VardenafilVardenafil Hydrochloride

About Vardenafil

Vardenafil blocks PDE5, an enzyme that switches off the signal that relaxes blood vessels in the penis, so an erection is easier to get and keep with sexual stimulation. It is taken about 60 minutes before sex, at most once a day, with or without food. The film-coated tablet usually starts at 10 mg and is adjusted between 5 and 20 mg; the label suggests a 5 mg start at 65 and older and with moderate liver impairment.

The dissolving tablet, formerly Staxyn, comes only as 10 mg, melts on the tongue without water, and gives higher blood levels than the 10 mg film-coated tablet, so the label says they are not interchangeable; men who need 5 or 20 mg use the film-coated tablet. It is not used with moderate or severe liver impairment or moderate or strong CYP3A4 inhibitors, or to start treatment in a man on an alpha blocker, and it contains phenylalanine, a concern in phenylketonuria.

It must never be taken with nitrates, including nitroglycerin, isosorbide and poppers, or with riociguat (Adempas), because blood pressure can fall dangerously. It can prolong the QT interval, so men with congenital long QT or taking quinidine, procainamide, amiodarone or sotalol avoid it. It is not recommended after a recent stroke or heart attack, with unstable angina, low blood pressure or severe liver impairment, on dialysis or with retinitis pigmentosa, nor for men whose heart makes sex inadvisable.

Headache, flushing, stuffy nose, indigestion and dizziness are common. An erection lasting more than 4 hours, or sudden loss of vision or hearing, needs prompt medical care. There is no boxed warning.

Taking Vardenafil

How to take it

About 60 minutes before sexual activity, with or without food, no more than once a day. Take a dissolving tablet from its blister only when ready, place it on the tongue and let it dissolve without water or any other liquid.

If you miss a dose

It is taken only when needed, so there is no schedule to keep.

Storage

At room temperature in the original container, tightly closed, out of reach of children; keep dissolving tablets in their blister until use.

Interactions to know about

Never with nitrates in any form or riociguat. Ritonavir, ketoconazole, itraconazole, clarithromycin, erythromycin and some other HIV drugs raise its levels, so the label lowers the maximum film-coated dose and rules out the dissolving tablet. Men stable on an alpha blocker start the film-coated tablet at 5 mg. Ask your prescriber about grapefruit.

This summarizes the official prescribing information. Your prescriber’s and pharmacist’s instructions, and the leaflet that comes with your medicine, take priority.

Why the cash price for Vardenafil differs from pharmacy to pharmacy

With both brands gone, every quote is for a generic, but vardenafil has fewer makers than sildenafil or tadalafil, and pharmacies that stock little of it may order it in and price it as a slow-moving item. It is usually priced per tablet, so strength and quantity drive the quote. The dissolving tablet has fewer makers still, and a prescription for one form cannot be filled with the other.

Ways to pay less for Vardenafil without insurance

• Compare more than one pharmacy for the same strength and quantity.
• If the dissolving tablet was chosen for convenience, ask the prescriber whether the film-coated tablet would suit you; switching needs a new prescription.
• Ask the prescriber whether sildenafil or tadalafil, which have many more generic makers, would suit you.
• Upload the prescription to Script Unlock so licensed pharmacies can quote their cash price. You pay the pharmacy directly.

Questions to ask your pharmacist about Vardenafil

1. 1.Is this the film-coated or the dissolving tablet, as prescribed?
2. 2.Do any of my medicines contain nitrates or interact with it?
3. 3.Is it safe with my heart, blood pressure or prostate medicines?
4. 4.How often can I take it?
5. 5.Which side effects need emergency care?

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