I've been taking a 30-day sample of low-dose Cialis provided by my urologist, and I'm about to run out. He prescribed a refill for me, but my insurance is giving me a hard time, and the cost without insurance is insane. I'm afraid to stop using it, though, because I really do feel like it's had some effect on my plaque size. I have a lump in my septum, and just within the last couple of days, I've noticed a reduction, however slight, in the size of the lump. My question is how long do I need to take Cialis, ideally? Three months? Six months? Indefinitely? Studies I've read differ on the duration.
I'm still waiting to hear back from my insurance company after my urologist sent them further authorization. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll cover it for me. I'm just worried that even if they cover it, I might run into the same problem when I ask for another refill. Hoping I can get at least three months.
20 mg sildenafil is another option and pretty inexpensive, check out goodrx.com. Get the 20 and not the expensive 25mg. Also, generic tadalafil (cialis) is inexpensive as a liquid w/o Rx online, I use blueskypeptides
An other option is to buy 20 mg Tadalafil (generic or Cialis) and cut to 4. Much cheaper.
James
I would recommend taking it until back to normal.
Generic Cialis is not available in the US. Also based on the pricing from the manufacturer, its still cheaper to get the 5 mg tablets instead of cutting up the 20 mg, in addition to the fact that Cialis is not a symmetrical and not scored. Very difficult to cut up evenly. Sildenafil 20 mg is an option, but has different kinetics in the body. Notably a 4 hour 1/2 life in the body vs. 17.5 for Cialis. I also personally find sildenafil a bit more intense vs Cialis, but that might just be me. Below is a short article about the three agents for ED use, not Peyronies, but it highlights some of the differences. My advice is to fight with insurance first. See what your rights of appeals are, and get somebody on the phone to discuss. I went up a level to a supervisor when they were denying my Xiaflex and spoke to a supervisor for over an hour before getting that overturned. Be nice, but aggressive, you are your best advocate. If that fails then discuss sildenafil with your doctor.
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/sexualmedicine/informationsessions/choosing-the-right-pill-to-treat-ed/ (http://www.bumc.bu.edu/sexualmedicine/informationsessions/choosing-the-right-pill-to-treat-ed/)
Structurally vardenafil (Levitra) is similar to sildenafil, while tadalafil (Cialis) is very different. Vardenafil (Levitra) is almost 10 times more biochemically potent than sildenafil, therefore a lower dose is needed to facilitate the penile erection, potentially resulting in less side effects. Selectivity is the ability of the drug to attach to the specific enzyme PDE 5 found in penile tissues. Vardenafil (Levitra) is more selective than sildenafil and tadalafil (Cialis) to PDE5, which again means a lower dose is needed with potentially less side effects. Tadalafil is very specific for PDE5 and is also very specific for the enzyme PDE11. Unfortunately, we don't know much about PDE11, which is found in the heart, in the pituitary gland in the brain and in the testicles. Pharmacokinetics, half-life, is how long the medication stay s in the blood. Sildenafil (Viagra) has a half-life of 4 hours and vardenafil (Levitra) has a half-life of 4-6 hours while tadalafil (Cialis) has a half-life of 17.5 hours. This means that vardenafil (Levitra) should act longer than sildenafil (Viagra) but the clinical significance is not known. Tadalafil (Cialis) has the longest half-life and allows you to take the medication and not relate the sexual activity to the immediate use of the medication.
Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm really hoping to stay on Cialis instead of switching to Viagra or something else. Just within the last week, there's been a noticeable reduction in the size of the lump, and my indentation is almost completely gone. I would point to Cialis as pretty much the sole reason for any healing, because the only other things I'm taking regularly are vitamin E and CoQ10 (aside from eating healthy and scarfing down blueberries, pomegranate, turmeric, maca, etc).
I took the last pill of my 30-day trial last night, and I'm a little antsy now. I don't want to stop taking it when I'm seeing real progress. My urologist sent a prior authorization to the insurance company on Monday, and I'm waiting to hear if they'll cover it. Fingers crossed!
et the 5 mg tablets instead of cutting up the 20 mg, in addition to the fact that Cialis is not a symmetrical and not scored