Second time beginner pumper questions

First, this is my second go around with trying PE. About 7 years ago, I started PE doing manual stretches and pumping using a bathmate. Life happened (a whole lot of life actually) and I had to discontinue altogether. So here I am now getting back into it. My backstory is that I am in my late 40’s and I have suffered from ED since my mid-20’s. I was a long time user of sildenafil. Eventually that become very hit and miss with its effectiveness. I ended up graduating to tri-mix, which is amazing if you can deal with the inter-cavernosal injections. I do however feel like I have lost a bit in terms of length and a little girth over the years. I came back to PE for a few reasons. First is that my short stint with PE years ago showed some nearly immediate improvements in EQ. If a consistent program can help in that area alone, I will be a happy man. Secondly, I wouldn’t mind some size gains. Who doesn’t want to increase the wow factor, right? A month ago, I ordered a LeLuv pump with a gauge and then a week later ordered a TherMedic far infrared pad.

Since receiving the pump and heat pad, I have been pumping 5 days a week (5 on, 2 off). I have been reading and trying some different things to gauge comfort and effect. I have been pretty consistent with doing a 5 minute session of heat prior to anything. Then very gentle jelqing and stretching as a warmup. The first 2 weeks, I was doing short sets at at low pressure to acclimate and build up. I would start with 5 minutes at -2 in.Hg, rest and gently jelq for 1-2 minutes, 5 minutes at -3 inHg, rest, 5 at -4 in.Hg. If everything felt good after that I did a 10-12 minute set at -4 to -5. After a few weeks of that, I started doing a 5 minute warmup at low pressure (-2 to -3) and then 2 sets of 15 minutes at -4. Post workout I would cool down with gentle jelqs for several minutes. I never experienced a level of edema that made me feel like I had done too much. Doing some reading, I found a couple threads where some experienced guys were stressing the significance of getting to 20 minutes in a set and how much of a difference that made versus say 15 minutes. These were low pressure sets at no more than -4.5 inHg. So the last few days I have been doing a couple of 5 minute warmup sets followed by a single 20 minute set at -4.5 inHg. I haven’t felt any discomfort, or had an edema with the 20 minute sets. I do feel like I am getting better expansion with the single 20 minute set and my flaccid hang after is bigger, heavier, and lasts longer. I suppose I am curious to get some feedback from the veterans on single longer sets versus multiple shorter sets (2 @ 15 minutes versus 1 @ 20 minutes, etc.) and what they see or have seen as the potential impacts of each. Also, I have been very conscious of not exceeding -5 inHg as I do not want to risk injury. At -5 inHg, I do not feel any level of pain or discomfort. I have stayed below -5 based on lower risk of injury and seeing so many guys saying that lower pressures actually net better results.

As for the positive effects I have had thus far.. Morning wood is a thing again. It has been a very long time since I have consistently woken up with an erection. I have been waking up with anywhere from a 50% to 80% erection. That is a very good sign. I have noticed a significant uptick in EQ when taking sildenafil. It has really helped make the little blue pills have real effect again. When in the tube I have been doing sets of kegels and I feel like my orgasms have been more powerful than they were previous. As far as size gains, I am still too early on in this to really expect anything in terms of size gains I suppose. With my ED issues, getting really good measurements would be best done by taking a tri-mix injection as that is the only way I can hit a real 100% EQ. I have just been using what I seeing the tube as my gauge to this point. I know that some days are going to be better than others and I try to keep that in perspective when making observations on growth.

Thanks for reading my rambling and I appreciate any feedback y’all might have.

I’ve worked up from 10 to 20 to 30 minute sets, and it looks like I’ll shortly be able to get 40 minutes without edema. I’m running 4” Hg with an aquarium pump.

I don’t know that multiple short sets are better or worse than fewer long sets as far as gains. I’m lazy and I’m happy to stay in the tube as long as I can. On the other hand, sometimes base bite happens, and the tube has to come off for a while.

My guess, based on absolutely zero data, is that multiple short sessions would be more effective for general penis health and EQ, by filling it with fresh blood frequently.

What you’re looking for are trends. That’s when keeping a daily log is handy. I usually edge after pumping. I log my hardness at that time as 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100%. There’s an “Erection Hardness Scale” you can look up on the web; it’s used by urologists to rate erections. It works out the same as my percentage scale.

I also log morning wood; either “N” for none, or on the same percentage scale. When I look back over a few days to a week and see a trend, I can tell if what I’m doing is useful or counterproductive.

Thank you, Andy. You make a very good point about logging and observing trends. I suppose that everyone will respond slightly differently to certain routines and without keeping a log it will be difficult to really ascertain which approach is the most beneficial for me. Thank you for sharing your system of logging and evaluating progress. That is helpful.

Some guys create elaborate spreadsheets. I just use one of those little vest-pocket spiral notebooks and copy my notes to a text file every now and then. Once you find what works for you, you can start collecting data.

….

“A very good friend of mine once told me ‘If you don’t keep score, you won’t know if you are winning or losing’.”

— A69, Thunder’s Place, June 2004

Are you lifting weights? It’s the most effective way to naturally boost your testosterone, plus there are a lot of other benefits. It won’t make any difference in PE, but it could help in other ways.

I lift 5 days a week. I am 6’1” 240lbs and around 18% bodyfat. I have been on TRT for close to 12 years. I get my testosterone tested twice a year and with TRT I run in the 700-800 total testosterone range. I should also note that I do take a good number of other supplements for overall health and lifting purposes. Below is a list of what I currently take. Any insights as to possible impacts they might have on PE are welcome. Also suggestions on things I might want to consider.

Vitamin D - 10,000 IU/day
K2 - 400 mcg/day (300 MK7, 100 MK4)
Zinc - 50mg/day
Vitamin C - 4g/day
Fish Oil - 4200mg/day (2700mg Omega-3 (EPA 1941mg, DHA 759mg))
Magnesium Malate - 4500mg/day
Turmeric - 1000mg/day
Citrulline Malate (2:1) - 8g (pre-workout)

I also take these prescribed meds:
Celecoxib - 400mg/day
Losartan HCTZ - 100/25
Testosterone Cypionate - 200mg/week
Anastrazole - 1mg/week
Sildenafil - as needed

My diet kind of a modified keto diet. I eat around 200g of protein, 150g fat, 75g carbs per day. I do like to enjoy a frosty barley pop or 3 on the weekends, so I am not always super strict with my diet. I also use marijuana on a fairly regular basis. I am not a pothead, but it helps me with anxiety and sleep. It is a nice way to take the edge off at the end of a stressful day.

I firmly believe that long periods of time during pumping is the best. Also, for a man of your age it would be great. There is no need to edge after it, as in my opinion pumping is already a kind of edging, if you do edge after let’s say 10 minutes, that’s 10 minutes you could be pumping. Use any pressure as you like, aim high if you feel like it. Gods that’s a good routine, I start to salivate just remembering good old days.

Thanks for the reply. You and Andy both have mentioned edging. Should I be avoiding having an orgasm for a certain period of time post workout?

Ha ha ha…there is that quote again!

Im new to pumping so cant add anything to this thread other than make sure you are keeping score.
There more detailed the notes the better.
It wont take long to see trends and it will take even less time to spot when something stops working for you and when its time to change things up.

Im still in the “honeymoon” phase of pumping where 4 x 5 min sets at 3-4.5” hg give great expansion including part packing of the tube and increasing length in the tube after each session.

I’m sure you probably already know this but the diuretic you’re using (HCTZ 25mg) is not helping for EQ. Believe me I understand the difficulty in controlling BP without impacting EQ / causing ED. If the ARB alone can’t keep your BP in check, I have found Nebivolol as another safe addition. Beta-blockers usually are not good for EQ but Nebivolol has a unique vasodilating property below 10mg - increases nitric oxide release. Just FYI

I know it isn’t helping by any means. I have my annual physical coming up this month. I am going to try dropping the hydrochlorothiazide and see how it goes. I track my BP almost every day. I have consistently been in the 115/70 range with my current combo. Even if dropping the diuretic bumps me in into the 125/80 range, I still feel comfortable there. I will see how that goes. If needed, I will inquire with my doctor about the Nebivolol. I have been going to him for a very long time and he is great about listening to my input. I used to work in the vaccine and pharma businesses, so he at least gives me some level of lead way in talking about medications. I appreciate the reply and the recommendation on the Nebivolol.

Have done any experimenting with your current routine versus a lower number of sets of longer times? If so, how would you say the two compare? If you haven’t, are you planning to continue your current routine for a set amount of time or do you have a metric you want to achieve before changing it?

My philosophy is simple…..if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

As long as things are working, I will keep going. Having said that, my session yesterday resulted in next to no length increase in the tube and minimal packing.
I’ve put it down to lack of motivation…I just went through the motions. If my next session (after 2 days off) is still the same, time to change things up and increasing set time (keeping total time the same at this stage) will be my next step

Pumping for long per set vs multiple shorter sets is something I’m interested in too. I’ll be experimenting when I get my new pump.
I’ve been defaulting to 20 minutes per set just as a middle ground as I’m fairly new to pumping (about 3 solid months). Average at most 2 x 20 minutes per day.

I think there’s a balance to be found between EQ and growth

I’ve used leluv cylinders and I recently got a really cool pump for them. It’s called the ipump smart with adapter. I tried it out today and it worked like a charm. It measures in kpa, but I was running it at -7 inch hg. It removed all the guesswork and allowed me to focus on how everything was feeling and not spending so much attention balancing the vacuum.

It is a battery powered pump, so it just requires the settings to be set(sadly it resets when you turn it off), then it automatically cycles for 20 minutes.

I’ve only used it once, so not sure how reliable it is long term