Viagra is the little blue pill that started a revolution in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998, it was the first of a wave of new oral medications that treat impotence by temporarily improving blood flow to the penis.
Although a handful of similar drugs have entered the market in the years since, Viagra remains one of the top-selling impotence drugs both in the United States and in markets around the world. Pfizer, the pharmaceuticals manufacturer that developed Viagra, holds a U.S. patent that won’t expire until April 2020. However, under an agreement Pfizer reached with Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in December 2013, the latter could market a generic formulation of the drug in the United States beginning on or after December 11, 2017.
All Viagra Comes from Pfizer
In the meantime, the only Viagra legally marketed in the United States is produced by Pfizer. If you’re looking for a reliable online supplier of the drug, you might want to consider eDrugstore.md, which is one of the online pharmacies operated by Arizona-based Secure Medical Inc. Should you decide to order Viagra from eDrugstore, you’ll pay an average of $27.75 for a 50-milligram dose, the recommended starting dose for the medication.
Your cost per dose of Viagra depends on the number of pills you order. The more you buy, the greater your savings. The price of $27.75 per dose is based on an order of five 100-milligram tablets, which costs $277.50. Those five tablets can be split into ten 50-milligram doses with the complimentary pill splitter that comes with each new order.
If you are new to Viagra or to erectile dysfunction drugs in general, you probably should begin with a small order. For $69, you can order a single 100-milligram Viagra tablet, which yields two 50-milligram doses when split. That brings your initial cost per dose to $34.50. If you find that Viagra works well for you, you can increase the size of your order the next time around. To really stock up on the little blue pill, you can order 10 100-milligram tablets that will yield 20 50-milligram doses when split. That brings your cost per dose to $27.50.
As previously mentioned, Viagra is designed to treat erectile dysfunction that is caused by insufficient blood flow to the penis, which accounts for the vast majority of erection problems. For men whose impotence is caused by psychological problems, such as depression or extreme anxiety, Viagra and the drugs like it will probably be of little help.
PDE5 Inhibitors
Viagra and the drugs that followed it, including Levitra, Cialis, Staxyn, and Stendra, all belong to a family of medications known as PDE5 inhibitors. They are so-called because they temporarily disable an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase-5, which can make it difficult for men with vascular problems to get and keep an erection.
To understand how these drugs work, it’s essential to understand the basics of the erection process, which begins not in the penis but in the brain. When the brain detects feelings of sexual desire or physical stimuli to the genitals, it sends a flood of nitric oxide coursing toward the pelvic region. As it makes its way to the male genitals, this nitric oxide triggers secondary chemical reactions, one of which produces a compound known as cyclic guanosine monophosphate, or cGMP.
Relaxes Smooth Muscles
The cGMP compound plays a key role in the erectile process because of its ability to relax the smooth muscles that line the blood vessels supplying the penis. As these muscles relax, the blood vessels dilate, and blood flow increases, facilitating erectile function. When sexual activity is complete, the PDE5 enzymes break down cGMP, blood vessels contract, and the penis becomes flaccid again.
However, in men whose vascular systems are compromised by atherosclerosis or other underlying medical conditions, the PDE5 enzymes may break down cGMP prematurely, making it impossible to get and/or keep an erection. Viagra and the other PDE5 inhibitors temporarily deactivate the PDE5 enzymes, creating optimal physical condtions for erection. With Viagra, the effects of the drug wear off within four or five hours.
Slight Differences in Chemical Makeup
Although all of the so-called PDE5 inhibitors work in much the same way, each of these medications differs slightly from the others in terms of its chemical structure. While all of these drugs have been shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective in most men, you might find that one works better for you than the others. For this reason, it’s probably wise to give them all a try to determine which suits you best, getting the job done with an absence or absolute minimum of side effects.
Fortunately, the side effects of Viagra and the other PDE5 inhibitors are generally very mild. The most common side effects of Viagra include back pain, diarrhea, dizziness, facial flushing, headache, muscular pain or tenderness, nausea, rash, runny or stuffy nose, and upset stomach. Some users experience no adverse side effects at all, and for those who do, these side effects may disappear completely upon continued use of the drug.
More Serious Side Effects
Although relatively rare, Viagra can cause some more serious side effects, all of which should be reported immediately to your physician. Such side effects include a change or loss of hearing or vision, shortness of breath, chest pain or irregular heartbeat, and swelling in the ankles, hands, or feet. Another serious side effect is an erection that lasts for four hours or more. While at first glance, that may seem the answer to a man’s prayer, it is in fact a very serious condition that requires immediate medical attention. Such a protracted erection can inflict serious tissue damage and, left untreated, could become the last erection you’ll ever have.
As previously noted, clinical trials have shown that Viagra is effective and safe in most healthy men, but it’s not for everyone. Men who are taking nitrate-based medications, including recreational drugs known as poppers, should steer clear of Viagra. Both nitrates and PDE5 inhibitors cause a sharp drop in blood pressure. Taken together, the resulting precipitous fall in blood pressure could be life-threatening.
Men taking other prescription medications may find that those drugs interfere with the effects of Viagra, making it less effective. In such cases, your doctor may be able to substitute a drug that doesn’t adversely interact with the little blue pill. Among the types of drugs known to blunt the effectiveness are certain antidepressants, as well as some medications taken to treat heart disease and high blood pressure.
If you’re looking to order Viagra — or other ED drugs — online, eDrugstore.md offers a convenient way to do so. Based in Tempe, Arizona, eDrugstore dispenses only FDA-approved medications, all of which are sourced from licensed U.S. pharmacies. If you already have a prescription from your doctor, you can fax or scan and email it along with your order.
If you don’t yet have a prescription and feel a bit uncomfortable discussing your sexual dysfunction with your doctor, eDrugstore can set up an online consultation for you with one of its team of licensed U.S. physicians. You will first be required to fill out a questionnaire covering your medical history, current complaints, and listing any drugs you are taking. One of eDrugstore’s physicians will review your questionnaire and write a prescription if he or she feels that it is appropriate. Click here to access eDrugstore’s ED medication guide.
Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of nutrition and health-related topics.
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