Sildenafil Reviews: Indications, Dosage, Side Effects

Sildenafil is a powerful medication created by pharmaceutical chemists for Pfizer. It was originally being researched as a medicine for hypertension but was found to be effective in helping men suffering from erectile dysfunction. Erectile Dysfunction is when a man has trouble obtaining or maintaining an erection. A major cause of this is the narrowing of the arteries that take the blood to the penis. Sildenafil was marketed as the popular erectile dysfunction medication, Viagra, and sold in the United States in 1998 as the first oral treatment for erectile dysfunction.

It is also useful in controlling Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.^[1] This condition is high blood pressure in the blood vessels that care blood to the lungs, leading to tiredness, shortness of breath, and dizziness. Sildenafil helps to treat, but not cure this disease.

Currently there is also research being done about using Sildenafil as treatment for altitude sickness and for use to improve sexual function in female patients who are taking antidepressants.

Indications

Sildenafil is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor and is shown to help men suffering from erectile dysfunction by relaxing and widening the blood vessels to increase blood flow to the penis, thereby allowing the man to obtain and maintain an erection during sexual activity. With this medication, the man should be able to maintain an erection and reach orgasm. Taking Sildenafil does not increase sexual desire and the medication will only work with sexual stimulation.

This customer had a very good experience using Viagra (Sildenafil). He started to see results only 20 minutes after taking it; but, he discourages regular use — maybe once a month and only 25mg.

Sildenafil can also be used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and improve exercise capacity in men and women and sometimes, but rarely, children in a drug called Revatio. It helps by relaxing and dilating the blood vessels in the lungs. This helps to lower blood pressure and the patient is able to exercise. Sildenafil is also available under other brand names and possibly other manufacturers as well such as Kamagra, Fildena, Sildenafil Citrate, Viagra Pfizer, and etc. None of these medications should be taken together.

Dosage

For use in treatment for erectile dysfunction, the doctor will usually prescribe 50 mgs daily or as needed one hour before sexual activity is anticipated. After using the medication and consulting with the doctor, the man may have his prescription changed to 25 mgs or 100 mgs once a day or as needed.

For use in Pulmonary Hypertension, the oral dose will begin between 5 and 20 mgs orally 3 times per day, 4-6 hours apart, depending on the patient. The maximum oral dosage is 20 mgs orally 3 times per day. It can also be administered as an injection in which 2.5-10 mgs IV bolus is given 3 times a day.

For both uses of Sildenafil, the dosage will be adjusted or the doctor may tell the patient not to take it as often for patients who are older than 80, for patients who have renal or liver dysfunctions and other possible medical or physical restraints.

In both cases of use, if you miss a dose, do not take another dose, wait until it is time for the next dose and then continue as normal.

How to Use

There are a few different methods of use for Sildenafil but the most common is to be taken orally. It is also marketed as a sublingual medicine in some countries, to be placed under the tongue to be absorbed directly into the blood stream.

To treat Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension it can also be injected if the person has an aversion to taking medication orally. If it is taken as an injection, the patient needs to use it on a regular schedule, make sure that the syringes, needles, and the liquid is clean and sterile. The liquid needs to be shaken well for at least 10 seconds to mix the medication well.

If Sildenafil is to be taken as a male sexual performance medicine, it is recommended for the man to take it with a full glass of water about 30-60 minutes before anticipated sexual activity. It can be taken up to 4 hours before anticipated sexual activity, but the recommendation is 1 hour before. Taking it with a glass of water may reduce the side effects associated with Sildenafil. It can be taken with or without food but taking it with a high fat meal may increase the time it takes for the medication to begin working. For use in sexual performance, it cannot be taken more than 1 time in a 24-hour period.

Side Effects

Possible side effects of Sildenafil are similar to many other medications for enhancing male sexual performance. Some possible side effects include: warmth or redness in your neck, face or chest, headache, stuffy nose, heartburn, drowsiness, upset stomach, or back pain, dizziness, blurred vision, fainting.

Below this customer experienced chest burn and irregular heartbeat after taking Sildenafil. He reduced the dosage from 50mg to 25mg and advises other users to speak to their doctor before use.

Taking Sildenafil with other drugs or alcohol, in hot weather, while performing vigorous exercise, or if you have a fever, is likely to increase the chances of these effects. If you experience these symptoms, sit or lie down, and put your head between your legs and wait for the symptoms to pass. Drink water when possible.

More serious side effects are not common but may include: sudden vision loss, chest pain or a heavy feeling in the chest, ringing in the ears or sudden hearing loss, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, sweating, nausea, general ill feeling, swelling in your hands, feet or ankles, irregular heartbeat, feeling light headed, vision changes, shortness of breath, fainting, and/or penis erection that is painful or lasts four hours or longer. The prolonged or painful erection could lead to permanent sexual problems such as impotence. If you experience any of these symptoms you should consult a physician.^[2]

Patients should not use sildenafil if they have any allergies to any of the ingredients in the medication, if they have pulmonary veno-occlusive disease, if they are taking any form of nitrate medications as this combination could cause a sudden and serious decrease in blood pressure. Do not take Sildenafil if you have taken another medication that contains another PDE5 inhibitor such as Tadalafil, Vardenafil, or Ritonavir, and do not take Sildenafil if you use recreational drugs known as poppers such as amyl nitrate, butyl nitrate.