Why is cialis used

This drug is also known as PT Another medication used to treat low sex drive in women is the pill flibanserin Addyi. And before the FDA approves a medication, it must test the drug for safety and effectiveness. Clinical trials show that Cialis is a safe and effective drug to treat erectile dysfunction ED , benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH , or both. However, for some people, Cialis may not be a safe option. This can include people with heart conditions such as an irregular heart rhythm and people who take other medications such as nitrates.

And talk with your doctor if you have any concerns. After ejaculation occurs, your sexual excitement usually decreases. However, Cialis can still work up to 36 hours after you take your dose. So the drug may help you get another erection. Cialis can stay in your system for more than 2 days after your dose. Yes, Cialis can be used to treat ED after prostate surgery.

A clinical trial was done in people with ED who had surgery to have their prostate removed. The people used either Cialis or a placebo treatment with no active drug as needed.

If you have questions about using Cialis to treat ED after prostate surgery, talk with your doctor. However, the medication does increase blood flow to the area. Cialis is approved to treat erectile dysfunction ED , symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH , or both of these conditions. ED is a condition in which a man may be unable to get or maintain an erection.

An erection occurs when blood flows into the penis and remains there for a period of time. This happens because the blood vessels and muscles in the penis relax and open up, allowing more blood to flow into the area.

Cyclic guanosine monophosphate GMP is a chemical in your body that relaxes the muscles in the penis and increases blood flow into the penis.

Cialis belongs to a group of medications called phosphodiesterase 5 PDE5 inhibitors. And when you have more cyclic GMP, the blood vessels and muscles in your penis relax. This allows more blood to flow in and produce an erection. BPH may cause problems with urination such as the need to urinate frequently or having to urinate more often at night. Studies show that the medication may work as quickly as 30 minutes after you take your dose.

However, in some people, the medication may take up to 6 hours until you notice it working. On average, it takes about 2 hours for Cialis to peak. This is how long it takes for you to have the highest level of medication in your body. Both alcohol and Cialis can decrease your blood pressure. This may help prevent your blood pressure from becoming too low. Having five or more drinks five shots or glasses of wine or beer along with Cialis can increase the risk of side effects.

In addition to decreased blood pressure, these side effects can include:. Other drugs are available that can treat your erectile dysfunction ED , symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH , or both. Some medications may be a better fit for you than others. They can tell you about other drugs that may work well for you.

Note: Some of the drugs listed here are used off-label to treat these specific conditions. However, other combinations of drugs may be used for this purpose. Doses of up to mg of Cialis have been tested. Doses of up to mg have also been given to people once a day. Overdose symptoms were similar to the normal side effects people have had after taking Cialis.

You can also call the American Association of Poison Control Centers at or use their online tool. But if your symptoms are severe, call or go to the nearest emergency room right away.

But if you have a prostate condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH , your doctor may first prescribe a drug called finasteride Proscar. Finasteride is a first-line treatment the first treatment used when medications are recommended for BPH. This is because the drug shrinks the prostate by blocking the growth of prostate cells.

Finasteride can help also ease symptoms of BPH, such as having to urinate suddenly and more often. However, this medication can cause negative sexual side effects such as decreased libido sex drive and erectile dysfunction. To help ease these side effects, your doctor may have you also take Cialis. When you get Cialis from the pharmacy, the pharmacist will add an expiration date to the label on the package or bottle. This date is typically 1 year from the date they dispensed the medication.

The expiration date helps guarantee that the medication is effective during this time. If you have unused medication that has gone past the expiration date, talk with your pharmacist about whether you might still be able to use it. How long a medication remains good can depend on many factors, including how and where you store the medication.

Store Cialis in a tightly sealed container away from light. And avoid keeping this medication in areas where it could get damp or wet, such as bathrooms. This helps prevent others, including children and pets, from taking the drug by accident. It also helps keep the drug from harming the environment.

This article provides several useful tips on medication disposal. You can also ask your pharmacist for information on how to dispose of your medication. Different interactions can cause different effects. For instance, some interactions can interfere with how well a drug works.

Other interactions can increase the number of side effects or make them more severe. Below is a list of medications that can interact with Cialis. Before taking Cialis, talk with your doctor and pharmacist. Tell them about all prescription, over-the-counter, and other drugs you take.

Also tell them about any vitamins, herbs, and supplements you use. Sharing this information can help you avoid potential interactions. If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, ask your doctor or pharmacist. This type of drug may be used for chest pain. Taking nitrates along with Cialis can cause a serious decrease in your blood pressure. Both Cialis and medications called alpha-blockers can cause a decrease in blood pressure.

So taking these medications together can cause blood pressure to drop further. And if you have erectile dysfunction ED and are taking an alpha-blocker, your doctor will likely lower your dose of Cialis. Before taking Cialis, tell your doctor about any medications that you use, including alpha-blockers.

Cialis may reduce your blood pressure. They may give you a lower dose of Cialis or monitor you more often. This means that you may not get the full dose of Cialis, so it may not work as well to treat your ED or symptoms of BPH.

Talk with them about how far apart to take the doses of each drug if you need to use both medications. Cialis is broken down in your body by an enzyme in your liver called CYP3A4. An enzyme is a protein that aids chemical changes in your body.

Certain drugs can inhibit block this enzyme from working. So if the enzyme is unable to break down Cialis, the level of Cialis in your body may get too high. This can be dangerous and may increase your risk of side effects from Cialis. In some cases, your doctor may recommend a lower dose of Cialis or a different medication to treat your ED, symptoms of BPH, or both.

Cialis is broken down in your liver by an enzyme called CYP3A4. Certain drugs may induce increase the activity of CYP3A4, making it work better or faster than usual. This means that your body may break down Cialis more quickly than it should, so the drug may not affect you. In some cases, your doctor may recommend a different medication to treat your ED, symptoms of BPH, or both.

This kind of medication is used to treat people with pulmonary hypertension a type of high blood pressure in your lungs. Using a guanylate cyclase stimulator along with Cialis may cause your blood pressure to become dangerously low.

An example of a guanylate cyclase stimulator is riociguat Adempas. This medication can be used to treat pulmonary hypertension PH that happens in your arteries of your lungs pulmonary arterial hypertension or PH that happens due to a blood clot in your lungs.

However, you should still check with your doctor or pharmacist before using any of these products while taking Cialis. Grapefruit blocks that enzyme from working. As with all medications, the cost of Cialis can vary. To find current prices for Cialis in your area, check out GoodRx. The cost you find on GoodRx. Before approving coverage for Cialis, your insurance company may require you to get prior authorization.

This means that your doctor and insurance company will need to communicate about your prescription before the insurance company will cover the drug. The insurance company will review the request and let you and your doctor know if your plan will cover Cialis. If you need financial support to pay for Cialis, or if you need help understanding your insurance coverage, reach out to your insurance company.

They can aid you and tell you if there are any financial assistance options available. Cialis is available in a generic form called tadalafil. And generics tend to cost less than brand-name drugs. To find out how the cost of tadalafil compares with the cost of Cialis, visit GoodRx. They may have a preference for one version or the other. Animal studies showed no problems with development of the fetus when the mother was given Cialis while pregnant. In animal studies , Cialis was present in breast milk.

This drug comes with several precautions. Before taking Cialis, talk with your doctor about your health history. Cialis may not be right for you if you have certain medical conditions or other factors affecting your health.

But the review found tadalafil is preferred over sildenafil by users and their partners, and increases confidence. Two important benefits of Cialis include dosing flexibility and long half-life. The usual starting dose for as-needed Cialis is 10 mg. The usual starting dose for once-daily Cialis is 2. Your doctor might increase the dose to 5 mg based on how you react to the medication.

Take one tablet as prescribed at the same time each day. Many people who take Cialis prefer this dosing because it provides flexibility for timing of sexual activity. For the as-needed dose, plan to take Cialis at least 30 minutes before sexual activity, but bear in mind it may take as long as 2 hours to take effect.

Also, Cialis requires sexual stimulation to be effective, so arousal is an important part of the equation. There are many considerations that affect how long it takes Cialis to take effect for ED.

This includes factors such as:. Cialis can last from 24 to 36 hours. In some cases, it can last as long as 72 hours. This is one of the reasons Cialis has high patient satisfaction ratings in surveys compared to other PDE5 inhibitors: It allows more spontaneous sexual activity.

For as-needed dosing, take Cialis at least 30 minutes or more before sexual activity. If your prescription involves taking Cialis daily, take it at the same time each day. This maintains steady levels of Cialis in your body. Smoking, heavy drinking, unmanaged stress, and an unhealthy diet can affect ED as well as how Cialis works, potentially leading to more side effects.

A healthy diet, increasing physical activity, and quitting smoking are important for wellness, physical health, and can affect the severity of ED. Strategies to reduce stress and support your relationship with your partner can also improve sexual performance and well-being. Working with a psychiatrist, therapist, or sex therapist can help you navigate strategies for the mental and emotional side of intimacy.

Other ways to improve your sexual performance include managing stress, working through relationship concerns, and treating performance anxiety. Avoid high fat foods or heavy meals before taking Cialis and before sexual activity. High fat foods can affect how well Cialis works. It may also take longer to work. Be sure to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about how to take all your medications to avoid interactions.

They can lower your blood pressure to dangerous levels. Use caution with alcohol consumption when taking Cialis. Take tadalafil at around the same time every day. If you are already taking medication to treat BPH, your doctor may tell you to stop taking your other medication at least one day before starting treatment with tadalafil.

Follow your doctor's directions carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. If you are taking tadalafil for erectile dysfunction, your doctor will probably start you on an average dose of tadalafil and increase or decrease your dose depending on your response to the medication. Tell your doctor if tadalafil is not working well or if you are experiencing side effects. Continue to take tadalafil even if you feel well. Do not stop taking tadalafil without talking to your doctor.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. Talk to your doctor about eating grapefruit and drinking grapefruit juice while taking this medicine. If you are taking tadalafil for erectile dysfunction on a regular schedule, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule.

Do not take a double dose or more than one dose per day to make up for a missed one. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one. Some patients experienced a sudden loss of some or all of their vision after they took tadalafil or other medications that are similar to tadalafil. The vision loss was permanent in some cases. It is not known if the vision loss was caused by the medication.

If you experience a sudden loss of vision while you are taking tadalafil, call your doctor immediately or get emergency medical treatment. Do not take any more doses of tadalafil or similar medications such as sildenafil Revatio, Viagra or vardenafil Levitra until you talk to your doctor. Some patients experienced a sudden decrease or loss of hearing after they took tadalafil or other medications that are similar to tadalafil.

The hearing loss usually involved only one ear and did not always improve when the medication was stopped. It is not known if the hearing loss was caused by the medication. If you experience a sudden loss of hearing, sometimes with ringing in the ears or dizziness, while you are taking tadalafil, call your doctor immediately.

Tadalafil may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication. Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children.

Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture not in the bathroom. Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them.

However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily.

To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location — one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline at