Originally Posted by longerstretch
DocJ I’m a strong proponent of vac devices, especially for those that lack time. The problem with them is the skin has to be conditioned to it on some level and you lose that quickly after decon. You’d have to drop weight and time and slowly build back up. Also after a blister if you jump right back in too intensely or for too long you’ll likely to get a blister in the same spot. I know kyrpa doesn’t do ADS during rest but his waves have also been longer than mine. I ADS with a vacuum device, Silistretcher and vac extender, to keep some conditioning up as well. Are you taping? Also look into silicap and silipads. I like those better than cotton pads and toe protectors but those could work for you too. I ADS for 4 to 5 hours with just those too at 2 lbs and just get a little Fluid Buildup that dissipates in 10 min.
Longerstretch,
Thanks for chiming in. I am taping with coban wrap around my glans. I’ve noticed that with a heavy hanging vac system, like the vac hanger there is more airspace in the chamber around the wrapped glans because the chamber is larger, where as the ADS vac system, like the Vac Extender4.x, the glans is right up close to the end of the chamber, and when there is more force, it pulls away a little leaving a small space. I’ve never had a blister with the heavy hanger set up so I’m thinking I need to go back to that for more weight, like 3kg-6kg as in Kyrpa’s protocol which I have been following. It seems the ADS systems are not geared for heavier weight and when I try to overload them it puts too much vacuum, right at the tip of my unit, even when it is wrapped. By comparison, a larger air chamber distributes the vacuum more evenly around the entire glans.
With that said, one reason I like the ADS vac setup is that it pulls right behind the glans, whereas the Heavy hanger vac setup pulls a little further down the shaft and stretches the skin more vs. Just focusing on the internals.
I know what you mean about conditioning and staying conditioned. If I have long breaks the glans is far more susceptible to bruising, so good advice going slow for a while.
I am going to try out the modified bib system to see how it goes.
Thanks again for the advice.