AndyJ's stricture and scarring rehab

Due to “stuff happening” I took a two-week break from any rehab work. In the meantime I worked on some of my equipment.

The leakage problem with the Froehle tube was the fit of the fairly hard plastic gasket and the cylinder. It was trying to seal against the sharp edge on the inside of the cylinder; when I tried to pull a vacuum on it, it just pulled away from the cylinder and leaked. Later I noticed that what I thought was dried lubricant on the face was actually a thin layer of adhesive, but while it was stuck slightly to the cylinder it hadn’t stuck to the gasket at all.

I briefly considered silicone sealer, then ordered some Shapelock plastic off eBay. Someone here mentioned it in a thread a few years ago; when I looked it up it sounded useful. It’s fairly expensive stuff; it comes in little pellets, about $30 for a bag with two cups or so of plastic after shipping. There are generics out there for a bit cheaper. The trick with the Shapelock is that you put the pellets into hot water, whence they turn into a glob of tacky clear plastic. The water doesn’t have to be all that hot - “that’s pretty warm” instead of “juggle like a potato.” When it cools off it turns white and quite hard. The working time is close to five minutes before it moves from “squishy” to “too firm to mold any more.” The other trick is, you just put it back into hot water and it softens back up according to how hot you get it. I put the end of the tube into water to soften the Shapelock back up a couple of times as I was working with it.

note to self: don’t plan on a retirement career as a sculptor…

I did a bunch of auto body work with plastic filler back in the old days, “Bondo” was the popular brand then. I kept expecting the Shapelock to set up like Bondo, but it softened right back up each time I dunked it. For some reason I found that to be hilarious. I would have killed for something like this for bodywork.

When the Shapelock is very hot it’s fully clear and tacky enough to want to stringy and want to stick to your fingers. As it cools it gets less tacky and milky colored. I found it most convenient to judge the temperature by watching the color. You don’t have to get it so hot it’s sticky, just dip it back in the bowl of hot water whenever it gets too form to easily mold.

I’ll find other uses for the stuff. If nothing else, it’s just fun to play with…

Other maintenance:

I was looking at the extender frame of the fake Size Doctor and realized that the springs didn’t *have* to be up inside the head. The bottom rods were stepped, and would provide good perches for an outside spring. Maybe I could find something cheaper than the expensive oddball springs needed for the correct location… eBay turned this up”

10x 0.6mm Wire Dia Stainless Steel Compression Spring Pressure OD 8mm Length 45 free shipping, but $10 after state sales tax. The critical parts there are 8mm outside diameter, 0.6mm wire diameter. That price was for ten springs.

The springs slipped snugly onto the shafts, two on each side, and had noticeably less tension than the monster springs it came with. Then I wondered if they’d fit in the vacuum cap… and they do! I put one in on each side, reassembled the unit, and was able to get it on and wore it for half an hour before taking it off to check my glans, which was OK. I might be able to put one of the short extender sections inside to preload the springs a bit.

Tips for the Size Doctor: the “floating plug” has to be able to fall back onto its seat when you remove the pump bulb. Sometimes inrushing air will pull it back if your shaft is horizontal, but that makes it hard to adjust the vacuum. If you lay on your back the floating plug will drop down onto its seat and hold vacuum until you can push it home with your finger. You’re out of luck if you want to reinstall while you’re standing. The MOS forum sells a Size Doctor with a conventional quick connect like many pump tubes use; I ordered a connector pair and I’ll be doing the same mod. Downside is that the female end of the connector sticks out that much further from the already-bulky device, but really, as huge as that thing is, what difference will another 3/4” make?

The gaskets on the fake Size Doctor have a sharpish step on the inside where your shaft goes through. I initially found that somewhat distressing. But after a while you don’t notice it, other than when your shaft changes size for some reason. After half an hour there was no sore spot, so I’m not going to worry about it. I suspect it might even be deliberate, to help hold the glans.

The “all-day stretcher” mod I did, with a belt and elastic cord, didn’t work out so well. So far, anyway. I have short legs and the assembled vacuum head and paracord yoke are long, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for the elastic. That means as my leg moves in bed or while sitting, tension varies from whatever I adjusted the elastic to, down to zero.
And then the shaft slides up into the vacuum cap and I get a donut, plus the gasket gets pulled across the not-yet-healed scarred area and I “experience some discomfort” as Dave Barry phrased it.

Nobody reported that kind of problems with the cap-and-silicone-sleeve style stretchers. I think the difference is the volume of air inside the cap. I have a small glans and the Size Doctor is huge, so there’s a lot of room for my shaft to move about in, and vacuum changes a lot with tension. The sleeve setups use much smaller caps, so variations in tension don’t make nearly as much variation in vacuum, and there’s no room for the shaft to slide very far in, and there’s no stricture at the gasket to promote a donut; the sleeve is constant compression. Unfortunately I can’t make use of that style of stretcher at this time.

What I need is some kind of constant-tension setup to use the Size Doctor as an ADS. Or at least something that doesn’t very tension so much. A long tension spring might be the answer, or something like one of those extendable keychain wossnames, the ones where they hold the keys to your belt, and they stay on a cable while you pull them ou to work a lock. They make bigger ones for counterbalancing tools on assembly lines. Something else to look into, anyway.

Cruising the forums, it looked like shea or shay butter was highly regarded as a lotion for letting the skin stretch more easily. Some reading indicated that the raw stuff was the most useful, and as it was “processed”, you got less and less-useful butter. Apparently it’s called “butter” because it’s made the same way as peanut butter, except from shea nuts instead of peanuts.

I ordered two pounds of raw shea butter, supposedly straight from Africa. It was fairly firm, a bit more than peanut butter. I zapped it in the microwave for a couple of minutes so I could get it out of the container and into the double boiler. The double boiler only gets up to 212F, but that ought to do a number of any nasties without scorching it in a pot. All the “natural” and “organic” coupled with “raw” and “Africa”, made me unwilling to spread it across an area that has open wounds without some try at sterilization.

I put water in the bottom of the double boiler, shea butter on the top, and… got distracted. And then the wife finally come home, bringing dinner. About the time we were finishing she said, “what’s that smell?”

Oops. More like gag-a-maggot stink. I ran into the kitchen and the double boiler had boiled dry long ago, and the butter was dark and scorched. I moved it outside onto the porch to deal with in the morning. Meanwile, the entire house smells like what I imagine a goat’s rectum smells like. Maybe gasoline will help clean the double boiler…

AndyJ vs. shea butter, the butter won.

I wanted the full-bore stuff, which was supposed to be the most effective, and I didn’t want any fragrances, essential oils, emollients, fillers, fluidizers, or whatnot, because I’m allergic to a bunch of them and the others smell bad to me. It’s hard to find *anything* without some kind of scent nowadays. Most people don’t seem to notice. [sigh]

I started at half an hour with the Size Doctor and the #3 gasket, and I’ve been adding 15 minutes per day. Since that’s only three days that’s only an hour, but hey, it’s early days. I can’t get the #4 gasket to hold.

I did learn the trick for removal - just open the air valve and wait. After five minutes or so, the springs will shove the SD off. So don’t wait until the last second for bathroom breaks. I’m sure everyone else knew this already, but sometimes it takes me a while to recognize the obvious.

The recommended water-base lube also dries out, making removal a hassle. The gaskets look like silicone; I smeared some vaseline over the smallest one, which I’ll never be able to use, and I’ll check it later in the week for deterioration. I’m not expecting any, but testing is trivially easy, so why not? I’ll then move to vaseline to lubricate the gasket.

Hopefully the Size Doctor will expand the glans somewhat. I could really use some more room in the fossa navicularis to line up the Tetherspout bits. With my luck the rest of the glans will get bigger and the fossa won’t…

Once I get the Tetherspout in, I expect I won’t be able to get the Size Doctor back on. The retainer for the spout would require really mashing the tissue of the glans to force it through the opening of the gasket. Even if it doesn’t bruise the glans, I’m expecting it will make things sore. I have the extender I made to grab the spout directly, but it remains to be seen how pulling from the inside differs from pulling from the outside. If TP’s claims on his web site are replicable on my own unit, I could get “hanger” style tension from the Tetherspout if I wanted. I’ll be happy with a gentle extender-style stretch, though.

I used less lube on the Size Doctor a couple of days ago, trying to control some of the mess. I’m like a little kid; give me a tiny dab of something slimy or sticky and I will spread it everywhere, including ten feet for any place I remember going.

I could tell I wasn’t using enough lube when it scraped hard going in, and it scraped hard coming out, too. I think those gaskets could be softer and have some radius on the edges without impairing their sealing function, but “it is what it is.” It hurt coming off, but no big deal. But the next morning when the stream from the shower hit the glans I nearly levitated out of the tub. The impact woke up all the nerves, and they were *pissed*. I had some blood blisters, including one that had popped and was bleeding a bit, and several dark spots. It looked like something I’d expect from overpumping, except that’s unlikely with the Size Doctor.

My theory is that the glans is just still very thin and sensitive and needs to be toughened back up some, and it’s scraping damage. This morning everything feels fine, and tonight I’ll try another session.

On the subject of pumping, I also found out the gauge on my Mityvac reads incorrectly. There’s still considerable vacuum even when it reads zero. As far as I can remember it has always been like that. Because I’m an idiot I never thought about it, but it has always read at least one in/Hg low. I found a big 2-1/2” chrome plated gauge off eBay for $9, it’s on its way. I guess with the new gauge and the pressure sensors for the Arduino-driven pump controller I’ll have to figure out how to calibrate everything. It seems like nobody is selling mercury online, so I guess I’ll have to use a water column and convert.

The cosmetic ball pumping is progressing nicely. Again, I’m restoring my former hang, not going for anything extreme. I’m using an otherwise-useless 2-1/2” tube. It was hard to get seal as it was, but radiusing the opening with some Shapelock fixed that right up. I also reduced the opening to about 1-3/4” which helps hold the seal and will hopefully control some of the stretch; I don’t want a cantaloupe scrotum, just a reasonable hang.

🤣🤣 hope you good man

36 hours seemed to be sufficient; I pumped this morning without any drama and the glans felt normal when I kneaded it afterward. The guys in the “injury” subforum had made several comments about how fast injuries to the penis can heal; I’m glad to see they were right, though I admit to being a bit stressed about it…

I found the Size Doctor to be more comfortable as a stretcher than as an extender, but the length of the SD and my short legs mean there’s not much length left for an elastic strap, and when I move my leg, tension varies from slack to way too much. I was wondering if there might be a better way.

I found this interesting device: McMaster-Carr The tension is more or less constant along the travel, like a tape measure or seat belt retractor. Tension is about 1-1/2 pounds. To get more, you’d have to add a second unit.

The guts of the retractor is essentially a giant clock spring. And McMaster sells those, too: McMaster-Carr. They have tensions ranging from ounces to more than 40 pounds. However, they’re just the bare springs, you’d have to machine or 3d-print a housing of some sort. Not something I’m up for at the moment, but maybe someone else will find it useful.

Some people had good results from heating pads, so I went looking for one on eBay. The closest reasonable size I found was 12x15”. Well, that’s plenty of extra length to wrap around the extender or tube.

The suggested internal penile temperature was 104 to 110F; I’d need some kind of temperature regulation. So I bought a programmable temperature controller with a temp sensor. And then I needed a box to put it in, and a panel mount socket for the power cord, and another panel socket for the temp sensor wire, and, hey, why not some braided steel sheathing to cover the wires just in case there are inductive effects with the sensor wire laying alongside the power wire. And then a nice washable flannel cover to go over the heating pad. So a $15 heating pad turned into a $60-ish DIY operation. On the other hand, I’ll have a precision PE tool as soon as the last of the connectors arrive.
That reminds me, I ought to order a second temperature probe.

Somehow, even simple things turn complex in Andyland…

Still fighting with the Size Doctor. The fat pad and turtling make it very difficult to use in its normal extender mode; I’ve torn the delicate scar tissue on the shaft trying to get it on. The calf strap has proved unsatisfactory due to extreme changes in tension as I move my leg. But it worked great as long as I didn’t move my leg…

I looked for some kind of constant-tension solution, like the counterbalancers used for tools on assembly lines. Those were all way too bulky and had too much tension, but McMaster-Carr had “constant-force springs” in a wide variety of tensions, all in stainless steel. They’re coiled up like a tape measure, except without the “explode all over the garage” part.

I ordered these:

Constant-Force Spring 25000 Cycles, 45” Extended Length, 2.090 lbs. Load 9293K21 $8.35
Constant-Force Spring 25000 Cycles, 35” Extended Length, 1.460 lbs. Load 9293K19 $7.48

That’s 950 grams and 660 grams. One or the other ought to work.

I sketched out a crude holder system I can cobble up; all the bits will be exposed, but it’s a proof-of-concept thing. If one of them works I can make a nice enclosure, sort of like the inertia-reel part of a seat belt.

The two springs came in from McMaster yesterday. They sure feel stronger than 1-1/2 and 2 pounds, but the main problem is that they’re tightly coiled and want to stay that way; pulling them out, the stretched-out section has a noticeable bend in it.

My idea for a simple “toilet paper holder” spool isn’t going to work like I expected. I’m going to have to think on this some more.

Also, the vacuum of the Size Doctor can be calculated by measuring the ID of the gasket and knowing the amount of tension being applied. Used as a stretcher, that’s a fish scale or similar scale. You might want to know the amount of vacuum if you don’t want petechia or blisters.

Hey you can get rid of your scar tissue with something called gainswave. Its non invasive. I have been doing it during quarantine, and my dick is getting straighter and bigger. Look up the place called healthgains. If you decide to go with them ask for Hamilton and tell him letsgo99 sent you and he will give you a discount. I have had a long journey to get hear, soon when I finish that journey I will post about it. Hopefully I can help a lot of people.

Thanks, LG. I’ll look into it.

Okay, I went from “keyring thingy” to “industrial tool counterbalance” to “constant-tension spring”, and finally got a hit on “Gear Keeper.” It’s basically the same thing as a tool counterbalance, comes with a loop and a carabiner, and it’s intended for flashlights, radios or microphones, etc. I found them on eBay in 9, 12, and 16oz tension. They’re expensive at $25-ish, but I ordered a 16oz one, which is 453 grams. It came in and looks perfect for what I want, even though it feels like more than a one-pound tug… I’m still in “rest mode” healing after the last setback so I can’t use it immediately, but I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve done no corrective work at all for the last 10 days, other than washing and keeping the scarred areas covered in vaseline. I’ve been antsy to restart pumping and trying the new Size Doctor mod, but this time I’m going to wait until the scabs come off, or at least until it looks like it’s not going to heal any more. The cooler weather has been very helpful in that respect.

Today I found no scabs on the scarred areas. I was anxious to try one of the extenders, but decided to resume plugging and give the new skin a little time to thicken up (hopefully) before abusing it.

Initially, getting a 5.5mm plug in hurt. But as I’ve cycled through the plugs while restarting several times, each time I’ve been able to start from a larger plug. This morning I slid a 7mm in with no problem, and it fell out a few hours later. I’ll insert the 7.5mm one later this evening and see how far I can work up over the weekend.