• Viagra
• Levitra
• Cialis
• Staxyn

These medicines are taken before you want to have an erection for sex. It takes at least 30 minutes to work. The medicines work by increasing a chemical that helps blood flow to the penis. After you take the medicine, you need to get sexually excited (mentally) and start foreplay (like touching) to get an erection. The erection won’t happen on its own. These types of medicine have no effect on sexual desire or interest.

These types of medicine work for about 7 out of 10 men.

Most of these medicines last up to 4 hours, except Cialis, which has both the daily-dose version and also a longer-acting pill that can last for 48 hours.

Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you take any type of erection medicine. Do not take erection medicine if you take:

• nitrate medicine for heart disease (like nitroglycerin)
• alpha-blockers to lower blood pressure and treat enlarged prostate glands

Will this medicine work for me?

Oral medicine for erections usually works best for mild erection problems. Try the medicine a few times because it doesn’t always work well the first time. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any questions about erection problems.

• If you've had your prostate removed, it’s less likely this type of medicine will work for you in the first year after surgery. It’s more likely to work if your surgery was a nerve-sparing procedure. Oral medicine for erections may work better after your natural erections have had time to recover (about 12 to 24 months after surgery).
• If you’ve had radiation for prostate cancer, the medicine might help at first, but may not work long-term.
• If you’ve had other types of cancer and some degree of erectile dysfunction, oral medicine for erections might help. You might need to take them long-term (or for weeks or months), until you can get an erection without medicine.
• If you’ve had pelvic surgery, ask your doctor how long you have to wait before you try this type of medicine.

Confidence can play a big part with erectile function. If you don’t believe you’ll get an erection, you might not get one. Sometimes taking erection medicine helps make you more confident and is only needed short-term.

Side effects of erection medicine

Side effects may include:

• headaches
• flushing in the face
• upset stomach
• your vision goes blue for a short time (Viagra only)
• eyes being sensitive to light
• nasal congestion

Don’t eat heavy, high-fat meals when you take this type of medicine because it may not work as well. If you have any questions about medicine, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

How to get erection medicine

• To get erection medicine, you need a prescription from your family doctor or oncologist. These types of medicine are not usually covered by most benefit plans. Talk to your insurance company to find out about your coverage.
• Tell your partner you’re taking erection medicine and that it’s safe for you to use. Don’t try to hide using the medicine from your partner.
• If you’re having trouble deciding whether or not to take erection medicine, go to Erection Problems: Should I Take Medicine?​​​