There are several reasons Viagra and other ED drugs might not work effectively as treatments for erectile dysfunction. These include using Viagra incorrectly, taking a low dose of Viagra and using Viagra to treat ED that's caused by something other than poor blood flow.
Speak with your healthcare provider about a different dose
If Viagra isn't working for you, you might need a higher dose. But don't experiment on your own: Always speak with a healthcare provider about dosage changes and never take more than one dose of Viagra in any 24 hour period.
Tolerance to sildenafil has been reported,[6] but so has efficacy for up to 4 years without requirement for dose increase. [7] It is possible that tolerance, if any, is due to progression in the organic pathology responsible for the ED.
do not take sildenafil if you are taking or have recently taken riociguat (Adempas) or nitrates (medications for chest pain) such as isosorbide dinitrate (Isordil), isosorbide mononitrate (Monoket), and nitroglycerin (Minitran, Nitro-Dur, Nitromist, Nitrostat, others).
Dosage and strength for erectile dysfunction
Sildenafil tablets for erectile dysfunction come in different strengths ranging from 25mg to 100mg. The usual dose is 50mg, when you need it. Do not take it more than once a day. The dose can be increased to 100mg or decreased to 25mg depending on its effect.
Why You're Not Getting All the Way Hard. Erectile dysfunction's mechanism is quite simple, but the underlying cause could be a myriad of reasons, from poor diet and exercise habits, diabetes or heart disease, to low self-esteem, depression or anxiety.
Such erections were achieved as quickly as 12 min and, for most patients (71%), within 30 min. This finding reflects the time to peak plasma concentration of sildenafil after oral dosing (30–120 min) [3] and is consistent with the results of other clinical trials [5–11].
Administration of sildenafil was followed by successful intercourse (i.e., positive answer to the question “Did the erection last long enough to have successful intercourse?”) at 1 hour in 97% (33/34) of patients. Overall, 74% (25/34) of patients reported successful intercourse at 12 hours after sildenafil intake.
Viagra doesn't start working immediately after taking it, as the medication needs time to be absorbed into your blood. For most men, it takes around 30 minutes before you start to feel the effects of Viagra. 12 minutes after – One study has shown that some men got an erection just 12 minutes after taking Viagra.
Taking a daily dose of Viagra can help stop the intensity of the progression of ED. It also has other benefits, including improving your ability to urinate and improving your quality of life in general. Discuss dosage and frequency with your doctor to determine what works best for you.
Because 100mg is the highest dose available, you should never 'double up' on tablets or take more than one in 24 hours. Sildenafil 100mg is the highest safe dosage you can take – if it is ineffective, you should try another ED treatment.
If your doctor has given you the correct prescription and you take it as directed, 20 mg of sildenafil should work without a problem.
Like all other medications, Viagra is made of ingredients that only stay chemically potent for a certain amount of time. This includes sildenafil citrate, its active ingredient. Viagra pills may still work for years after they're first made. But the reduction in chemical activity means that it won't work as well.
Conclusion: Men with erectile dysfunction treated with 100-mg compared with 50-mg sildenafil may be more likely to achieve a greater improvement in erectile function and, within the first 2 weeks, completely hard and fully rigid erections, with little or no greater risk to tolerability.
As with all medication, you should take the recommended dose of sildenafil prescribed to you by your healthcare provider, and no more. You also shouldn't take sildenafil more than once every 24 hours. Your healthcare provider will likely start you on a 50 mg dose of the medication to test how well you respond to it.
Minor differences in packaging aside, brand name Viagra and its generic counterpart sildenafil are exactly the same medication. If you have erectile dysfunction, both medications should produce noticeable improvements in your erections and sexual performance. The key difference, as we mentioned above, is price.
Physical issues like heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and smoking can all cause erectile dysfunction. On the other hand, depression, anxieties, stress, relationship problems, and other mental health concerns can also interfere with sexual feelings.
Unfortunately, that's one of many dangerous logical fallacies when it comes to ED medications: taking two pills isn't going to make your erection twice as hard, or twice as large — it's just going to cause your risk of adverse effects to double.
Never take more than 100 mg of Viagra in a 24-hour period. Too much Viagra can cause severe headache, low blood pressure, and orthostasis (drop in blood pressure when standing) that can lead to fainting. Higher doses can also cause priapism, a painful erection that lasts longer than 4 hours.
The highest recommended Viagra dose for treating erectile dysfunction (ED) is 100 mg per day, according to the drug's manufacturer. Doses of 150 mg or 200 mg would be considered off-label use.
Sildenafil (brand name Viagra, or affectionately nicknamed “the little blue pill”; see Important Safety Information) is a highly effective medication to treat erectile dysfunction. However, there is something it can't do. Viagra does not make your penis bigger. No pill does.
Generic Viagra, or sildenafil citrate, works the same as Viagra, but at a lower cost. While Pfizer still manufactures the “little blue pill,” other companies, globally and in the United States, make sildenafil. It may look different, but it's still an effective treatment for ED.