Does Viagra give a guy a constant woody?

Factual Questions
1

I’ve never had the chance to try the miracle drug Viagra, so I’m a bit in the dark on what it specifically does.

Listening to guys talk about it reminds me of grade school- “You know what I heard it does? Huh? It makes you able to sport wood for two days straight!!!”, huddled mass of thoroughly interested kids, “Wow!! Really!?! Tell us more!!”. “Well, I heard it also makes your wanker three times its normal size!!”. “Holly Mollie! Where can I get me some of that!”.

I mean, it makes for a fun conversation, but the ‘facts’ are more than circumspect.

Outside of the fact that we all know little Billy doesn’t know shit is the fact that it doesn’t make sense- who wants to walk around with a stiffy for two days straight. If you ask me, it’d be more than an inconvenience, to say the least, especially if I need some groceries.

So, I turn to those in the know-

What does it do?

Does it make your libido so nutso that a person is constantly sporting wood? For two days straight?

Or do I have control on when and where I want to spring a stiffy?

What about stamina? Can I keep going and going and going, like a perverted Energizer bunny ::thump thump thump thump::?

What if I take five times the recommended dose? You know, for that evening at the Playboy mansion. Do I get a monster stiffy so powerful it could burst through my fly?

What about women? What happens if she pops a few tabs?

Finally, and more importantly, is there an over-the-counter substitute that does the same thing?

Thanks. I eagerly await your response over by the swing set.

2

I don’t have a cite offhand, but you sound like you’re in a hurry, so I won’t waste any time with Google.

My understanding is that it merely enables you, first, to get an erection a little bit more easily, and second, to maintain it a little bit longer.

So, no, it’s not a “constant woody”. Sorry. :smiley:
[sub]men are so cute[/sub]

3

What, you’re still here? :smiley:

All it does is increase blood flow to your penis a little bit. If you’ve already got normal blood flow, it can’t do much for you. There’s a limit to how much blood your penis’s vascular system can hold.

Don’t you have work to do?

4

But on the other hand, this site say:

So there are some options here. :smiley:

5

According to the ol’ online pharmacological manual here, one of the adverse reactions to sildenafil can be priapism, which is the scientific name for “sporting wood for two days straight.” It’s an adverse reaction because priapism can lead to erectile dysfunction – i.e., impotence. (The hydraulics get all messed up, apparently.)

One of the other adverse reactions that I’ve read about, although I don’t see it mentioned here, is that it has led to blindness (in a very small proportion of takers). Presumably, the problem is due to the shrinking of the opening in the eyeball through which the main eyeball-nourishing blood vessel flows.

PM

6

There’s some more information about it in this thread.

7

Viagra opens the blood vessels, it doesn’t give you any desire for sex. The desire has to be there beforehand.

Also, if your blood vessels are already working right, it won’t do anything for you.

You might search the board for ‘viagra’ its got a lot of messages.

8

I did Handy. Surprisingly, there isn’t that many threads out there on it, or even on how it works.

There is that thread linked to above. In it, Phlosphr says, "A friend of mine who happens to be quite active and reasonably normal took 100mg of Viagra around 4 in the afternoon. He states and I quote: “Man I was hard for three days and my heart nearly pounded out of my chest”.

I don’t know about you, but that line got me curious.

But then I read that line that one of the side effects is going blind.

That wouldn’t be nice.

*Why is it that the cooler the drug sounds, the more horrible its side effects are? Huh? Where’s the fairness in that!

But back to my point. Even searching the archive, I didn’t see much mentioned in the way of what I asked in the O.P… That is, you know, what should I expect when I take it?

Does as person pop a couple pills and twenty minutes later, whammo!! Wood for days?

Or does a guy have control over it. Like, you run into a cutie and you can order up a stiffy?

Or, with said cutie, do I need to go back to her place, pop a pill, and wait around for things to liven up on my end?

Or do the stiffies come fast and furious and without control? Like that time when I was hard up and got a woody on the dance floor with that sexy little siren? It wasn’t fun, let me tell you, trying to hide that sucker. It was embarrissing and almost a nuisance.

If that’s what happens, then I want out.

Anyrate, I’m curious and I’d like to dispel some the rumors I keep hearing about in the locker room. Because there’s no end of speculation on behalf of those of us who still have no problem rising to the occasion, so to speak.

I’m a sucker for the word enhancement. If I can enhance what I already have going, then hell, bring it on. I’d just like to know what to expect, or what would happen.

I’m also curious about the other aspects mentioned above-

Can I O.D. on the stuff? What happens if a woman took it? I’ve heard they do and it gets their libido all cranked up. True?

And this line, “Viagra opens the blood vessels, it doesn’t give you any desire for sex”, I’ve heard disputed. I’ve heard it does make you want it more. True?

Once and for all, I want to know what it does. Not what the makers of it say, what really happens.

9

OK, now you have me curious.

If it just increases the blood flow to the schlong, and doesn’t work if you have normal blood flow there already, then how does it affect these normal, older fellows who just want to ‘do it’ more than once every three months? Presumably, it must do a little bit more than that, especially if a fellow on one of any of the numerous emasculating drugs is using it to get a stiffy.

Like most anti-depression drugs can knock about 4% of the male users sex lives out of the window or cause them great difficulty in obtaining and maintaining an erection and, presumably, they have normal blood flow.

10

No.

One of the disadvantages of Viagra is the “lack of spontaneity”. You have to take it an hour or two before planned intercourse. Not three months.

11

Read this first-hand account.

12

Well, I can tell you first hand what it does (or did to me, anyway).

The simple background of the story is that I was being treated for depression and one of the symptoms was a lowered libido and sexual dysfunction. I was prescribed Viagra and took it occasionally for about a year (until my insurance company decided that it was not something they were willing to pay for anymore).

Even when they were willing to pay for it, the insurance company paid for only six pills in any one-month period. The doctor was kind enough to proscribe the (IIRC) 50 mg pill, which I broke in half for two 25mg doses.

50mg was what I tried first, and let me assure you that you want the minimum effective dosage in this situation.
Procedure:

1 - Verify, with the wife, that tonight was in fact going to feature a sex act (don’t want to waste those pills).

2 - At sex minus 90-120 minutes, take the pill.

3 - When the pill has clearly kicked in, have sex.
Comments:

It was extremely obvious when the pill had kicked in. Not only was wood in evidence, my face also became somewhat flushed and hot (and remained so for a few hours). My vision also became a bit distorted (the “blue” effect) and it seemed like there was a kind of haze in the air. These side effects were much more pronounced when I took an entire 50mg dose than when I took only a 25mg half-pill.

I certainly felt as though the drug increased my libido. However, this may have been due more to the fact that it helped make sex a more pleasant experience during a period when it was often very frustrating.

I never had any problems with a persistent erection, as the drug seemed to wear off for the most part within four hours or so.

13

This is another first-hand account, which is also linked off the thread I linked earlier. There’s a whole lotta linkin’ goin’ on.

14

Wow. Thanks Breadalin for that link. And thanks Scupper for that informative report from the field.

Taken from the article linked to by Breadalin-

Yowsa!!!

Plus-

The more I’m reading about this, the more I want to climb on board.

But I’m confused- from what others here have written, it’s a bad idea for a normal guy to take it. But the articles and Scuppers own personal account, detail guys that are presumably physically fit and fully functional on their own- they didn’t need it to get wood, they used it to enhance the wood, or, more aptly, to bring out the grain in the wood.

Why the disparity?

Can a regular ‘ol shmoo take it, or not?

15

Not gonna click on those links from work. Nope. nope. nope. nope…

16

“Sir, you’ll either have to pay for that salami or we’ll have to confiscate it.”

Anyway, you also asked about its effect on women. Read all about it here.

17

I got a hold of some Viagra (50mg and even 100mg) from a clinical trial that was going on and tried it. All it did for me was give me sinus congestion. I have a pretty healthy sex drive, but I didn’t feel any genital sensations at all from this. I’ve heard there is a company experimenting with a topical lotion for women that contains the same ingredient.
Jill
Straight Dope Science Advisory Board

18

Using viagra can lead to a warm, wet feeling at the end of the penis that doctors refer to as “a woman.” :smiley:

19

Hey, Cnote, here’s a look at the lighter side of what you’re asking about. Heh, I guess this stuff is all over.

(Warning: link contains questionable content and really weird cartoonery.)

(Although, content is not as bad as those two Salon articles. Whew!)

20

Various meanderings

But then I read that line that one of the side effects is going blind.
Doctors tell patients about serious side effects of drugs. I don’t mention this one, since it isn’t actually true.

That wouldn’t be nice.
No.

*Why is it that the cooler the drug sounds, the more horrible its side effects are? Huh? Where’s the fairness in that!

But back to my point. Even searching the archive, I didn’t see much mentioned in the way of what I asked in the O.P… That is, you know, what should I expect when I take it?

Does as person pop a couple pills and twenty minutes later, whammo!! Wood for days?
Nope.

Or does a guy have control over it. Like, you run into a cutie and you can order up a stiffy?

Or, with said cutie, do I need to go back to her place, pop a pill, and wait around for things to liven up on my end?

If you took the pill between 4 hours to 30 minutes before…

Or do the stiffies come fast and furious and without control? Like that time when I was hard up and got a woody on the dance floor with that sexy little siren? It wasn’t fun, let me tell you, trying to hide that sucker. It was embarrissing and almost a nuisance.

If that’s what happens, then I want out.

Any rate, I’m curious and I’d like to dispel some the rumors I keep hearing about in the locker room. Because there’s no end of speculation on behalf of those of us who still have no problem rising to the occasion, so to speak.

I’m a sucker for the word enhancement. If I can enhance what I already have going, then hell, bring it on. I’d just like to know what to expect, or what would happen.

I’m also curious about the other aspects mentioned above-

Can I O.D. on the stuff? What happens if a woman took it? I’ve heard they do and it gets their libido all cranked up. True?
Shouldn’t take it if you need to use nitroglycerin for your heart. Shouldn’t use nitro for 48 hours later even if you have chest pain. If you O.D. you can get a stiffy that could fry your penis; a medical emergency called priapism.

And this line, “Viagra opens the blood vessels, it doesn’t give you any desire for sex”, I’ve heard disputed. I’ve heard it does make you want it more. True?
It’s a psychological benefit. If you can’t sprout wood, you could get upset and this would lower your libido. If you don’t get upset, Viagra doesn’t make you hornier.

Wouldn’t believe how many times a day people come in asking for this stuff. Dr.Pap, MD.