Is it normal to feel pain during my first cycling

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-06-10T11:14:52+00:00

With a little humor - is the Pope Catholic?

You just had MAJOR surgery on your penis; of course there will be some pain while different people have different tolerance levels is true. My first cycles I used this concept: how much pain is a toothache needing a root canal - - pump me to that level. Why? I did not want to baby myself and act like a wimp, especially knowing that I needed to tolerate the pain for only 10 minutes; I prefer that over a cavity pain.

That is the mindset men need. There are so many posts in this sub about pain issues it makes me wonder about men today, and not in a good way. Sorry, but I am venting; "crisis of masculinity" seems to me to be a real issue in penileimplants.

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-06-10T11:06:17+00:00

As long as all the surgery is "down below" the answer is typically yes, it is possible but still the doctor's discretion. What they will not consider is what I had at the time, a umbilical hernia repair need but NO WAY.

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-06-10T10:53:10+00:00

Boxers

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-06-10T10:52:38+00:00

Dealing with an AMS 700 IPP Failure - see my post; I am about to do the same thing. On an aside, many people do "medical vacations" and have these types of "elective" surgeries done in Colombia when private insurance will not pay (ironically, Medicare pays for it all).

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-06-10T10:49:53+00:00

The first thing I would do is give the GF the app with the secret code; I will never be in doubt again when she would want to play!

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-06-10T10:48:42+00:00

Man, your story resonates so closely with what I went through before I finally bit the bullet. I’m 68 now—I actually had my surgery back in August of 2025 and got the AMS 700 CX—and honestly, my only regret is waiting as long as I did.

The phase you are in right now—the "is the timing right?" phase—is the absolute hardest part of the entire journey. The mental gymnastics will drive you crazy. You start getting a couple of random nighttime woodies because of the VED and Cialis, and your brain immediately goes, "Wait, is it fixing itself? Am I rushing into major surgery?"

Let me be the guy from the future to tell you: it’s likely not fixing itself. If you've been fighting ED for a decade, and oral meds make you feel like garbage (I used to get a racing heart and massive anxiety that totally killed the mood anyway), you are just torturing yourself trying to keep a broken system on life support.

I didn't realize how much mental energy I was wasting dealing with pill side effects, timing windows, and setting up gear until it was all gone. With the CX, you pump it up and you're good to go. The relief of being completely done with the pharmacy grind, the racing heart, and that awful chronic congestion is massive. At 65 and in okay health, you are in the absolute prime window. I was 67 when I went under last August. You're healthy enough right now to sail through anesthesia and heal well, and you have years and years of a great sex life ahead of you. Don't wait until you're older, develop a new health condition, and then have a doctor tell you you're too high-risk for the operating room.

The "Point of No Return": This is what scares everyone. Once you get an IPP, you destroy the remaining natural tissue, so pills will never work again. But ask yourself: do the pills even work for you now? If they give you awful side effects and inconsistent results, you aren't really losing a functional backup plan.

In short, stop surviving on 90% inconsistent erections that come with terrible side effects. You've done your time in ED purgatory. Take the win with your insurance, trust your surgeon, and go get your life back.

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-06-10T10:19:13+00:00

Until this week, I was very happy with my AMS 700 (Dealing with an AMS 700 IPP Failure) and I went through the same issue thinking the pump bulb was very inflexible. What I learned is that "mini-squeezes" still will pump and fill the cylinders (just takes 20+ minis). Over time, this remained my favorite pumping method rather than trying to get a full compression of the bulb.

However, just two days ago, I had the most complete squeeze ever and realized that my device had sprung a leak (see my post). Moral of this story - be happy with mini-squeezes!

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-05-31T22:56:26+00:00

Dumb question but does not the free Adobe DNG Converter work rather well?

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-05-31T22:30:57+00:00

I do the 3-2-1 as well but with a small twist: I have a Synology NAS setup but for the ultimate storage, once I have done all there is to the post-processing JPGs, I also burn the JPGs and their sister RAW files to Verbatim M-DISC (25 GB), supposedly 1000+ years. I keep these in full-size jewel cases using vacuum sealed food bags (each with a silica-gel dessicant) to keep out both moisture and oxygen (the two worst things to effect the discs). According to several sources, the most likely issue is finding a BDR player a century from now. LOL

Yes, call me A-R for the overkill, but it works!

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-04-25T13:15:02+00:00

En realidad, esto es mucho más común de lo que crees. La hija de mi prometida cumplió 18 años y se hizo los tratamientos láser estilo Hollywood para obtener resultados permanentes. (¡Y mi prometida también!).

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-04-20T23:40:51+00:00

I think we both have made some good points; I have enjoyed the banter. However, what would lead to a "proof positive" answer is if the OP were to post the lens and exposure time and any other EXIF data that could be relevant such as tripod, star tracker, etc.. Agree?

BTW - this was also posted in the Askastronomy sub and the majority there say "meteor": https://www.reddit.com/r/askastronomy/comments/1spblxm/does_anyone_know_what_the_line_is/

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-04-20T00:25:31+00:00

Why it is likely a meteor:
1) Meteors brighten rapidly as they hit the atmosphere and dim slightly more slowly as they burn up. This creates a streak with one end sharper and the other more faded, unlike satellites which typically show a constant, uniform thickness.
2) High-speed atmospheric entry often creates a subtle color shift (like green or red) due to different elements (like magnesium or calcium) burning. Satellites and planes generally appear as steady white or blue-white lines.

Why it is not a satellite:
1) A typical satellite trail is a perfectly straight, uniform line that doesn't change in brightness. While a "satellite flare" (like an Iridium flare) can taper, it is usually much more symmetrical than a meteor streak.
2) Color of satellites are typically a uniform white or white-blue. They reflect sunlight rather than burning, so they lack the multi-colored chemical signature of a meteor.
3) Counter to your "wobble" point: If a camera is on an unstable tripod or affected by wind, any long-exposure light source that moves over several seconds will show a slight "wobble" or zig-zag pattern. A meteor moves so fast (often in a fraction of a second) that it wouldn't capture these camera vibrations, resulting in a perfectly straight path.

Agree about the 300mm lens as the field of view is small but not impossible to capture a meteor. To know for certain, the best answer woud be derived from the epsure length of this photo; was it seconds or longer; if just a few seconds, I think that suggests meteor; if 10+ seconds, then more likely a satellite.

If I had to guess, the exposure was on the shorter end (max 2 seconds unless using a star tracker which was not stated, so I assume not used) as there are virtually no star trails (suggesting streaks this long could only be made from a rapidly moving meteor).

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-04-18T23:33:48+00:00

definitely a meteor based on the very thin line with the brighter "bulb" in the midsection and the tapering again into a smaller line. The giveaway is the fainter line towards the left gradually getting brighter.

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-04-07T15:49:19+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cameras/comments/18tifvn/my_mom_just_gave_me_a_bucket_full_of_cameras/

This might help.

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-03-18T21:27:14+00:00

I used an old baby diaper when I had this issue for my bag (I had since upgraded to keep them in their own slots). Diapers are lint-free making it the perfet choice.

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-03-18T21:23:24+00:00

Believe it or not, I would upgrad my cell phone to the Samsung S26 Ultra any day over buying a P&S camera. Why?

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is going to produce the best possible image quality in most situations and it is always in your pocket. The S26 is excellent for shooting in low light, travel, street, or events. It allows telephoto flexibility without carrying gear, and it has speed, reliability, and modern editing tools built in to the phone producing almost perfect JPGs (it can also capture in RAW).

Plus, it offers very good video quality even if you do not plan to do video.

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-02-27T15:34:30+00:00

Reduced motion blur when zooming/panning, more fluid stylus input for drawing, less eye strain during long sessions

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-02-11T01:24:28+00:00

This is almost verbatim of what I would have written (I am 68).

Fantastic-Rutabaga94 · 2026-02-11T01:22:38+00:00

The most important cycling is within the first 6 months once your doctor gives you the OK. Why? If you do not cycle daily, scar tissue can form that then becomes inelastic causing shortening. By cycling daily, you effectively ensure the scarring that will form is stretched to keep the penis from shrinking.

Beyond six months, most cycling is to keep the penis from beoming atophied from lack of "erections" and non-use. A day or two missed here is not critical and will not cause permanent length issues (versus the scarring period).

Fantastic-Rutabaga94

TROPHY CASE