The Top 10 Things Not To Do After Taking Viagra for ED

Highlights 

• Although it is generally safe to take Viagra for ED, the drug can cause side effects.
• Viagra can interact with other medications and recreational drugs.
• Certain lifestyle choices can also aggravate Viagra’s side effects.
• Only buy and use Viagra if your doctor prescribes it. 

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Viagra is a drug that increases the blood flow to the penis. People take Viagra for ED, or unwisely, as a recreational drug. This phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor takes about 20-30 minutes to act. Its effects can last for up to four hours. While taking Viagra is safe for most men, when taken unwisely, it can have unpleasant results in addition to the effect you’re looking for. 

Here’s a list of 10 things not to do to get the full effect of Viagra without side effects you don’t want.

Top 10 Things Not To Do After Taking Viagra for ED

According to the FDA, Viagra is safe to take. It can cause side effects, however. And when you combine it with other substances or abuse it, you expose yourself to many risks.

1.    Don’t Drink Alcohol After Viagra

The FDA has approved Viagra for ED. Some people also use it as a recreational drug. Others figure they can kill two birds with one stone by using alcohol to shed their inhibitions in a party setting and Viagra to prime themselves for the resulting sexual encounters. 

Viagra’s interactions with alcohol are complex. Researchers have found that Viagra may protect the lining of the digestive tract from alcohol damage. Another study found that Viagra and red wine don’t exert competing or interfering effects on blood flow. 

There are plenty of reasons why Viagra users shouldn’t drink alcohol, however. Alcohol causes liver injury, and Viagra can make these problems worse. 

If that’s not enough to convince you, consider this: Drink too much alcohol, and Viagra may not work as expected. Alcohol reduces testosterone levels and sexual sensitivity. 

ED meds can also lower your blood pressure, and alcohol can lower blood pressure further, dealing a blow to your sexual performance. 

2. Don’t Take Nitrate Medications or “Poppers” After Viagra

Viagra works by dilating the blood vessels and increasing blood flow. Wider blood vessels mean lower blood pressure.

People who take isosorbide dinitrate or nitroglycerin for chest pain and heart issues should not combine these drugs with Viagra. They all lower blood pressure and their effects can compound, leading to a sudden drop in blood pressure that may be life-threatening. 

Recreational drugs commonly called “poppers,” which people often use to enhance sex, can also lower blood pressure. Using poppers and Viagra together can result in dangerously low blood pressure. 

3. Don’t Take Other ED Medications After Viagra

Some users may think that by combining Viagra with other erectile dysfunction medications, they can increase or prolong its effects. 

If you think taking Viagra with Cialis for daily use or Revatio (another brand name for sildenafil citrate) can improve your erectile dysfunction better than Viagra alone, you are wrong. Taking the two together is like overdosing on Viagra. Double-dosing Viagra can lead to dangerously low blood pressure while making other side effects more severe and frequent. 

4. Don’t Eat or Drink Grapefruit After Viagra

Grapefruit juice can delay the absorption of sildenafil citrate (the active compound in Viagra). If you eat grapefruit, drink grapefruit juice, or consume other grapefruit products, the effects of Viagra on your body become unpredictable. 

Researchers believe that the combination is not dangerous. Drinking some grapefruit juice after popping the blue pill won’t kill you, but it can throw its effects into disarray. You may not be ready for sex when you think you should be and may have an erection later when you no longer need it. If you aren’t aware of the grapefruit effect, you may believe the drug doesn’t work for you. 

5. Don’t Sleep After Immediately After Taking Viagra

When you pop the blue pill, you do it to be ready for sex. Its effects appear after about 30 minutes and last up to four hours. During that time, it can affect the quality of your sleep. Mounting evidence suggests that even a single dose of Viagra may worsen the symptoms of sleep apnea, a severe sleep disorder that may be fatal.

Sleep apnea can also increase the risk of heart attacks, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and strokes. 

What’s more, going to sleep after taking Viagra is a waste of a good thing and makes no sense. 

6. Don’t Treat Viagra as a Workout Supplement

Some bodybuilders will do anything and take any drug to get ripped quickly — and Viagra hasn’t escaped their attention.

A 2013 study produced some interesting results that have encouraged people to treat Viagra as a pre-workout supplement. The study suggests that the blue pill may offer some muscle-building benefits. 

The problem is that researchers used a small number of study subjects. Their conclusions regarding the muscle-building effects of PDE5 inhibitors need confirmation. 

And the practice could be dangerous. Combining Viagra with high-intensity workouts increases the severity of its possible side effects. Sudden drops in blood pressure can cause arrhythmias, headaches, and heart attacks when combined with workouts. 

7. Don’t Consume Energy Drinks After Viagra

Anything facilitating better sex gives people’s imaginations a jolt. It is hardly surprising that creative participants of the party scene have begun mixing Viagra with energy drinks. 

We don’t know much about how the chemical cocktail of energy drinks interacts with Viagra. There have been reports of sweating and six-hour-long erections, however. Zambian authorities have banned the production and distribution of a sildenafil-laced energy drink. 

8. Don’t Have Unsafe Sex After Viagra

Some people abuse the erection-boosting effects of the blue pill to have unsafe sex. Studies have uncovered links between sildenafil use and risky sexual behavior. By practicing unsafe sex, you expose yourself to STDs like HIV and syphilis. One night of pleasure is not worth a lifetime of a nasty — or even incurable — disease. 

9. Don’t Take Illegal Drugs After Viagra

Sildenafil can interact with many drugs. Taking illegal drugs like ecstasy, cocaine, or methamphetamine after Viagra is a bad idea for many reasons. We don’t know how these drugs interact with Viagra. What’s more, combining Viagra with illegal drugs predisposes people to risky sexual behaviors. 

10. Don’t Take Medications That Interact With Viagra

In addition to nitrate medications, avoid the following drugs after taking Viagra for ED: 

• Mifepristone. An abortion pill that men use to treat Cushing’s syndrome.
• Vericiguat (Verquovo) and riociguat (Adempas). These drugs work like Viagra to treat pulmonary hypertension.
• Voxelotor (Oxbryta) and lefamulin (Xenleta). These are antibiotics that treat sickle cell disease.
• Blood pressure and BPH medications. Blood pressure drugs can cause hypotension when combined with Viagra.
• Protease inhibitors. These drugs block a compound in the liver that processes Viagra. 

The Bottom Line

Viagra — and other ED meds like Cialis, Levitra, and Stendra —  is safe to use, and most people tolerate it well. However, these medications can have rare but serious side effects that can become life-threatening under some circumstances. Never take an ED medication without a medical prescription. And don’t forget that the role of ED meds is to treat erectile dysfunction — not to liven the party. 

If you’re buying Viagra or “natural Viagra” online without a prescription, beware! Internet sites claiming to sell real Viagra ship counterfeit medication 77% of the time. In many cases, these “medications” don’t contain the correct amount of active ingredient. Other times, they are tainted with foreign substances not listed on the label. 

eDrugstore can Help

At eDrugstore, it’s easy to get a prescription for legitimate Viagra. We have in-house pharmacists and U.S.-licensed doctors who can provide the prescriptions you need to treat your erectile dysfunction with safe and effective, FDA-approved medications.

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