When it comes to treating erectile dysfunction, PDE5 inhibitors are the first-line choice of drug for doctors and their patients. These drugs include Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. These ED treatments are by far the easiest medicines to use for patients because all they require is a pill taken once about 30-60 minutes before sexual activity. Since all three of the PDE5 inhibitors have been found safe in almost all healthy adult patients, they are much more desirable than other ED treatments like urethra injections.
There is no one best choice of ED treatment amongst Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. Some patients simply have better results and experiences with one drug over the others. However, each of these three ED drugs has its own benefits and disadvantages which are worth noting.
In terms of safety, Viagra definitely comes out on top. It has been the most thoroughly tested. It has also been on the market for the longest period of time and thus used by the highest number of men worldwide. However, there are some issues about the efficacy of Viagra. During its initial testing phase, the efficacy of Viagra was only determined as an improvement in erection. About 70% of patients did have an improvement of erection. However, a quarter of these found the improvement to be insignificant.
Levitra and Cialis were tested in a very different way than Viagra. First of all, they only tested males with ED who had responded to treatment with Viagra. This makes it very difficult to determine how many men will get results with the drugs out of all patients with ED. However, the standard for “efficacy” was increased during the Levitra and Cialis studies. Instead of just seeking erection improvement, the basis of efficacy was achieving penetration. Compared to Viagra, both Levitra and Cialis seem to give much better results in terms of erection quality.
Levitra and Cialis also prevail over Viagra when it comes to how fast and long they work. Viagra starts acting in about 30-60 minutes whereas Levitra and Cialis can work in about 15-30 minutes after taking a dosage. Viagra wears off after about 8 hours whereas Levitra wears off in 20-24 hours and Cialis lasts up to 36 hours. There have, however, been many reports of Cialis lasting up to 100 hours which can be troublesome for some patients.
Though Viagra is the most trusted and tested of the three ED treatments, Levitra also shares a very high safety profile. The incidences of side effects with Levitra are almost identical in occurrence as Viagra. This is an impressive safety record considering that Levitra is 10 times more potent than Viagra. Of the three, Cialis has the highest occurrence of side effects, particularly backache. Side effects typically are longer lasting than those caused by Viagra or Levitra. Cialis also has the most profound effect on the PDE11 enzyme system. This effect is currently unknown but could lead to infertility problems.
Both Levitra and Cialis have significantly improved over Viagra so they are generally the better choice of ED treatment. However, Viagra users getting good results should continue with their current treatment. Of Levitra and Cialis, the later does perform better in terms of duration. However, Levitra is still the more preferred choice because it is safer while still getting long-lasting, quality results.