What motivates men to discontinue treatment of their erectile dysfunction symptoms with PDE5 inhibitors like Viagra and Cialis? Here’s an overview of some of the most commonly cited explanations.
Introduction
Despite the ready availability of medications that safely and effectively treat the symptoms of erectile dysfunction, many men discontinue their use of these drugs not long after starting treatment. The reasons why men turn their backs on these drugs are many, and this blog post will seek to shine a light on some of the most common.
A 2012 Portuguese study found that nearly half — or 48.9 percent, to be precise — of 327 ED patients interviewed by telephone had stopped taking the PDE5 inhibitors they’d been prescribed. This class of drugs, which includes Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, among others, is designed to treat male impotence caused by insufficient blood flow to the penis.
Another 5.8 percent of those initially interviewed by telephone said that they’d been given prescriptions for a PDE5-inhibiting drug but had never even bothered to get those prescriptions filled. The findings of the Portuguese study were published in the September 2012 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
This left 148 men, or 45.3 percent of the initial cohort, who said that they were continuing to take the PDE5 inhibitors that they’d been prescribed by their doctors. In all, 54.7 percent of the telephone interviewees had either abandoned treatment with PDE5 inhibitors or had never even started it.
Primary Causes of Their ED
Among the 327 men interviewed for the Portuguese study, each identified a primary cause, or etiology, for their symptoms of ED.
Seventy-nine of the men said the primary cause of their ED was venogenic, which suggests that they suffered from venous leak, or the inability of the veins carrying blood away from the penis to close off completely during erection.
A close second among the causes of ED in the men being studied was arteriogenic, which was cited by 75 of the men being interviewed. In such cases, the arterial flow of blood into the penis was insufficient to achieve erection.
The primary cause of ED for 62 men was iatrogenic, meaning that their impotence was caused by medical treatment, including drug therapy, for illnesses other than ED. Many drugs can make it difficult, or even impossible, to get an erection.
Fifty men said that their ED was primarily psychological in origin, while 40 said their symptoms of diabetes were largely responsible for their impotence. Twenty-one men said their ED was primarily neurogenic in origin.
Cause and Effect
The discontinuation of PDE5 inhibitors treatment was highest among men who were diabetic or whose ED was iatrogenic in origin.
Of the 40 men who identified as diabetic, 28 (67.5 percent) discontinued treatment with medications, while another 4 (10 percent) were prescribed drugs but never bothered to have the scripts filled.
Among the 62 men who said their ED was most closely linked to treatment for one or more other conditions, 37 (59.7 percent) stopped using PDE5 inhibitors. Another six men (9.6 percent) in this group acknowledged they’d been prescribed drugs but had chosen not to take them.
Recent UK Study
A recent study conducted by researchers at the United Kingdom’s University of London looked at the primary reasons that men cited for discontinuing their treatment of ED. The study, published in the March 2020 issue of the International Journal of Impotence Research, covered not just treatment with PDE5 inhibitors but other ED therapies as well.
The top four reasons cited were the ineffectiveness of treatment, adverse side effects, the cost of treatment, and the deterioration of the relationship between the ED patient and his intimate partner(s).
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‘They Just Don’t Work for Me’
Far too many men who’ve been prescribed PDE5 inhibiting drugs take one of the prescribed drugs a time or two and then stop because they find the drug isn’t producing the hoped-for results.
If the initial dose of an ED drug doesn’t produce the desired results, it’s entirely possible that the dose needs to be increased. In other cases, success can be achieved by switching from one type of PDE5 inhibitor to another.
Adverse Side Effects
Generally speaking, the side effects of PDE5 inhibitors are mild. They might include back pain, dizziness, headache, muscle ache, nausea, runny or stuffy nose, and stomach upset. Many men take these drugs with no real side effects at all.
If you should be troubled by the side effects of the first drug you try, ask your doctor to switch you to another. While all PDE5 inhibitors work much the same way, they vary in chemical composition, and one drug could cause unpleasant side effects while another is side-effect-free.
‘The Cost Is Prohibitive’
Until December 2017, the U.S. market for ED medications was monopolized by brand-name drugs, which were fairly high in price. In the years since the end of 2017, a number of generic alternatives have become available. As a result, the cost of treating ED with PDE5 inhibitors has decreased significantly.
For most ED medications, the prices of all tablets, regardless of strength, are identical. This has led to the popularity of pill-splitting. For example, men buy 100 mg tablets of Viagra or sildenafil, its generic equivalent. Each of those pills can be split to yield two 50 mg doses, which is the recommended starting dose. This can help to bring down the cost of treating ED.
Relationship Problems
There is no medication that will fix problems in your intimate relationships. But if you’re encountering ongoing difficulties with your partner, counseling might be worthwhile. If that proves ineffective, it might be time to look for another partner unless, of course, a lackluster love life is okay with you.
Ordering ED Drugs Online
Love in the Time of COVID-19, to borrow and rephrase a title made famous by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, has made it even more appealing to order ED drugs online, thus avoiding a trip outside the home.
In business since the late 1990s, Arizona-based eDrugstore.com offers all brand-name ED medications, as well as those generic equivalents that are currently available.
Prices at eDrugstore cover not just the drug you’re ordering but a bundle of time- and money-saving services as well. Shipping and handling are free. And for men who don’t yet have a doctor’s prescription, eDrugstore’s complimentary online consultation service is a convenient solution. You’ll be paired up online with a physician licensed to practice in your state.
If the doctor finds that you’re an appropriate candidate for an ED drug, a prescription will be authorized. That prescription will then be sent by eDrugstore to one of its licensed U.S. pharmacy partners, which will fill it and ship it off to you free of charge. To learn more, visit eDrugstore’s Erectile Dysfunction page.
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