Levitra (Vardenafil hydrochloride)

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Levitra is a prescription medicine with another name vardenafil HCl. It helps those men who have impotence (erectile dysfunction). This medicine will not help you to cure your erectile dysfunction. This drug is needed to be taken only when you want to have a sexual intercourse. "Levitra" is a brand name that doesn't mean anything. It was just made up.

A new group of drugs was discovered to treat erectile dysfunction. One of the first PDE5 inhibitors that were released for this treatment was Viagra. The second similar drug that is available in United States is Levitra. Cialis is the third and soon will be on the market. In Europe you may find all three of these drugs.

A lot pf people thought that impotence happens because of some psychological reasons. After Levitra was discovered, many understood that impotence is only a physical matter. The following factors like high pressure of blood, problems with heart, diabetes and even oldness can be the reasons that will prevent maintaining and obtaining erection.

Before such impotence medicine like Levitra, people made implants in their penis or injected something into it. These intrusive and painful treatments are not needed when there is such medicine like Levitra. Most men started to have a successful sexual life taking only one pill.

Everyone should know that erectile dysfunction can not be cured with Levitra. This drug is used before you are intended to have sexual intercourse. The erection will be achieved approximately during one hour. After you had sex, the medicine's action just wears off some hours later. There were cases when men had a remaining erection after taking this pill, but usually you need to take another dose once again to have positive effect having sexual intercourse.

Don't confuse Levitra with aphrodisiac. This medicine will only help you to have an erection when you have sexual stimulation, it will not make you desire your partner. The medicine influences your body and not your thoughts and your mind. Some people are often asking questions why Levitra doesn't make them horny. They see the difference after several sexual stimulations.


Uses

First of all, vardenafil is meant to cure male dysfunction in sex (ED or impotence). This medicine blocks a special enzyme (PDE-5). When this component is mixed with some sex stimulation, it helps flow of blood to go into penis and maintain achieving erection. It is forbidden to treat women.


Dosage

Vardenafil is a medicine for treating men with problems in sexual functioning such as erectile dysfunction or impotence. This medicine can block a specific enzyme, PDE-5. When a body is sexually stimulated, the drug helps the flow of blood run into penis. At this time an erection is best achieved and maintained.

You should be aware that this medicine doesn't secure you from any diseases that are transmitted during sexual intercourse, such as hepatit B, syphilis, HIV or gonorrhea. In any cases a person should use latex condoms and have a safe sex. To get more information, you need to talk to your pharmacist or a doctor.

This medicine is for oral use. You can take it before or after nourishing but 1 hour before sex. Your doctor could tell you exactly the dosage, but by all means do not take it twice a day or more. The drug is dissolved poorly in a high fat meal.

Levitra 10mg and 20mg
Levitra 10mg and 20mg
 
Try to escape drinking grapefruit juice and eating grapefruits when you are taking Vardenafil. If like this juice and can't imagine your life without it, ask your doctor, may be he will let you eat it.

The amount of medicine that you need to take depends in the medications that you take, the response of your body to the treatment and its medical condition. Your pharmacist or doctor can give you more information - 10 mg or 20 mg tablets you should to take.

Before taking this medicine you need to carefully read the information that your pharmacist will give you. Ask him any questions that will occur to you.


Warnings and Precautions


There are some warnings and precautions about using this drug:


Levitra precautions
Levitra precautions
 
Some drugs can easily be interacted with Levitra. You can read it in the Levitra drug Interactions.

Levitra can increase the risk about getting side effects if a person has hypertonia or other heart disease. There are occasion when people that are taking this drug, have problems with blood vessels, brain and heart. A person should be aware that such symptoms can then be a cause of such diseases like stroke, sudden death or heart attack. If during sexual intercourse you have noticed that you are having the above symptoms, you should stop immediately and visit a doctor. More information is in Levitra Side Effects.

Some incidents occurred when those who took PDE5 inhibitors or Levitra, had NAION. It is a condition when a person looses his sight on two or one eye, non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. Once you noticed some problems with the sight, when taking Levitra, contact your medical consultant. More information is in Levitra and Blindness.

Levitra is considered by FDA as a pregnancy Category B medicine. It means that in previous studies that were made on animals, this drug was not tested in women who are pregnant and didn't give any negative effects on unborn children. Still Levitra was not approved to be used by women.

There were occasions, when people had a long lasting and very painful erection. If you had a longer than 4 hours erection, you must immediately go to a doctor.

Some reports were received when men were having deafness during Levitra medication. You should immediately stop taking the drug and contact your doctor, once you experienced this type of problem.

Levitra medicine will not protect you from sexually transmitted disease, including HIV.

It is forbidden to use Levitra if:


A person has allergies on components that are contained in vardenafil HCl. A list of all not active ingredients that are contained in Levitra has your pharmacist or doctor. You are treating your angina with nitrates, like nitroglycerin.

An outline of Levitra warnings and precautions


There can be situations when Levitra can not be used as an impotence treatment, also like the list of warnings and precautions that are connected with this medicine. Some of the warnings may be were not described above. In any case you need to consult a doctor about all the warnings and precautions of Levitra medication.


Side Effects

Levitra side effects
Levitra side effects
 
Levitra (vardenafil) is a medication that was approved to cure erectile dysfunction. It was tested clinically and researched before selling. During this period, it was assessed on possible side effect, to be sure that its benefits exceed potential side effects that may occur during usage.

Every person's body reacts differently to Levitra medication. So, the side effects may appear or not. Levitra (vardenafil) is the best medicine for treating impotence that is best allowed by the human organism. It causes little side effects.

There are only a few factors that can make you experience bad side effects. This can be if you are currently using the drugs that can raise vardenafil level in your organism. Or it may happen if the medicine you are currently taking is canceling its activity.

One should remember and be serious about side effects that medication could bring. Some of them can bring you complications in future. Once you notice that the side effect brings you discomfort, you need to contact a doctor for an advice. It doesn't really mean that you shouldn't take the erectile dysfunction medicine. After doctor examines you, he can give some advices about the lower dose or another impotence drug.

The side effects that you can experience after taking Levitra are:


  • Pain in your head and blushing
  • Snivelling condition and giddiness
  • Changes of sight, like blue vision Indigestion or nausea
  • Vomiting or difficulty in digesting food
  • Rapid heart beat or rises of heart rate
  • Condition of being tired all the time
  • Hypotension or hypertension
  • Exhaustion or short breaths

When I happen to experience such side effects, what I need to do?


These above listed side effects may probably not occur. It is possible that you can experience one or two out of them. We remind you once again that all of the side effects should be taken seriously. A person needs to remember the side effect he experienced and tell everything to his doctor during next meeting. If the side effect lasts longer than the medicine stays in your body, which is about 5 hours, a consultation with a doctor should be immediate.

Those side effects that vardenafil brings are not very dangerous, like those of other PDE-5 inhibitors. Anyway the men should know everything about his body and its reaction to this type of treatment. You need to contact a doctor if you see something strange. Read all the precautions for taking Levitra and how does it react if you are taking other medication.


Mechanism of action

Levitra chemical formula
Levitra chemical formula
 
When a person gets horny, the little signals are forwarded thorough his nervous system. A bunch of chemical messages are released by these signals inside the tissues of male organ. Cyclic GMP is among these chemicals. Its main aim is to calm and soothe a layer of muscles that are in vessel walls of blood inside the penis's tissues. This relaxation and soothing makes the vessels of blood wider, which makes a constant blood flow into the penis. It makes a tough erection.

Actually, when the sexual intercourse is finished successfully, a bigger amount of chemical are forwarded through your body. One of these messenger's name is PDE-5. It can break down cGMP. When it happens, cGMP can not function any longer and the vessels of the blood decrease and become of their actual size. After that, penis becomes the previous form and flabby.

When a man takes vardenafil, PDE-5 stops doing its work and it doesn't break down the cGMP. Once cGMP is not broken down, vessels of blood can not be returned to their usual condition and the intense blood flow goes to the penis. It makes an erection much longer, lasting and stronger.


History

GlaxoSmithKine, Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Schering-Plough had made a joint marketing to produce vardenafil with a new brand name Levitra. In 2005, in lots of market outside United States, GSK had given back Levitra to Bayer. But in Italy, GSK sells vardenafil with a name Vivanza and Bayer sells it like Levitra. In this manner, to comply with some of trade rules of European Union, parallel imports have to be resulted in Vivanza traded next to Levitra in the EU.

Another form of vivanza that is disintegrated orally is sold with a nameStaxyn. Such countries like Canada and United Stated had already given their approval to it.


Generic Levitra

Levitra generic
Levitra generic
 
Levitra (vardenafil HCL) is a medicine that can be sold only by prescription. It is produced to treat impotence. Bayer Pharmaceuticals are an official manufacturer of Levitra. It has a patent to protect against any producers to manufacture generic Levitra. A great number of companies that sell it will be given to you, if you search for Generic Levitra in the web. You should be careful because all of this medicine is potentially dangerous, fake and of low quality. May be there is a generic Levitra on the market of another country, but still you can not recognize if it is a real genuine Levitra. We ask you not to purchase generic Levitra, only if you are sure that this is and approved version.

When can I find a generic Levitra?


Levitra's first patent is finishing in 2018. So, only after that date it is possible that there will be a generic Levitra. The exclusivity period could be stopped before 2018 under such circumstances like a lawsuit against the drug or some company will get a patent on using Levitra for another disease. The time when Levitra runs out from patent, a great amount of other companies will try to get in charge of manufacturing the generic drug.

Is Vardenafil HCL a generic Levitra?


Vardenafil HCL is not a generic Levitra, it is an active ingredient in the composition of Levitra. The active ingredient of a drug is often thought that it is its generic name, which differs a lot from its generic version. The actual producer of the drug should loose his patent, in order for another company to produce a generic version of the drug.


Drug interactions


    Alpha blockers
    Alpha blockers
     
  • Alpha blockers for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or high blood pressure:
    • Alfuzosin (Uroxatral)
    • Doxazosin (Cardura)
    • Prazosin (Minipress)
    • Tamsulosin (Flomax)
    • Terazosin (Hytrin)
  • Some heart arrhythmia drugs:
    • Amiodarone (Cordarone)
    • Quinidine
    • Procainamide (Pronestyl, Procanbid)
    • Sotalol (Betapace)
  • Antifungals or antibiotics
    Antifungals or antibiotics
     
  • Some antifungals or antibiotics:
    • Clarithromycin (Biaxin)
    • Erythromycin (Ery-Tab)
    • Isoniazid (Nydrazid)
    • Itraconazole (Sporanox)
    • Ketoconazole (Nizoral)
    • Miconazole
    • Telithromycin (Ketek)
  • Grapefruit juice
  • Levitra vs nitrates
    Levitra vs nitrates
     
  • Nitrates:
    • Isosorbide dinitrate (Dilatrate SR, BiDil, Isochron, Isordil)
    • Isosorbide mononitrate (Imdur, Monoket, Ismo)
    • Nitroglycerin tablets or capsules (Nitro-Time, Nitrostat)
    • Nitroglycerin ointment (Nitro-Bid)
    • Nitroglycerin anal ointment (Rectiv)
    • Nitroglycerin patches (Nitro-Dur, Minitran)
    • Nitroglycerin spray (NitroMist, Nitrolingual)
  • Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5 inhibitors):
    • Avanafil (Stendra)
    • All forms of vardenafil (Staxyn)
    • Sildenafil (Revatio, Viagra)
    • Tadalafil (Adcirca, Cialis)
  • Protease inhibitors
    Protease inhibitors
     
  • Protease inhibitors:
    • Amprenavir (Agenerase)
    • Atazanavir (Reyataz)
    • Fosamprenavir (Lexiva)
    • Indinavir (Crixivan)
    • Nelfinavir (Viracept)
    • Ritonavir (Norvir)
    • Saquinavir (Invirase)

Alpha blockers
A decreased blood pressure was observed during the studies that were made previously in the patients that had benign prostatic hyperplasia or high blood pressure when they used Levitra and alpha blockers at the same time. There were cases when people had dizziness, giddiness and fainted when they lied or sat and quickly stood up. Your doctor can adjust your doze of the medicine when you have treatment with alpha blockers.

Specific antifungals or antibiotics
The level of Levitra in your blood increases when you take specific antifungals and antibiotics, bringing more dangerous side effects. When you are using both of these drugs, you should ask the doctor if you should take a lower dose of Levitra. Those patients that use this medicine should limit their dose to 2.5-5 mg of the medicine during the period of 24 hours. But it depends what drugs and you are taking and what is their dose.

Grapefruit juice
We don't know how Levitra interacts with grapefruit juice because no studies have been made with it. It is possible that the level of Levitra will be increased in your blood because of grapefruit juice and therefore the side effects will be more dangerous. That is why we don't really recommend you to take this medicine until there will be more information about it.

Medicine for arrhythmia
Levitra is forbidden for those that use specific drugs for treating not normal rhythms of the heart, like sotalol, procainamide, quinidine, and amiodarone. Patients that take Levitra with one of these drugs can provoke a very perilous type of arrhythmia that is called QT prolongation.

Nitrates
It is not recommended to use this medicine when you get treatment with nitrates. It also concerns those recreational drugs which they name "poppers" that may include butyl nitrate or amyl nitrate. A patient could suffer from hypotension or decreased blood pressure when he combines this medicine and nitrates.

PDE5 Inhibitors
It is better not to take Levitra with other similar drugs, because it is also a PDE5 Inhibitor.

Protease inhibitors
The level of this medicine will be increased together with its side effects if you take protease inhibitors. May be it is better to take a decreased amount of Levitra. Ask for an advice from your doctor if you can take these two drugs together.


Conclusion


Probably we didn't list all of the interactions with this medicine in our article. That is why we recommend to speak with your doctor or a pharmacist about combination of this drug and the one that you are possibly taking at the moment.
Madnix . Wildsultan

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User discussion about Levitra

Preston
17 July 2012
Last night was the first time when I tried this medicine. I had an amazing sex and two time this morning. It’s incredible! I tried two other similar medications. They are great too, but the best effect I had from this one. My age is more than 60 years old and I have diabetes. Later, I had headache.
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Freddy
31 July 2012
I am 52 years old and have erectile dysfunction. My doctor prescribed me a 20mg dose, but at the beginning I wanted to take 5 mg. I feel so great now! There were congestions but not a problem.
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Theodore
13 September 2012
My age is 78 and I was taking this medicine for more than four years. If I don’t eat and take a 5mg pill, my erection will be very strong. You need to wait for half an hour to get an effect. I have some redness on my face but it doesn’t really bother me.
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Brecken
08 November 2012
I took a dose of 10mg of the medicine with water and didn't take food one hour before sex. I was so impressed by results!
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Moshe
01 December 2012
My age is 36 years old. For the last time, it is difficult for me to maintain my erection when I am going to have sex. But I still have it, when I have foreplay. When I got a prescription for Levitra, it changed my life. I felt young and strong. There were some problems with engorgement and I sometimes I had headaches, but it is not compared to result. The negative side is that you have to know when you need to have sexual activity. No spontaneity and no romance. The price for medicine is also high.
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