New meds for me

[bldoink]

I picked up my new meds yesterday. I had been on name brand Edex in their proprietary syringes at 20mg of Alprostadil in 1 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride. For those not familiar, it comes in a proprietary syringe with two compartments where a powder mixes with the 1ml of salt water in the syringe and you inject the whole ml. The new compounded mix is mixed at 40mg of Alprotadil in 0.5ml of salt water. Much more concentrated, 4X. I was confused by the label on the vial that said to "Inject 0.25 ml (=0.25 units)". The syringes I have are Insulin syringes that say "1/2cc (0.5ml) 50 units or less". The syringes themselves are marked with lines from 1 to 50. I think the (=0.25 units) on the label of my new vial was an error as that wouldn't come close to equaling a half of the 0.5ml syringe or 0.25ml. After consulting with a Walgreens pharmacist (they were open) it was determined that my dose should be half of the 0.5ml syringe or 25 (insulin measure) units. Being chicken with a new form of the meds I went for 20 (insulin measure) units. It was borderline go get help after too many hours of rock hard boner. I'm glad I didn't go for the 25. I think I'll try 15 next. This stuff is obviously stronger than my Edex. I wonder if future batches will be consistent. At $120 bucks for 10ml and at 0.15ml or 0.20ml a dose it will be pretty cheap at about 50 to 65 doses per 10ml order. $2 to $3 bucks a dose. That beats the hell out of $80 a dose for the Edex. I'm still somewhat confused by you guys that talk about how many units you take if the meaning of units varies so much based on the potency of the mix.

[bldoink]

0.15ml or 15 units is the magic number.

[tomas1]

I've learned to ignore the dosage amount on the packages.
If I'd followed them, I'd probably have had a bad experience.
I do believe you should work up from a lower dosage.I also believe .25ml = 25 units

[rondad]

Each guy's reaction to the medications is different. But units are units as far as the measurement is concerned 1 unit = .1ml. So a 1ml syringe has a capacity of 100 units.

However, the concentration of your prescription can differ. So 10 units of 20mcg per ml is half the medicine as 10 units of 40mcg per ml.

Edex is one of the drugs in some versions of Bimix, and in Trimix. It is the PGE1 or Prostaglandin or Alprostadil (all the same thing).

I use a Phentolamine/PGE1 Bimix (a somewhat unusual Bimix based on info here on franktalk), but it took about 15 attempts to find the right dosage and technique. I was up to 40 units with limited success when I went back to my urologist for a second lesson. Here's what works for me:

1. Inject at 10:00 or 2:00 position - a number of sources say 9 and 3.
2. Pull your penis out firmly - it will reduce the discomfort of the injection.
3. Feel for a second resistance as you pierce the tunica, the membrane surrounding the corpus.
4. After injecting, massage the injection site and the penis to help distribute the medication throughout the corpus.

By doing these things, I was able to reduce my dosage to 10 units, get as good an erection as I've ever had, last for 2-3 hours with very little of the dull ache that is common. With 18 units, I had 4-hour erections with the ache making intercourse uncomfortable.

Many guys here on the forum will say this - experiment/adjust until you find success. If Edex doesn't work for you, ask for Bimix or Trimix. But most mixes require refrgeration. On the other hand, they are way less expensive than Edex. My cost with insurance is $15 including syringes for 5ml - at 10 units, thats 50 injections (really about 40 because of waste loading the syringes), or 38 cents per dose. Even at retail of around $120 it's only $3.

If your urologist wont prescribe Bimix or Trimix, find another urologist.

Good luck

[bldoink]

I don't currently have a Uro. I'm training my GP. My Uro quit and went off to become a professor somewhere and Uros are hard to get in to see in this area.

The Alprostadil is working for me but I have discussed the Trimix with my Doc. She is game but I have to do the research for her.

I gather from this forum that my dosage of the Alprostadil I take is on the higher side. Unfortunately, when I originally first tried the Edex 10 several years ago it didn't do the job. I haven't actually figured the math to determine my actual dose since I'm taking .15ml of a 80mg per ml mix.

I've only manage to miss the correct "spot" once and I don't really know haw I managed to do that. I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention.

Yes, I do feel the second level of resistance when I pierce the tunica. I've discovered I really need the half inch needles to do that although I'm currently using 5/16". I just have to press so that the plastic tip of the syringe is depressed into my dick a bit.

I haven't actually been massaging the meds in but I'm going to try and remember to try that.

I had to quit the Edex brand as my insurance doesn't cover it. I'm happy with my current arrangement, at least for now, as it's amazingly affordable compared to the Edex.

[rondad]

Since your doc is willing to to work with you, I'd suggest researching here on Trimix strength. 30/1/10 is a common starting place. The numbers are Papeverine/Phentolamine/PGE1. It's the PGE1 that causes the ache (but also the rigidness). You'll see ratios for PGE1 as high as 40 or 50 - start low and work up. Search "trimix prices" here to get an idea of mail order pharmacies. I use Imprimis but they have a close working relationship with my HMO. Sounds like you are rural so there are a number of mail order pharmacies mentioned by name here on the forum. Contact them to see if they honor your insurance. If it's covered then you can change strengths after a month or two cheaply.

Also, you might ask your insurer if they can refer you to a urologist who will do a phone consultation for purposes of helping your GP to determine the strength. Or ask your GP to reach out - I'm betting there are professional networks for docs who want advice from specialists.

Good luck!

[bldoink]

4. After injecting, massage the injection site and the penis to help distribute the medication throughout the corpus.

OK, I tried this, giving it a good massage immediately after injection. Too early to make conclusions but based only on one trial, if results continue, I'll be able to reduce my dose a bit more.

[bldoink]

Down to 11 units with good results. I'll try 10 next. Erection is good and lasts plenty long but doesn't scare me with lasting too long. That will give me 10 doses per ml @ 10ml for $120. That's at 80mg of Alprostadil per ml. It comes in ten 1ml vials. Man is that cheap compared to Edex. I do have to go back to the half inch needles as I really have to press the syringe in pretty hard to hit the right spot, but I can make them work.