edquestions, Author at EDQuestions

Erectile DysfunctionDecember 11, 2017byedquestions

Will Creatine work on Erectile Dysfunction and is it Safe to take as a Supplement?

You have probably seen creatine supplements at your local drugstore or supplement store. It’s available in drink mixes, powder, energy bars, and tablets. Athletes and bodybuilders have used creatine supplementation since the 1990s. An estimated 40% to 50% of college and professional athletes use creatine supplements.

The Scientific consensus on the effectiveness versus risk profile of creatine is mixed. Some studies find that it can improve athletic performance on a short-term basis, and there’s essentially no evidence that it helps with endurance sports, like marathon running. In fact, some people’s muscles don’t appear to react to creatine supplementation at all.

Your physician is your best advisor on how to take creatine safely.

Creatine is natural – the human body produces it – but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe to supplement what your body makes naturally. That said, most healthy people can take creatine supplements in moderation without damaging their health. But when people take too much, side effects, in addition to erectile dysfunction, can include

• Anxiety
• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Rash
• Indigestion

What’s more common medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol), diabetic medications, and diuretics can interact dangerously with creatine. Taking creatine along with stimulants like caffeine can also increase the risk of unpleasant or dangerous side effects. Doctors advise that people who take creatine drink plenty of water and avoid dehydration. And whether or not you experience erectile dysfunction, you should always tell your doctor about creatine or any other supplements or over-the-counter medications you take regularly.

Viagra

ViagraDecember 10, 2017byedquestions

Which Medications Interact Adversely with Viagra?

Q. Apart from nitrate-based drugs, which medications interact adversely with Viagra? If I’m taking one of those drugs that make it difficult for Viagra to do its job, what alternatives do I have?

A. As with nitrates, there are a handful of other drugs that are totally incompatible with Viagra because taken together they lower blood pressure sharply and could cause extreme dizziness, fainting, and possible loss of consciousness. These drugs would include other PDE5 inhibitors, such as Cialis, Levitra, Staxyn, and Stendra, as well as riociguat, which is sold under the brand name Adempas and is prescribed to treat two different forms of pulmonary hypertension.

Still, other types of drugs that can interact adversely with Viagra include certain antibiotics, such as clarithromycin (Biaxin) and erythromycin (EryPed), and antifungals, such as fluconazole (Diflucan) and itraconazole (Sporanox). Also known to interact poorly with Viagra are some heart and blood pressure medications, such as amlodipine (Norvasc) and amiodarone (Cordarone, Nexterone, Pacerone), and the tuberculosis drug isoniazid.

Adverse interactions have also been recorded between Viagra and cimetidine (Tagamet), bosentan (Tracleer), imatinib (Gleevec), nefazodone (Serzone), St. John’s wort, boceprevir (Victrelis), ritonavir (Norvir), amprenavir (Agenerase), and atazanavir (Reyataz).

If you are taking one of these medications, you can check with your doctor to see if he can switch you to an alternative drug that doesn’t interact adversely with Viagra. Absent that, it probably bests that you stay away from Viagra or any other PDE5 inhibitor until your primary health issue is resolved.

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile DysfunctionDecember 7, 2017byedquestions

Can I DIY my own herbal tea for erectile dysfunction?

You actually can make your own blend of herbal teas to see if they have an effect on erections. To make a pot of this tea, you’ll need four or five teabags of ordinary black tea, and two to four tablespoons of ground ginger like you get at the grocery. Brew the teabags and ginger in hot water for a few minutes just as you would ordinary hot tea. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and sweeten with honey. The reasoning behind this DIY tea cocktail is:

• Ginger has vasodilation properties
• Black tea is a cortisol blocker and can help keep blood pressure under control
• Lemon, with its vitamin C and bioflavins, is good for artery health
• The boron in honey is good for testosterone production

And even if you don’t notice much of an effect on erections, it makes a nice tasting hot drink, so you can enjoy it anyway.

Are proprietary erection tea blends safe?

There’s no shortage of online stores selling their own blends of “erection tea.” Whatever these products claim to do, you need to know exactly what’s in these blends. In most cases, you’re better off brewing your own herbal teas with herbs you know about. Not only will you have a better idea of what you’re putting into your body, you’ll save money.

Many of these proprietary teas designed for better erections are outrageously expensive, particularly if they ship from overseas. Know the herbs, know the supplier of them, and brew your own herbal tea. If it helps with erections, that’s great, and if not, herbal teas (with some exceptions, like Yohimbe, which can be risky) are generally healthy to drink anyway.

Viagra

ViagraDecember 7, 2017byedquestions

Is the active ingredient in Viagra used in any other medications? If so, what are they and what conditions do they treat?

Although sildenafil citrate has been found to have a number of promising medicinal properties, the only other brand-name medicine in which it is the active ingredient is Revatio, which was also developed by Pfizer. Revatio is prescribed to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, a form of high blood pressure that is localized to the arteries that supply the lungs.

PAH is a progressive disease with symptoms that tend to grow worse over time.

The symptoms of PAH can include chest pain or angina; dizziness and/or fainting; fatigue; rapid, hard, or irregular heartbeats; swollen abdomen; and swelling of the ankles and legs, also known as edema.

Shortness of breath is the single most widely observed symptom of PAH, which Revatio can relieve by dilating the arteries that supply blood to the lungs, thus lowering blood pressure. Revatio is available in 5- and 20-milligram tablets, as an oral suspension powder that is mixed with water, and in injectable form as well.

Generic formulations of the drug are also available. As with Viagra, Revatio and its generic substitutes are incompatible with nitrate-based drugs. Taken together, they can cause blood pressure to drop precipitously.

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile DysfunctionDecember 5, 2017byedquestions

Will ordinary green tea help with erections?

It won’t hurt. Green tea is a source of the highly potent antioxidant catechin, which neutralizes free radicals circulating in your body due to the natural oxidation process. In 2006, researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine studied rabbits with erection problems, and gave them a number of different juices and teas to see if they had any effect.

They concluded that long term consumption of foods naturally rich in antioxidants (including green tea) reduced erectile dysfunction by increasing blood flow and smooth muscle relaxation. So if you have some green tea in your cupboard, it’s easy enough to try. But don’t expect changes overnight.

Any changes noted by researchers were noticed after long term consumption of green tea.

Viagra

ViagraDecember 5, 2017byedquestions

How, if at all, will generic Viagra differ from the brand-name drug?

Generic substitutes for brand-name medications must first win the approval of the FDA before they can be marketed. Generic drugmakers submit an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA, that is similar in most respects to the New Drug Applications, or NDAs, submitted for new and previously unmarketed prescription drugs.

NDAs must be accompanied by data from clinical trials designed to show that the proposed new drug achieves its medical goals with minimal adverse side effects. ANDAs do not require all this clinical trial data, because the drug’s efficacy and safety have already been established by the manufacturer of the brand-name drug.

However, the FDA has certain criteria that must be met by any would-be generic drug manufacturer. The proposed generic must contain the same active ingredient at the same strength(s) as the brand-name drug. It must also use the same dosage form — tablet, capsule, or liquid — and the same route of administration, whether oral or injectable.

However, generic drugs need not contain the same inactive ingredients as the brand-name drug for which they are offered as substitutes, but the FDA reserves the right to deny an ANDA if it disapproves of the inactive ingredients used in a generic. Inactive ingredients typically serve as filler material and coloring agents.

Because they are inactive, these substances are inert chemically and unlikely to cause any ill effects in those taking the drugs. Thus, all generic Viagra must have sildenafil citrate as an active ingredient and must be offered in the same dosage strengths as the brand-name drug — 25-, 50-, and 100-milligram tablets.

Because the generics’ inactive ingredients can be different from those in the branded drug, generics might look nothing at all like the latter, apart from being available in tablet form.

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile DysfunctionDecember 3, 2017byedquestions

Can Herbal Teas Help with Erectile Dysfunction?

Prescription medications like Viagra and Cialis address erectile dysfunction from a hydraulics standpoint. These drugs are designed to allow blood vessels of the reproductive organs to relax and allow better blood flow which, in the presence of sexual stimulation, leads to harder erections.

Herbal teas aren’t as straightforward as prescription medications like Viagra, but they may be worth a try.

But not everyone is enamored with the idea of taking prescription drugs to help their sex life. Knowing that lifestyle changes like a healthy diet, regular exercise, and avoidance of smoking and drinking to excess can improve erection health, many men want to take it a step further, and explore the use of herbs to produce healthier erections. Here is what you should know about herbal teas and your erectile health.

Viagra

ViagraDecember 3, 2017byedquestions

Is generic Viagra available? If so, how do I get it? And if not, when will it go on the market?

The first generic formulations of Viagra are scheduled to hit the U.S. market beginning in December 2017. All will be marketed under the name of Viagra’s active ingredient — sildenafil citrate.

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, the American subsidiary of an Israeli-based drugmaker that specializes in generic drugs, is expected to bring out the first generic version, which could be followed closely by another from Mylan.

Both of these generics have been tentatively approved by the FDA. Such tentative approvals usually don’t become final until the brand-name drug’s patent has expired. In these cases, Pfizer’s patent on Viagra is good until April 2020, but the company has negotiated special licensing deals with both Teva and Mylan that will allow them to introduce generic formulations of the little blue pill early.

In return for early generic rights, Teva and Mylan will have to pay licensing fees to Pfizer until the latter’s patent finally expires in 2020.

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile DysfunctionDecember 1, 2017byedquestions

What Erectile Dysfunction Medications Can I Take on a Full Stomach?

The drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction are known as PDE-5 inhibitors. A substance called phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) degrades a circulating compound called cyclic GMP, which is present in the smooth muscle cells lining the blood vessels that supply the penis. By inhibiting the action of PDE-5, more cyclic GMP is available, so conditions are more favorable for an erection in the presence of sexual stimulation.

PDE-5 inhibitors work by mimicking, to an extent, the positive circulatory effects of regular exercise.

Viagra, Levitra, Staxyn (a quick-dissolve formulation of Levitra), and Cialis are good at inhibiting PDE-5, but they’re not 100% selective for that substance, particularly at higher dosages. For example, Viagra, in addition to inhibiting PDE-5, also inhibits PDE-6 and PDE-9.

In fact, it is the inhibition of PDE-6, which is present in the retina of the eye, that is believed to be responsible for vision changes that some men report as a side effect of Viagra. Cialis, in addition to inhibiting PDE-5, also inhibits PDE-11.

All this is a roundabout way of saying that PDE-5 inhibitors are similar, but not identical in action, and the user’s physiology, and how the drugs are taken can have a subtle effect on how well they work and how long they take to be effective. Food can affect the action of some, but not all erectile dysfunction drugs. Here are some frequently asked questions about taking erectile dysfunction medication with food.

Viagra

ViagraDecember 1, 2017byedquestions

How long after taking Viagra should I be able to get an erection?

As previously explained, the active ingredients in Viagra and the other oral ED medications are designed to temporarily restore erectile function in men who are suffering from insufficient blood flow to the penis.

This is by far the most common cause of ED, but it’s not the only cause. If your impotence has its origin in emotional or mental issues and not vascular insufficiency, then it’s unlikely that Viagra will work for you regardless of when you take it.

The same is true of ED that’s caused by traumatic or congenital injury to the blood vessels that supply the male genitals. However, if your erection problems are caused by compromised blood flow to the penis because of atherosclerosis or other physiological causes, Viagra’s active ingredient should kick in as early as 30 minutes after you take it.

If you haven’t responded within 60 minutes after taking the drug, it is possible that the drug won’t work for you. If you’ve tried the drug two or three times without success, you might want to explore other treatment options with your doctor.

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