Tadalafil

What is tadalafil?

Tadalafil relaxes muscles of the blood vessels and allocates blood stream to a specific area of the body.

Tadalafil, best known by the trade name Cialis, is a drug that is used to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence) and the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate). The second brand of tadalfil is Adcirca, which is used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and help to improve exercise ability in both men and women.

How does tadalafil work

Tadalafil fixes the problem by relaxing the blood vessels of the penis, thus enabling blood to flow more freely from the body to the penis. If you have erectile dysfunction, that is the case, you can get an erection more easily. This is a good way to help with your urinary symptoms if you have BPH.

This medication doesn’t lead to erections by itself — it requires sexual stimulation.

Tadalafil does not:

• cure erectile dysfunction (ED)
  
• increase your sexual desire
  
• prevent the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
  
• serve as contraception

How to use Tadalafil

The Patient Information Leaflet should be read, if possible, and it should be provided by your pharmacist before you start taking tadalafil and each time you get a refill. If any query exists, it is advised to get in touch with the doctor or pharmacist.

This medication should be taken by mouth either with or without food as directed by your doctor. The recommended dose of one tablet daily should not be exceeded.

In the instructions, the patient is being told by the manufacturer to swallow this pill as a whole. Nonetheless, there are some equivalents (immediate-release tablets) that may be split or crushed into pieces. This drug should be taken exactly according to the advice of your doctor.

The dosage essentially depends on your medical condition and the way you respond to the treatment along with other medications that may already be being taken by you.

It is important to inform your doctor and pharmacist about all the things that are taken (including prescription medicine, nonprescription medicine, and herbal products).

The treatment of the symptoms of BPH involves the medication being taken as directed by your doctor, once a day. If finasteride is also being taken with this drug for treating symptoms of BPH, it is important to discuss with your doctor the duration for which this drug needs to be used.

Tadalafil is prescribed in 2 ways to treat erectile dysfunction- ED. It will be decided by your doctor whether you'll take it as a daily pill or as needed. Since your dosage depends on how you take it, it is crucial to follow your doctor's instructions exactly because developing a resistance to the drug is not desirable.

The first way involves using the drug as needed, at least half an hour before the planned sexual intercourse. The action of tadalafil may last beyond the 36 hour mark.

Before taking this medicine

Tadalafil should not be considered if you are allergic to it.

Pairing tadalafil with some other medications may give rise to a sudden, and severe reduction of blood pressure. Do not take this medicine if you also use

• riociguat (which is used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension); or
  
  
• Nitrate products such as nitroglycerin (for chest pain or heart problems) or drugs as isosorbide dinitrate, isosorbide mononitrate, and recreational drugs such as amyl nitrate or nitrite "poppers".

There is a possibility that the tadalafil might stay in your bloodstream for 2 or more days after the first dose that you take and it can stay there even longer in the case of kidney or liver disease. It would be best not to use nitrate during this period.

To make sure this medicine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have ever had:To make sure this medicine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have ever had:

• problems with heart failure or heart rhythm.
  
  
• the onset of a heart attack or a stroke.
  
  
• coronary artery disease (chest pain), hypertension (high or low blood pressure).
  
  
• PAH (unless you are taking tadalafil for this);
  
  
• the patient develops pulmonary veno-occlusive disease, which is the obstruction of veins that deliver blood from the lungs to the heart.
  
  
• liver or kidney disease (or if you are being treated with dialysis);
  
  
• vision loss, or pigmentosa of the eye (a disease passed down from generation to generation).
  
  
• a bleeding disorder;
  
  
• anemia resulting from a blood cell disorder, like sickle cell or multiple myeloma, or leukemia;
  
  
• an organ where the penis is physically deformed (Peyronie's disease for example) or an erection that lasts longer than 4 hours.
  
  
• a stomach ulcer; or
  
  
• health issues that either self-initiated or transmission by a partner that make sexual activity unsafe.

In a small number of people taking medicines like tadalafil (Viagra or others), sudden vision loss has been occurred. It has been found that most of these people already had certain eye problems or risk factors for blood vessel disorders (heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, smoking, or being over 50 years old).

Whether the medicine was the actual cause of vision loss is not clear. Sudden hearing loss has also been reported with the use of tadalafil. Tadalafil should be stopped and a doctor should be called immediately for any hearing loss, decrease in hearing, or ringing in the ears.

Tadalafil should not be started or stopped during pregnancy without the advice of your doctor. Heart failure, stroke, or other medical problems in both mother and baby may be caused by having pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) during pregnancy. If pregnancy occurs, the doctor should be told right away.

While using tadalafil, it may not be safe to breastfeed. Any risk should be asked about from your doctor.

Cialis is not to be used in women.

Use of Tadalafil by anyone younger than 18 years old is not approved.

Precautions

Prior to starting tadalafil, it should be let known to your health-care provider or pharmacist if an allergy to it or any other substances exists on your part.

The drug could be composed of inactive ingredients that can stimulate allergic or other responses. More in-depth explanations can be provided by your pharmacist.

Before this medication is used, your medical history should be told to your doctor or pharmacist, especially of: heart problems (such as a heart attack or life-threatening irregular heartbeat in the past 6 months, chest pain/angina, heart failure), a stroke in the past 6 months, kidney disease, liver disease, high or low blood pressure, dehydration, penis conditions (such as angulation, fibrosis/scarring, Peyronie's disease), a history of painful/prolonged erection (priapism), conditions that may increase the risk of priapism (such as sickle cell anemia, leukemia, multiple myeloma), eye problems (such as retinitis pigmentosa, sudden decreased vision, NAION), bleeding disorders, active stomach ulcers.

By this drug, a dizzy effect can be caused. With alcohol or marijuana, your head might be made to spin. It is not considered good to drive, operate machinery, or do anything that requires alertness until it can be done safely by you. Alcoholic beverages should be limited. If you are on the cannabis (marijuana) drug, apply to your doctor.

Before undergoing surgery, all products you use (including prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs, and herbal products) should be told to your doctor or dentist.

This version of the drug, which is different from the one typically intended for women, is only used in the pregnancy period when decisively needed. These should be talked over with your doctor.