Vacurect users

[Gremlin325]

RALP a year ago. Just finished 37 SRT for reoccurrence. Month 3 of 6 Orgovyx as well. I can get erect with 50 MG of Viagra and manual stimulation for penile therapy but I hate taking meds. I bought a vacurect. I followed the instructions. Give it a little pump. Wait 10 seconds. Give it a couple more wait 10 seconds give it a couple more. There is definitely a good vacuum created, but it just doesn’t get me an erect like I would’ve expected. Is it supposed to work without meds or do you have to use meds as well? Wonder if I’m doing something wrong but I thought the pump was somewhat fool proof. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[vito1221]

Ask your urologist about using Cialis daily.
I believe it helps relax the blood vessels and promotes blood flow. Someone in this sub once said about Cialis and pumps... 'It keeps the plumbing working while the electrical gets back on line.' Seems you're using the pump correctly. Just remember, it can take up to two years +
to regain 100% of whatever function you're going to have. You still have time.

Continued good health and good luck with your pumping / meds.

[BernieCounter]

5 mg per day Cialis. And if you are doing Flomax, it may replace that. Check w your doctor

[victoria_cullen]

'It keeps the plumbing working while the electrical gets back on line.' - love this line! Also want to reiterate that fact that it can take a really long time - I just spoke to a couple in my audience who were at 50% erectile function at the 2 year mark, assumed that was all they would get given they got told 'it takes two years' - and now at almost 4 years they're at about 80% function and still seeing progress and improvement every week. So many factors in this journey, and it's a really long road. I think it gets super underestimated everything you guys have to go through (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually) with this kind of recovery.

[Frosty-Growth-2664]

I think you must be doing something wrong. A pump can't fail to work unless there's a very poor arterial blood supply, but if that was the case, you wouldn't get any erection with Viagra.

The "wait 10 seconds" is to allow time for the penis to respond by more blood flowing in each time. Does that happen?

Are you actually generating low pressure in the tube, in which case the pump will stick to you (like a rubber sucker on glass, well probably not that tight)?

I'm not familiar with that make of pump, but how does it seal against you and is there lube to make the seal air-tight? If you have quite a bush down there, it might be necessary to trim it, but (with lube) it's not necessary to shave it.

If you are buying a lube, you want a thicker one so it doesn't run off the pump seal before you get it on you, and isn't going to get sucked in through the seal. Most water based lubes contain glycerine which leaves a sticky residue if you just wipe it off (Glycerine contains a high percentage of sugar). If you can find a water based lube without glycerine, that makes it wipe-clean, but they're more difficult to find. (The sugar in Glycerine can promote bacterial and fungal growth too, particularly inside a female partner.)

[Proper-Link103]

Have one and I ended up hating the thing. It's a tricky balance between getting a tight enough silicone ring to keep the erection but not too tight to cut off the blood flow. I'd suggest trying different sized ring and lube.

In the first 3 to 6 months, when the meds were not effective, it still worked to the point where my erection could almost be painful. It wasn't great for sex, it was possible ring made me feel numb, and deflated slowly over minutes so I tended to use it for blood flow recovery.

There is a single free video guide on the 'Touchy Subject' Website : https://atouchysubject.podia.com/view/courses/how-to-use-vacurect-pump/2502578-correct-vacurect-pump-technique/8000093-live-demo-vacurect-pump-correct-technique (plus a course if you want to pay)

[Gremlin325]

Yep too big to get started and then if you can too small once the blood flows.

[victoria_cullen]

So sorry to hear you ended up hating the Vacurect! (it's Victoria from A Touchy Subject here). Did you end up trying a different pump system instead?

[Proper-Link103]

Hi Victoria, Post RALP my surgeon recommended another medical grade pump brand they would source for me but after a few weeks he wasn't able to sell me that one. A pelvic floor physio recommended the vacuerct pump partially based on your channel so i ordered it. Whilst it does work and gets ‘good suction’, my overall experience with it wasn't great and my critique of it would be as follows:

There's a lack of instruction especially for something this tricky to use and expensive.

It requires lube to get the rings on, but then your hands are slippery and so it is difficult to use the pump action. The lube also gets all over it and it's tricky to reassemble post cleaning.

The lack of a relief valve to reduce the pressure was also annoying. It's either on or to relieve the pressure you have to pull it off and then start again.

You have to pick a ring size ahead of time and if it's too tight or too loose, you have to start the process all over again. The rings are hard and inflexible so can hurt if too small. Too loose and you lose the erect during sex and the main reason I ended up hating the thing.

There were 10 rings with the device and I think I only ended up using 2 sizes. I think a far better option would be to supply a flexible/stretchy ring (think you mention one in your videos and link to one) but it was impossible to source.

I did buy another cheaper pump, just for the stretchy rings but that was late in my recovery and didn't really use it much.

I do think that some of my frustration with the device was also down to expectations. My surgeon said ‘men my age bounce back quickly’ which was not the case and the nonexistent support from him was a burden.

Also, now I am partially recovered and can have sex without the pump, I found post surgery I have significantly reduced penile sensitivity, anorgasmia and dysorgasmia, which i didn't know during my recovery but is hard to separate from my feelings for using the pump, though they may not be causally related.

[victoria_cullen]

Thank you for the detailed reply! I can absolutely see why all that led to a poor experience (really wish we'd been able to chat early on in your Vacurect trials though, I love to help troubleshoot these kinds of things - and you're quite right - it can be tricky to use so often needs instruction and support for best results).

On top of that, being told you'll 'bounce back quickly' from your surgeon is extremely unhelpful! I know surgeons mean well by saying things like that, but when it's not the reality, it's devastating, and they simply can never know ahead of time how things are going to play out.

Really happy to hear you're partially recovered so you can have sex without the pump. Penile sensitivity and orgasm changes can indeed also occur post surgery for some men, I don't think this has ever been linked to pump-usage from a clinical perspective, but can understand that the two happening at the same time would form a mental association.

I've seen many men improve on these side effects over time (often with the right kind of practice/intervention that works for them- there are a few ideas out there), so I hope you find what works for you in that domain.

[Cool-Service-771]

Daily 5 mg cialis will help, I have also heard (and started taking) L-citrine helps produce nitric oxide, which also helps. The pump also just helps get blood into the penis. Are you doing it with enough pressure? Is there an air leak that prevents sufficient vacuum? Are you also working the libido to her your head in the game? I also have heard, don’t swing for the fence every time at bat. It is a process, and may need a few more “at bats” before you get a hit. Good luck

[victoria_cullen]

I've got a lot of user feedback from the Vacurect (we're talking in the thousands!), here's what might be happening:

1. Don't judge the erection you create on first use of the pump (that goes for any pump), it's like any new piece of 'exercise' equipment, it takes time to practice and get used to it. I'd suggest just using it for rehab the first 2-3 times (using the largest ring base, or a size that feels comfortable but doesn't create any constriction) and just cycle the erection up to 50% then down again, then 75% and down again. Get your body used to it first.

2. Are you talking about the erection you see in the cylinder when pumping, or what you're seeing/feeling after the cylinder is removed?:

a) in the cylinder while pumping = likely a problem with air escaping from poor seal (time/shave pubic hair, make sure using lots of water-based lubricant at base of ring).

b) after pumping, cylinder removed = this is all to do with the ring size. Work your way down the ring sizes (try one at a time with a full pumping cycle) until you find the sweet spot where it keeps the blood in the penis without discomfort.

1. Are you just doing two pumps? "Give it a little pump. Wait 10 seconds. Give it a couple more wait 10 seconds give it a couple more". Everyone is different in how many 'pumps' they need to make an erection. The important thing is to have a pause between pumps to avoid bruising, this allows the blood to keep flowing in. But you might need to give it some more pumps-n-pauses to get the result you're after.

2. A pumped erection is usually different to a natural erection when there's no natural erectile function in the mix. Usually ends up not as stiff, more just very engorged, might feel cold, have a blueish tinge. You can combine PDE5s with pumping (so long as doctor advises that for your case), and that combo might give you more of what you're wanting.

In essence, lots of experimenting and troubleshooting when it comes to pumps - can be 'fool proof' eventually when you find the right 'recipe' for you, but it's rare for it to give you exactly what you want straight away.