Viagra fact or myth questions answered.

VIAGRA IMPROVES YOUR SEX DRIVE: Myth. It can improve erection problems in most men who use it. But it won't increase your sex-drive or urge, if that's what's up. In other words, it may well put lead in your pencil. But it won't find a long-lost pencil case.

Viagra

VIAGRA WAS ORIGINALLY A DRUG FOR ANGINA: Fact. Researchers were investigating men's hearts when they discovered that the drug actually improved erection quality. Result? An abrupt change of tack. And that means blokes with heart problems can relax when using Viagra - so long as it's been recommended by their GP. After all, if it was originally a heart treatment, it's not likely to hurt, is it?

VIAGRA'S THE ONLY TREATMENT WORTH TAKING FOR ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION: Myth. In fact, there are two other pill treatments these days: Cialis and Levitra. And there are non pill options, too, ranging from injections, through vacuum devices, to psychosexual counselling. Remember, too, that some men don't need treatment at all - the odd failure to rise to the occasion may just be because of temporary knackeredness.

GRAPEFRUIT JUICE INTERFERES WITH VIAGRA: Fact. It can also mess up the other pill treatments - by increasing their blood flow. So most experts advise avoiding necking the magic pills with grapefruit juice.

VIAGRA'S AVAILABLE ON THE NHS: Myth. Not for most men, it's not. A few are entitled to an NHS prescription - such as those with MS, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer. The rest have to cough up to keep their pecker up.

GP

VIAGRA CAN MAKE YOUR VISION GO BLUE: Fact. Strange, but true - very rarely. It's temporary and harmless, though. More common side effects include flushing, indigestion and a dripping nose. Oh, and headache - just pray she doesn't say, "So have I."


VIAGRA GIVES YOU AN INSTANT ERECTION: Myth. Some of the older treatments - like injections - did this. But if you pop the pill and just wait for the old chap to stand to attention, you could be waiting all night. Because the drug simply primes you for action - you still need the usual foreplay to get you going.

YOU CAN BUY VIAGRA ON THE INTERNET: Fact. Of course you can, but only buy from an online pharmacy such as www.medical-specialists.co.uk

VIAGRA'S ONLY USED FOR ERECTION PROBLEMS: Myth. In fact, it's also used for some lung diseases and altitude sickness. And, supposedly, it helps jet lag as well - though that particular research was restricted to hamsters.

Turns out you do need Viagra like a heart attack

if you’re having trouble with sex, you may have a problem Viagra won’t fix.

A study published this week in Circulation delivered the bad news.

Researchers at the Medical University of the Saarland in Germany looked at people in two hypertension drug studies who also had erectile dysfunction (ED).

Those who had ED were most likely to die of a heart attack, stroke or other heart problem — they called it a “potent predictor of all-cause death.”

In other words if you have ED, you may have advanced heart disease. You are twice as likely to die of it as someone without ED.

The two studies examined were TRANSCEND, which was testing an angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) on people who had trouble with angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and ONTARGET, which tested the two drugs in combination.

Full disclosure. I presently take a daily pill which combines an ARB with a Calcium Channel Blocker (CCB), called EXFORGE, which works well on my hypertension. (I also take a generic statin.) I don’t have ED.

The main recommendation from all this is that doctors should ask about ED when they’re doing a work-up on heart disease. So you don’t have to ask your doctor about ED anymore. They should ask you.

And if you answer yes, your doctor may start looking for other risk factors and treating you as a heart patient, not just as someone looking to have a good time.

One word of warning. The two studies the German doctors looked at were of patients who already had heart disease, which is why they were seeking ARBs and ACE inhibitors in the first place. If you’re young and healthy and your ED problem isn’t a regular thing, the solution may lie elsewhere. Like your head.

Bicycle riding and erectile dysfunction

Department of Urology, Institute of Men's Health, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

For many years, reports in the literature have implicated bicycle riding as causing increased risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). Perineal compression during cycling has been associated with the development of sexual complications.

To review current literature on the rationale for ED from bicycle riding and outcome of bicycle riding on erectile function and to present available research on preventative measures specifically regarding bicycle riding.

A systematic comprehensive literature review. Results. There is a significant relationship between cycling-induced perineal compression leading to vascular, endothelial, and neurogenic dysfunction in men and the development of ED. Research on female bicyclists is very limited but indicates the same impairment as in male bicyclists. Preventative measures including use of a properly fitted bicycle, a riding style with a suitable seat position and an appropriate bicycle seat can help prevent impairment of erectile function.

There is a need for further research on safe bicycle and bicycle seat design and investigations that address the underlying mechanisms leading to cycling-related sexual dysfunction in both male and female bicyclists.

jails giving Viagra to hardened criminals

London, Jan 24 (ANI): Lags freed from Belmarsh jail, south London, on home leave are being handed Viagra to make sure they perform between the sheets when they visit their loved ones.

A source at the prison said convicts serving long sentences could suffer a loss of libido when faced with the prospect of nookie after a long stint behind bars.

"On your first home leave, meeting up with the missus or girlfriend can be a bit daunting. If you have Viagra your pocket, at least you know you're going to be able to deliver," News of the World quoted a lag as saying.

However, news that the 5-pound-a-go little blue pills which boost men's sex drive are being freely dished out to serious hard men will enrage victims' families.

One prison insider said: "It's pretty rich. The system in England, Scotland and Wales is making Viagra available so prisoners can perform between the sheets when they visit their loved ones.

"Inmates nearing the end of their sentence or those held at open prisons are eligible for home release. It must be costing a fortune," the insider added.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman confirmed: "We issue Viagra after the prisoner has met with the jail's GP. A clinical decision based on the prisoner's health would be made."

Viagra's discovery

Viagra's discovery


Even the fastest selling drug of all time, Viagra, is not used for what it was originally intended.
It started life as plain old UK92480, a new treatment for angina, a heart condition that constricts the vessels that supply the heart with blood.
The drug company Pfizer was looking for something that would relax these blood vessels, however its trials in people were disappointing

Pfizer were about to abandon further trials when the trial volunteers started coming back and reporting an unusual side effect - lots of erections.
Pfizer senior scientist Chris Wayman was charged with investigating what was happening. He created a model 'man' in the lab.
He took a set of test-tubes filled with an inert solution, and in each one placed a piece of penile tissue, taken from an impotent man.
Each piece of tissue was then connected up to a box that, at the flick of a switch, would send a pulse of electricity through the tissue.
Applying this current of electricity mimics what happens when a man is aroused.
The first time he did this nothing happened to the vessels. However, when he added Viagra to the tissue bath the penile blood vessels suddenly relaxed - as they would for a man to give him an erection.
He said: "What was amazing about this study was that we saw a restoration of the erectile response. Now we were on to something which could only be described as special".
Before the launch of Viagra in 1998 there was no oral treatment for erectile dysfunction, the only options were an injection or a fairly gruesome prosthetic implant.
Now, thanks to a failed Angina treatment, men had another option. Viagra is now one of the most prescribed drugs in the world.

Horizon: Pill Poppers can be seen on BBC Two on Wednesday 20 January at 9pm or afterwards via BBC iPlayer