Viagra®

Viagra® (nicknamed “the little blue pill”) is a drug that is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). It comes in three doses, 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg. The 50 mg dose is the most commonly used, although some people may benefit from higher or lower doses. Viagra® is part of a “family” of medicines used to treat ED called phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i). Other drugs in this family include Cialis (tadalafil), Levitra (vardenafil), and Stendra (avanafil). All of these drugs have the same mechanism of action, but there are subtle differences that may lead your provider to recommend one drug over the other based on your treatment goals.

Here is how Viagra works.

Sildenafil citrate is the chemical name of the active ingredient in Viagra®. When sildenafil is sold in 25, 50, or 100 mg dosages, it’s either brand name Viagra® or the generic version.

Viagra® is a short-acting medication with a rapid onset. You should take Viagra 30–60 minutes before sex, because it reaches peak levels in your blood within 60 minutes. Viagra won't give you a spontaneous erection without sexual stimulation. Here is how long Viagra takes to work.

Viagra® is a short-acting drug with an average half-life of 4–5 hours, which means that half the medicine is gone from the body after 4–5 hours in healthy people. The time that it takes to eliminate Viagra® may be prolonged in older people and people with liver or kidney disease and the drug may work longer in these people. Here is how long Viagra lasts.

As a brand-name erectile dysfunction medication, Viagra® is significantly more expensive than the generic version of the medication, sildenafil citrate. Through Ro, Viagra® is $90 per pill. At other pharmacies, prices can range from tens to hundreds of dollars. If you are looking for effective ED treatment without the high price tag, you can get the Generic Viagra® (Sildenafil), starting at $4 per pill, for a fraction of the cost of brand name Viagra®.