Erection Help Update: More Facts On Getting Hard Again

I had an interesting conversation with a urologist about my erection disorder. I asked her about Edex as a solution. She said that another product called Trimix is more effective with fewer side effects. Let me back up a bit. Edex is alprostadil, a drug that relaxes the blood vessels in the penis and causes an erection. It is available as Edex or Caverject. Caverject is much more expensive than Edex and not covered by my insurance. The doctor said that she gets much better results with Trimix.

Trimix is a combination of alprostadil, phentalomine, and papaverine. The three drugs work together to achieve erections with smaller needles and less risk of side effects than alprostadil alone. There’s one hitch; trimix has to be created by a compounding pharmacy. It isn’t available as a packaged product. Also, it hasn’t been approved by the FDA. It’s considered an off-label use of the three drugs, which have been approved individually. That’s not as bad as you might think. Trimix has been in use since 1983 with excellent success. Since it isn’t approved, insurance doesn’t cover it.

Proper site for penis injection

When I pointed that out to the doctor, she said that Trimix is cheap and probably costs less than my insurance copay for Edex. I told her that I contacted an online pharmacy that quoted me over $400 for a 5ml vial. The vial would be good for 10-20 boners depending on the dose I needed. She told me that a local pharmacy is much less expensive. I called and learned that a vial is only $137. For comparison, a 90-day supply of Edex (18 boners) has an insurance copay of $200. The Trimix is probably less expensive for the same number.

The next question i asked was, what if I need 1ml per dose? I would only get 5 boners per vial. She surprised me by saying that if I needed a larger dose, she could order a stronger mixture of the drugs so that I would need less per boner. I can’t argue with that logic. The first bottle might not last as long as I hoped, but the next one would. OK, Trimix it is.

The next step is for me to go to her office for an injection lesson. A nurse will teach me how to inject the drug into my penis. She’ll use saline solution for the lesson, so no boner will occur. I’m not too worried about the injection. The shaft of the penis has few nerve endings, and the small needle needed would hardly be felt. After my lesson, the doctor will give me a prescription for Trimix, and we can stop and get it on the way home from the doctor’s office.

Once we get home, I can give myself the first injection. It will be for a very small dose that probably won’t create a satisfactory erection that lasts at least a half hour. If it does, that’s fine. If it doesn’t. the next day I give myself a larger dose. If that isn’t enough, I can try a larger dose the day after that. If that still isn’t enough, I will have to wait until the next week to try again. You can only get three doses a week. Each has to be at least 24 hours apart.

erection emergency

At some point, I will get enough of the drug to get hard and stay hard between thirty minutes and an hour. It’s possible that the boner will last longer. If it lasts longer than two hours, it’s time to try to calm it down. No need to panic. It isn’t a medical emergency until the boner stays up for four hours. There are a few things I can do to calm it down if I’m hard for two hours. Ice is one thing to try. Another is to take four Sudafed (4 30mg NOT time release) tablets. Benadryl is also useful (2 tablets). If that doesn’t work and the erection is still going strong at three hours, there is an antidote that can be used.

You need a prescription for it. Phenylephrine is an injectable drug that is generally effective in counteracting this erection. It is a last resort before the Emergency Room. If the erection is still going strong and it is nearly four hours, It’s a powerful vasoconstrictor. The instructions I found on the web say to inject up to .5ml (50 units) into the penis about 2 inches from the base. Inject the same area as the Trimix was injected (not the same place, just the same 10-o’clock/2-o’clock orientation). If the erection doesn’t subside in five minutes, you can inject another .5ml. Massage the injection site for five minutes to distribute the drug. If two doses don’t work, head to the Emergency Room.

This sort of problem is quite rare. I think it makes sense to know what to do if there is a problem. I’m going to discuss this with my urologist and ask for a phenylephrine prescription. It’s important to discuss emergency procedures with your doctor. If you have high blood pressure or other heart problems, Sudafed may not be an option, and you may need to go right to the injection.

The risk of an emergency is highest when determining the appropriate dose. I don’t expect this sort of problem, but I want to be aware of what to do and how to handle a problem.

I should have done this sooner

I’m a little angry with myself for waiting this long. I’ve had problems staying hard during sex for quite a while. I thought it was because I was conditioned to have sex on my back, so the only position that worked for intercourse was cowgirl with Mrs. Lion on top. I didn’t realize that I had a medical issue until the problem got so bad I was having trouble keeping it up at any point. I’m a little embarrassed that I need medical help beyond the standard boner pills, but I do. I know I’m not alone and that a lot of men who could have great sex, like me, avoid dealing with this very personal issue. I’m happy I took the first step. Tomorrow I’ll be on the way to great sex again.