Oral medications for erectile dysfunction:
Explore your options

With its introduction in 1998, sildenafil (Viagra) helped bring erectile dysfunction out of the bedroom and into the doctor's office. Since then, the drug has become a first-line treatment for men hoping to improve erectile function. But it's no longer the only pill that treats this condition. Vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis) are two other available options.

Erectile dysfunction — also referred to as impotence — most commonly refers to the inability to achieve an adequate erection for sexual activity. More men are seeking help for this problem. And doctors are gaining a better understanding of what causes erectile dysfunction and are finding new and better ways to treat it.

With new medications — and more choices on the horizon — men who find one medication that doesn't work for them have other options. Find out how these medications work, what their potential side effects are and what makes them different.

Viagra, Levitra and Cialis work in much the same way. They enhance the effects of nitric oxide, a chemical messenger that relaxes smooth muscles in the penis. This increases the amount of blood and allows a natural sequence to occur — an erection in response to sexual stimulation. These medications don't automatically produce an erection. Instead they allow an erection to occur after physical and psychological stimulation.

Many men experience improvement in erectile function after taking these medications regardless of the cause of their impotence. For instance, men with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and depression have reported favorable results.

These medications share many similarities, but they have differences as well. These drugs vary in dosage, duration of effectiveness and possible side effects. Other distinctions — for example, which drug is best for certain types of men — aren't yet known. No study has directly compared these three medications.

*Not many will get any of these sideeffects, only a very low percentage have gotten these side effects.

Choosing the best oral medication for you may depend on several factors, including how well your body handles one drug over another and the amount of time you want the drug to remain in effect.