Let's rewind... when I was 17 my girlfriend at the time said she wished I had a bigger D. I didn't realize it at the time, but she said it in retaliation to something I had said to her days or weeks before hand about wishing her boobs were bigger. This was the mid to late 90s. I went online and found some instructions on Jelqing. At the time it was marketed as some ancient Arabic technique with rumors of men teaching their teenage sons and over years by the time they became men themselves had rumored of up to 14 inch penises. I tried it, and due to my ADD lost interest very quickly. What my ex had said though... that stuck with me, and realistically caused an amount of embarassment and shame which resulted in a bit of body dismorphia which took decades to overcome.
At 22 I purchased a pump from a sex shop and used it a few times. Once again sold on the possibility that I could be as big as the photoshopped pornstar on the box cover. Understand this was 20+ years ago before guages and other ease of use features you can purchase to accompany pumps nowadays. Unknown to me it was the wrong size and I was pumping for too long at the wrong pressure. It gave me lots of edema and lots of those red spots. Not understanding how PE worked and seeing that it was fluid build up (and not actually making my inner D bigger) I chucked the thing after a couple weeks.
Regardless, last year I stumbled across a Rddt forum about PE and was blown away at the advances in PE tech, the routines, and community which was available. I did a ton of research, looked at proven routines, compared notes from verified PE enthusiasts, saw there was actual bio-medical science behind many of these outlandish online claims, and developed my own routine off the budget I had available. I was now determined to overcome the stigma I had developed because of some shitty thing a dumb girl said to me when I was a angsty teen susceptible to the influence of others.
I started with a pump. Quickly realized I made the same mistake from 20+ years ago, the length was fine but the chamber was too wide. I got a 2nd pump, quality from a reputable supplier. Combined it with stretching and soft clamping. Big gains happened very quickly. So quickly that my wife very quickly caught on. "Fuck thats a tight fit!" Was the first comment she made I remember. It was a tight fit. There is a huge difference when you wear a cockring right after a pump sesh then have sex. Yet, she didn't ask if I was bigger, but she knew something was up.
I purchased an extender, and the lengthmaster. She assumed these were somehow related to the tools I use when building guitars. Luthiery is a hobby of mine. It wasn't until she noticed a weight hanging under my desk that it clicked. At that point I was about 5 months in. She asked if I could really hold up the lbs I had stationed near my desk. As a health conscious individual herself who goes to the gym every day she wanted to see how I worked out my penis. It was oddly fascinating to her. I attached a cup and sleeve and hung, then transfered to the extender, then told her about the bath pump. Key to a healthy relationship is honesty, even if it's embarrassing.
She said she knew something was different, that I felt bigger. She also said I didn't need to do any of this stuff. I told her about my ex. She said my ex was a dumb little girl who made me feel insecure because I did the same to her and that I should know that teenagers are vicious and fucking suck cause we have two. She then told me she understood and if doing it made me feel more confident I should continue but if she felt I was getting too big, there is such a thing, that I would have to stop. She has since referred to my PE work outs as her build a dick, and occasionally says things like, "Hey Mr big dick," before we have sex. Which is a huge ego boost. I have gained approximately 2 inches length and 1 inch girth in the last 9 months . Over all this has been an extremely positive experience, but is even better having a woman who not only understands me, and why I do PE, but also encourages me to continue.