Check Disease History before Choosing an Impotence Drug

“Which anti-impotence drug is the best?”

It has been one year since Levitra and Cialis came out to the market, threatening Viagra’s turf. Urologists were questioned to find out the real effects of these drugs.

Some doctors said, “You don’t know what you’ve got until you lost it,” preferring Viagra, while some preferred Levitra and others Cialis.

Viagra takes more than half of the shares in the current anti-impotence drug market. It may be due to Viagra’s successful results, but it could be because patients, not knowing the other two drugs very well, insist on Viagra.

Compare Results to Make a Decision

Does Viagra really work much better than the others? Most doctors say, “Not necessarily.” The three drugs all have their own virtues and any one of them cannot be considered particularly better than the others.

Doctors recommend to check how long it takes to see the results of the drug, how long the erection lasts, how hard the penis becomes, and what kinds of disease history the patient has. In other words, doctors are saying the drug should be custom-made to fit the patient.

Viagra has been leading the market since it first came out five years ago. Its strongest value is that its efficacy has been proved and it is safe. However, there are imitations taking advantages of Viagra’s popularity and the consumption of these imitations has often caused problems. It is absolutely necessary to confirm if the drug is authentic.

Levitra’s biggest virtue is it shows results in 15 minutes after taking it. Also, the fact that it keeps the penis relatively hard is another virtue Levitra advertises.

Cialis is excellent in keeping the results for a long time. The result lasts 24 to36 hours on average. The manufacturer advertises that the patient does not have to worry about their erections until the end of the weekend after taking the drug right before leaving the office on Friday afternoon.

Check Disease History before Making a Decision

An impotence patience often has other diseases as well, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. It is recommended for a patient to check his health status first since the efficacies of the drugs are slightly affected by the diseases he has.

If the patient has diabetes, Levitra is good. The American Diabetes Association released its research report in June that said 58 percent of diabetes patients with impotence experienced a better erection after taking Levitra. There is another research result that indicates 33 percent of impotence patients who did not respond to other drugs showed improvement by taking Levitra.

A research study, released in the 11th World Congress of the International Society of Sexual and Impotence Research held in Argentina last month, recommends Cialis to prostatic hypertrophy patients. Eighty-two percent of 349 impotence patients with prostatic hypertrophy observed improvement in erection, and 62 percent of 303 patients with removed prostate experienced improvement.

Patients with high blood pressure seem to be better with Viagra. Sildenafil, a main ingredient of Viagra, has been proved to improve blood circulation in pulmonary artery, resulting in improved symptoms of pulmonary hypertension. Recently, the European Union designated it as a drug to treat pulmonary hypertension.

Sang Hoon Kim corekim@donga.com