When you take medication for erectile dysfunction, you want that medication to deliver consistent, effective results. Unfortunately, medications taken in pill form can lose effectiveness because they are absorbed through the digestive system.
The Oklahoma Men’s Clinic understands the importance of uniformity in erectile dysfunction treatment. So our office in Oklahoma City, OK, works with you to ensure you’re taking the best medication in the ideal form for your needs.
Tackling erectile dysfunction is more nuanced than just writing a prescription and sending you on your way. The Oklahoma Men’s Clinic prioritizes your results, so our erectile dysfunction treatments include options customized to your needs.
What Causes Erectile Dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction (ED) can stem from psychological or medical concerns. The condition occurs when a man struggles to develop or maintain an erection capable of completing sexual activities.
While occasional problems with an erection are normal, erectile dysfunction that is frequent or recurring may be a sign of an underlying health concern.
Obtaining an erection is a complicated bodily process that involves hormones, emotions, nerves, muscles, and blood vessels. Medical issues, stress, mental health concerns, or a combination of these may cause or worsen ED.
What Medications Serve as ED Treatments?
Most men who struggle with ED take one of three popular medications: sildenafil, vardenafil, or tadalafil. These prescriptions address ED by increasing nitric oxide in the body, relaxing the muscles in the penis, increasing blood flow, and supporting a firmer erection.
Each of these medications works slightly differently, and determining the most appropriate prescription depends on several factors.
Sildenafil (Viagra)
Sildenafil is also commonly known as Viagra, and its chemical makeup requires you to take it on an empty stomach an hour before sex for optimal effectiveness. Patients with mild to moderate ED find its benefits last four to five hours or longer.
Vardenafil (Levitra, Staxyn)
Vardenafil’s brand names include Levitra and Staxyn. Patients should also take this medication an hour before sex. However, an empty stomach isn’t necessary for it to be effective. Patients hoping to delay its absorption — and its effects — may pair the medication with a high-fat meal.
Vardenafil also continues to benefit patients four to five hours after consumption.
Tadalafil (Cialis)
Tadalafil is the generic version of Cialis. Men can take it one to two hours before a planned sexual encounter. Patients can take tadalafil with or without food, and its effectiveness lasts up to 36 hours.
To increase the potential for spontaneous sexual encounters, physicians may prescribe tadalafil in lower doses, taken daily, or in larger doses as needed.
Do Any ED Treatments Work Faster?
The closest option to an “on-demand” erectile dysfunction treatment in oral pill form is the daily use of tadalafil in low doses. Most oral ED treatments require 15 to 60 minutes before patients can feel the effects. The impact may be delayed or fail to appear completely if the patient takes their medication on a full stomach.
Two common concerns about oral ED treatments are inconsistent benefits and long activation times. If the medication fails to produce an erection when it matters, it’s not serving its purpose.
What Are Sublingual ED Treatments?
If you’re frustrated with the length of time it takes for your ED treatment to kick in, then you may need a sublingual ED treatment.
Sublingual medications are not pills intended to be swallowed. Instead, these medications are placed under the tongue and absorbed into the blood through the mouth’s tissues. The space under the tongue has many tiny blood vessels (capillaries). The capillaries allow you to absorb the medication directly into your bloodstream.
What Are the Benefits of Sublingual ED Treatments?
When given the option, many patients choose sublingual ED treatments, as this newer administration method provides the following key benefits:
- Faster absorption
- More effective outcomes
- Lower dosages necessary
- Easier consumption
In addition, patients taking sublingual ED treatments never have to worry about if their stomach is empty enough or if their meal was too high in fat for their medication to work correctly.
Patients whose ED treatments began with oral medications often find sublingual lozenges of the same drugs are more effective, faster-acting, and allow for more sexual spontaneity than their oral counterparts.
Are Sublingual ED Treatments Proven to Work?
Studies examining the effectiveness of sublingual ED treatments prove that sublingual medications offer significant advantages over their traditional counterparts.
A study explicitly examining sublingual sildenafil found that the sublingual method of administration provided patients with a faster onset of activation compared to oral sildenafil.
Additionally, the sublingual tablets allowed for lower doses, as none of the medication was lost in the digestive process. As a result, patients saw more predictable activation, and the lower doses may be more cost-effective.
How Do I Know Which ED Treatment Is Best for Me?
At the Oklahoma Men’s Clinic, we want our patients to find the right solution as quickly as possible. So when we treat men for erectile dysfunction, we work with our patients to ensure we’re narrowing down the field of treatment options before we offer medications.
Then, we can supply you with a range of treatments so you can try them and decide for yourself which medication best suits your needs. Finally, after you have the chance to use the solutions we provided, we use your feedback to determine the precise dosage and administration to allow you to enjoy sex again consistently.
Improve Your ED Treatments with the Oklahoma Men’s Clinic
Why should you fast, wait an hour or two, and lose all spontaneity to maintain an erection when better options are available? At the Oklahoma Men’s Clinic, we know that restoring ease to your sex life begins with finding the treatment so effortless that you can forget about it as soon as you take it.
You deserve an ED treatment that restores your spontaneity and freedom. Schedule your appointment at our Oklahoma City offices today.