Generic erectile dysfunction drugs.

Has the “free love” generation lost its mojo?

If you talk to baby boomer gals, it seems the answer is yes. Indeed, as
millions of women enter perimenopause and then
transgress to menopause and beyond,
many say they check their sex drive at the door and most are not happy about
it.

“I don’t think a day goes by when at least one patient and usually
more complain that their sex drive is dropping off and want to know what they
can do about it,” says Laura Corio, MD, a levitra vs viagra
and clinical
instructor at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Clinically known as HSDD (hypoactive sexual desire disorder) Corio says she
doesn’t think more women are affected now than in the past, but she does
believe more are coming forward — prompted, at least in part, by the success
male potency drugs like Viagra.

“The man gets a prescription for Viagra and he’s ready to rock and roll
while she’s thinking ‘Hey, where’s my pill?’ If she’s not ready to jump in the
old van and join him for a ride, there can be real problems,” says
Corio.

Discovering What’s Wrong

While male sex drive is easy to define — and relatively easy to restore –
that’s often not the case for women. Because the female sex drive is
multifactorial, the desire to make love is not only influenced by physical
issues, but emotional ones as well.

“Part of the desire to make love is clearly physical, but part is also
emotional depression can make a
difference, so can any emotional issue in a woman’s life; female sex drive is
very multidimensional,” says Glenn D. Braunstein, MD, an endocrinologist
and chair of the department of medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles.

While emotions are frequently behind a loss of sex drive in younger women,
doctors say it is frequently the agingprocess itself that’s at
when desire changes in women over age 45.

“The very fact that a woman is no longer ovulating regularly, or not
ovulating at all, automatically takes her sex drive down a few notches,”
says Steven Goldstein, MD, professor of ob-gyn and NYU Medical Center in New
York City.

Nature’s Design for Sex

Indeed, as many women are aware, Mother Nature built in a natural increase
in the desire for sex beginning just prior to ovulation, and lasting several
days afterwards — not coincidentally, the only time of the month conception is
possible.

Stop ovulating, says Goldstein, and you automatically lose that regularly
scheduled boost in your sex drive that has been present since puberty — and
you’re probably going to notice.

“There’s nothing wrong with you; it’s just the way nature works,”
says Goldstein.

Moreover, around menopause, when there
is also less estrogen circulating in your body, that too can bring your sex
drive down for the count.

“Estrogen is a mood elevator, it works in the brain to maintain interest
in sex, but it also works at the level of the genitals, helping to increase
sensation and just making sex more erectile pill,” says Corio.

Without it, she says, not only can desire take a dive, vaginal tissue begins
to dry and shrink. As a result, intercourse can become dysfunction pill
, or even
painful. Problems with desire, say experts, are easy to erectile dysfunction
.

“Who wants to make love when making love hurts?” asks Goldstein.

Moreover, he says, avoiding sex because of pain only leads to more pain. The
old “use or lose it” theory really does apply.

“From a strictly physical standpoint, the less sex you have the more
painful it is when you try to have it,” he says.

If erection problems could be caused by a
prescribed medication, it may be possible to change
the dose or try another medication. Do not change or stop taking any medication
without first talking with your health discount generic levitra online viagra
.

Medication Choices

Commonly used oral medications include:

• Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE-5
  inhibitors) such as Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis.

Other medications that may be used include:

• Injected medications.
• Intraurethral alprostadil (MUSE).

Hormones and other medications may be prescribed for
men who have low
testosterone or high
prolactin levels.

Some men have tried
yohimbine-a prescription medication that should not be
confused with the dietary supplement yohimbe-to treat erection problems.

For more information on medication choices, see:

Should I use levitra womans
5 inhibitors
(such as Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis) for erection
problems?

Should I use injections for erection
problems?

What To Think About

PDE-5 inhibitors and heart problems

Health experts have debated the use of PDE-5 inhibitors in men
with heart disease, because deaths have been reported after use of Viagra. The
1999 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Expert
Consensus Document noted that PDE-5 inhibitors may be dangerous for people
who:³

• Have
  coronary artery disease (CAD).
• Have
  heart failure and low blood pressure.
• Are
  taking many different drugs for
  high blood pressure.

However, several more recent studies have reported that some
men with heart problems may be able to take PDE-5 inhibitors safely. Talk to
your health professional about whether PDE-5 inhibitors are appropriate for
you.

• One study found no evidence of increased
  risk for
  heart attack or CAD in men who use Viagra.⁴
• Another study in men with CAD reported that
  Viagra does not lead to heart attack and that heart attacks and other
  keyword order viagra
  problems reported after taking Viagra may be related more to the
  physical activity of intercourse than to the medication.⁵
• A study of 35 men found that Viagra is safe for
  men with moderate heart failure.⁶

Sexual activity is exercise. If you have a heart condition and
have not been sexually active for a while, talk with your health professional
to make sure you can engage in sexual activity safely.

PDE-5 inhibitors should never be used if
you may need to take a
nitrate-containing medication, such as nitroglycerin.
Taking nitroglycerin and a PDE-5 inhibitor within 24 hours of each other may
greatly lower your blood pressure, which could lead to a heart attack,
stroke, or death.

If you are taking a PDE-5 inhibitor and are going to have a test
for heart disease, be certain your doctor knows you are taking it. You should
not take a PDE-5 inhibitor for 24 hours before the test. If you develop a
problem during the test, nitrate-containing medications such as nitroglycerin
may be used.

Although oral medications for erection problems can be purchased over the Internet, you should still talk with your health professional before using this medication. This is especially important if you have a heart problem.

If you are using a combination of drugs for high blood pressure,
PDE-5 inhibitors could result in low blood pressure (hypotension). Also for
this reason, you should not take alpha cheapest generic price viagra
to lower blood pressure
and to treat an enlarged prostate-with these medications without talking to
your health professional; the combination could cause a dangerous drop in blood
pressure.

Although the antidepressant medication trazodone has been used
for treating erection problems, there is no current evidence that it is
effective for this purpose.¹

May 22, 2007 — Medications commonly used to treat erection problems in men
may also relieve the bothersome urinary symptoms associated with an enlarged
prostate gland, researchers say.

Studies on the topic were presented this week at the annual meeting of the
American Urological Association in Anaheim, Calif.

“Before, we looked at these two conditions as two different
diseases,” says Kevin McVary, MD, professor of urology at Northwestern
University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, who moderated a press
briefing.

But in the past three or four years, he says, the thinking among urologists
has changed.

Sexual performance in men seems to decline as their prostate enlargement
becomes more severe, experts have begun to notice. Doctors also notice
that men with milder prostate problems often have less erectile dysfunction
(ED) than do those with moderate or severely enlarged prostates and urinary
symptoms.

“These two diseases — erectile dysfunction and the lower urinary tract
symptoms associated with benign prostatic erectile dysfunction drugs
— are probably
linked,” McVary says.

Conditions Increase With Age

Prostate problems and ED problems both tend to increase with age. About 31%
of men aged 50 to 59 have an enlarged prostate (also known as benign prostatic
hyperplasia or BPH); 44% of those 70 and older have an enlarged prostate,
according to the National Institutes of Health. As the gland enlarges, it
constricts the urine-carrying tube called the urethra, making it difficult to
empty the bladder.

Common symptoms of BPH include weak urine stream, leaking or dribbling,
feeling that the bladder hasn’t emptied completely after voiding, and more
frequent urination.

Medications are prescribed to relieve the symptoms. Some medications work by
relaxing the muscles at the neck of the bladder and prostate; others inhibit a
hormone that contributes to the growth of the gland.

Erectile dysfunction, defined as an inability to get or keep an erection, is
experienced by 20% to 46% of men aged 40 to 69, according to the NIH.
Medications to treat erection problems help increase blood flow to the penis
when a man is sexually stimulated.

Cialis Study

A once-a-day dose of Cialis helped men with erectile dysfunction and
moderate to severe urinary tract symptoms due to an enlarged prostate improve
sexual erectile dysfunction drugs, says Marc Gittelman, MD, a urologist in Aventura, Fla., and
a study researcher.

Of the 281 men who enrolled in the study, “81% were sexually active, and
they were in their low 60s,” he says. All had moderate to severely enlarged
prostates and urinary problems; 68% of the sexually active men had a medical
history of erectile dysfunction. Gittelman’s team assigned about half to take
placebo and half to take Cialis.

At the end of 12 weeks, men who took Cialis — first 5 milligrams a day and
then up to 20 milligrams — had cheapest citrate sildenafil higher scores on a standard index
of erectile function, he says.

He especially wanted to see if they were as likely to do well if their
urinary problems were severe as opposed to moderate. “They are equally
statistically likely to respond to a dose of Cialis,” he says.

The study was funded by Lilly, which is the maker of Cialis.

In another study, 223 men aged 45 to 64 who had urinary symptoms due to an
enlarged prostate were assigned either to a group given 10 milligrams of
Levitra twice daily for eight weeks or a placebo for the same time period.

Compared with placebo, treatment with the ED drug significantly improved the
men’s quality-of- life scores and their reports of urinary obstruction and
irritation, says Boris Schlenker, MD, a urologist at
Erectile dysfunction advices
Hospital in Munich, Germany, who presented the
data. Erectile function improved in those who took the ED drug.

“Levitra is a promising new drug for men with lower urinary tract
symptoms, but we need long-term data on how it might affect the progression of
the disease,” he says.

The Viagra Study

In a third study, McVary assigned 369 men aged 45 and up who had both
erectile dysfunction and lower urinary tract symptoms to take either 50
milligrams of Viagra every night, 50 milligrams of Viagra an hour before
planned sexual activity, or to take a placebo. The dose increased to 100
milligrams after two weeks.

When he evaluated their erectile function and urinary symptoms, he found 73%
of the men with severe symptoms improved to having mild or moderate symptoms at
the end of the study.

“The changes in prostate symptom scores were dramatic,” he says.
“They compete with alpha blockers.” Alpha blockers are one type of drug
commonly prescribed to treat urinary symptoms associated with an enlarged
prostate. The more severe the urinary symptoms, the greater the
relief, he says.

The study was funded by Pfizer, which is the maker of Viagra.

“This really is erectile pill
,” says Gittelman.

The experts aren’t sure if the ED drugs will eventually supplement or
replace drugs used for urinary problems associated with an enlarged prostate,
or if new formulations might be developed to deal with both conditions.

Some men on the ED drugs did report side effects, says Schlenker, with the
most common in his study being headache.

It’s not known exactly why the ED drugs also help the urinary symptoms,
McVary says. By increasing blood flow to the pelvic area, the ED drugs may help
relax the bladder enough to relieve the urinary problems.

Medication Choices

Estrogen. If you only have vaginal
dryness and irritation (and not other symptoms such as hot flashes), you can
use a limited amount of
estrogen in a cream, tablet, or ring in the vagina.
The daily estrogen makes your tissue less thin and sensitive and more moist.
Many women find that using a cream or tablet twice a week is enough. This may
increase vaginal tone and lubrication, which will decrease
vulvar dryness, irritation, and shrinkage (atrophy).

If you also have other
menopausal symptoms that affect physical and mental
well-being, talk to your health erectile dysfunction remedy
about taking daily (systemic)
estrogen therapy.
Estrogen can increase the blood flow in the
vagina, as well as reduce hot flashes and other
symptoms of
menopause.
Estrogen therapy or
estrogen-progestin therapy can be oral (pills),
vaginal, or transdermal (with a patch). In a small number of women, hormone
therapy causes heart disease, breast cancer, dangerous blood clots, stroke, and
dementia. Talk to your health professional about whether this therapy is right
for you.

Woman use viagra
. This hormone may play a part
in a woman’s sex drive and satisfaction. The ovaries make
cialis strong viagra vs
throughout a woman’s lifetime. Women have
the most testosterone in early adulthood; testosterone levels drop by half
between the early 20s and the early 40s.

In women who have their ovaries removed (oophorectomy),
testosterone drops by 50%.¹⁰ If you have had an
oophorectomy, your health professional may suggest trying
testosterone therapy. But the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has not approved any testosterone therapy for women.

What To Think About

The methyltestosterone-estrogen formula called Estratest is
not approved by the FDA. The company that makes it
markets it for moderate to severe
menopausal symptoms. It is also prescribed to some
menopausal women to improve sexual desire and
response. But Estratest is made with
methyltestosterone, which the body uses differently than testosterone. It does
not directly raise the amount of testosterone in your body. And, taking a
testosterone by mouth does put you at risk for problems with your liver and
possibly your heart. Using a patch or cream does not.

At this time, there is no testosterone pill, patch, or cream
approved for women-those made for men have too high a dose for women. Side
effects of too much testosterone include acne, facial hair, and loss of hair
and a deepening of the voice, which may be permanent.

No studies have looked at the benefits and risks of taking
testosterone for longer than 6 months. The long-term effects of testosterone
therapy in women are not known.¹⁰

Sildenafil (Viagra) is used to treat
erectile erectile dysfunction treatment
in men. The maker of this
medicine has decided not to market it for improving women’s sexual desire and
arousal. This was based on research showing that sildenafil was not effective
for most women. The maker has commented that women’s sexuality is a complex mix
of physical, emotional, and relationship factors, and it is not as simple to
treat with a medicine as male erectile dysfunction is.¹¹

Currently no medications are approved by the FDA to treat female
sexual problems, although several paths are being studied, including
stimulation of certain molecules (receptors) in the brain and increasing blood
flow to the genitals. It is still too early in the process to know whether any
of these medications will prove to be effective and safe treatment
options.¹²