Stendra-Viagra’s New Cousin For the Treatment of Erectile Dysfunciton

For the past decade Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis have been the mainstay of oral medications for the treatment of erectile dysfunction or impotence. There’s a new drug on the block, Stendra, whose main claim to fame will be the faster onset of action compared to the three previous drugs.

In published studies in the medical literature, Stendra has an onset of action as early as 15 minutes. The drug can be taken with food or fluids but a high fat meal reduces the rate of absorption and delays the onset of action. Duration of Stendra is the same as Viagra and Levitra at 4-6 hours. Viagra and Levitra report onset at 30 minutes to 1 hour. Cialis is about the same or a little longer, but duration of Cialis is 24-36 hours.
The response or efficacy appears to be similar as the other oral medications, i.e., Cialis, Viagra and Levitra.

The same safety precautions exist: 1) Contraindicated with the use of any nitrates such as nitroglycerin as the use of Stendra with nitroglycerin may drop the blood supply to the hear and risk a serious heart problem; 2) Caution in combination with certain prostate drugs such as Flomax or Rapaflo; 3) Seek help for erection lasting more than 4 hours although I have never seen a man with an erection lasting more than 1-2 hours with the use of any oral medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

The side effects include headaches, facial flushing, nasal congestion, and back pain.

Bottom Line: If a man is looking for a faster onset of action of oral medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, then Stendra may be his Holy Grail!

Watch Out Viagra, There’s A New Kid, Stendra, on the Erectile Dysfunction Block

It was nearly 15 years ago that Viagra was introduced to medical community and men havne’t looked back as this medication turned the sex revolution over on its head. There have been millions of Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis written world wide making it one of the most popular drugs of all time.

Now new erectile dysfunction drug, Stendra, that reportedly works in less than 15 minutes has just received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

More than 30 million men in the U.S. are affected by erectile dysfunction (ED). The new drug Stendra, the brand name for avanafil, is the first new erectile dysfunction drug in a decade for this class of drugs known as phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors.
Similar to its counterparts, the drug works by helping increase blood flow to the penis. This is potentially the fastest acting of the four of the drugs used to treat ED. Patients taking Stendra are recommended to take the drug 30 minutes before sexual activity but clinical trials have shown the drug works as fast as 15 minutes. Viagra may take an hour to start working.
In clinical trials, 77 percent of men with general ED were able to get erections after taking Stendra, compared with 54 percent of men taking a placebo pill. Stendra resulted in successful intercourse for 57 percent of men with general ED, compared with 27 percent of men on placebo.
According to the FDA, the most common side effects for men taking Stendra were headache, face redness, nasal congestion, cold-like symptoms, and back pain. In rare cases men may get an erection that does not go away after four hours – a condition known as priapism. If that happens, patients should seek immediate medical care.
As with other PDE5 inhibitors, Stendra should not be used by men who also take nitrates commonly used to treat chest pain, because the combination can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Bottom Line: Erectile dysfunction is a common problem affecting millions of American men. Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra are effective but a new drug, Stendra, may have an advantage of faster onset of action.