Viagra, Cialis, Levitra

There have been repeated questions and statements over time about using drugs for erectile dysfunction to enhance sexual performance. Read this carefully: If you are capable of erection, the best thing that can result from using these drugs is nothing! The worst thing that can happen is experiencing the side-effects with no improved sexual function. The side effects are uncommon but you really do not want them. Even temporary blindness is bad news and priapism (can't get it down) requires a trip to the emergency room.

All three commonly prescribed drugs use chemicals that work the same way. They assist the small valves that allow blood into the two penis sacks to keep blood in there. Erection is nothing but a blood filled penis. You may have noticed that as you approach orgasm, the head engorges and turns purple.

There is much more to sexual fatigue than helping these two little valves work and if you are worn out, no drug is going to make you perform like a rabbit. Other health factors are greater causes of reduced performance: Smoking, overweight, too little exercise and not enough sleep are all major causes of sexual lethargy. Alcohol is the most common sexual suppressant in use. In some cases, the drinking is to avoid sex and in some cases to overcome not having sex. In either case, alcohol reduces sexual competency and desire. Diabetes, so common among the overweight, is a penis killer--at least an erection killer.

The ED drugs do not enhance the performance of those who do not need them. Those who do, please do use them; they do work. Do not develop unrealistic expectations. Even the ads for one say "UP TO X hours." That is "up to" not a guarantee that it WILL. Some men adapt to one of these drugs and others prefer one of the other two. A fifty year old should not expect to be as hard as he was in his twenties. The erection will not last as long as it once did. Like many drugs, these do not cure anything; they simply compensate for a weakness in the body. They are not magic bullets to keep you going more. If you are capable of three orgasms in an evening without the drugs, you will be capable of three orgasms with the drugs. You will be no stiffer or longer lasting. Those sites purporting to make you a real stud with these drugs are simply marketing. Those of you who wish to flame me are using anecdotal evidence - much of which reports a placebo effect. The clinical studies are on my side.

These are not drugs to be played with; they are helpers to keep some men functioning longer and they all have the warning that they are only for men healthy enough to have sex.

OP: Brandye 12/28/2006