# Viagra effectiveness **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 23, 2001, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531 "2001-07-23T12:35:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/1 "2001-07-23T12:35:59Z")
now since the hoopla is over about Viagra and everybody has had time to settle down. What is the consensus on the effectiveness/effects/side effects? I know there are archives but I don’t want any old hype. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/2 "2001-07-23T17:00:56Z")
If a man has erectile dysfunction based on physiologic causes, such as circulatory disorders, diabetes, heart disease etc., it’s an effective treatment to improve the ability to get an erection. The medication itself does not induce desire. Rather, one must manage to get aroused despite the side effects to obtain said erection. It should be taken about 1 hour before intercourse is desired, and one should avoid foods, especially fatty foods, when taking it. Its effects last about 24 hours. 50 mg is the recommended starting dose, but Pfizer says it now considers 100 mg the standard dose. They state there is no benefit from taking more than 100 mg Side effects include visual disturbances (lights are brighter and bluish), headache and congestion, and occasionally migrainoid type head pain. Blood pressure can drop, and that is why it should not be used with nitroglycerine. So far studies have indicated that deaths while taking viagra don’t seem to be more common than deaths without taking it, unless you add the nitroglycerine in. Qadgop, MD ---
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/3 "2001-07-23T20:55:53Z")
are the side effects consistant? I mean if you try it without side effects then does that mean that you are likely to have any or are you likely to get bad side effects with the next dose? any long term effects? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/4 "2001-07-23T21:02:32Z")
OK quick little story of a normal 25yr old. 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” This person happens to be a good friend of mine and would not fib about something that serious. Not sure if this tells you much but its a true tid bit. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/5 "2001-07-23T23:04:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Its effects last about 24 hours. Wow, that long? I recall reading that it lasted just an hour… ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/6 "2001-07-23T23:15:57Z")
I am just going by what my buddy said. I doubt it was literally three days but hey who knows. I’ll ask his wife if the subject ever comes up 🙂 As for side effects: The most common side effects of VIAGRA were headache (16%), flushing (10%), and dyspepsia (7%). Adverse events, including visual effects (3%), were generally transient and mild to moderate. All that from here: [http://www.viagra.com/](http://www.viagra.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/7 "2001-07-23T23:36:28Z")
Use of Viagra by men with normal erectile function can be quite risky, with a number of adverse effects, including the posibility of leaving the individual with an erection that has to be… Hmmm, ah… _Surgically_… relieved. ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/8 "2001-07-23T23:48:07Z")
My brother messed his spinal cord up in an accident. One of the effects was decreased use of his penis. He takes the stuff and says he stays hard all night long… an impossibility otherwise. The tone in his voice when he told me this kind of implied “too much of a good thing.” No mention of how his heart beats or any other side effects. ---
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/9 "2001-07-24T14:57:05Z")
my brother in law reported the same heart pounding stuff. scared him enough to stay away from it. he is a normal 38 year old. so the consensus is that it is not a “helper” for a normal person who wants something special. but only for dysfunctional types? ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/10 "2001-07-24T15:58:28Z")
If you’re interested in knowing how using Viagara _feels_, maybe you should [read this](http://www.nerve.com/personalEssays/Brykman/viagraMonologues/)\*. It’s a personal essay from a man who did try it, and he describes the effects on himself very clearly. From what I understand, Viagara is not intended for men who don’t need it, just like every other medication out there (you wouldn’t take allergy medication if you weren’t allergic to anything, would you?). It was created to address a specific problem, so those without that problem should leave it alone. \*This link is to Nerve, an adult, though not pornographic (IMHO) site. Mods, if it’s inappropriate, delete and let me know. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viagra-effectiveness/73531/11 "2001-07-24T19:08:13Z")
> [@](#): > > …so the consensus is that it is not a “helper” for a normal person who wants something special. but only for dysfunctional types? That’s not the consensus, but the legitimate purpose, based upon the clinical trails, product labeling, and FDA approval. Here’s a _short_ [list](http://old.healthnet.org/programs/e-drug-hma/e-drug.199811/msg00077.html) potential side effects: > [@](#): > > • Postmarketing cardiovascular events: The revised labeling addresses postmarketing reports of heart attacks, sudden cardiac deaths, and hypertension. > • Risk of sexual activity: Sexual activity in patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease carries a potential cardiac risk. Pfizer, therefore, advises doctors that treatments for impotence, including Viagra, generally should not be used in men for whom sexual activity is > inadvisable because of their underlying cardiovascular status. > • Vasodilatory effects (effects on blood pressure): Physicians should consider whether their patients with heart disease could be affected by transient decreases in blood pressure, especially in combination with sexual activity. > • Prolonged erections or priapism: The labeling now includes a warning about the rare occurrence of painful, prolonged erections. This is a serious condition that requires immediate medical attention. The labeling advises patients to seek prompt medical attention if their erection last longer than four hours. If you’re ‘working’ correctly, there’s no need for this drug. If you’re _not_ ‘working’ correctly, see a physician.