I've been away from this thread for a while and thought it was time to add a few more lines, based upon some of my own, limited, experiences.
I shied away from spending big bucks on a 'proper' ESTIM machine, but out of the blue I was lent a TENS unit (for legitimate, non-kinky reasons I must add). The machine was a cheap dual channel affair, designed for muscle pain relief (according to the manual) with a selection of pulse modes and stepped power levels.
Well, curiosity got the better of me and I had to try the pads away from their designated areas!
A pad went each side of my cock (I used a single channel) and I tentatively switched it on.
Nothing.... so up the power a bit.
Still nothing.... 🤔 check pad contacts, all ok, up the power again (now, don't forget that I'd been using this for it actual purpose with no problems - so it wasn't as if I'd dived straight in)
Still nothing.... 🤔 up the power a lot more, and try changing the pulse type
Nada.... 🤔 fiddle with the plug connector on the unit.....
FUCKING HELL!!!!!!!!!!
Rip contacts off and hope the neighbours didn't hear my scream! (note to self - this is why I should wear a gag!)
Restart from the beginning
Ok, so this time it went much better. Slowly powered up and could feel the pulses almost from the very start. Interesting that despite the shock (literally and metaphorically) which had rendered my prized possession flaccid, the pulses had an almost instant arousing effect. By carefully adjusting the power I could get myself impressively hard, without the need for hands or porn.
I experimented with the different modes and each had their merits. Of particular interest were three types;
- the first produced a simple on/off tingling pulse, predictable and smooth. I could wind the power to quite a high level before it was too much for me. I'd never achieve orgasm by this setting on it's own, but it did keep my cock erect with no signs of softening.
- the second was a bit more challenging, with waves of pulses that steadily grew in intensity until dropping back down to start all over again. I did find this far more 'exciting' especially when I set the power so that the biggest pulses were on the very limit of my tolerances. This mode also gave me the illusion of building to orgasm, but never getting me there - a massive tease and something I enjoy as part of my solo play. The downside was that in order to get the 'building to orgasm' feeling I really had to crank up the power and it was right on my limits, which meant the idea of using it like that in a self-bondage session was a little bit too scary.
- the third type was simply a combination of all the possible modes, cycling through each one for a few seconds and then on to the next. I quite enjoyed the variety, feeling that in some way this gave me an imagined degree of randomness I always try to achieve in a session (isn't self-bondage all about not being fully in control?) - certainly there were cycles that did almost nothing and then others that were very noticeable. As with the second mode, I found getting the power levels right was the biggest challenge, I needed to get stimulation, but I'm not a masochist and so pain was to be avoided (yes, yes - I know I use nipple clamps, but there's pain and then there's PAIN!) - this meant that I had to dial down the power to counter the more 'aggressive' modes, making the 'softer' ones hardly noticeable.
All in all a very interesting experience and one I wanted to try again, but the return of the TENS unit to it's owner (with fresh pads!) put paid to more fun and games at the time.
One thing I noticed after I'd finished my 'experiments' was a pronounced numbness of my cock (I think @
spandextc reported the same) - temporary condition and gone in a few minutes.
Roll the clock forwards a year or two (yes! It's been that long!) and I've brought my own TENS unit to try again - a similar type with dual channels, etc.
A quick, rather furtive and rushed, test brought back memories of that first experience and I'm keen to try again very soon.
What is my aim with all this?
To be honest I'm not 100% sure, initially it was to seek an HFO whilst in a full-on self-bondage session, but I've parked that idea for the time being (a number of reasons, but mostly because of the fear of what might go wrong!).
For the near future I'm thinking of using it for a more easily escapable, short term, self-bondage session or maybe seeing what happens if I'm wearing my chastity cage...
Stray tuned
MJ