction with my wee fella who seems to have lost a bit of length, I too believe it is the HT implant that I received 3 months ago, have another implant this Wednesday, cannot wait for that, plus I think that not having any erections for 8 months has contributed towards the loss of length. Really getting me down with the lack of erection, tried to get a pump from the NHS but was told to wait and try Cialis first. May have to buy one myself as my next appointment with the ED nurse isn't until October.

Have a great time on holiday and try and put this s*** to the back of your mind, I know that it is not easy as I have just returned back from Tenerife and it is hard to forget our problems. The holiday was more relaxed this time as I couldn't drink much due to my wee urinary problem I have at present but still enjoyed the time away in the sunshine.

Onwards and upwards

Cheers

Well done mate I know you have worked hard on the problem. I have not used the pump very often due to the stricture and not noticed to much shrinkage. Daily sildeafil keeps the penis slightly swollen most of the time.

Thanks Chris and Chudley

Edited by member 05 Jul 2016 at 21:54  | Reason: Not specified

Hello
I am 14 months post op , 49 yrs old and supposedly had double nerve spare. I desperately didn't want impotence but at this time have not had a single natural event yet. I've used the pump every day from 8 weeks post op without fail. At first I had normal sized erections but floppy at the base. But it did the job. My penis has now slowly died and is smaller all over. I've tried all the pills and am currently self supplying Cialis 5mg which gives the best results for natural sex. I've done the whole injection route , both Caverject and Viridal. I need a full 40mg dose but have never been fully erect , let alone priapism. I guess I was butchered during the op. Still have severe bladder and bowel pains now. I couldn't stand the after pain of the injection so have almost given up on them. I was due to try this new injection last week but they cancelled my appt. I think it's called Trimix and is used in the states. Doesn't give better erection but less pain. I was told to ease off on pump use as " it would have worked by now ". I will keep going as my penis is atrophying.
By far the best thing for me is the Cialis. If I take it early say 6 in the morning , we can have proper sex at 7 , with the help also of a slacker cock ring. Not like the pump ones. It just helps. I have very very jelly like pump rings. If you are very trimmed below and use lube , you can easily slip a finger under the ring post sex and ease it off. They are available on prescription and I have the codes. They fit any pump.
Thanks for a great post. Feel free to contact me.
Chris

Yes, John returned to full erectile function between year 3 and year 4 after RP although the experts say that whatever you have at 2 years post-op tends to be all you can expect. He still uses Viagra or Levitra though as although physically he no longer has ED, the mind games still cause problems.

The safest and easiest way to remove a ring after use is to pull the sides apart (using the finger rings) and hold - the blood seeps back into your body making the penis small again. The ring should then slip off easily. As already said, plenty of lube also helps.