Category: Viagra

Under existing U.S. regulations, Viagra and other PDE5-inhibiting drugs are available only with a doctor’s prescription. To get a prescription, you can visit your doctor’s office and explain in detail your problems in getting and keeping an erection. Depending on the nature of your symptoms and other factors in your medical history, your doctor may or may not suggest that you undergo further testing to pinpoint the cause of your ED symptoms. If the doctor is satisfied that Viagra or another PDE5 inhibitor will help you to overcome your erectile difficulties, he or she will write a prescription that you can have filled at a local or online pharmacy.

If you decide to purchase Viagra online, make sure you’re dealing with a reputable company that sources its drugs from licensed U.S. pharmacies. Secure Medical, based in Tempe, Arizona, has several online outlets — ViaMedic, eDrugstore, and AccessRX — that fall into this category. As an added service, these websites can arrange online consultations with one of their contract physicians who can write you a prescription if it’s deemed appropriate.

Thus far the FDA has not approved a prescription drug specifically designed to fire up women’s sexual desire. According to ABCNews.com, a study in the early 2000s showed that postmenopausal and post-hysterectomy women taking 50-milligram Viagra pills reported “better overall sexual satisfaction” than those who got a placebo.

Meanwhile, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of a drug called flibanserin, is continuing to press its application to have the FDA approve the drug for marketing as a treatment for HSDD (hypoactive sexual desire disorder), the most common form of female sexual dysfunction. Although the federal drug agency gave flibanserin a thumbs-down in late 2013, it did offer Sprout fairly clear-cut guidance about what additional testing would be necessary to keep the application alive. That testing is currently underway, and a revised application is expected to be filed in the third quarter of 2014.

Health insurance plans that include prescription drug coverage may or may not cover Viagra and other impotence drugs. Checking out the insurer’s prescription drug formulary will allow you to see which brand-name drugs are included under the plan’s coverage. Typically, the formulary has three tiers, although individual plans may have other names for them. Tier I drugs are generics and have the lowest copays of all, while Tier II drugs are the insurer’s preferred brand-name drugs and have somewhat higher copays than Tier I drugs. Tier III drugs are non-preferred brand-name medications that are available only with a hefty copayment.

Because health plans available under Obamacare are also sold by individual insurers, you’ll need to check out each insurer’s drug formulary to determine what drugs are covered and at what level of copay. Medicare does not cover drugs for the treatment of sexual or erectile dysfunction.

First brought to market in 1998, Viagra is the “little blue pill” that transformed the face of erectile dysfunction treatment, offering a way for impotent men to resume sexual activity. Like the other PDE5 inhibitors on the market, Viagra’s active ingredient, sildenafil citrate, temporarily blocks the effects of the phosphodiesterase-5 enzyme that impedes blood flow to the penis and can make it difficult to get an erection.

Available in strengths ranging from 25 milligrams to 100 milligrams, Viagra is designed to be taken roughly an hour before sexual activity and usually lasts for four hours or so. Doctors usually start patients on a 50-milligram dose, adjusting it upward or downward based on the patient’s reaction. No more than a single dose should be taken in any 24-hour period. Because Viagra lowers blood pressure, it should never be taken at the same time as any nitrate-based drugs, such as nitroglycerin, widely prescribed to treat angina.

In a word, the answer is yes. And to do so can create a serious health danger.

The recommended dose of Viagra is 25 to 100 milligrams of the medication, which is to be taken 30 minutes to four hours before sexual activity. Hopefully, you will have been told by the prescribing doctor that the little blue pill in and of itself does not create an erection but rather allows the penis to respond to visual or physical stimuli. Knowing this, you’ll be less likely to pop more pills hoping to achieve the results you want.

Symptoms of a Viagra overdose may include chest pain, dizziness, fainting, irregular heartbeat, lightheadedness, and/or nausea. If you believe that you’ve taken an overdose of Viagra, whether or not you’ve begun to experience symptoms, seek emergency medical attention immediately.

While it’s certainly possible to order Viagra and other prescription medications online, buyers need to be sure that they’re dealing with a reliable U.S.-based supplier that sells only genuine FDA-approved drugs.

But be forewarned. Forbes reported in September 2013 that data presented at the World Meeting on Sexual Medicine in late 2012 showed that 77 percent of Viagra purchased online from 22 different sites was counterfeit. The author of the study, Irwin Goldstein, M.D., conducted the survey in cooperation with the global security arm of Pfizer, Viagra’s manufacturer.

So, caveat emptor, or buyer beware, is the name of the game. Place no order with an online pharmacy until you’ve thoroughly researched its operations and sponsorship. Be sure you’re dealing with a drug supplier that’s not only based in the United States but is also sourcing the medications it sells through U.S.-licensed pharmacies.

Anyone browsing online for ED medications can’t help but be confused by the vast number of online vendors purporting to sell genuine FDA-approved drugs. Many of these operations are based in third world countries, and the drugs they are selling in a large number of cases are counterfeit and may even contain harmful or toxic substances.

Technically, buying prescription drugs that are filled by pharmacies outside the United States is prohibited by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Like other states that have passed medical marijuana laws that conflict with federal laws, Maine in 2013 passed a law permitting state residents to order drugs from Canada and a handful of other countries.

To ensure that you’re buying Viagra or other prescription drugs from a reliable U.S.-based supplier, FDA suggests that you check out the website to determine the sponsoring organization, contact information, whether privacy is protected, and when the site’s information was written and/or last updated. If the website makes claims that seem too good to be true, they probably are and should be avoided.

Viagra was the first FDA-approved medication used to treat erection problems in men. When a man cannot get or maintain an erection for sexual activity, it’s called erectile dysfunction. Viagra works by blocking an enzyme called PDE-5, which boost the amount of nitric oxide in the system. Nitric oxide causes the muscles in the penis to relax, increasing blood flow and facilitating an erection.

Viagra stays in your bloodstream for 4 to 6 hours, making it much easier to achieve an erection for sexual intercourse. For Viagra to work, you must be sexually stimulated. Contrary to what you might think, you don’t get an erection just from taking the pill.

Since Viagra affects nitric oxide levels, do not take Viagra if you use nitrate drugs to treat cardiovascular problems. Taking Viagra with nitrate drugs can cause a sudden, dangerous drop in blood pressure. Only take Viagra as prescribed by your doctor.