Viagra® and Cialis® go Generic – Is This Dangerous?

Sildenafil citrate, marketed as Viagra® by Pfizer, Inc. is beginning to become available in generic form as the patent on this medication expires around the world. Already available in Brazil and New Zealand, ownership of the formula expires in the United States in March of 2012. This will bring the cost of the erectile dysfunction medication which averages over $20 per pill in the US down to about $8. 

Cialis® goes generic in 2016.

 

Is this good news? I say, not necessarily.

There is a danger in taking these quick fix medications to address erectile dysfunction. I’ve written about this extensively in other articles on this blog and in my book – see link at bottom of post. Suffice it to say that the side effects and contraindications for these medications are extensive. So, I’m not going to beat that point to death again here.

However, there’s a new phenomenon. Men, most often over 50, but some as young as their early 20s, are taking these medications where no erectile dysfunction exists. Suffering from performance anxiety, an entirely psychological malady, men are seeking the drugs as they enter into new relationships, often after a long period of – albeit involuntary – celibacy. They are uncertain. They are afraid of the embarrassment.

Taken in this context, the drugs act entirely as a placebo, assuring men of performance where the mere stimulation of a lover’s touch would most likely be sufficient to attain erection.

Many doctors know this. They write a script for a small number of pills just to jump start a patient who thinks he’s got a problem, but has no diagnosable basis of his dysfunction. The savvy physician will advise a patient that, having successfully made love to his partner a few times, he should try going the distance without taking a pill. Most often the medications are no longer necessary; he and his partner live and love happily ever after.

There’s also a middle ground. Some men, most often those past 40 whose lifestyle – nutrition and exercise habits – have left them in poor physical condition, suffer from what they perceive to be the inability to get “hard enough.” Not as turgid as they were in their 20s, they demand prescriptions for ED meds – most often Viagra® or Cialis® – to firm them up.

They do not have erectile dysfunction. They have pre-dysfunctional warning signs that they should heed. They should get on a treadmill and cut out some of the poison they ingest – read my book. Taking an ED medication because you begin to feel that you’re losing your potency, is like putting face makeup to cover the burgeoning skin cancer that growing on your nose.

They will experience complete erectile dysfunction anyway. When they start having heart disease other maladies of “getting older,” they’ll be forced to take nitrates, beta blockers, or alpha blockers. They won’t be able to take ED drugs because of their other medications. They won’t be able to get it up. They’ll just be hanging around waiting to die.

The danger of Viagra® and Cialis® going generic lies in human nature. Once these medications are inexpensive enough to be purchased in bulk and on a whim, their use will increase exponentially. Ironically, not among those men that really need them; those guys are finding the resources to purchase them at their currently obscene prices.

The man who just wants to be harder without listening to his body screaming for health will take these drugs when they are just not needed.

The recreational user – perhaps even teens – will start to experiment with these powerful medications that impact the biochemistry of a man’s entire body. And they’ll do so just to get a tougher bone. The urban myths will abound about taking these drugs in high doses or combinations, “...will double the length of your dick, man.”

I’m not anti-drug. I think the DEA should be dismantled and that marijuana should be legalized. Hell, I think pot should be mandatory in the Halls of Congress – those guys really need to just chill the eF out.

But of all the things that a man does, making love – or just fun sex – should be experienced as close to nature as possible. Keep your body healthy through diet and a modicum of exercise and you will be able to perform well for life. As far as not being able to pound a 10-penny nail through a mahogany board with your pecker like you used to – live with it. She’s more than willing to.

* * *

2nd Edition updated May 2012 is not just for men with erectile dysfunction.

HARD! Maintaining Potency, Eliminating Erectile Dysfunction, and Enjoying Healthy Sex for Life is for all men who want to keep functioning throughout their life. This concise and powerful men’s health guide provides a protocol for how to do everything right.

Available at BN.com/Nook, Apple, and Amazon/Kindle.

Also available in all eBook formats for immediate download: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/65109.