New to Trimix - question about single use vials...

[RG3p013]

Hey all. I am new to the world of trimix. I'm in my late 40's and have struggled for 8 years. Over time the meds seemed less reliable, and I wanted something consistent that would at least allow for an occasional good romp with my beautiful wife without all the doubt and anxiety that seems to persistently haunt me. Anyhow, I'm adapting to the learning curve and I had a question about my prescription that seems a bit unusual from what I've been able to find online. I was prescribed 5 single use 1 ml vials at a cost of $200 (10/30/1). My starting dose was to be between . 1 ml to . 3 ml. The compounding pharmacy my physician sent the script to apparently doesn't use any additives in the single use vials, so going off my prescribed dose I'm supposed to throw away 70% to 90% of what is unused. Needless to say, that seems like a lot, especially when factoring in the cost. I keep the vials In the freezer and thought that I would experiment with trying to get more use out of one vial, but I'm surprised that it's not as effective even just a week out (like at all). I'm curious if anyone here has had experience with getting multiple doses out of what is supposed to be a single use vial. Would such a small microscopic opening from the needle puncture at the top of the vial cause that such deterioration over a short period of time in a single use vial? Any insight/feedback would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps I need to find a new compounding pharmacy where I can get multiple uses out of one vial at a better price.

[GoodWood]

Use clean technique when drawing up the medication. Draw up what you need and put the remaining vial in the fridge. There is no reason to throw the rest of the vial away.

[bldoink]

My mix comes in ten 1ml vials. I take what I need and refreeze it. Yours should be in bacteriostatic water or saline. Mine comes in saline. I use 6 to 15 units at a time, depending on use. I've get a number of uses out of each vial, depending on purpose. I've never noticed any degredation during the use of a vial.

My bet would be hat you just had a miss with your injection and little if any got where it needed to go.

[Martin6469]

I'm prescribed 5ml vials ($135) which last me three or four months injecting once a week. I never freeze them but keep them refrigerated at 40F(4C) and I puncture the seal 12-16 times (after wiping it with isopropyl alcohol) with no problems. At the end of a vial it's just as effective as at the beginning.

Single-use vials sound like a big waste.

I agree with bldolnk: If you're getting a fast fall-off in effectiveness, maybe your injection technique is not quite right. It is tricky and takes a while to learn.

[RG3p013]

Thank you all for the great feedback. There's a bit of a learning curve to all of this. The pharmacist said there was a risk in using the vials I was prescribed more than once because their particular formula didn't have any preservatives, which apparently is common for a lot of trimix compounding pharmacies. I dunno. Seems like even with that being said (if it's even accurate), I should be able to get at least a few uses. I just got an autoinjector and am going to try again with that. Hopefully that can help with whatever is off with my technique. Wish me luck.

[qcswral]

Thank you all for the great feedback. There's a bit of a learning curve to all of this. The pharmacist said there was a risk in using the vials I was prescribed more than once because their particular formula didn't have any preservatives, which apparently is common for a lot of trimix compounding pharmacies. I dunno. Seems like even with that being said (if it's even accurate), I should be able to get at least a few uses. I just got an autoinjector and am going to try again with that. Hopefully that can help with whatever is off with my technique. Wish me luck.

Personally, I've never heard of single use Trimix vials...I have always gotten either 5ml ( $135) or 10ml vials mostly from Olympia Pharmacy in Florida. I can get 6 months worth of weekly injections at 12units per injection without any fall off in potency. Sounds like maybe you should speak with your doctor and look around for a compound pharmacy that will give you a 5ml. vial for multiple use. It seems like the single vial route can or is really expensive. And I agree with the comments above about the fall off in potency so quick...most likely you need to perfect your injection technique...which will happen with practice. Good Luck