How damaging are prolonger erections (2-4 hours)?

[sexualathlete]

I'm just wondering if 3-4 hour erections (without going soft once during that time) that leave your penis hurting even the day after cause any actual damage to the penis? I'm not talking about a priapism (6+ hour erections). Just a prolonged erection from using something like trimix. Can it damage your penis over time?

 

[Simbarn]

Not good. I personally would be trying to avoid erections that last that long especially if they become painful. Are you taking a too high a dose of Trimix, or perhaps you need a weaker preparation such as Bimix?
Some doctors even suggest that an erection that lasts for more that 2-3 hours requires medical attention. Where did you get 6+ hours from? 4 is the standard emergency time! This is not normal and not how our penises have evolved to function.
Hypoxic conditions (lack of oxygen) in the erectile tissues does cause damage over time and can result in the loss of smooth muscle and consequent replacement of this vital erectile tissue with collagen deposition (fibrosis) and deterioration in the health of the nerves that produce NOS.
How much damage you may be doing to your penis would depend I suppose on how often you are doing this and how your individual organ recovers from it.

I think men that have prolonged sex sessions have moments where their penis goes soft for brief periods and it does this for good reason! Emptying stale blood out of the penis and filling it with fresh oxygenated blood. Drugs such as Trimix can stop this process.

A similar thing happens to the penis when erections never or rarely ever happen, as blood flow is quite limited when the penis is in a flaccid state. This is why young men often have spontaneous erections during the day, and most importantly nocturnal erections at night during REM sleep which happen multiple times for short periods flushing fresh blood in an out of these tissues. Not for hours at a time!

Drugs such as Trimix can create an erection that is very hard, almost unnaturally so, which virtually seals all of the escape routes through the tunica albuginea leading to very little blood flow whatsoever. Normal erections do not happen quite like this for that long.

 

[sexualathlete]

Not good. I personally would be trying to avoid erections that last that long especially if they become painful. Are you taking a too high a dose of Trimix, or perhaps you need a weaker preparation such as Bimix?
Some doctors even suggest that an erection that lasts for more that 2-3 hours requires medical attention. Where did you get 6+ hours from? 4 is the standard emergency time! This is not normal and not how our penises have evolved to function.
Hypoxic conditions (lack of oxygen) in the erectile tissues does cause damage over time and can result in the loss of smooth muscle and consequent replacement of this vital erectile tissue with collagen deposition (fibrosis) and deterioration in the health of the nerves that produce NOS.
How much damage you may be doing to your penis would depend I suppose on how often you are doing this and how your individual organ recovers from it.

I think men that have prolonged sex sessions have moments where their penis goes soft for brief periods and it does this for good reason! Emptying stale blood out of the penis and filling it with fresh oxygenated blood. Drugs such as Trimix can stop this process.

A similar thing happens to the penis when erections never or rarely ever happen, as blood flow is quite limited when the penis is in a flaccid state. This is why young men often have spontaneous erections during the day, and most importantly nocturnal erections at night during REM sleep which happen multiple times for short periods flushing fresh blood in an out of these tissues. Not for hours at a time!

Drugs such as Trimix can create an erection that is very hard, almost unnaturally so, which virtually seals all of the escape routes through the tunica albuginea leading to very little blood flow whatsoever. Normal erections do not happen quite like this for that long.

Thanks for the response.

Sex with trimix (actually I just use caverject which is only alprostadil) has never been enjoyable for me. You are right it makes the erection too hard. Often it's just painful to even have sex. Not to mention when the erection doesn't go away fast enough. I have had erections over 3 or even 4 hours long due to this drug more times that I'd like to admit. Even a small dose lasts long for some long. It would last over 4 hours for me every time if I didn't take pseudoephedrine which takes about an hour to kill it.

I feel like I have already done some damage which is why I asked. I think my penis was thicker and longer before and my EQ has probably suffered as well. Does that sound about right? I actually had no physical need for that drug. More of a mental thing for assurance that I don't go soft during sex.

 

[Simbarn]

Thanks for the response.

Sex with trimix (actually I just use caverject which is only alprostadil) has never been enjoyable for me. You are right it makes the erection too hard. Often it's just painful to even have sex. Not to mention when the erection doesn't go away fast enough. I have had erections over 3 or even 4 hours long due to this drug more times that I'd like to admit. Even a small dose lasts long for some long. It would last over 4 hours for me every time if I didn't take pseudoephedrine which takes about an hour to kill it.

I feel like I have already done some damage which is why I asked. I think my penis was thicker and longer before and my EQ has probably suffered as well. Does that sound about right? I actually had no physical need for that drug. More of a mental thing for assurance that I don't go soft during sex.

Sorry, I am confused. Your saying you have only used Caverject or that is what you use now given your experience with Trimix?
The effect of losing smooth muscle can be associated with changes in the compliance of erectile tissue, due to the collagen formation which may result in size changes over time and erectile difficulties due to inadequate compression of the veins the run underneath the Tunica and through it.

You must have tried using PDE5i first before using IC injections and these have not worked very well for you?
Injection therapy seems quite hardcore for just psychogenic ED. Given your very strong effect from these injections, it would indicate that the structural components of your penis are quite healthy, so you may have nothing to worry about. But as I said earlier, I would definitely avoid these painful long lasting erections.
Your ED issues (during specific times of sex) may be due to some type of elevated inhibitive mechanism in the penis, such as sympathetic function. When this occurs, any stressful thoughts during sex about performance anxiety become even more inhibitive than they would otherwise as the inhibitive forces in the penis are working overtime. Are you on TRT?

I have read a number of studies that suggest the chronic low dose (daily)of a PDE5i such as Tadalafil, may help to reduce the effects of oxidative stress and consequent tissue remodeling and even reverse this over time. The capacity for the loss of smooth muscle to be restored seems possible, if oxidative stress is reduced. The addition of Resveratrol (potent antioxidant) has been indicted in another study to further encourage this. PDE5i combined with the antioxidant properties of Resveratrol has a possible synergistic effect.
The very interesting additive bonus of this is that it will be working in all our vascular tissues in our body, not just the penis.

 

[Ribeye]

Thanks for the response.

Sex with trimix (actually I just use caverject which is only alprostadil) has never been enjoyable for me. You are right it makes the erection too hard. Often it's just painful to even have sex. Not to mention when the erection doesn't go away fast enough. I have had erections over 3 or even 4 hours long due to this drug more times that I'd like to admit. Even a small dose lasts long for some long. It would last over 4 hours for me every time if I didn't take pseudoephedrine which takes about an hour to kill it.

I feel like I have already done some damage which is why I asked. I think my penis was thicker and longer before and my EQ has probably suffered as well. Does that sound about right? I actually had no physical need for that drug. More of a mental thing for assurance that I don't go soft during sex.

If you are using caverject, talk with your doc about Tri mix. It is a mixuture of the alpostadil prostaglandin and vasodilators that work well, but are not as potent as a large dose of only prostaglandin. The alpostadil also has a deserved reputation for causing some aching and pain tenderness in not all, but many men that is a well know adverse event. It is not necessarily related to priapism. The Tri Mix may not do this for you, and works really well for most men. Tri Mix is also much less expensive. You may also want to ask your doc about anti priapism therapies like oral pseusdoephederine, or injected versions.

 

[ecdysone]

Not good. I personally would be trying to avoid erections that last that long especially if they become painful. Are you taking a too high a dose of Trimix, or perhaps you need a weaker preparation such as Bimix?
Some doctors even suggest that an erection that lasts for more that 2-3 hours requires medical attention. Where did you get 6+ hours from? 4 is the standard emergency time! This is not normal and not how our penises have evolved to function.
Hypoxic conditions (lack of oxygen) in the erectile tissues does cause damage over time and can result in the loss of smooth muscle and consequent replacement of this vital erectile tissue with collagen deposition (fibrosis) and deterioration in the health of the nerves that produce NOS.
How much damage you may be doing to your penis would depend I suppose on how often you are doing this and how your individual organ recovers from it.

I think men that have prolonged sex sessions have moments where their penis goes soft for brief periods and it does this for good reason! Emptying stale blood out of the penis and filling it with fresh oxygenated blood. Drugs such as Trimix can stop this process.

A similar thing happens to the penis when erections never or rarely ever happen, as blood flow is quite limited when the penis is in a flaccid state. This is why young men often have spontaneous erections during the day, and most importantly nocturnal erections at night during REM sleep which happen multiple times for short periods flushing fresh blood in an out of these tissues. Not for hours at a time!

Drugs such as Trimix can create an erection that is very hard, almost unnaturally so, which virtually seals all of the escape routes through the tunica albuginea leading to very little blood flow whatsoever. Normal erections do not happen quite like this for that long.

Typically mine lasts 3+ hours on Trimix and haven't experienced any problems despite having used it for several years. Do you have any references for your statements, or is it more just developed from collective readings?

 

[Simbarn]

Typically mine lasts 3+ hours on Trimix and haven't experienced any problems despite having used it for several years. Do you have any references for your statements, or is it more just developed from collective readings?

My understanding of erectile function/dysfunction has come about after many years of personal research.
4 hours is usually the time one needs to take a trip to the ER. 3 + hours is very close to this. Some doctors I have spoken to say even 3 is very concerning.

If you a regularly doing this to your erectile tissues I would be concerned that over time damage would be occurring to these tissues due to ischemia. I suppose it would depend on how many times a week this is happening and many other factors. Why do you need to have an erection that lasts 3+ hours? Do they become painful or does your penis ache?

Normal erections even when we are young would have periods where they subside for a moment to allow fresh new blood to flush out the old stale deoxgenated blood. Virile young men do not have erections that last that long for good reason, its just not natural.
While you have these 3+ hour long erections, do you have moments when it subsides and then stimulation causes it to return, or is it rock hard the whole time?
A rock hard erection means there is very little blood flow coming in and going out of the penis; cells need oxygen!
You would not subject your penis to being in a penis pump for 3 hours, which would cause a similar situation with regard to blood flow as compared to a drug induced erection that remains very hard for the same period of time.

In my opinion given what I have learnt about erectile function, erections that last that long may be decreasing the years by which Trimix will be effective for you because the tissues that enable an erection to occur may be deteriorating at a faster rate than they would otherwise. As I mentioned before: Hypoxic conditions in these tissues can cause tissue remodeling: that is collagen formation in place of smooth muscle content and damage to the endothelium within the trabeculae of the corpora, cells that produce the vital nitric oxide required for erectile function.
Is it possible for you to modify the dosage whereby your erections last 1-1.5 hours or a dosage whereby the penis can detumesce and then regain an erection during longer time periods?

 

[ecdysone]

My understanding of erectile function/dysfunction has come about after many years of personal research.
4 hours is usually the time one needs to take a trip to the ER. 3 + hours is very close to this. Some doctors I have spoken to say even 3 is very concerning.

If you a regularly doing this to your erectile tissues I would be concerned that over time damage would be occurring to these tissues due to ischemia. I suppose it would depend on how many times a week this is happening and many other factors. Why do you need to have an erection that lasts 3+ hours? Do they become painful or does your penis ache?

Normal erections even when we are young would have periods where they subside for a moment to allow fresh new blood to flush out the old stale deoxgenated blood. Virile young men do not have erections that last that long for good reason, its just not natural.
While you have these 3+ hour long erections, do you have moments when it subsides and then stimulation causes it to return, or is it rock hard the whole time?
A rock hard erection means there is very little blood flow coming in and going out of the penis; cells need oxygen!
You would not subject your penis to being in a penis pump for 3 hours, which would cause a similar situation with regard to blood flow as compared to a drug induced erection that remains very hard for the same period of time.

In my opinion given what I have learnt about erectile function, erections that last that long may be decreasing the years by which Trimix will be effective for you because the tissues that enable an erection to occur may be deteriorating at a faster rate than they would otherwise. As I mentioned before: Hypoxic conditions in these tissues can cause tissue remodeling: that is collagen formation in place of smooth muscle content and damage to the endothelium within the trabeculae of the corpora, cells that produce the vital nitric oxide required for erectile function.
Is it possible for you to modify the dosage whereby your erections last 1-1.5 hours or a dosage whereby the penis can detumesce and then regain an erection during longer time periods?

Thanks for the in-depth reply. I mean it all sounds perfectly logical...I suppose my interest was the issue as to whether the 'in-rushed' blood that causes an erection becomes completely devoid of any circulatory mechanism and is essentially pooled then eventually oxygen depleted.

I've tried numerous dosing regimes but can't seem to find a 'sweet spot.' Either the Trimix dosage has no measurable effect or it results in the 3-4 hour erections. Been using it for about 3 years and haven't experienced any obvious deterous outcomes, but it's something I obviously would want to avoid.

 

[Simbarn]

Thanks for the in-depth reply. I mean it all sounds perfectly logical...I suppose my interest was the issue as to whether the 'in-rushed' blood that causes an erection becomes completely devoid of any circulatory mechanism and is essentially pooled then eventually oxygen depleted.

I've tried numerous dosing regimes but can't seem to find a 'sweet spot.' Either the Trimix dosage has no measurable effect or it results in the 3-4 hour erections. Been using it for about 3 years and haven't experienced any obvious deterous outcomes, but it's something I obviously would want to avoid.

Correct, that would be my concern, pooled blood eventually becoming deoxgenated. It could be that the sheer volume of blood which enters the penis during an erection, means that it will last longer in this regard. How long is the question. We know how important constant circulation is to all our tissues.
I am not sure how much "leakage" there may be when the penis is fully hard, that is some blood leaving and some entering, but I have read many times, when the penis is at the full erection stage; the bulbocavernosus and ischiocavernosus muscles contract at the base inside the body, almost creating a closed circuit. This is when the penis is at its most firm, I think we all know this feeling . It must have to create this very effective "seal" in order to reach the pressures required to keep the penis fully rigid.
As I discuss, most guys will have periods of time during sex (depending on how long that sex or masturbation session is) when this intensity of erection changes, essentially allowing more blood to leave and fresh blood to enter.
When the pressure declines its obvious this is occurring.

It sounds like your erection is at this very hard stage for the full 3 plus hours?
Have you tried Bimix instead?
You could try talking to the guys at Frank talk, on the injection forum. They are very well versed in the use of these drugs. I have not taken the "plunge" with injections as yet, but I am getting close to trying and was considering Bimix first for the very reasons we have been discussing.

We have not evolved to have full erections that last for 3 hours normally. Doing this artificially is changing the function of one of our most sensitive organs. Suddenly changing the function of a an organ in this manner which has taken an enormity of time to evolve, is asking for trouble in my humble opinion.

 

[ecdysone]

I fully agree with you. Now I think about it, I do have 'periods' during the elapsing hours where the erection is not so hard. Funny thing, it's been an issue if we want to go out afterwards...and for obvious reasons! Might be during this time some re-oxygenation occurs which prevents any tissue damage.

Definately need to investigate Bimix, but didn't want to upset a good-thing-going so far! LOL

 

[Techguy]

I've tried numerous dosing regimes but can't seem to find a 'sweet spot.' Either the Trimix dosage has no measurable effect or it results in the 3-4 hour erections. Been using it for about 3 years and haven't experienced any obvious deterous outcomes, but it's something I obviously would want to avoid.

I've had the exact same situation for the last two years. I'm sensitive to it, so a small dose (0.1 to 0.14 ml) does it, but gets too close to the 3.5 hour mark. A couple of times I used the antidote (0.5 ml Phenylephrine) which immediately worked.

For some reason, they had me on 20/30/1, but I switched to a new provider who gave me the more "standard" (trimix #5) which is 10/30/1. Will the new dose cutting the alprostadil in half help? I've read that bimix, which doesn't have it, does not last as long. Yet I've also read that alprostadil rarely causes priapism, but the other two can, so I'm a little confused. Any insight appreciated!

 

[BigBamBoo]

I have wondered about these things and have mentioned it in orher posts.

Natural vs "induced" erections.

All the way into my 30's I would stay rock hard naturally for 4+ hours with the right partner(s).

Starting in my teens I would get hard throughout the day and night.
I would masterbate 4-7 times a DAY because if I did not I would have pain in my testicles/lower abdomen.

Plus my erections were extremely hard and painful.

Even now in my mid 50's I still get off 1-2 times a day.

I recently stated using trimix for "recreational" use. My wife and I bring in females to join us and so about half way through I go inject to keep the party going. For another 2 hours or so.

I seem to be a hyper responder to trimix. I take 1-2 units and am rock hard for 2+ hours.

But...my penis is not as large as it is when naturally hard.
Both in girth and length. And the head never gets fully full with trimix.

I am VERY wary of trimix. Last thing I want to do is cause damage or end up in the ER.

I plan on trying bimix to see if that yields different results.

I like seeing these post as there is not a lot of discussion on the use of trimix/bimix overall.

 

[Ribeye]

I have wondered about these things and have mentioned it in orher posts.

Natural vs "induced" erections.

All the way into my 30's I would stay rock hard naturally for 4+ hours with the right partner(s).

Starting in my teens I would get hard throughout the day and night.
I would masterbate 4-7 times a DAY because if I did not I would have pain in my testicles/lower abdomen.

Plus my erections were extremely hard and painful.

Even now in my mid 50's I still get off 1-2 times a day.

I recently stated using trimix for "recreational" use. My wife and I bring in females to join us and so about half way through I go inject to keep the party going. For another 2 hours or so.

I seem to be a hyper responder to trimix. I take 1-2 units and am rock hard for 2+ hours.

But...my penis is not as large as it is when naturally hard.
Both in girth and length. And the head never gets fully full with trimix.

I am VERY wary of trimix. Last thing I want to do is cause damage or end up in the ER.

I plan on trying bimix to see if that yields different results.

I like seeing these post as there is not a lot of discussion on the use of trimix/bimix overall.

If you have a conversation with a doc who is trained in sexual medicine, they will tell you that not all erections are the same. Meaning there is a big difference between a hard but warm penis, vs. a cold hard penis. The difference is blood flow. If the penis is warm, there is still some blood going in and out and that is much less likely to cause damage to the tissue. According to my sex medicine trained doc, if you have an erection at 3 plus hours, that won't go away, and is not warm, if you have not already take pseudo fed 60 mg and perhaps chew the tablets to speed up the action. If by hour 4 you don't have relief, then use the injected antidote which should give relief pretty quickly, 10 minutes or so. If that doesn't yield significant relief, get to the ER asap, have someone else drive you, and put ice packs on your penis for the trip. Often lying flat on your back with ice packs will also help along with the pseudo fed. The alprotadil in tri mix is known to cause an aching for some men. It can make the penis ache, the testicles, and scrotum. Each has to decide for themselves if it is worth the benefit if they get the side effect. Because you get a little aching post sex or even during, doesn't necessarily mean you have a priapism or there is damage occurring. Perhaps others may know the mechanism that causes the aching? The bottom line, be careful with yourself. Don't put yourself at big risk. Start with low dosing and go up only as much as you need to get a reasonable result. Certainly an erection for an hour or even two, as long as you become flaccid before you reach the point of causing damage is not out of the question. But I wouldn't suggest trying to achieve 3 hour plus erections for multiple days in a row....although I wish I could, it's just not worth the long term risk.

 

[Techguy]

According to a top urologist, they advise taking action at 3 hours (of a full erection) because after 4 hours some signs of damage "start to be seen". The exact point at which irreversible damage is seen isn't fully known. Some studies have shown 6-12 hours of priapism with 100 percent recovery of erectile function, 12-24 hours with 78 percent recovery, 24 to 36 hours 44 percent, and over 36 zero percent. Getting to the ER and immediate treatment at 4-6 hours you'll be fine, but damn... nobody wants to get close to losing ANY erectile function.