Vardenafil Information

Vardenafil is used to increase blood flow to certain areas of the body, as a treatment for male impotence or erectile dysfunction or as a muscle relaxant.

You should not take tadalafil if you are taking a nitrate drug for heart problems or chest pain. These include isosorbide dinitrate (Isordil, Dilatrate-SR, Sorbitrate), isosorbide mononitrate (Imdur, Monoket, ISMO) or nitroglycerin (Nitrostat, Nitro-Dur, Nitrolingual, Nitro-Bid). Certain recreational drugs such as nitrite (“poppers”) and amyl nitrate may also contain nitrates. Taking tadalafil with any of these nitrate medications may cause fainting, heart attack, stroke or a serious drop in blood pressure.

A small percentage of individuals have experienced a sudden loss of eyesight caused by decreased blood flow to the eye’s optic nerve. It has not been proven whether tadalafil is the cause of the vision loss. Individuals who are older than 50, smokers or who have diabetes, high cholesterol, pre-existing eye problems, high blood pressures or diabetes are more at risk of experiencing a sudden vision loss after taking tadalafil.

If you have experienced any of the following conditions, be sure to consult with your doctor:

• Liver disease
• History of blood clots or strokes
• High or low blood pressure
• Heart attack, congestive heart failure or angina within the 6 months
• Bleeding disorder such as hemophilia
• Stomach ulcer
• Retinitis pigmentosa (inherited eye condition)
• Physical deformity of the penis such as Peyronie's disease
• Kidney disease or are on dialysis
• Blood cell disorder such as leukemia, multiple myeloma or sickle cell anemia
• Inability to engage in sexual intercourse due to health reasons
• Personal or family history of Long QT syndrome

If you have any of the above conditions, you may require a dosage adjustment or special tests or you may not be able to take vardenafil. Although vardenafil is not meant to be taken by women, the medication is not believed to be harmful to unborn babies. However, you should not take the drug if you are pregnant, plan to become so or are breast-feeding as the drug may pass into the breast milk. If you are older than 65, you may require a lower dose of vardenafil.

You should take vardenafil with one full glass of water. Don’t take any high-fat foods beforehand as they may delay the time period required for the drug to take effect. You should only take vardenafil when required, 30 to 90 minutes before engaging in sexual activity. When combined with sexual stimulation, the medication can help men achieve an erection. Never take the medication more than once daily and wait 24 hours before taking the next dose. You should store the medication at room temperature away from heat and moisture.

If you believe you have taken too much vardenafil, be sure to seek immediate medical attention. Possible symptoms of a vardenafil overdose include muscle or back pain or vision problems. You should also avoid drinking alcohol, grapefruit juice or grapefruits while taking vardenafil as they may increase some of the side effects.

If you experience any of the following possible serious side effects of vardenafil, be sure to consult medical attention immediately:

• Sudden vision loss or vision changes
• Nausea
• Dizziness, light headedness or fainting
• Tingling, numbness or pain in your jaw, neck, chest or arms during sexual activity
• Signs of an allergic reaction such as swelling of your tongue, face, throat or lips, hives or difficulty breathing.
• Swelling of your feet, hands or ankles
• Irregular heartbeat
• Shortness of breath
• Painful erection or one that lasts longer than 4 hours
• Chest pain or a pain or heavy feeling in your shoulder or arm
• Sweating
• General ill feeling

If you experience less serious side effects such as a stuffy nose, headache, back pain, upset stomach or redness or warmth in your neck, chest or face, you can continue taking vardenafil. However, you should consult with your doctor. If you experience any unusual or bothersome side effects that are not listed, talk to your doctor.

Don’t take vardenafil with any nitroglycerin-type drugs for chest of heart pain such as isosorbide dinitrate, nitroglycerin or amyl nitrite. Vardenafil may also cause interactions with any of the following:

• Bosentan
• Troleandomycin
• Grapefruit juice
• Cisapride
• Nicardipine
• Rifabutin, rifapentine or rifampin
• Arsenic trioxide
• Drugs used to treat mood problems or depression such as fluvoxamine, nefazodone, fluoxetine, tricyclic antidepressants, pimozide, amoxapine or maprotilinephenothiazines
• Pentamidine
• Certain drugs used to treat seizures such as phenytoin, phenobarbital and carbamazepine
• Pimozide
• Certain antibiotics such as erythromycin, sparfloxacin and clarithromycin
• Certain medications used to treat AIDS or HIV infections
• Diltiazem
• Alpha blockers such as prazosin (Minipress®), doxazosin (Cardura®), terazosin (Hytrin®) or alfuzosin (UroXatral®) used to treat an enlarged prostate or high blood pressure
• Medications such as voriconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole and fluconazole used to treat fungal infections
• Verapamil
• Methadone
• Medications used to control the heart rhythm such as propafenone, ibutilide, flecainide, disopyramide, amiodarone, procainamide, sotalol, quinidine and dofetilide
• Chloroquine

What is the shelf life of the pills?

The expiry date is listed on each blister. The date will vary depending on the particular batch. The shelf life is 2 years from the manufacturing date and varies depending on when the pills were manufactured.