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All of the oral ED medications now on the market belong to the same family of drugs — PDE5 inhibitors — as Viagra. These include vardenafil hydrochloride in both Levitra and Staxyn, tadalafil in Cialis, and avanafil in Stendra. Although these chemical compounds are very similar in structure, each differs subtly from the others.

Some men with ED symptoms find that all of these drugs produce the desired results for them but may prefer a specific drug because it has fewer if any, side effects or goes to work faster than the others.

Others may find that one of the PDE5 inhibitors doesn’t work for them at all, while the rest do.

If you need an oral ED drug to get and keep an erection, you owe it to yourself to give them all a try to see which is best for you. In the end, it becomes a matter of personal preference. While most of these medications have a duration of action lasting from four to six hours, Cialis for use as needed is the exception. Its effects can last up to 36 hours, setting it apart from the rest of the PDE5 inhibitors now available.

Depression can be caused by a wide array of factors, including an inability to function normally sexually. If for example, that is the specific cause of your depression, Viagra might help. However, for most cases of ED that are psychological in origin, PDE5 inhibitors are not the answer.

You’ll need psychological counseling to get to the root of your depression. Once you’ve confronted whatever demons may be causing your depression, you likely will be able to regain normal sexual function.

And you probably will be able to do it without needing pharmaceutical help. However, you should be aware that many of the medications prescribed for the treatment of depression interfere with normal sexual function and don’t work well with Viagra either. Ask your doctor or psychiatrist to prescribe an antidepressant that’s not known to interfere with erectile function.

Sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Cialis, belongs to a family of medications known collectively as PDE5 inhibitors. They are so called because they are able to temporarily sideline an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase-5, which can interfere with blood flow to the penis.

Erections originate in the brain when that organ detects feelings of sexual desire or physical stimuli to the male genitals or other erogenous zones. When the brain receives such signals, it releases a flood of nitric oxide coursing toward the pelvic region, setting off secondary chemical reactions as it goes. One of those reactions triggers the synthesis of a substance known as cyclic guanosine monophosphate or cGMP.

The cGMP, in turn, signals the smooth muscle tissue lining the arteries that supply the penis to relax, and as they do, blood flow through those vessels increases sharply. Once the spongy erectile tissue of the penis has been filled with blood, erection is achieved. To ensure that the erection lasts until sexual activity is complete, the cGMP signals the veins that carry blood away from the penis to constrict, trapping blood in the penis and sustaining the erection.

One of the primary tasks of the PDE5 enzyme is to break down cGMP, which isn’t a serious problem in men with robust vascular systems because more cGMP is created to take its place. However, in men whose vascular systems are already compromised, the PDE5 can overwhelm the cGMP and sabotage the erection. PDE5 inhibitors hold the PDE5 enzyme at bay for four to 36 hours, allowing a window of opportunity for an erection to occur and sexual activity to be completed.

As previously noted, Viagra and the other PDE5 inhibitors are designed primarily to help men suffering from erectile dysfunction caused by insufficient blood flow to the penis, the single largest cause of ED. If your symptoms of ED are psychological in origin or caused by traumatic or congenital damage to your genitals, Viagra might be of little help.