From what I understand, extenders need a lot of time to work. Since I work 6-8 hour shifts, this should be no problem. Obviously, comfort and stealth are my main concerns here because I’m surrounded with a lot of people.
Are there any dangers in exposing the glans to vacuum for that long? Even if it’s only 1 kg force, we’re still talking about multiple hours without break. What about blisters? Is there danger?
I’d also like to hear experiences from other people who have used an extender surrounded by a lot of people and how it worked out.
If I manage to make it comfortable, reliable and stealthy, I’ll try to wear it for 8-10 hours a day.
Here are my thoughts.
I used a strap device with only the vacuum head piece of monkeybar’s auto-exender (an early one from about 2005) and silicone sleeves from another source. A Vac-ADS set-up, if you will. It gives you a variety of positions and possibilities a few seen ~ here.
You NEED an inner sleeve (or what monkeybar calls an anti-fluid cone ) under the vacuum cap and outer sleeve over the cap and up the shaft. Some recommend using tape on your glans before putting on the inner sleeve (anti-fluid cone), but I never used the tape. I didn’t find it made any difference and it was a pain to put on and take off. Even with an inner sleeve (anti-fluid cone) protecting your glans, when that kind of time is involved you will see edema build up in your glans. It’s normal, just don’t go overboard with it and give yourself blisters. Blisters REALLY suck and take a long time to completely recover from. Usually they are the result of too much force (tension if you are using it as an ADS with a strap, weight if you use it as a hanger). Under low force that shouldn’t be a problem - unless you have an unrealistic idea of what constitutes "low-tension."
Next point: There is no "we're still talking about multiple hours without break." You have to take breaks. Even without considering the need to pee and assuming you’ll be using relatively light tension, if you are talking hours at a time you will definitely need to give yourself a few minutes to regroup and regenerate and have an unobstructed supply of fresh blood warm you up and restore you a bit. I found the 90 minute to 2 hour mark was the most common time where I’d need to get up and head to a bathroom stall in the men’s room. In an eight hour shift you’re talking about four sets if you are super-efficient but, realistically, probably more like three two-hour sets. Which, I should point out, is a lot. It’s nothing to sneeze at. You do it five times a week and you’re really stretching for a long time.
As far as comfort goes: Advil will be your friend, as will Traumeel or some form of arnica gel or cream. I found the gels absorb a bit faster. In the bathroom breaks a little light jelqing with this will ease some of the low-level pain and soreness that inevitably results. It will soothe you a bit. I should say that the vacuum suction is one of the very most comfortable ways to accomplish such a long term stretch, in my experience the only one that’s comfortable at all, really. But as the hours go by it gets sore, plain and simple. No way around it.
It’s true that if you have the Vac-ADS pull upwards or to one side or the other, rather than straight down, that you don’t have to worry much about what pants you wear. It is likewise true that when wearing this sort of gear you will have restricted movement in some fashion or other. When I pulled straight down I would wear baggy pants and just try and stay at my desk as much as possible. I suggest testing out your device and set-up at home (with different outfits) extensively before bringing it to work.
On this last point: in a public place you are going to have maintain your composure. Especially if something goes wrong.
And things will go wrong.
The more you can be casual and act as if everything is normal the better off you’ll be. I worked at a busy law firm for over a year with approximately 200 or so folks on my floor and a lot of open work cubicles around. I would strategize getting up to go to the men’s room so that it would be the least conspicuous - even with baggy pants, walking could sometimes be somewhat revealing; I had to walk slowly. I also made a point to make eye-contact, smile and say hello. It’s disarming and it makes people look up at you (and not down), which helps to keep them from noticing anything strange.
Sometimes work would intrude and I wouldn’t be able to take a break - when I really really needed to. You will have to adapt.
I had some other challenges too. I had a security station I had to pass through on entering the building, this is one of 9/11’s most pervasive and lasting impacts on New York City. There was metal detector that I had to pass through. I adapted my Vac-ADS set-up so it had no metal. Just plastic parts, silicone and some athletic padding to protect my legs from chafing.
I also made sure I could adjust the tension from my pocket or through the material of my pants. Likewise I had an emergency plastic clip at my knee that I could undo, through the material of my pants, at a moments notice.
All this aside here’s what I did.
Monday I would wake and hang with Bib hanger. 10 pounds for 20 minutes. Then I would shower, using my pump in the shower under light pressure, get dressed and put on my Vac-ADS set up. I’d ride the train for 30 or 40 minutes. I get to work and usually go to the men’s room and re-establish circulation, re-apply the Vac-ADS, then go to my desk and work for 2 hours or so. Usually I’d have to pee, which adds to the soreness and sort of naturally signals that a break is needed. I’d go take one. Maybe some arnica gel would be applied around this time. Let it soak in to the skin and then re-apply the ads until lunch. Advil was usually needed by then. I’d eat and do another set. If it was getting REALLY sore, I would give myself permission to take a break from it for a half hour or so.
Once I got my system worked out, the train ride was the most risky part as there was no way to get away to privacy. In the work setting you can usually make a bathroom excuse if you really need to. On the subway there’s nowhere to go. That’s why I had the emergency release clip, but that just releases the tension, it doesn’t let you free of the vacuum, which can get uncomfortable on its own.
That’s my 2 cents. I did it for several months and gained about a quarter to a half inch in length. It was a lot of work, but it did work.
Your mileage may vary.
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