The process of getting an erection is actually very complicated and relies on various factors including libido and physical health.  For erection to occur, first a male must be sexually stimulated.  This occurs in the brain and then triggers the release of nitric oxide in the penis.  The nitric oxide then causes another chemical reaction which ultimately makes the smooth muscle tissue in the penile cavity relax and dilate.  Once the penile cavity is relaxed, blood rushes in and causes erection.

Without sexual stimulation to trigger the release of nitric oxide, the erection process will not be able to occur.  Also, if nitric oxide levels aren’t kept up, then the erection won’t be maintained.  To become sexually stimulated, a man must have a healthy nervous system.  Many factors can interfere with libido such as stress, depression, and fatigue.  Medications which act upon the nervous system, like antidepressants, are also notorious for reducing libido.

If you are unable to get an erection because of one of these libido-related problems, then Viagra will not be able to help.  Contrary to belief, Viagra does not actually have anything to do with the healthy libido needed to get sexual stimulation underway.  Instead, Viagra stops erections from being deteriorated by physical problems.

Viagra inhibits an enzyme called PDE5.  This enzyme is responsible for causing penile cavity cells to contract.  Since erection depends on the penis cavity being relaxed so blood can flow, PDE5 will stop erections from occurring or lasting.  There are many reasons why PDE5 levels can become unbalanced.  Diabetes is a major contributor as well as heart disease, smoking and age.  Viagra can treat erectile dysfunction when it is caused by any of these conditions.  It will NOT, however, treat ED caused by low libido.

So, how do you tell if you need Viagra or a libido enhancer?  If you are unable to get emotionally aroused at all, then you are having a libido problem.  Even if you take Viagra, it will not cause you to become erect because the entire process of erection relies on sexual stimulation.  However, if you are in the mood and psychologically craving sex but your penis isn’t responding, then you have erectile dysfunction.

The good news is that erectile dysfunction is a physical condition which can easily be treated with Viagra.  The medicine will not make you magically get an erection.  Instead, it will improve your quality and duration of erection after you have become sexually stimulated.  It is common, however, for men to experience a combination of low libido and erectile dysfunction.  That is why it is important to talk to your doctor about treating both of these erection problems at once.

The HBO series is based off of the book by the same title which was written by Barbara Rose Brooker.  Goldie Hawn plays the lead character, a 65 year old women who suddenly finds herself single after her husband leaves.  Since “The Viagra Diaries” is to be produced by Darren Star (the force behind Sex and the City), we can count on it to be full of witty puns and insight into senior sexuality.

Even if you aren’t into the idea of a TV show revolving around the wonders of Viagra, the new series does show how far we’ve come in the past decade.  Before Viagra, no one talked about erectile dysfunction and how it can devastate a man’s confidence, health and overall well-being.  Since the magic blue pill gained FDA approval and hit the market, sexuality has never been the same.  Now, even grandpas can enjoy a healthy sex life and they don’t need to feel bad about it.

Despite the fact that Viagra has already been so widely used and is a household name, many men are still suffering with ED in silence.  After all, no one wants to tell their doctor that their penis is not cooperating.  The following inquiries can be even more embarrassing.  The fact that “The Viagra Diaries” is coming out about the same time as generic Viagra will hit the market is sure to make a big splash.  Not only will Viagra be put on the spotlight again, but it will also become about 90% cheaper.

For all the men out there who are still apprehensive about getting a Viagra prescription, you may want to look into a system called remote consultation.  The FDA has deemed Viagra safe enough to be taken without ever having to see a doctor face-to-face.  Instead, you go to an approved online pharmacy and submit a form with your symptoms and medical history.  A licensed doctor takes a look at the information and decides whether or not you should use Viagra.  Aside from the fact that this method of getting a Viagra prescription is discreet, it is also cheaper because you save on the doctor’s visit costs.

You can also buy Viagra online from many foreign pharmacies which do not require you to have a prescription at all.  These pharmacies are also the cheapest sources of Viagra and often carry generic Viagra.  As the prevalence of Viagra in the media is showing us, erectile dysfunction is nothing to be ashamed about and it is healthy to have an active sex life after 60.  So, there is no reason not to talk to your doctor about taking Viagra.

If you are confused about what to think, don’t worry – you aren’t alone.  The federal health care officials aren’t so sure what to make of the blindness scare either.  The condition that they are worried about is called NAION, or Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy.  It occurs when the optic nerve doesn’t get enough blood and become damaged, resulting in blindness in one or both eyes.

Even NAION experts aren’t so sure what causes the condition.  They do, however, know that people with certain “crowded” optic nerves are at higher risk.  A crowded optic nerve means that the nerve is almost as large as the hole which opens it to the anterior of the eye.  Also, people with high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol are also at higher risk of NAION.  These happen to be the same conditions which can cause erectile dysfunction.

The reason that health officials linked Viagra and other ED treatments with NAION is because the blindness occurred within about 36 hours of taking the ED pill.  There have been fewer than 50 reports of NAION occurring from Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.  Considering that millions of men have taken these ED treatments worldwide, the chances of getting NAION from Viagra are very, very slim.  Also, it is not definite that these few cases of NAION even occurred due to the ED treatment.  NAION will occur in 1000-6000 people every year in the US alone.

If you are taking Viagra, you should know that there is a very minute chance that you could experience blindness as a side effect.  However, to be on the safe side, you may want to visit your optometrist to determine whether you have a crowded optic nerve as this could make NAION more likely.  In the rare event that NAION does occur, you should get emergency medical treatment right away. If treated right away with cortisteroid, many patients are able to experience a vast improvement in the condition.

It is important that you realize that Viagra can also have a short-lasting effect on the retina.  This effect is common in Viagra users (up to 3% in clinical studies) and caused temporary changes to vision.  Some of the changes included blurry eyesight, seeing blue tints, or having trouble distinguishing between blues and greens.  Even though this side effect can be disconcerting, you should know that it is NOT serious.  The vision changes have nothing to do with NAION (NAION deals with the optic nerve, these changes have to do with the retina).

Even the strictest prescription drug agencies, such as the FDA and Health Canada, unanimously agree that Viagra is safe for almost all men.  Because Viagra is a non-controlled medicine, then rules about distributing it are very lax.  Several years back in the UK, many pharmacies even started offering Viagra without a prescription to men who had short consultations with the pharmacist beforehand.

This consultation system proved so successful for supplying Viagra to men without a prescription that it inspired a wave of remote consultant pharmacies online.  These online pharmacies have a licensed doctor on staff.  You either have a chat session with the doctor or submit a form with all your medical history.  Then, the doctor decides whether or not you should be given Viagra without a prescription from your regular doctor.  Many of these remote consultant pharmacies online are completely approved by the FDA and meet international standards for prescription drugs.

Using a remote consultant pharmacy to get Viagra without a prescription is by far the safest method.  Almost all of these approved online pharmacies have a system in which the on-staff doctor will get paid regardless of whether your order is approved or declined. This is how they protect themselves from medical malpractice suits. Most of the time, the doctors which work for the online pharmacies have their own practices and just spend a few hours weekly reviewing the Viagra or other drug orders.  This is a good source of extra income for them.  It also helps the online pharmacy get legitimate sales and saves the customers money on doctor’s fees.

One of the problems with many US-based remote consultant pharmacies is that you can only get the brand-name form of Viagra.  That is because they may use pharmacies from the US to dispense the medicines.  Currently, there is no legal form of generic Viagra available in the US (though that will soon change when the Viagra patent expires).  Since brand-name Viagra can cost up to $15 per tablet, it can be very expensive to treat your ED.  To make matters worse financially, many online pharmacies will charge you a medical review fee.

Because of the high costs associated with brand-name Viagra, many men are turning to foreign pharmacies to get their medicine instead.  In many countries, such as Singapore, Mexico, India, and Eastern Europe, you do not need a prescription for Viagra at all.  These countries also have approved many generic forms of Viagra which are proven to be the biochemical equivalent of brand-name Viagra. By ordering Viagra online from one of these countries, you will be able to get it without a prescription and save considerably.  However, do note that about 1% of prescription drugs coming into the US do get confiscated by customs.  If this happens, a customs official will call you to come open your package for inspection.

With the advent of Viagra, many women suddenly found themselves not being able to keep up with the men.  At the time, no one was even thinking about a female Viagra.  All throughout history, there has been a huge disparity between the way women and men’s sexual health is viewed.  When a man cannot get an erection, then it is considered a physical condition which requires treatment.  For women, on the other hand, there are no obvious signs of a condition.  Women do not get erections and can even perform sex without physical/emotionally readiness.

Doctors will tell you, however, that there ARE signs of female sexual dysfunction.  Just like men experience a rush of blood to the penis, women also experience a rush of blood to the vagina which causes an increase in sensitivity.  Women also experience increased lubrication and other less-noticeable (compared to erection) signs of physical sexual readiness.  Still, when a woman is not “in the mood”, it is usually attributed to her having a low libido – not sexual dysfunction.

New studies into female Viagra are unearthing some startling results.  First of all, it seems that sexual dysfunction is much more prevalent in women than in males.  Not only do the conditions like heart disease and diabetes affect men’s sexual function, but they affect women too.  Women also experience sexual dysfunction as related to hormone changes during menopause.

One of the earliest studies into female Viagra included only women who were undergoing menopause or had had hysterectomies.  During the study, the women who took the female Viagra experienced an increase of blood flow to the vagina, increased vaginal lubrication, and also increased sensitivity during sex.  The beneficial results were significantly higher than in the group of women who had taken the placebo pill.

Even though the FDA has not yet approved a female version of Viagra, women are not waiting for treatment.  One of the most famous supporters of female Viagra is Kim Cattrall.  The Sex and the City actress openly told reporters about her experience taking Viagra and how it enhanced her sexual life.  Even though spokespeople for Pfizer are reluctant to make any promises about their continuing studies into female Viagra, they readily admit that the results are encouraging.

It may be years before a female Viagra meets the FDA’s standards for medications.  Part of these standards also requires a drug to be proven effective.  With females, it is hard to gauge the benefits of Viagra as female sexual dysfunction has various symptoms.  Those who don’t want to wait for the female version of Viagra can purchase the “pink pill” from many of the manufacturers who are selling it already to millions of women worldwide through online pharmacies.

The realm of ED treatment got shaken up drastically though once Cialis hit the market.  Many men were taken in by the promises of Cialis to give results of up to 36 hours.  Compared to Viagra’s short effectiveness time of about 8 hours, Cialis seems like a wonder drug.  So, why are doctors and patients still preferring Viagra over Cialis?

Obviously, there are some situations in which you would not want long-lasting results from an ED treatment.  Even though Cialis is reported to last up to 36 hours, the effects can go on for up to 100 hours in some men.  Note that this does not mean you will have an erection for 3+ days!  It means that you will be able to get better erections during the period of effectiveness.

What the fine print of Cialis does not tell you is that erection quality diminishes with each hour after taking the ED pill.  So, you may be able to get an erection from Cialis after 36 hours but it may not be firm enough to have intercourse. You will then need to take another tablet of Cialis. There are some issues as to whether it is safe to take another large dosage (5 or more mg) of Cialis when the drug is still acting in the body.  This can lead to an increased occurrence of side effects.

While Cialis prevails over Viagra in terms of duration, most men do find that the 8+ hours of quality erections which are achieved by Viagra is more than adequate.  Since the medicine is quickly removed from the user’s body, it is safe to take another dose within 24 hours of the first dosage.  In clinical studies, almost all users reported the best quality of erection with Viagra.  The erections produced from Viagra were firmer and more rigid than those produced by Cialis.

None of the ED pills come close to Viagra in terms of safety.  By 2005 alone (Viagra was introduced in 1998), Viagra had been used by well over 23 million men.  Viagra has also undergone thousands of pre and post-marketing clinical studies for safety.  Cialis is also considered completely safe for almost all men.  Both of the drugs share the same precautions and warnings.  However, studies have shown that Cialis has a larger impact on the body’s PDE11 enzyme system.  It is currently unknown what, if any, negative results could occur from this impact.  PDE11 enzymes are linked to many different body functions, especially fertility.

If you are already using Viagra successfully, then it is best to continue on with your current treatment.  For men who are just now looking into ED treatments, it is best to talk to your doctor about whether Viagra or Cialis is better for your lifestyle.

The patent rights on Viagra expire in 2012.  That means patients will finally be able to access generic Viagra in the US.  Generic Viagra must undergo a rigid FDA approval process just like the brand-name drug.  That means you can count on generic Viagra to be completely safe as well as effective.  According to US regulations, generic drugs must be biochemically equal to the brand name drug.

Pfizer, the company which makes Viagra, has the right to set the prices of Viagra to whatever it wants.  As you would expect, they set the price in relation to the country it is being sold.  So, just like Coca Cola costs less in India than in the US, you can count on brand-name Viagra from India to be cheaper.  However, even brand-name Viagra which is sold from foreign pharmacies is never going to be as cheap as the generic version.

Not all countries allow pharmaceutical companies to monopolize the drug industry.  That is why you can find tested, approved versions of generic Viagra in many nations like India, Mexico, Barbados, Israel, and Singapore.  These countries also have very strict prescription drug laws which require manufacturers to keep very high standards for making Viagra.  The medicine also must go through testing to make sure it is safe as well as effective in treating ED.

When the FDA-approved generic drugs hit the market in the US, you will be able to easily buy generic Viagra at your local pharmacy or through a US online pharmacy.  Until then, you will need to buy generic Viagra from foreign pharmacies.  Unless you are heading on vacation, then you will probably be buying the generic Viagra online.

The first thing you need to look for in choose a good foreign online pharmacy is where they are dispensing the drugs from.  Note that, even if an online pharmacy operates out of the US, they are getting the generic drugs from a different country.  You will place your order through the online company.  Then, your order for generic Viagra gets sent to a pharmacy in India, Mexico, or another country.  Make sure that the order is coming from a country which has high medical drug regulations (like one of the countries listed above or westernized nations).  If an online pharmacy doesn’t list the location of the dispensing pharmacy, then you should ask them through their customer service rep.

Generic Viagra is usually about 90% cheaper than brand-name Viagra.  However, since it is coming from foreign countries, you can expect to pay high amounts for shipping.  That is why it is almost always the best deal to buy your generic Viagra meds in bulk from foreign online pharmacies.

The patent on Viagra is about to expire in 2012.  When this happens, you can be sure that tens of manufacturers are going to rush to the FDA to get approval for their generic version of the leading ED treatment.  There are already hundreds of places that you can buy “generic” Viagra online, especially from foreign pharmacies.  Even though many of these generic versions of Viagra are completely regulated by strict health agencies in their respective countries, they do not have the approval to be sold in the US.  To be sold in the US, first the Viagra patent must expire and then the companies must prove their version of Viagra to be the generic equivalent.

Brand-name Viagra is currently really expensive (about $10 or more per pill).  When you see how low the generic Viagra costs at foreign pharmacies (often less than $1 per pill), it can become infuriating.  While the FDA in the US has its hands in just about every aspect of drug manufacture and distribution, it has absolutely no control over the prices that pharmaceutical companies set for medicines.  For this, the FDA leaves the free market.  However, so long as the patent on prescription drugs last, the pharmaceuticals companies have absolutely no legal US-based competition.

On the very same day that the Viagra patent expires, we can expect generic Viagra applications to hit the FDA desks.  The pharmaceutical company Pfizer has already made billions on Viagra sales and other companies will want to cash in on this.  Since all the research and marketing aspects of Viagra have already been done, the generic Viagra manufacturers have low overhead costs and can afford to sell Viagra at prices less than 90% of the brand-name version.

If you don’t want to wait for the FDA-approved Viagra generics to hit the market, you can order your medicines online.  There is always a bit of a risk when ordering generic drugs online though.  It is crucial that the medicines are coming from countries with strong drug regulation agencies.  Try to find online pharmacies which dispense their drugs from any of these countries: Barbados, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Israel, EU, Mexico, India, Singapore, or Curacao.   Even with the high costs of shipping, you can still end up saving huge amounts buy buying generic Viagra.

Surprisingly, the heart disease precaution about Viagra doesn’t have so much to do with the drug as it does with what Viagra makes possible: sex.  Some very thorough studies have uncovered that 1% of heart attacks occur due to sexual activity.  For 50 year old men who are otherwise healthy, the risk of dying from a heart attack is 1 in a million.  However, this risk doubles when sexual activity is involved.  Still, 2 in a million is very low.  Even when you factor in heart disease, the risk of fatal heart attack from sexual activity is still low at 20 in a million.  In this sense, men with heart disease can feel safe engaging in sexual activity which is made possible from Viagra.

There is also an argument which goes against the precautions about sex in men with heart disease: sex could actually be healthy for the heart.  After all, sex is a type of exercise which gets the heart rate going and may also have you breaking a sweat.  The recent Massachusetts Male Aging Study showed that men who infrequently had sex (less than once per month) had a 45% greater chance of having cardiovascular disease than men who had sex at least twice weekly.  These results are hard to gauge scientifically though.  After all, there are many factors which may cause men to have sex infrequently, such as disease or libido issues.  These factors can also be linked to heart disease.

As an exercise, sexual activity generally doesn’t create the cardiovascular results that you’d get from a jog around the block.  Studies show that sex only gives 70-8-% of the workout as using a treadmill.  In terms of burning calories, sex only will shed 5 calories a minute – which is about the same as strolling on the golf green.

Researchers have determined that Viagra is safe for ED patients with heart problems.  However, that hasn’t stopped them from putting the precaution on the label to be careful during sex.  If you faint during sex, have chest pain, or symptoms of a cardiovascular event, you should stop having sex immediately and get medical attention.  It needs to be noted though that you should also get medical attention if you have these symptoms while doing any other physical activity!

Luckily for men with both ED and heart problems, the studies about sex are still in your favor.  Even though sex isn’t as great of a workout as jogging, it still can improve your heart health.  So, why not start using Viagra?  Sex definitely beats jogging when it comes to improving heart health!

Since a lot of the men taking Viagra are older males who may not be having sex as frequently as in their youth, the likelihood of penile fractures, or broken penis, increases.  Also, ED can severely deteriorate the overall health of the penis.  In order for a penis to remain healthy, it must get adequate blood flow and be exercised regularly.  This normally happens in the 3-5 erections that men experience nightly.  Men with ED, however, do not experience these regular nightly erections.

When mild penis injuries repeatedly occur (some so mild that the man might not even notice), it can lead to a condition called Peyronie’s disease in which the penis has a predominant curvature.  Even though penile fractures and Peyronie’s disease are far from new conditions (there have been reports of them since the 10th century), medical professionals are now noticing a new factor related to them: Viagra.

Studies are now showing that Viagra can put some men at risk of getting penile fractures but, with other men, actually can help prevent them.  The way that a penile fracture happens is this: during erection, the penile cavities are rapidly filled with blood.  The penile cavities are surrounded by a tunic which stretches as the penis grows and expands with erection.  If the penis expands too much, then this tunic can snap.

Penis injuries are much more common in young men who have healthy blood circulation systems.  That is why it is strongly recommended against men who don’t have ED to use Viagra recreationally.  The increased erection power could actually lead to penis damage.  Also, it is more likely for a penile fracture to occur if the woman is on top because the wrong shift can lead to strain on the penis and result in a fracture.

However, for older men who have chronic ED, taking Viagra can actually help prevent penile fractures.  The reason for this is that the penis requires a workout in order to stay healthy.  Just like your muscles, if you don’t use it – you lose it.  That means ED can weaken the tunic of the penis.  After prolonged periods of time without getting an erection, the penis tunic can lose its elasticity.  By taking Viagra, men with ED are actually improving their penis health and reducing the chances of damage occurring during sexual activity.