Some doctors believe that regular nightly treatment with low doses of Viagra can provide noticeable therapeutic benefits for men with mild ED symptoms and even help fix the impaired erectile function in a long run. Others are confident that the risk of side effects trumps any possible advantages of such therapy and call for patients diagnosed with ED to take this drug on an as-needed basis only and not more frequently than once every 24 hours.

What questions to ask yourself before starting ED treatment with daily Viagra?

If you are thinking of taking Viagra nightly to relieve your erectile dysfunction symptoms and bring fun back to your sex life, here are a few questions you need to ask yourself first. The short questionnaire was originally compiled by a reputable medical online resource health.harvard.edu to help men check the suitability of daily Cialis, but experts from Canadian Pharmacy Med Supply Drive believe it might be equally helpful for Viagra patients who are contemplating the possibility of switching from the on-demand-only to daily use of this medicine.

Mind that the following only applies to patients with established ED who seek to use Viagra to get a firm erection within 30-60 minutes. If your doctor prescribed you sildenafil-based Viagra for the treatment of any other health problem, you should closely follow the medication regimen suggested by your physician.

How often do you have sexual intercourse?

If you have a committed partner with whom you engage in sex at least 4-5 times a week at about the same time in the evening or at night, taking a pill of low-dose Viagra before going to bed might be a reasonable and viable option. However, if your sex encounters are more sporadical and happen in the morning or during the day as often as at nighttime, taking Viagra nightly will not do the trick as the drug only remains in your bloodstream for 4-6 hours and should not be used more often than once a day.

Is spontaneity necessary for your sex life?

If you want to be able to have sex with your partner at any time of day or night, without planning or preparing for it too much, Viagra might not be the right choice for you. The drug offers a 6-hour window, but it is not enough to give you the freedom to engage in sex whenever you want after just a little erotic stimulation.

Moreover, if you already took Viagra a few hours before the opportunity to have sex presented itself, taking another one is not recommended. The instructions are clear: you can only have one pill of this medication every 24 hours to avoid unpleasant and dangerous adverse side effects.

How well have you been tolerating on-demand use of sildenafil so far?

Patients who have been taking Viagra on demand and now want to switch to daily use of lower doses of this drug need to evaluate carefully all the risks and benefits associated with such a decision. While lower doses might produce fewer bothersome side effects, regular use of the medication means that the side effects will be always present. Most commonly, the side effects that people who take Viagra daily or nightly experience include nausea, headache, nasal stuffiness, upset stomach, blurriness of the vision, and pain in the back.

Besides, lower doses often come with reduced effectiveness, so if, for example, 50mg of Viagra taken on demand worked well for you, reducing it to 25mg nightly can fail to bring you the same excellent result.

Talk to your doctor to see if he thinks that taking lower amounts of Viagra every night is a good and safe idea in your particular situation.

Are you prepared to give up alcohol and certain meds for a long time?

Taking sildenafil with alcohol and certain medications is unadvised as such combination may adversely affect your blood pressure and increase the possibility of other unsafe side effects. Men who take Viagra only when they need it to engage in sex may not worry about refraining from alcohol or skipping a medication occasionally.

However, regular use of Viagra might mean that you will have to give up alcohol for a long time and make changes to your medication regimen of other drugs to avoid dangerous interactions. Drugs that should not be co-administered with sildenafil or have to be taken very carefully include:

  • organic nitrate drugs;
  • HIV antiretroviral meds;
  • antifungals;
  • some antibiotics;
  • blood pressure-regulating medications, etc.

Before you start using Viagra nightly, tell your physician about any medicinal drugs, herbal medications, vitamins, and dietary supplements that you have to take for the treatment of your other health problems.

Could low-dose Viagra be an effective ED prevention measure if taken nightly?

Doctors and scientists around the world seem to have the same opinion on this: Viagra is a powerful erection-boosting medication that effectively helps 7 out of 10 men diagnosed with erectile dysfunction. However, there is nothing to suggest that this drug can make your erections stronger or more lasting if you do not have ED and are perfectly capable of producing sufficient penile arousal on your own.

The occasional or daily use of Viagra by men who are not affected by ED will not prevent the problem in the future but will increase the possibility of negative and dangerous side effects at present.

Which dose of Viagra is safe for daily use to treat ED?

The safety of the drug in general and the most suitable single dose of this medicine can only be determined by your prescribing physician who is familiar with your medical history and is well aware of your individual treatment needs and limitations. Do not self-prescribe any dose of Viagra without talking this through with your doctor first.

Based on your characteristics and immediate needs and considering the success/failure of your previous treatment with Viagra, your doctor might suggest trying 20-25mg of Viagra, taken every day before bedtime. If this amount of drug turns out to be ineffective, see your doctor for further adjustments to the dosing regimen.