Hi Joerg
This is a great forum where men and often women come for advice, support, encouragement, inspiration or simply to find comfort in such a difficult time in their lives. I have gained a lot from this forum over the last 13 years, particularly after my very complicated surgery and painful and less than complete recovery. Like many, I still suffer from minor incontinence and total ED. We were very determined to re-establish our sex life and for a variety of reasons we decided to opt for VEDs. I have used four different pumps over the years. We feel it may be useful if I summarise the pros and cons of various pumps: I am presenting here some facts as well as my subjective judgement, a starting point for those thinking of using a VED. Although I have very strong views on this matter I am fully aware that it is horses for courses and it would be useful if other members of this forum assess my judgement and post comments.
Details Vacurect SOMAerect
Cost £200 - £300 £200 - £300
NHS prescribed ? No Yes Pumping handle No Yes
NHS and FDA Approved No Yes
Manual/Electric Only manual Both
Number and rings 11 sizes 3 sizes
Types of ring Hard plastic Soft silicone
Vacuum cylinders choice No 3 sizes
Principle of operation Penis pulled in Penis inserted in
through small hole the vacuum tube
Cleaning complex process Very simple
My recommendation NO Yes
My experience and opinion: Vacurect was the first pump I bought. I had two problems: During the rehabilitation period after surgery, I suffered from serious incontinence and my penis was so small that I could not even ‘offer’ it to the hole in the ring, made particularly difficult with the penis seriously dripping urine non-stop. Even when I managed, the mixture of the lubricant and urine made the pump very slippery (it has no pumping handle), messy and smelly. So I gave up and my GP prescribed SOMAerect (NHS) which worked well because it does not require your penis to be pulled into the vacuum cylinder through the small hole in the ring. You simply ‘drop’ your penis into the vacuum cylinder, put the end of the pump against the body at the base of the penis and pump; I prefer a battery operated rather than a manual-handle model. The urine simply drips into the bottom of the cylinder and does not interfere with the pumping process. Since I had spent a lot of money on Vacurect I decided to give it another go. Despite my urine-dripping-penis I did manage to create an erection but just when I thought I had achieved a required size of erection, suddenly my penis became extruciatingly painful, turned blue. Since the pump has no emergency vacuum-release-button, I couldn’t release the painful penis. Somehow, I don’t remember how, I managed to ‘break’ the vacuum – what an experience! This is serious! Needless to say the pump was ceremoniously put into the recycling bin! Also if you suffer from arthritis in your fingers/hands, as I do, I strongly recommend you don’t choose this pump as it has no handle for pumping.
I must add that an organisation in South Africa called ‘A Touchy Subject’, which helps prostate cancer survivors, strongly recommends Vacurect, with many accompanying videos. Have a look at the videos showing how to clean the pump; it is complex with many parts. On its website it compares it - unfairly - with the South African manufactured Vacurect with a cheap (£15 - £30) sex-shop pump, with no mention of SOMAerect or any other similar pumps. To me this appears to be unethical!
My aim is to help men who wish to use VEDs to re-establish their sex lives. Some members may disagree with my judgement about the best pump to use. I obviously welcome their comments; after all we are all in this together. Ultimately it is a question of suck and see (pun intended!)
If anyone wishes to view a short video I have recorded showing how I use the pump, please private message me with your email address and I will send you an attachment; it is for a limited audience who need help.
Christmas Day today - have a good Christmas and a Happy New Year when it arrives. Time seems to shrink as we age - Einstein failed to observe that!
Edited by member 25 Dec 2024 at 11:43
| Reason: Not specified