Bathmate causing discoloration and numbness?

I wanted to post this in the pumping forum, but I’m a new member (woohoo, first post!).

I’ve been using my bathmate off and on for the past year. A few months ago, I started to notice some serious discoloration on my shaft, but only on the bottom side on the left.. Generally, when I pulled out, discoloration was all over, but this area didn’t seem to fade like the rest. Figured it was bruising, let it rest, and it went away.

Started back up a few weeks ago, and things were going fine. One day while pumping, I notice that the discoloration is back, and it’s also started appearing on my glans - again, on the left, underside of my glans. I don’t think I realized this until it was pretty bad, because I ended up being numb in that area for a few hours (legit tried to see if I could feel sharp objects, and couldn’t even feel that). Took a few days off, started again, and the discoloration immediately returned. I ended up stopping releasing the pump, massaged my dick, and kept going - tried doing this to get in my full workout, but it was hard because I couldn’t stay hard.

Anyone have similar experiences, suggestions, or any idea what is causing this? Think it might be too much pressure, as I don’t go over 20 minutes per session, generally even 15 minutes. When I first started using my bathmate, it was great - awesome pump, hang, and amazing erections; but now I seem to have a problem with my EQ, constant discoloration (some persistent), and numbness. Should I incorporate jelqing or stretching, or maybe not resting enough? Any insights are appreciated. Thanks! :)

When I use my BM I go in erect for 5-7 mins then back out to get hard again and repeat for about a 20 min session in total.

Have you ever air pumped to compare pressure? Also do you take breaks in between or go for a straight session? I think your over doing it with a combo of time and pressure.

You are using way too much pressure and time and that is the main problem with the Bathmate. No pressure gauge. The max pressure you should be using is on the order of 5-6”hg (for newbies 3-4”hg) and your Bathmate is capable of over 10”hg.

You have to take a long break and if you start up again, go no where near pumping up your Bathmate all the way.

Kingscountry - I do the same. Timed about 5 minutes, out, massage and maybe a minute break between pumping. I have air pumped before, but never using a gauge. I had always thought that the Bathmate was designed so that you can’t over pump.

I just pumped this morning before reading your replies. Although discoloration did appear, any time I saw any sign of it, I *slowly* let out the pressure. I had read last night that discoloration can be caused from releasing pressure too quickly and that can cause blood to get trapped, and it seemed to do the trick. Maybe it was a combination of not going as hard as I usually do and how quick I release, but no discoloration or numbness this time. However, I definitely don’t feel like I got as good of a pump as I usually do.

Gprent - Would you still recommend taking a longer break, or is pumping like this still okay? Also, if you recommend a break, how long would you say before resuming?

If you continue doing what caused the discoloration, there is a high risk of making it permanent. Recommend taking a break for as long as it takes to look healthy again and then proceed with caution.

Some guys say the permanent discoloration doesn’t bother them, but I am not in that group.

Gprent - Yeah, I’m definitely not a fan of the discoloration. However, I had taken a break enough for the discoloration to go away, and this morning didn’t stay as long as I released the pump slowly. I think I’ll keep pumping like this, and if I notice any discoloration, take a longer break at that point.

OK, I am interested to know how that slow pressure release goes as far as solving or preventing the problem.

I’ve been using my Bathmate for a year and can say it does cause some minor discoloration. In the greater scheme of things, I’ll take an 8 or 9” member anyday with slight discoloration over a 6”. Mine is slightly discolored but my issue is I get too excited and pump at high pressure, hoping for maximum gains and all I get a nice fat/plump member with lots of bruising.

I’m slowly learning my lesson that less is more.

Gprent - I had read that pumping causes blood to migrate to interstitial spaces, and releasing too quickly makes the tissues trap in blood/iron, which then causes the discoloration. I thought that I had read in the same thread that releasing slowly can help blood leave out of these spaces instead of trapping them in. However, I realize now that the part about the interstitial spaces was in a different thread talking about wrapping to prevent discoloration. There was a comment in this thread that mentions building and releasing pressure slowly to prevent discoloration: Bought A Bathmate Any Advice?

Not sure exactly how valid these statements are, but it makes enough sense to me that I’ll give it a go for a bit.