Are all ED medications the same?

While patients with erectile failure, which occurs when the blood cannot get in or stay long enough in the penis to cause or maintain an erection, already have 3 drugs at their disposal (Viagra, Levitra, Cialis), a new “facilitator” recently was recently added. Spedra containing a new molecule, avanafil joined the therapeutic arsenal of PDE5 inhibitors available for ED treatment. All the drugs feature three different molecules: sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), vardenafil (Levitra) and avanafil, as mentioned before, in Spedra. There has been another oral drug, udenafil (Zydena) formulated recently for the use in impotence, but it has not been approved by the FDA and is still used in a limited number of countries.

The main difference between the available medications is the so-called ”therapeutic window”, or the duration of drug action. Viagra, Levitra and Stendra all remain effective during 4 hours or slightly more, subject to difference from patient to patient and from one occasion to another. Cialis remains active for 36 hours and sometimes slightly more than that, this is why it is called ”the weekend pill” by the media. Stendra has more impactful action with a quicker onset.

All of the above mentioned ED drugs are available in generic forms, and those generics can have meaningful differences in onset time, impactfulness and therapeutic window. The key to understanding which is which is generally this: orodispersible tablets and oral gels have a shorter onset time, pills with stronger doses address full impotence or work in cases where smaller doses do not yield the desired effect, and combinatory pills address two problems at once, basically what we are talking here is ED aggravated by premature ejaculation.

You need to have a physical or telemedicine doctor examination to help you choose the correct drug and the right dose. Ask more questions if you have any!