What Is Viagra?

Probably everyone has heard the word “Viagra”, but far not everyone knows what it means. So, many people believe that this is some magic stimulator of male potency, with the help of which erection can be achieved by any man in any situation. Other people, on the contrary, believe that Viagra is something utterly useless and even harmful, being just another way for pharmaceutical companies to earn money on trusting consumers.

But what’s the truth? As always, the truth is somewhere in between.

Viagra is a medication produced in form of blue diamond-shaped pills for oral administration. It is the best-known drug against erectile dysfunction (ED), Erectile dysfunction affects men of all ages, it can be of different etiologies (physiological, organic, mixed), and in most cases Viagra effectively restores potency. Despite this fact, Viagra is not a universal solution for all problems related to sexual performance which are experienced by men.

The effect of Viagra is achieved due to the properties of the main active ingredient Sildenafil citrate, which belongs to the category of PDE-5 inhibitors. This substance blocks the production of the enzyme PDE-5 (phosphodiesterase type 5) in the organism, affecting the blood flow in the cavernous bodies of the penis. Thanks to the action of Sildenafil, the blood supply to the penis is enhanced, as blood vessels dilate and smooth muscles in their walls relax.

One may wonder, how is such selective activity of the drug achieved? The fact is that cavernous tissue is present in the male body mainly in the penis. In other parts of the body, it can also be found, but in an incomparably smaller amount, and the medicine has almost no effect on it. To the greatest extent, in addition to the penis, Sildenafil citrate (Viagra) affects blood vessels in the lungs, because initially this medicine was developed specifically for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

In order for Viagra to start working, you need to experience sexual arousal or stimulate the penis. Then, in the cavernous bodies, the release of nitrogen oxide will begin, and increase of the production of cGMP molecule will take place, which causes relaxation of the smooth muscles of the walls of the penis arteries and, consequently, an erection. Sildenafil (Viagra) inhibits the production of PDE-5 enzyme, and this substance destroys cGMP. Thus, Sildenafil significantly prolongs erection, and also reduces the period of refraction between two or more sexual intercourses. A large number of patients report that they can perform more sexual acts in a row with a shorter period of refraction between them after the intake of Viagra than without it.

So, Viagra doesn’t cause the erection itself, the beginning of the process should happen on its own.

Before Taking Sildenafil

Before taking Viagra, it is recommended to consult with your doctor about the advisability of taking this medication. Self-treatment and taking responsibility for the appointment of this drug is not the best idea. Leave it for the doctor to decide whether this medication suits you or not.

In some cases, a decrease of potency must be treated with other drugs, in particular, if the cause of ED lies in the area of impaired production of sex hormones. It also happens that a man thinks up a problem for himself, and in fact his sexual function is completely normal, he just has too high expectations related to the duration of sexual intercourse or the angle of the penis during an erection. One shouldn’t ignore the fact that the high prevalence of pornography in the modern world has generated many complexes and phobias among ordinary men and women who are not able to have sex at any time, in any position and anywhere.

Depending on your country of residence, you may need to get a prescription (in the USA, Viagra is a prescription drug). Especially strictly the presence of a prescription is treated in large network pharmacies.

Make sure that you are not taking nitrate-containing medicines. Typically, these include drugs against angina pectoris. Their combination with Sildenafil is harmful for health because it can lead to an uncontrolled drop in blood pressure. For the same reason, it is not recommended to take Viagra for men who use nitric oxide donors (for example, the so-called poppers, which relax smooth muscles in all the organism and are used to aggravate sexual sensations).

If you are allergic to any medications, in particular PDE-5 inhibitors or medicines against arterial hypertension, tell your doctor about it. Also remember that if you don’t tolerate nitroglycerin poorly, it is likely that your body’s reaction to Sildenafil will not be very good. Because of lowering of blood pressure, even a loss of consciousness may occur.

The main restrictions on the use of Viagra

Be sure to carefully check out the list of contraindications. Among the main restrictions on the use of Viagra are serious diseases of the heart, kidneys and liver, heart attack or stroke in the anamnesis. If you suffer from compensated cardiovascular diseases, a visit only to an urologist may not be enough, and it will be necessary to consult a cardiologist and undergo a medical examination. Don’t neglect security measures, it can end fatally. It is likely that you have heard about deaths due to an overdose of Viagra – of course, newspaper notes can be exaggerations, but there are indeed cases of sudden cardiac death in men with heart diseases who took Sildenafil in large doses, and especially in combination with alcohol or narcotics.

Please note that Viagra (Sildenafil) should not be taken by patients who suffer from ischemic neuropathy of the optic nerve or hereditary diseases of the retina, as this is fraught with serious visual impairment due to the fact that this substance can cause damage to the retina at the cellular level. However, if you don’t have the above eye problems, taking Viagra shouldn’t have any negative effect on your eyesight, with the exception of a temporary disturbance in color perception.

How Should I Take Viagra?

First of all, it must be remembered that the daily dosage of Viagra shouldn’t exceed 100 mg. Also, if you regularly use this medicine, try to take it at about the same time. Of course, it is difficult to take a pill every day at 22:00, but let it be at least in the evening. If on Saturday you take Viagra in the evening, and on Sunday in the morning, the concentration of Sildenafil in the blood may become too high, despite the fact that you will no longer feel the effect of the pill taken on Saturday evening.

The Viagra tablet in the dosage prescribed by the doctor must be taken with water, about an hour before sexual intercourse. The medicine may begin to act earlier if you take it on an empty stomach or have a high sensitivity to the main ingredient, or later if you have eaten a plentiful dinner, have a large body weight or are not very sensitive to Sildenafil. In the event that after the first intake of Viagra it seemed to you that the medicine affects you too much (you experience very pronounced side effects, or you cannot reach orgasm for too long), it will be optimal to reduce the dose per day. What to do if you are already taking only 25 mg of Sildenafil? Consult with your doctor, probably you will be prescribed a different PDE-5 inhibitor.

Avoid taking Viagra with alcohol, as this combination is dangerous to the health of the cardiovascular system. In addition, alcohol weakens the effect of the drug and, in general, is harmful to potency. By the by, despite the fact that many sexual crimes are committed on the basis of alcoholic intoxication, three shots of whiskey in most men cause decrease of potency by more than 40%in the next 12-24 hours.

Dosages of Viagra

Pfizer, the manufacturer of branded American Viagra, provides consumers the opportunity to choose from three dosage options: 25, 50 and 100 mg. The general rule when choosing a dosage is to be guided by the advice of a doctor. In general, it is recommended that treatment of erectile dysfunction usually be started with the smallest dosage. Perhaps it will be enough to improve an erection, and if not, next time you can try to take 50 mg. Also, 25 mg pills are the best option for men whose problems with potency are connected with psychological reasons, such as stresses, fear of sexual failure, lack of self-assurance, complexes concerning appearance, etc.

For severe potency disorders, the best choice is Viagra 100 mg pills. This dosage of Viagra is usually effective even if other remedies for combating erectile dysfunction from the group of PDE-5 inhibitors have turned to be useless.

After the onset of the medicine’s effect, a man is provided with an average of four to five hours of improved potency. This time is enough to bring into life even the richest sexual desires and fantasies. Of course, the effect of Viagra doesn’t immediately fade away, it weakens gradually. Also, if a man is not excited (or doesn’t experience sexual stimulation), he will not have an erection, since Viagra, contrary to popular belief, is not a magic pill, an aphrodisiac or a means to increase libido. This is just a kind of improver of the natural pump, which supplies blood to the penis and is represented by a complicated system of veins, arteries and cavernous bodies.

Possible Side Effects of Viagra

Viagra refers to prescription drugs mainly because it has a pretty impressive list of side effects and contraindications. Restrictions on the use of this medication have already been discussed in this article, so now we turn to side effects.

A man who has taken Viagra for the first time may experience unpleasant sensations such as headache, dizziness, nasal congestion, a rush of blood to his face, tinnitus, blurred vision or a violation of the perception of individual colors, nausea. Rarer side effects include tachycardia, back pain, nosebleeds, thirst, swelling of the eyelids, and skin rash. Basically (in addition to allergic reactions), side effects are associated with the vasodilating effect of Sildenafil and its ability to lower, and in some patients, increase blood pressure.

It is extremely rare that one patient experiences more than two or three side effects at the same time, and some men do not feel anything like it after taking the pill. In any case, the manufacturer reinsures himself, listing all possible cases of negative reactions of the body, even if clinical trials have shown that a specific side effect is inherent in one patient out of ten thousand.

There is a direct relationship between the severity of side effects and the dosage of Viagra. The higher the dosage, the higher the likelihood that the patient will experience unpleasant sensations associated with taking this drug. That is why it is not recommended for elderly patients (over 65 years old) to take the maximum dosage. It should also be noted that when you take the medicine for the first time, it can provoke more severe side effects than with the subsequent intakes. However, weakening of Viagra side effects over time is observed not in all patients. On the contrary, some men note that with regular intake of Viagra, especially at high dosages, something like a cumulative effect occurs, and discomfort begins to be felt more strongly. Apparently, this is due to the fact that Viagra (Sildenafil) is taken with an interval of less than a full day, due to which it is not completely excreted from the body and gives stronger side effects. At the same time, the effect on the potency doesn’t change, since the active phase of the drug’s action is quite short (4-6 hours). This brings us back to the need to emphasize that the interval between two doses of Viagra, especially 100 mg pills, should be at not less than 24 hours.

If you follow all the recommendations for taking this medicine, but the discomfort outweighs the benefits for potency, tell your doctor about this situation. He may need to choose another drug for you that has a milder effect on the cardiovascular system, since not all men tolerate Viagra equally well.