Following up from their previous video [answering questions on incontinence](http://www.brokenhandle.com/galon-and-linda-answer-incontinence-questions “”), Linda and Galen answer questions they often hear at community health talks on surgical solutions to erectile dysfunction. If you’re thinking about getting an implant to fix your ED, here’s answers from folks with first hand experience.
**Below is the transcript of the video**
**Linda:** Hi, we’re Galen and Linda Bird and we’re patient advocates. I thought maybe we would share with you some questions that we frequently get when we do a community health talk.
Galen, number one, probably one of the most asked questions is: “Does insurance cover the penile implant?”
**Galen:** Yes. Almost all insurance covers a penile implant. Medicare definitely covers it. I had AARP supplement. I actually had both implants at the same time and I got a bill for like $30. There are a few companies that don’t cover it, but you can find out before you would have any surgery.
**Linda:** What about the recovery time? How long did it take you to start feeling better?
**Galen:** I was swollen for three or four days. We went out to eat the next day. I didn’t run in the restaurant, but we did go out and eat. I only took one pain pill. Some people take them longer. I went back to work as a veterinarian in two weeks and lifting big dogs in three weeks.
**Linda:** How much pain did you have?
**Galen:** I had a fair amount of pain for the first couple of three days, but after that it just gradually went away. In six weeks when you activate it, you don’t have any pain at all. You don’t even know you have the implant.
**Linda:** How long after you have prostate cancer treatment, did they recommend that you wait before you consider a penile implant?
**Galen:** It depends. If you had E.D. before you had the surgery then you won’t have to wait very long. But otherwise, you’d wait at least six months and some people wait up to a year. But if you’re not getting any better in six months, you can start considering an implant if nothing else has happened.
**Linda:** Can radiation cause E.D. as well as the radical prostatectomy like you had?
**Galen:** Yes. About any treatment you have for prostate cancer can cause E.D. but the radiation. The E.D. usually comes along in a few months or up to two years but yes, it can.
**Linda:** Can you have a penile implant after you’ve had radiation?
**Galen:** Yes. That’s not a problem.
**Linda:** Do they use these with other things besides prostate cancer treatment? Do they use a penile implant with other types of diseases?
**Galen:** Yes. You can use them with Peyronie’s disease, which is scarring of the penis and it winds up limp and crooked and they straighten it up. That’s the ideal treatment for that. It can be used with almost any condition.
**Linda:** Like heart disease and diabetes?
**Galen:** Yeah, heart disease, diabetes.
**Linda:** What medicines affect E.D.?
**Galen:** Some of the depression medicines can lower your sex drive and some of the heart medications.
**Linda:** A lot of times we’re asked, “Is there an age limit at which you can no longer have a penile implant?”
**Galen:** No. There’s no age limit. If you feel like you’re old, that you can’t have sex and you can walk two flights of stairs, it’s okay to get an implant. I had a 93-year-old call me the other day. He just got married and he was going to go on for one.
**Linda:** A question that I get is, “Does the partner know the difference?”
I would say that I cannot tell any difference when having sex from before Galen had his prostate cancer treatment and now that he has his penile implant. It’s just great.
Galen, what about the sensation? Is it the same for you?
**Galen:** Yes. The nerves are on the outside so I had the exact same feeling as ever. Since I don’t have my prostate, I don’t ejaculate. But same orgasm and it’s great.
**Linda:** Is there pain long term with these devices? Can you tell that you have them in you?
**Galen:** I can still ride bicycles and horses and I don’t even know the device is there unless I want to use them. I can go in locked room or any place, nobody have any idea I had the devices.
**Linda:** So you don’t have any pain involved with them at all?
**Galen:** No.
**Linda:** How long do they last?
**Galen:** They say 90% of the implants are still working in ten years, but they keep improving over the years so it’s probably a lot higher than that now. I’ve talked to people who’ve had them for over 20 years and they’re still working.
**Linda:** We often get a question, “Does the fluid in the reservoir need to be changed?”
**Galen:** No. The fluid just stays there. If it happens to leak out then the device wouldn’t work. It can happen. If it does, it’s harmless saline solution, so it’s no problem.
**Linda:** If you have urinary incontinence along with E.D., can you have as sling or a sphincter at the same time as you have your penile implant?
**Galen:** Yes. I had both my implants at the same time. I chose to do it that way so I’d get all the pain over with at one time and not have to have more than one anesthetic.
**Linda:** I think that’s the majority of the questions that we get.