That's when the world shifted for patients. Physicians are mystified. Markups for brand-name drugs facing generic pressure aren't a new phenomenon. In fact, they're standard. This is why shelves are filled with competing over-the-counter products that are essentially the same except one costs more and has a familiar name attached -- Bayer, Tylenol, Afrin, Metamucil.
The list goes on. On grocery shelves, the big difference from pharmaceuticals is that no one requires low-priced supermarket brands to taste the same as Ragu pasta sauce or Kellogg's Corn Flakes. In contrast, equivalent brand-name and generic drugs are mandated by law to be identical -- mostly. As the FDA puts it , "a generic medicine is the same as a brand-name medicine in dosage, safety, effectiveness, strength, stability, and quality, as well as in the way it is taken and should be used.
There are some differences: Brand-name drugs may have different inactive ingredients than the equivalent generics, and they typically look different due to trademarks that protect their appearance. Among sildenafil pills, for example, only brand-name Viagra can be both blue and diamond-shaped.
There can also be variations in the bioavailability of a drug's active ingredient. It's not easy to understand exactly how much the typical customer pays for brand-name and generic sildenafil. For one thing, list prices don't truly represent the amount that customers pay for drugs. Pharmacies discount the prices of medications, and consumers can get coupons from a variety of sources such as pharmaceutical companies and GoodRx.
To make things even more complicated, insurers may not cover ED drugs , and even if they do they're not likely to pay for expensive brand names when generics are available.
One thing is clear: Viagra's markup is consistently high. They can include headache, flushing of the face, nausea, lightheadedness, and a temporary bluish-tint to vision, Bromberg said. And though rare, it is possible to have an erection that lasts for four hours or more. If this occurs, a man must see a doctor right away. Men who have had a heart attack in the past six months, those taking nitrates nitroglycerin for heart disease, and men taking protease inhibitors for an HIV infection shouldn't take erectile dysfunction drugs, Bromberg said.
Please enter email address to continue. Please enter valid email address to continue. Chrome Safari Continue. Be the first to know. The only alternatives to Viagra consist of medications which need to be injected directly into the shaft of the penis in order to improve blood flow, or complex surgery to fit penis pumps or prosthetic implants. Neither are particularly palatable. So why is this? While a handful of pharma companies have attempted and failed to get rival drugs into the clinic, the sheer scale of the Viagra profit machine created a monopoly, with most companies shying away from the challenge, perceiving it as too much of a risk.
But experts believe this could be about to change. In the early s, scientists at Futura Medical , a pharmaceutical company in Surrey, came across stories of a heart disease medication that appeared to accidentally induce erections. The reported effects were due to a particular molecule known as glyceryl trinitrate or GTN, which causes the dilation of blood vessels in the penis, increasing blood flow.
But the reason why Futura were so intrigued was because, while Viagra, Cialis and other drugs have to be taken orally — meaning they reach the target area via the bloodstream and so interact with other systems in the body — GTN could be rapidly absorbed into erectile tissue through the skin.
This meant that it could potentially be applied directly as part of a gel or cream, with almost instantaneous results and none of the troublesome side effects associated with Viagra. Over the past decade, Futura have developed a GTN-based gel called Eroxon which appears to be capable of inducing an erection in patients with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction in five to 10 minutes.
During sexual arousal or stimulation, the blood flow to the penis increases, causing it to expand, straighten, and harden. An erection gradually goes away as an enzyme called PDE5 breaks down cyclic guanosine monophosphate cGMP , which is responsible for the smooth muscle relaxation that leads to increased blood flow. Sildenafil treats erectile dysfunction by relaxing the muscles and increasing the blood flow to the penis while blocking PDE5 from breaking down cGMP.
As with Viagra, doctors prescribe generic Viagra in dosages of 25, 50, or mg a day. As its effect is fast and short acting, it is best to take generic Viagra an hour before sexual intercourse. However, a person can take it between 30 minutes and 4 hours ahead of having sex. On average, it takes an hour for the drug to reach peak blood levels.
A person may take generic Viagra with or without food. People who are living with health conditions or taking certain medications should consult their doctor first. For example, those taking nitrates, which are medications for chest pain , should not take sildenafil as this may cause their blood pressure to fall.
A person can take generic Viagra as needed but not more than once in 24 hours. The drug does not cause an erection without arousal or sexual stimulation. It is important not to take the pill with grapefruit, as this fruit reduces the absorption and breakdown of the drug in the small intestine. This can lead a person to have toxic levels of medicine in their blood.
Individuals who want to get their prescriptions discreetly can have an online consultation, also known as telemedicine , with a licensed physician and get a home delivery of the drug. Some places where people can get a prescription for and order generic Viagra online include:.
Viagra is one of the most counterfeited drugs worldwide, with many people exploiting online platforms to sell counterfeit Viagra. To date, the U. Customs and Border Protection has had numerous reports of seized counterfeit Viagra pills.
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