The problem of erectile dysfunction is rather widespread nowadays, especially in men after 40.
Luckily, medicine manufacturers provide effective drugs, and the most famous among them is Viagra, which contains sildenafil as an active agent. It has been FDA approved since 1998 and despite it might be prescribed, many men prefer purchasing Viagra on their own not to let others know about the condition.
It is true that the drug is reliable and safe, but it is important to find out about contraindications and doses to avoid serious side effects.
Another important thing is to know the rules which would help to achieve better results and exclude disappointment with the medicine caused by silly mistakes.
So not to waste your money, it is useful to get acquainted with several banned things.
In general, it is recommended to take a pill one hour before a sexual intercourse, but if your stomach is full, Viagra needs more time to be absorbed and consequently the effect appears in longer time.
The worst food to have before taking Viagra is the one rich in fats, because they need more time to be digested.
Thus, if you are not on a therapy but take the medicine when needed, it is crucial to take it into account to avoid unpleasant cases.
Also, it is grapefruit and grapefruit juice that don’t reduce the effect of Viagra, but might be responsible for such unpleasant side effects as skin flushing, bad headaches and low blood pressure up to fainting. But it is also recommended not to abruptly decrease your consumption of grapefruits without consulting your doctor.
Another “enemy food”, or “enemy drink” to be more precise, is alcohol. As far as the effect of both alcohol and Viagra has alike nature, it is quite possible that undesirable side effects might appear if they are used together.
The side effects which alcohol consumption may lead to while taking Viagra include:
While the range of food you might take with Viagra is not strictly limited, there are lots of medicines which cannot be taken together with sildenafil-based medicines. It is also important to tell your doctor about any non-medical remedies as they also might affect the action of Viagra.
The drugs interact with sildenafil either by causing toxicity or by making the erectile dysfunction drug useless.
The most dangerous group of drugs which is contraindicated in a combination with Viagra is nitrates.
Any remedy containing nitric oxide might result in dangerous blood pressure fall as Viagra and other oral erectile dysfunction medicines intensify its action. Nitrates comprise such medicines as nitroglycerin, isosorbide mononitrate and isosorbide dinitrate.
Another group of drugs which affect Viagra action are those which influence the levels of CYP3A4.
Those medicines which decrease CYP3A4 activity might lead to toxicity because of sildenafil concentration increase in blood. The following medicines are the most popular CYP3A4 inhibitors: itraconazole, ketoconazole and ritonavir.
However, it is not fully contraindicated – it is just necessary to decrease the dose to avoid side effects which might be easily done by your physician. As for the drugs increasing CYP3A4 action, they can worsen the intensity of Viagra action.
Although in some cases the dose may be increased, it is often useless even if the maximum dose is prescribed.
Alpha-blockers can lead to extremely low blood pressure if used together with Viagra.
Usually patients are not allowed to take erectile dysfunction drugs till alpha-blockers therapy is stable. Then such patients might be prescribed the smallest dosage of Viagra.
The side effect of blood pressure decrease is also caused by simultaneous administration of Viagra and PDE inhibitors. Such symptoms as dizziness, fatigue, weakness and loss of consciousness up to stoke or heart attack.
As far as Viagra works only when sexual desire is present, it is important to have this feeling in your mind.
Sometimes, men just can’t perform sexually because of being too worried, extremely tired, upset or overstressed.
All these emotional states might influence the ability to have sufficient erection. Viagra doesn’t arise erection but helps to destroy the obstacles which prevent its strength and duration.
That means that unless you manage to get rid of your anxiety and cooperate with your partner to reach enjoyment Viagra will not be able to help.
Unless you suffer from cardiovascular diseases, renal impairment, liver or kidney disease, seizures, retinitis pigmentosa or hearing loss or take any pills which might interact with the drug, ordinary Viagra dose will be absolutely safe for you and enough to deliver an erection.
As the medicine is of high quality, there are often cases when the dose is possible to be adjusted.
To get all the benefits from using Viagra, be attentive to follow all the recommendations from your physician or pharmacist and you won’t regret purchasing it.