Just Curious About Viagra

Even though I don't have any problem with erectile dysfunction (ED), I was curious about Viagra, as I imagine most men are. So, I decided to see if I could get some and give it a try; these are my experiences.

Since I wasn't really in the mood to try asking a doctor in person for a prescription for Viagra, I thought I would try ordering it online. If you actually bring this up with your doctor you may be requested to try a penile cuff first to confirm that you have an erectile problem. This is basically a small Velcro cuff that is put loosely on your penis before you go to sleep. Since men typically experience several erections at night while sleeping, your penis will expand and partly separate the cuff. Having erections at night would tend to show that the problem was perhaps more psychological than physical. However, the technical definition of an adequate erection is 80% of normal firmness and most doctors would not be able to determine this. Even most urologists would be unable to measure actual erectile firmness. They too would tend to simply go by anecdotal information from the patient about ability to achieve erection and difficulty with penetration caused by lack of firmness. In cases where ED is caused by damage to the internal pudendal artery or by poor blood circulation drugs like Viagra may not help. However, there is some encouraging information that Viagra can help when the problem is caused by trauma to the cavernous nerves such as from surgery for prostate cancer.

Since I didn't want to discuss this with a doctor in person I did searches on the internet to find an online source that would sell Viagra. I found a place in the US that would sell online. I had to fill out a brief questionnaire along with the information for the tentative order. Naturally, I fibbed a bit and said that I had erectile problems when, of course, I don't. Sure enough, my description was accepted and a doctor on their end wrote a prescription to allow them to fill the order. The process is pretty simple but it is not exactly cheap. The pills cost quite a bit apiece and there is the shipping charge along with an extra fee for the prescription to fill the order. Since Viagra is a prescription drug they won't fill the order without a prescription. Ten tablets of 100mg Viagra typically costs a minimum of $70 so $7 per pill. You can get a better price if you buy 30 pills for $140 which would be $4.67 per pill. However, there will also be shipping charges plus an additional fee to have the doctor on their end write the prescription. The doctor's fee will bring the price up to at least $5 per pill.

So, I wondered about the generic brands of Viagra. Naturally, the maker of real Viagra gives all sorts of dire warnings about obtaining anything but 100% patented Viagra. However, I knew that several big drug companies in India make a large number of US drugs under license and these are considered exactly the same as the US versions. So, it seemed reasonable to me that if these companies could make so many other drugs to full FDA specifications that they could probably handle generic sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra. I did some research online and found out that generic Viagra is sold in India under the brand names Silagra, Kamagra, Edegra, Zenegra, and Caverta. I was concerned that a foreign online ordering site might just be a scam like the Nigerian scams I receive almost daily. Recently, I even filled out a form online for a free eBay wholesalers kit. They then called me and told me that they were ready to ship it right out just as soon as I paid the $1.85 shipping charge. Naturally, I wasn't about to give credit card or banking information to someone who called me so I had to pass on their offer. Likewise, if you get emails that talk about low prices for Viagra don't order anything from them. You can't really trust a spammer. However, I had no trouble doing a search and finding places online that sell these Indian brands. The process was quite similar to the US order: fill out an even briefer questionnaire and make an order. The overseas orders have shipping charges but don't seem to charge a doctors fee. The big difference is that these Indian brands cost about one third of what real Viagra costs. Since the prescription for my genuine Viagra was for 100mg tablets I ordered the same thing in the other brands. Typical prices I've seen for generic Viagra for 30 100mg tablets is $60 or $2 per pill. I ordered Silagra and one of the other brands and some sildenafil citrate Soft-Tabs which are supposed to dissolve more quickly.

Just like my US order, all of my overseas orders arrived with the correct number of tablets and there were no phantom charges on my credit card. So there was no obvious attempt to rip me off. However, that still left the question of whether the Indian brands were really the same as genuine Viagra. The Sildenafil and the Soft-Tabs both came in individually sealed blister packs the way that most over-the-counter gel tabs are sold. However, the other brand simply came loose in a ziplock bag. This did seem a little unprofessional, however, it did occur to me that the capped plastic pharmacy bottle that my US order came in probably didn't protect the pills anymore than the sealed ziplock bag. Now with genuine Viagra I had something to compare the generics with. It was time to try the genuine Viagra and see what it did if anything.

Since I don't actually have any erectile problems and I, in fact, have a much higher than average libido I did wonder if I would notice anything from the Viagra. However, I can now safely say that even without ED, it definitely had an effect on me. It seems to take the pills at least half an hour to start working for me and they seem to last about five hours. I've seen it suggested that it can take an hour to start working and perhaps it would right after eating. There were noticeable sideffects. The side effects for me included a feeling of having the blood rush to my head. This gave me a small headache and gave me a feeling of pressure in my throat. It also had the odd side effect of making the light look more blue. Also, with only slight exertion I would get red in the face. However, the intended effect was there as well. Viagra won't just give you an erection; you still have to be aroused in some way for that to happen. However, I noticed that it took less arousal to give me an erection; I definitely got an erection more quickly than typical. Also, after reaching orgasm, I was able to get another erection more quickly than typical. So, in terms of the effect it seemed to give me erections more quickly and to allow quicker recovery. The side effects are not that pleasant but I knew after the first test to take some pain reliever before taking the Viagra. However, you should eat some saltines or drink some milk to keep your stomach from being upset. Since these are 100mg tablets you can also try cutting these in half and see if 50mgs has enough effect. This would reduce the side effects to some extent and if 50mgs isn't enough taking the second half will give the full effect in another 30 minutes. Sadly, the 50mg tablets are not half the price of the 100mg so it still makes sense to buy 100mg tablets and a good pill cutter even if 50mgs works for you. Pill cutters typically use a razor blade to make the cut so handle with care. Also, after the pill is cut you definitely need to store the unused half in a sealed container.

So, I then tried each of the other three generic brands that I had bought. Unlike the dire warnings from the Real Viagra website (which I've included as a link) I have to say that all of the generics that I tried worked, including the ones that came loose in a ziplock bag. There was no difference between the generics and the genuine Viagra that I could detect. They all seemed to have exactly the same erectile effect and the same side effects. The Soft-Tabs weren't really worth the extra price since even though they dissolve more quickly, they still take about the same amount of time to take effect. I suppose if it weren't illegal to obtain drugs from overseas sources, I would certainly consider the Indian generics since they seem to basically be the same as real Viagra. In particular, the packaging on the Silagra was very professional. The tablets are individually sealed and the foil is printed with the active ingredient, sildenafil citrate and the dosage. It contains the manufacturer's name and address and when the tablets were packed along with the expiration date. The foil package also contains consumer warning information like not to take more than 4 pills a day. What is particularly interesting though is that all of the printed information is in English. This seems to suggest that the factory always intended to sell the product in English speaking countries. For example, I would bet that Silagra is considered a normal brand in both Australia and Canada and probably England as well. Nevertheless, Silagra is currently illegal to important into the US. Naturally, any version of Viagra will contain sildenafil citrate and will have the same warnings and precautions as real Viagra. These warnings and precautions can be seen on the Viagra website which I've linked to.