Tri-Mix Questions

Hi,

I haven't checked in for quite a while. It was a very busy summer. It's been a year since my prostatectomy. PSA is below .01 and I'm mostly dry, but have on-going ED. I've tried Viagra, but it didn't help. I can't use Cialis; in my job, it's use is prohibited under federal law. My Urologists (I've been to two) aren't much help, saying just keep waiting; could take up to three years to come back. So today, out of desperation, I went to a "Men's Health" clinic that claims to be able to fix this stuff. They tried Tri-Mix on me. I got a half-erection, but I can get those without the drug. They want me to come back tomorrow to try a different formula/dosage. If it works, they say a supply of 26 doses, plus the equipment, will cost $899. So here are my questions:

1. Is that price about normal?
2. Am I jumping the gun here, at a year out? Should I just chill and see if it comes back on its own?
3. Are there any downsides to using this stuff that I should know about that they are not telling me?
4. Anything else I should know that I'm not thinking to ask?

By the way, my surgery was non-robotic, but was nerve-sparing.

Thanks!

They can dial in the dosage, you need to keep working until the dosage does its job. It can take several tries, they will be able to help you there.

That price seems a bit high to me, but they might be including their consulting charges in there. Others will weigh in here. I think I paid somewhere between $10 and $20 per dose when I was using it. The trimix has an ingredient that gave me some pain, if you have these troubles there is also bimix that can also work. There is a local pharmacy that mixes the dosage for bimix and trimix in my city, so the cost is likely lower because of that.

If you are frustrated by your progress by all means you should be pursuing satisfaction - it is not too early but it is still possible the ED will resolve itself. Usually about 2 years is the norm for where you will end up.

I ended up with Peyronie's after a couple of years of use, but there is no way to know if that was due to the prostatectomy or injections or something else. The incidence is higher in men after prostatectomy than the general population, I'm not sure if they have found a link to injections yet. The other concern is regarding too high of a dose- it can send you to the ER for resolution if the erection lasts too long, but it sounds like they are approaching the right dose from the right side so this should not be an issue.

Regarding asking - just be sure you know how to inject - you don't want to hit the nerves along the top side, they should explain that and you should have no troubles.

I wish you well - keep going for a solution until you find one - one way or another you can be assured of a satisfactory resolution.
Regards, Jeff

Andrewski - if you decide the ache is an issue and you opt for bimix - the dosage of the 2 ingredients rather than the 3 will likely be higher for the same effect. But your treating uro should know this and adjust accordingly. Do you know if you have a compounding pharmacy near you? You could probably get pricing directly from them (but of course will need a scrip to get the mix).
Jeff

Andrewski,

First, Don't go back to that Men's Health Clinic... they are useless and of course wayyyyy overpriced.

Second, Have you been using a VED Pump for the year since surgery? You really should be. It will really preserve length and girth. Just a not too expensive one is fine .. you don't even need to use the rings unless you want to try it for real fun.

Third, yes just see your urologist for a prescription. Also see FrankTalk for more thorough details than you can get here -- using Trimix or Bimix -- or VED pumps, rings and things.

Good luck moving forward ...

J

Yes, you should.

Andrewski,

Here is a link that may be of help with your injections:
www.ustoo.org/PDFs/Injection.pdf

Here's a link that might help with understanding penile rehabilitation after prostate surgery,
/m.youtube.com/watch?v=ie8NkOu2VNA

Concerning the pump, I bought an inexpensive pump and it worked well. I think the more expensive pumps are easier to use. As you will see in the penile rehab video, what a guy wants to do is get fresh blood into the penis, and it is my understanding that the pump does not accomplish this. I can tell you that the pump does give a good stretch.

All the best as you move forward.

Post Edited (RCS) : 10/28/2016 6:46:44 AM (GMT-6)

Thanks for all the info guys. I have been back to the clinic four times now. Different mix tried each time, but never an erection over 50%. They have a few more to try. Fortunately, I haven't paid anything; the deal there is that I only pay if they are successful, and then it's $99. After that is when it gets expensive, as they overcharge for the drugs. So I guess I'll pay the $99 to find out what mix works, then try to get a prescription to fill at a pharmacy, either from them or my regular Uro.

I went to an adult store. They talked me into a water pump, for $150. I couldn't get it to work very well, as it wouldn't seal well against my body. Unfortunately, all sales are final there, so that's money wasted.

Andrewski,

I had difficulty with my first batch of Trimix. I also injected at the less optimal site and did not get the results I wanted. Injecting into the 'Corpora Carvenosa' has a certain pain. If I don't get that 'signature pain', I know that I've just wasted an injection. It took me longer than just 4 injections to eventually rise to the occasion. So be patient. I also changed the injection needles - I eventually settled on a smaller gauge needle.

Remember, My first bottle did not give the expected results. It's quite a journey. see my profile below.

Persistence has paid off and 0.115cc is enough to get me going for 30-50 minutes. I'm in Australia and I pay $80 for 11.5ml of trimix, which is about 100 injections per batch at my going rate. It's about 80c per injection.
.

Well, a few more formulas have been tried, all with little or no success.

Watching that video of the talk at Sloan-Kettering (linked above) made me realize that I was woefully under-served by my providers. S-K seems to have a whole, thought-out, specific program of penile rehabilitation that starts right away and goes through specific stages. My own attempts have been made on my own, with little or no guidance from my medical providers, and has been rather scattershot. I'm now. Trying to find someone or place local. That can help me take a similar approach, and hopefully get things working. Anyone have any tips as to how to find a good provider for that? I'm in the Boulder, Colorado area.

One urologist I spoke to today recommended possibly trying a "Priapus" injection. Anybody know anything about that, and have opinions? I looked at the website, and I have to say it seems a little hokey.

So I went to TUCC today. Unfortunately, they didn't offer much hope, if any. The doctor I saw did not offer any tests; he just listened to what I has tried so farm and said that there really were not anu other options, other than a prostetic. He also said that since I'm 13 months out of surgery, I would almost certainly not see any more improvement; that if it was going to happen, it would have.

Has anyone here seen or heard of recovered erectile function after the first year?

Thanks.

If you haven't visited franktalk.org, please do. Sounds like you are a good candidate for an implant. You'll find guys in the forum who wished they hadn't waited so long to become bionic.

I bought a VED pump on the net from a diabetes supply company for about $125. It came with a manual and battery powered pump in nice case with the rings and lubricant. I couldn't get a seal at first so I shaved where the tube contacts my skin and then it worked great. Per doctors orders I use it 2 or 3 times a week. I'm about 6 months out from RALP and the erections are gradually getting better without the pump. I also take 20 mg of Cialis twice a week and I can tell the erections are better the day or so after taking Cialis. I don't have any bad side effects from the Cialis other than a slightly stuffy nose the morning after taking it and sometime a very mild headache that goes away after an hour so. Sometimes I get no headache. In the last couple of months I wake up with a decent erection....not as often or as erect as before surgery but I feel like I'm getting some improvement over time.

Andrewski,

Yes, it was a tri-mix from a local compounding pharmacy. I do not have a record of the exact proportions anymore, but I recall it was comparable to what has been referred to as a 'standard strength.'

Since you mentioned a limited response in the office, I will add that I had a similar experience. I started out at home with the prescribed 0.2 ml. After a couple months of use and getting 'comfortable' with injections my response improved and I was able to dial back to less than 0.1.

Explorer