Levitra is a pill used to treat erectile dysfunction in men. It can help many men who have impotence get and keep an erection by filling the penis with more blood when sexual stimulation takes place. Erectile dysfunction is a common condition where it affects about 30 million men in the United States of America.
Levitra is available only by prescription. Before prescribing Levitra, your doctor will make sure that the medication is a good treatment option for you. You should know that Levitra does not increase the libido or sex drive and does not affect the orgasm.
How Levitra works?
Levitra is a drug that contains vardenafil as an active ingredient, vardenafil is a PDE5 inhibitor. When a man is sexually excited, Levitra helps the penis to be filled with enough blood to cause an erection, and after sex is over, the blood returns back inside the body and the erection goes away. Levitra is not a hormone or aphrodisiac so it will not cause an erection if there is no sexual stimulation. It will only cause erection in cases of physical or mental sexual stimulation. Levitra also can be used in the treatment of premature ejaculation.
The dosage of Levitra:
Levitra comes in four different dosages: 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 milligrams. The doctor will determine which dosage to start treatment with according to the patient’s condition. The usual dosage of Levitra is one pill taken one hour before sex with or without food. The effect of the pill may last for up to 4 hours. This means that an erection may occur up to 4 hours after taking the pill. It doesn’t mean that the erection will last for 4 hours. Doctors aim to prescribe to the patient the lowest dose that will cause the desired result to avoid any possible side effects as the chances of developing side effects increase when the drug dose increases.
Side effects
- Nausea
- Rash
- Itching
- Photosensitivity
- Abdominal pain
- Hypotension
- Tachycardia
There are some serious side effects caused by Levitra, but they are very rare. Those side effects are:
- Deafness that’s why U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that side effect on the drug label.
- Heart attack especially when Levitra is taken by patients suffering with heart problems
- Priapism (painful erection)
Contraindications of Levitra:
Levitra is contraindicated in patients suffering from these medical conditions:
- Patients who have a history of angina and are under treated nitrates treatment. The combination of Nitrates and Levitra is very dangerous. If you suffer from pain in the chest, referred to jaws or shoulder and severe palpations after taking Levitra, you should contact your doctor immediately.
- Patients who have liver and kidney problems should contact their doctors to adjust their dose according to their individual conditions and the severity of their disease.
- Patients who are suffering from stomach ulcers as Levitra may exacerbate the condition.
- Levitra can’t be used in combination with other drugs used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.