Questions on post-op & penile pumps

Can't speak from experience, yet....., but my Doc recommends them.  From what his nurse said and what I've read on the forum, there is benefit to keeping the blood flowing soon and frequently after surgery to speed rehab and garner better (faster, meaning sooner and long-term, meaning closer to pre-surgery) results.  For what it's worth......

--Steve

My urologist does a CT scan before he pulls the catheter. First I was sent downstairs to the lab where they had me lay down on a CT table and then hooked my catheter up to a resist solution in a bag (a bit cold and looked like water). They filled me up until I reported myself comfortably full and then ran the machine. Then I went back upstairs to wait while someone examined the image to make sure I wasn't leaking around the anastomosis. Then they deflated the catheter, gave it a tug and it fell out. The whole thing (including the CT scan) only took about an hour and a half.

When he goes to get his catheter out be sure to take a pair of Depends Underwear (the pull-ups not the pads) because he may leak quite a bit at first. If he is lucky and turns out not to need them you can donate them to the local food bank and buy some pads then.

I use a Vacurect vacuum erection device (penis pump) four times a week and I inject trimix three times a week. In theory I had one nerve bundle mostly spared (although it was subsequently irradiated) so there is a somewhat remote possibility that I may have some erectile function when my two years of hormone therapy is over and sex once again becomes possible. Rather more likely is that I will need to continue to rely on trimix for erections. The Vacurect pump seems to work well. During the hormone therapy I will be using it for rehabilitation purposes mostly since the androgen blockade makes actual sex more-or-less impossible. But sometime in the spring or summer of 2015, when my Trelstar finally starts to wear off, I hope to resume bothering my wife occasionally and I will want to keep the equipment in working order.

There are two versions of the Vacurect pump -- a consumer model that costs $195 and a prescription model that costs your insurance company something like $500. There are some differences in the packaging and the included accessories but the pumps are exactly the same device. When I found that because of the way the out-of-network deductible was structured my insurance company would not pay for the prescription model I ordered the consumer model instead and am quite happy with it.

If you Google for "Vacurect Bonro Medical" you will probably find it.

My visit was about 30 minutes. After examining my scars to make sure I was healing properly, he wasted little time in having the cath removed. Most of the visit was the Uro giving me instructions and answering my endless questions. The biggest mistake I made was only bringing a pad for the journey home. After getting the cath out, I soaked the examining table. The trip home took a couple of hours and my pants were soaked by the time I got home. Depending on how long it takes you to get home I suggest the Depends underpants supported by a pad for extra protection. That is how I dressed for my first couple of weeks upon returning to work. I didn't want to take any chances.

Diana, I have used a VED from Augusta Medical Systems for the past 16 months and it's the only thing that's really worked for me so far. I got no results with Levitra and a swelling with Trimix that doesn't quite get the job done. My HMO set me with a representative of the company to decide if I wanted to try the pump and I'm glad I did. The HMO paid the $120 the company charges for the device.

The VED does have some limitations, especially if the constrictor rings are used for intercourse. The rings prevent blood pumped into the penis from leaking out. The rings can't be used for more than 30 minutes, the penis turns purple and it feels cold to the touch. It's not like sex was before the surgery but it's better than none at all. If Levitra had worked or Trimix, I would have stuck with one of those but I had no other option. I continue to take Levitra and inject Trimix in case they have a rehabilitation effect.

I hope the pills work for your husband or the Trimix if he decides to go that route. But the VED may work if nothing else does.

Mike