Viagra Side Effects and Precautions

Who should not take Viagra?

Patients with bleeding disorders or with patients with active peptic ulceration. The safety of sildenafil citrate is still unknown.

Patients with Peyronie’s disease, or any physical deformation of the penis. Sildenafil citrate should be used with caution in these patients, or in patients who have conditions which may predispose them to priapism (such as sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, or leukemia).
If you take any medications called nitrates. Nitrates are commonly used to treat angina, pain in your chest, jaw, or down your arm, which are common symptoms of heart disease. Medicines called nitrates include nitroglycerin that is found in tablets, ointments , sprays, pastes, or patches. Nitrates can also be found in other medicines such as isosorbidedinitrate or isosorbide mononitrate. Some recreational drugs called “poppers” also contain nitrates, such as amyl nitrate and butyl nitrate. Do not use Viagra if you are using any of these drugs. Speak with your doctor or pharmacists if you are not sure if any of your medications contain nitrates.
Patients with bleeding disorders or with patients with active peptic ulceration. The safety of sildenafil citrate is still unknown.
Avoid Viagra if you have had a heart attack, stroke, or life-threatening heart irregularities within the past 6 months.
If you are told to refrain from sexual activity. Your doctor may have told you not to have sexual activity because of health problems. Sexual activity can put an extra strain on your heart, especially if your heart is already weak from heart disease or a heart attack.
If you are taking other ED drugs. Do not combine Viagra with other erectile dysfunction drugs such as Cialis or Levitra.
If you are allergic to Viagra or any of its ingredients. The active ingredient in Viagra is sildenafil citrate. The inactive ingredients include:

microcrystalline cellulose
anhydrous dibasic calcium phosphate
croscarmellose sodium
magnesium stearate
hydroxypropyl methylcellulose
titanium dioxide
lactose
triacetin
FD&C blue #2 aluminum lake

If you have certain eye problems. Stop using Viagra if you have any loss in your eyesight. One side effect of Viagra is changes in color vision (seeing a blue tinge on objects or having difficulty telling the difference between blue and green). If you experience this, stop taking Viagra and see your doctor immediately.
If you take any medicines called “alpha blockers”, other than Flomax 0 .4 mg daily. Alpha blockers are sometimes prescribed for high blood pressure or prostate problems. If Viagra is taken with alpha 0.4 blockers other than Flomax mg daily, it can cause your blood pressure to abruptly drop to an unsafe level. You might feel dizzy, faint or have a heart attack or stroke.

What should you discuss with your doctor before taking Viagra?

Before taking Viagra, tell your doctor if you:

Have diabetes
Suffered a stroke
Have high or low blood pressure that is not controlled
Have heart problems such as angina (chest pain), irregular heartbeats, heart failure or have every had a heart attack
Are over 50 years old
Smoke
Have liver problems
Have a family history of retinitis pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye disease
Have stomach ulcers
Have kidney problems and require dialysis
Have a bleeding or clotting disorder
Have a personal or family history of a rare heart condition known as prolongation of the QT interval (long QT syndrome)
Have a physical deformity of the penis such as Peyronie’s disease
Have ever had blood cell problems, including sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, or leukemia
Have had an erection that lasted more than 4 hours

If you have any of the above conditions, you may not be able to take Viagra, or you may require a dosage adjustment or special monitoring during treatment.

What other medicines affect Viagra?

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Some medicines may be affected by Viagra or may affect how it works. Know the medications you take, and keep a list of them with you to show your doctor when needed. Always check with your doctor before starting or stopping any medicines to ensure that the combination is safe. Tell your doctor or pharmacists if you take any of the following:

Medicines called alpha blockers (other than tamsulosin (Flomax) 0.4 mg once a day). These include terazosin HCI (Hytrin), doxazosin mesylate (Cardura), prazosin HCI (Minipress), alfuzosin HCI (Uroxatral), guanadrel (Hylorel), and others. Alpha blockers are often prescribed to patients who suffer from prostate problems or high blood pressure. If Viagra is taken with certain alpha blockers, it might result in a sudden drop in blood pressure, you may feel dizzy or faint.
An anti-fungal medication such as ketoconazole (Nizoral) or itraconazole (Sporanox).
Medicines that treat abnormal heartbeat, these include quinidine, procainamide, amiodarone and sotalol.
Any form of nitrate medication, this combination can result in a severe drop in blood pressure that can trigger dizziness, fainting, or even a heart attack. Nitrate medications include: nitroglycerin (Nitrostat, Nitrolingual, Nitro-Dur, Nitro-Bid, Minitran, Deponit, Transderm-Nitro, others) isosorbide dinitrate (Dilatrate-SR, Isordil, Sorbitrate), isosorbide mononitrate (Imdur, ISMO, Monoket), and amyl nitrate (a recreational drug known as “poppers”).
The antibiotic erythromycin, used to fight many different types of bacterial infections, such as tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, whooping cough, Legionnaire’s disease, Chlamydia, gonorrhea, skin infections, and others.
Medicines used to treat HIV such as ritonavir (Norvir), indinavir (Crixivan), and others.
Any other drug used to treat ED or impotence, such as vardenafil (Levitra), Tadalafil (Cialis), alprostadil (Caverject, Muse, Edex) or yohimbine (Yocon, Yodoxin, others).

These drugs increase the concentration of Viagra in the blood. You may not be able to take Viagra, or you may require an adjustment in your dosage, or special monitoring during treatment if you are taking any of the medicines listed above.

What should I avoid while taking Viagra?

Do not take any other drug used to treat ED or impotence, such as vardenafil (Levitra), tadalafil (Cialis), alprostadil (Caveriect, Muse, Edex) or vohimbine (Yocon, Yodoxin, others), without first speaking with your doctor or pharmacist.

Grapefruit or grapefruit juice may interact with Viagra causing potentially adverse effects and even cause fatal consequences. Talk with your doctor about drinking grapefruit juice while taking Viagra. Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor.
Drinking alcohol can also temporarily impair the ability to achieve an erection. To reduce impairment do not drink excessive amounts of alcohol before sexual activity.
Viagra should not be taken with excessive amounts of alcohol (for example, 5 glasses of wine or 5 shots of whiskey). Excessive alcohol may increase the risk of getting a headache, feeling dizzy, increasing your heart rate, or lowering your blood pressure.
Be careful when driving or operating machinery until you know how Viagra affects you. Viagra may cause dizziness or faintness in some patients. The ability to drive and/or operate machinery may be impaired when taking Viagra. If you add in alcohol, dizziness or faintness may be worse.
Do not take any other drug used to treat ED or impotence, such as vardenafil (Levitra), tadalafil (Cialis), alprostadil (Caveriect, Muse, Edex) or vohimbine (Yocon, Yodoxin, others), without first speaking with your doctor or pharmacist.

Side effects of Viagra

Very few drugs work perfectly, and Viagra is no exception. Just about every drug has side effects that arise because the drug is flowing throughout the body and may affect parts of the body unintentionally. Viagra has several side effects that you should be aware of.

Common side effects of Viagra:

Upset stomach
Indigestion
Diarrhea
Stuffy or runny nose
Headache
Flushing
Angina (pain, tightness, discomfort, numbness, or tingling in the chest, arms, neck, or jaw)
Chest pain or irregular heartbeats
Shortness of breath
Swollen ankles or legs
Back pain
Fainting
Dizziness
An allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closed throat; swollen lips, tongue, or face; or hives)

All side effects are generally mild to moderate in nature and usually go away after a few hours. Patients who experience back pain and muscle aches usually get it 12 to 24 hours after taking Viagra. The back pain and muscle aches tend to go away by themselves within 48 hours. If the pain is frequent and starts to bother you talk with your doctor.

Uncommonly side effects:

In rare cases, some patients experienced a sudden loss of some or all of their vision when taking prescription ED tablets (including Viagra). It’s not known if the vision loss was caused by the medication. If you have a sudden decrease or loss of vision, or vision changes, such as seeing a blue tinge to objects or having difficulty telling the difference between blue and green colors, stop taking any ED tablet and consult your doctor immediately.
An erection that won’t go away (priapism). If you get an erection that lasts for more than 4 hours, seek immediate medical help to avoid long-term injury. Priapism must be treated as soon as possible or lasting damage can happen to the penis including the ability to have future erections.

There may be other side effects of Viagra. Ask your doctor or pharmacists for more information.

Important note:

Do not give Viagra to other people, even if they have the same symptoms that you have. They may have other medical conditions you are not aware of and when Viagra is used could potentially harm them.

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