We’ve all seen the commercials – a middle-aged man with his wife talking about how their life has been substantially improved by the use of such medications as Cialis or Viagra. They introduce themselves as a couple who had “problems”, struggling to create an enduring intimacy. They continue that the husband took the medication, and then they conclude with smiles on their 
face, praising the success of the drug. But just what do these medications do? Frankly, they help a man get an erection.
Many men over 50 have a condition called “Erectile Dysfunction,” simply characterized by a man’s inability to produce an erection for the insertion of the penis into the vagina or anus sufficiently enough to produce satisfactory sexual pleasure. It has many causes, the first of which is age. Men over 60 are 400% more likely to have ED than men over 40. Other causes are neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, psychological conditions such as schizophrenia, or lifestyle choices such as smoking.
With Viagra’s breakthrough release in the late 90s and Levitra’s in 2003, one of the most common medications prescribed to treat ED is Cialis, also known as Tadalafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor that was released in November 2003. Being effective for 36 hours, Cialis is named “the Weekend Pill,” as is cautioned for use only “as needed.”
Though Viagra and Levitra also do the same thing, Cialis’ half-life is longer, with 17.r hours. Both Viagra and Levitra only have 4-5 hours of half-life. Because of its longer half-life, it is also approved for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Cialis, does, however, have its side effects. While the most common are minor, such as headache, indigestion, muscle aches, back pain, flushing, and runny nose, some are more serious, such as vision impairment caused by non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy as well as sudden hearing loss that can come from PDE5 inhibitors. Most of the people in the latter group had other “at-risk” factors that possibly contributed to the intensified effects, such as crowded disc, or low cup-to-disc ratio; diabetes (insufficient insulin action); hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure); coronary artery disease; hyperlipidemia (high lipid content); were smokers; and/or an age over 50.
Like other PDE5 inhibitors, Cialis can substantially lower blood pressure, beyond a normal level. Organic nitrates should not be taken within 48 hours of taking Cialis as this combination can be fatal. Anginal chest pain should be treated seriously in such a scenario as medications cannot be taken for it.
So whether you’re trying to improve your one-on-one time in the bedroom, or you just want a livelier sex life, there are solutions to your erectile deficiencies. While most of these drugs work without problems, Cialis has a longer life and less adverse effects than many others. There are side effects to consider, but there are side effects to a broken sex life as well. Isn’t it time you thought about talking to your doctor and putting a smile on the face of your sex partners?