After the Penile Implant Surgery
That night, and for the next couple of days, I was in some significant pain, but certainly not excruciating or anything like that. I just laid on the sofa, with my legs apart, played some video games and watched tv.
The doc have given me two pain killers, one very strong (oxycodone) and one less so (hydrocodone). I took the stronger one for only about the first 36 hours. I was not in all that much pain, and it made me feel so groggy and ill that it just wasn’t worth it. I switched to the other, which worked fine. I quit taken them altogether about 5 days after surgery with no regrets. There was still pain, to be sure, but not enough to make the general sleepiness and feeling of lethargy from the painkillers worth it for me.
There were problems, mind you. It was hard to pee the first couple of days just because of the swelling. That got better along about Wednesday or Thursday (the surgery was Friday, January 25th). And, I could not poop for about 5 days. That really became a drag because my stomach hurt and I was afraid to eat much. I tried (with the doc’s advice) a couple of over the counter stool softeners. Don’t know if that did the trick or if it just happened on it’s own, but things got back to normal about mid week.
I also had just a tiny bit of seepage from the incisions (I mean a few drops, nothing of consequence) in the first 5 or 6 days, then nothing at all.
So, one of my big worries with this (it’s gonna hurt a lot for a long time) was unfounded. I was actually working from home (my job makes that pretty easy) most of the week, and by Thursday was working almost all day. Reclined using my laptop. Sitting was uncomfortable, as you might imagine. But I didn’t really have to sit up much.
Another worry, being honest, has been regarding the "no sex for 6 weeks" rule. I doubt I've gone a week without an orgasm, from one means or another, since I was 13. Would this drive me crazy? Well, I have to say I've had zero desire the first 3 weeks. I am now just starting to feel a little bit of "stirring". We'll see how it goes.
During this time, my wife told me that the doc had chatted with her after surgery and said that he was very pleased with the size of the erection after the implant. He said it was 22 cm (I think). Not sure what that means to me yet. I accepted as part of this that I might lose some size. That’s ok, given that the alternative is a non-working penis. I have read and heard that the penis will actually get a little larger over time with the use of the implant, as things get “stretched out”. Since, by the time an implant is done, the penis is actually somewhat atrophied from lack of expansion, it makes sense. I hope so. I clearly have a noticeable increase in girth, even without an erection (full inflation). Truly, I am excited to see this thing..
We’ve had a couple of follow ups. At the first one, a week after surgery, the doc said everything looked good. He also deflated the penis a little. He left it slightly inflated initially to help the stretching and healing. When he did that, I have to say it was very very painful. He was squeezing both my very swollen scrotum and my sore penis. Jeez that hurt. It only lasted about 60 seconds, but it was a long 60 seconds.
We had a second follow up at 2 ½ weeks wherein we were supposed to fully inflate the thing. We were excited about that. Unfortunately, when we started to try that we discovered that it was still too sore. Disappointing. Had to reschedule for 2 weeks out. We also talked about the pump being too high in the scrotum. The doc has me trying to move it, but I have to be honest, even with his having shown me, I’m having trouble figuring out just what is what in there. The release valve is easy because it’s rectangular. But the inflation ball is a little tough to identify yet. Worst case is that he may need to open the scrotum up and move things a bit to allow for easy inflation. If that happens, he tells me it’s easy and nothing at all like the initial surgery. Meanwhile, I’m trying to push things around as best I can and totally trust that we will get this worked out in the end. I’ve come this far, I’m not going to worry about a possible minor setback.
So, that gets us up to date. The post op healing process has been very smooth. Now, 3 ½ weeks after surgery, I can still feel it, but it’s not at all bad and gets better every day. I’ve been working normally for the last two weeks. Walking and significant movement that bends my waist are a little uncomfortable, but not bad. Just noticeable.
A couple of things I would never have thought about:
I could not sleep on my side, which is my usual position, for the first several days. Not a big problem, but there it is..
Because the scrotum is swollen, it tends to stick and chafe a bit on the inner thighs. Baby powder solves that.
Because the penis does not “dangle” as it used to, when I pee sitting down, I have to be careful that the stream does not zip out under the seat. Sounds very silly, but it’s true for me…
I will update things in a week or so..
February 18, 2008
That night, and for the next couple of days, I was in some significant pain, but certainly not excruciating or anything like that. I just laid on the sofa, with my legs apart, played some video games and watched tv.
The doc have given me two pain killers, one very strong (oxycodone) and one less so (hydrocodone). I took the stronger one for only about the first 36 hours. I was not in all that much pain, and it made me feel so groggy and ill that it just wasn’t worth it. I switched to the other, which worked fine. I quit taken them altogether about 5 days after surgery with no regrets. There was still pain, to be sure, but not enough to make the general sleepiness and feeling of lethargy from the painkillers worth it for me.
There were problems, mind you. It was hard to pee the first couple of days just because of the swelling. That got better along about Wednesday or Thursday (the surgery was Friday, January 25th). And, I could not poop for about 5 days. That really became a drag because my stomach hurt and I was afraid to eat much. I tried (with the doc’s advice) a couple of over the counter stool softeners. Don’t know if that did the trick or if it just happened on it’s own, but things got back to normal about mid week.
I also had just a tiny bit of seepage from the incisions (I mean a few drops, nothing of consequence) in the first 5 or 6 days, then nothing at all.
So, one of my big worries with this (it’s gonna hurt a lot for a long time) was unfounded. I was actually working from home (my job makes that pretty easy) most of the week, and by Thursday was working almost all day. Reclined using my laptop. Sitting was uncomfortable, as you might imagine. But I didn’t really have to sit up much.
Another worry, being honest, has been regarding the "no sex for 6 weeks" rule. I doubt I've gone a week without an orgasm, from one means or another, since I was 13. Would this drive me crazy? Well, I have to say I've had zero desire the first 3 weeks. I am now just starting to feel a little bit of "stirring". We'll see how it goes.
During this time, my wife told me that the doc had chatted with her after surgery and said that he was very pleased with the size of the erection after the implant. He said it was 22 cm (I think). Not sure what that means to me yet. I accepted as part of this that I might lose some size. That’s ok, given that the alternative is a non-working penis. I have read and heard that the penis will actually get a little larger over time with the use of the implant, as things get “stretched out”. Since, by the time an implant is done, the penis is actually somewhat atrophied from lack of expansion, it makes sense. I hope so. I clearly have a noticeable increase in girth, even without an erection (full inflation). Truly, I am excited to see this thing..
We’ve had a couple of follow ups. At the first one, a week after surgery, the doc said everything looked good. He also deflated the penis a little. He left it slightly inflated initially to help the stretching and healing. When he did that, I have to say it was very very painful. He was squeezing both my very swollen scrotum and my sore penis. Jeez that hurt. It only lasted about 60 seconds, but it was a long 60 seconds.
We had a second follow up at 2 ½ weeks wherein we were supposed to fully inflate the thing. We were excited about that. Unfortunately, when we started to try that we discovered that it was still too sore. Disappointing. Had to reschedule for 2 weeks out. We also talked about the pump being too high in the scrotum. The doc has me trying to move it, but I have to be honest, even with his having shown me, I’m having trouble figuring out just what is what in there. The release valve is easy because it’s rectangular. But the inflation ball is a little tough to identify yet. Worst case is that he may need to open the scrotum up and move things a bit to allow for easy inflation. If that happens, he tells me it’s easy and nothing at all like the initial surgery. Meanwhile, I’m trying to push things around as best I can and totally trust that we will get this worked out in the end. I’ve come this far, I’m not going to worry about a possible minor setback.
So, that gets us up to date. The post op healing process has been very smooth. Now, 3 ½ weeks after surgery, I can still feel it, but it’s not at all bad and gets better every day. I’ve been working normally for the last two weeks. Walking and significant movement that bends my waist are a little uncomfortable, but not bad. Just noticeable.
A couple of things I would never have thought about:
I could not sleep on my side, which is my usual position, for the first several days. Not a big problem, but there it is..
Because the scrotum is swollen, it tends to stick and chafe a bit on the inner thighs. Baby powder solves that.
Because the penis does not “dangle” as it used to, when I pee sitting down, I have to be careful that the stream does not zip out under the seat. Sounds very silly, but it’s true for me…
I will update things in a week or so..
February 18, 2008
Here are some images. As I said, full frontal nudity, but intended to be informative not offensive. This is the kind of stuff I was trying to find when I was considering this procedure.
The whole surgical area 3 weeks after surgery
The area of the incision for the tubes. Looks almost completely healed and "natural". Scrotom is still swollen and a bit purple. But should have seen it 3 weeks ago! Looked like an eggplant.
Incision for the reservoir. Healing well, starting to look like a scar rather that a scab.
You can see the scrotum is still pretty round from swelling.
Short Video clip with comments.
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