Several of us.   Supposedly, pumps work for the great majority of men,
but they don't work for some.  I used one for about 18 months before
regaining erections.  Originally viagra didn't work at all for me. Now,
although I do have spontaneous erections and can sometimes function
without Viagra, usually it works better with it.

If you are determined enough to have intercourse and your libido is high
enough, the mechanics shouldn't deter you from using a pump.

Try using google groups to find previous questions about pumps in this
newsgroup.  There are some pointers that will help, and they've been
discussed on numerous occasions.

Well, as Steve K says, a bottle of wine...

8 weeks post RP and we are nowhere near an erection for intercourse.
(I think I am supposed to use the euphemism 'stuffing' but I just
can't.  I was raised with real words for body parts....)  Our uro said
"half the people like it, half don't", gave us a tape, waited for us to
say 'go!'.  We got that brand because it was easy (they were used to
gettting it) and it looked fine.  Osbon Esteem.  No cost to us.
Personally, I like it in that it is fun to play with, but my husband's
penis is not like it used to be, and I think the vacuum tube is way too
big.  It ought to fit around the penis only, and not pull on the
tissues around.  John, it will feel very good to see it engorge again.
And there are those who think that filling those tissues is, in and of
itself, important for maintaining ability.  I believe that because it
makes sense, no science behind it.  Same reason for the Viagara 25
mg/day.  This is not enough to 'do' anything, but may help the tissues.

Okay.  Our experience.  There is that bit about the device being too
big, I think it should 'just' barely fit the enlarged member.  My
husband thinks it is fine.  The suture or whatever it is from the
urethra gets 'pulled', and after 2 weeks of pretty much daily practice
the 'pulling' feeling is still not gone.  So while the penis might be
willing to get much larger, the healing from the surgery lags behind
somewhat.  Here is a video.
http://www.phoenix5.org/videos/OsbonClassic.html  I think this is an
older model but you get the idea.  I didn't watch the video but (from
the pictures) the newer model looks classier.

"Does all the mechanical stuff...."  Hmmm. That's a great question.  I
guess it depends on your sexual style.  I can imagine a lounge lizard
type who's big goal in life is to snag the chick with the biggest
knockers and blondest hair from the bar on Friday night, wow her till
she's sore, and ride off in a cloud of dust.  If that is your style,
then your life is ruined right now.  Well, starting 5 months ago.  Not
that you'll never get a woman sore again, you probably will, but
sexuality and intimacy don't work like that any more (if they ever
did.)  The question about the mechanical stuff is so unique to the
individual, don't you think?  I mean, they sell strawberry-flavored
panties, and the mere thought of that totally grosses me out.  Like,
who wants artificial flavors/colors in such a setting?  Not me.  (This
is not really fair because I never tried those particular things.)  And
with the lubricant with the VED, it is definitely on the clinical side.
So you have to work your experience around the different facts of the
situation.  This is not good or bad in itself. Just depends if you have
a woman who wants to play around, or not.  Guess that is true of the
blonde-with-the-kockers, even.

The VED erection has been described as the "big, blue baseball bat."  I
haven't seen that yet, but I can see how it would happen.  You probably
(I am totally guessing) would get a half hour or so of more or less
'normal' feeling erection (well, except for....).  There are other
groups where these things are discussed more fully, usually words like
prostate cancer intimacy in the group name.  There you can see
discussions of brands, techniques, types of rubber band things, and on
and on.  Very useful (well, only potentially useful for me, at the
moment.)  These groups also talk about injections and other things like
MUSE.  There are all sorts of options.

My summary opinion, and its worth every cent I am charging, is this.
Get a VED because you have a 50/50 chance of liking it for sex.  It
might help your penis stay healthy even without using it for sex.

forgot to say that the general idea i get from reading posts is that a
year or two is normal.  not 5 months.

Age is an important factor here.
Don't be discourage - 5 months is not considered a long time
in these cases.
Using pump as a routing for get blood into the system
is a good exercise.
There are other drugs - besides Viagra - try the others as well

The biggest problem with the pump is using it.

Are you the type to hide in the bathroom to get it going or willing to use
the pump as part of the foreplay?

Seems it works best if you shave some pubic hair. You've got to seal the
pump against the body and the hair can prevent a good seal. If you shave
then keep it shaved and revel in the youthful appearance otherwise you have
stubble and that can be irritating to your partner. Of course shaving can
cause "razor burn" so find a good after shaving product that will sooth the
skin.

Most pumps come with about 3 rings, small, medium and large. Start with the
largest ring and see how that works. You can only leave the ring on for a
short time. Lack of circulation after a certain point causes serious damage.
Having a ring snap on can be somewhat frightening but apparently it doesn't
hurt. Removal of the ring is easy. The ring does seem to cut down a little
on the skin sensitivity but it's not a bad trade off for what you get.

The pump does work if the body is ready, just don't over do it. Use it once
or twice a day for a few weeks without the rings just to get the blood
flowing into the tissues. Yep, everybody wants to use any erection they can
create. Try to think of it as practice for the big event.

The pump was a blessing for us and eventually we got to the point of using
some Levitra with a little pumping (no ring) and voila! Just remember that
you are not 25 years old and those days are probably gone forever! If you
can get it working enough to use it, that is all that matters.

Two other things to keep in mind.

1. You don't need an erection to have an orgasm.

2. You don't need an erection to be sexually intimate.

Bev

I got a pump recently (Augusta Medical "Touch 2" - bloody expensive,
but Blue Cross paid 80%). This one is battery operated, seems
reasonably well made, but they same company sells the same unit for
about 1/4 the price as an OTC version with no support, and
hand-operated versions can be had more cheaply still.

Straight out of the box, it only took me 10 minutes to get a good
result with the thing. I gather I am lucky in that respect - some men
may take many weeks to get a full erection.

Results vary somewhat from day to day (I suspect this relates to some
blood pressure issues I have), but it's always effective enough for
intercourse. I don't get a full erection using the pump (or rather, the
erection subsides slightly as I remove the pump once the tension band
is in place), but once "in action" or stimulated manually, it firms
right up just like the good old days (though colder and bluer).

Choice of tension rings requires some experimentation. It took me a
while to realise that the largest one (which I found somewhat tight)
was made of very stiff material; it turned out that one of the others
supplied with the unit stretches more easily, so despite starting with
a smaller hole it is actually more comfortable. I am thinking of trying
other makes of band - Timm Medical's bands seem to have cutaways for
the urethra and major vein and I wonder whether those will be more
comfortable.

I use very little lube, and that only on the rubber rim of the device
where it seals against my body. To avoid having my penis fold over or
rub uncomfortably I just flip the tube up and down as I work the pump
to bounce my penis off the bottom of the tube.

As to being a "passion killer", my wife and I are pretty pragmatic
people, so it doesn't bother us one bit. In fact, when I use the device
just to encourage blood flow rather than intending sexual activity
(some people recommend using it that way several times a week as a
therapeutic aid) it makes me somewhat horny.

On the basis of my experience, I would definitely recommend anyone with
ED to try one of these pumps (I expect all the reputable brands are
around the same in terms of effectiveness).