Vardenafil Tablets

Erectile Dysfunction Doctor Service

The Vardenafil film-coated tablet is an efficient treatment, which is indicated to treat erectile dysfunction for adult men. This is when a man cannot get, or keep a hard, erect penis suitable for sexual activity.

It contains vardenafil, a member of a class of medicines called phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. They are used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, and help in a condition which implies difficulties in getting or keeping an erection. It reduces the action of the natural chemical in your body which makes erections go away and improves the blood flow to your penis. Vardenafil thus potentiates the natural response to sexual stimulation.

• Vardenafil will only work when you are sexually stimulated.
• It starts working within an hour of taking it, and the effects can last for up to 6 hours.

At least one in ten men has trouble getting or keeping an erection at some time. There may be physical or psychological causes, or a mixture of both. Whatever the cause is, due to muscle and blood vessel changes not enough blood stays in the penis to make it hard and keep it hard.

Vardenafil is a safe and efficient treatment which allows an erection to last long enough for you to satisfactorily complete sexual activity.

What Is Erectile Dysfunction?

Erectile dysfunction is something that most men will experience at some point in their lives. While this can be a short-term condition caused by things like alcohol, stress, or tiredness, some men will experience erectile dysfunction over a longer period of time. This can be due to a physical or emotional cause.

What Causes Erectile Dysfunction?

Small blood vessels supply the penis, and when a man is sexually aroused, an increase in blood flow into the penis causes the penis to stiffen. Erectile dysfunction can happen if these vessels are blocked in any way. Because the vessels are so thin, blockages can occur easily.

Things like smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes and lack of exercise can all have an effect on these blood vessels. Erectile dysfunction symptoms could also be down to emotional or psychological causes, such as anxiety or depression. Sometimes erectile dysfunction may be a side effect of being on certain medication.

Health issues can also contribute to erectile dysfunction. Circulation problems can mean blood struggles to reach the penis and problems like hormonal imbalances, groin injuries, or low mood have also been known to have an effect on a man’s ability to achieve an erection.

If you’ve regularly been experiencing erectile dysfunction, please speak to a pharmacist or your GP.

What Is Vardenafil Used For?

Vardenafil is used to treat adult men (aged 18 years or over) with erectile dysfunction (sometimes called impotence), when they cannot get or keep a hard penis (erection) sufficient for satisfactory sexual activity. For Vardenafil to be effective, sexual stimulation is required.

The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription.

How Does Vardenafil Work?

The active ingredient of this tablet, vardenafil, belongs to a group of medicines called phosphodiesterase-type-5 (PDE5) inhibitors. It works by blocking the phosphodiesterase enzyme, which normally breaks down a substance known as cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). During normal sexual stimulation, cGMP is produced in the penis, where it causes the muscle in the spongy tissue of the penis to relax. This allows blood to flow into the corpora, producing the erection. By blocking the breakdown of cGMP, Levitra restores erectile function. Sexual stimulation is still needed to produce an erection.

How Is Vardenafil Used?

The recommended dose of Vardenafil is 10 mg, taken about 25 to 60 minutes before sexual activity. The orodispersible tablets must be taken without liquid. If Vardenafil film-coated tablets are taken with a high-fat meal, the onset of activity may be delayed. The dose of the film-coated tablets may be increased to a maximum of 20 mg or decreased to 5 mg, depending on the effectiveness of treatment and any side effects.

A starting dose of 5 mg should be considered for patients with mild and moderate liver problems or severe kidney problems. The dose may need to be adjusted in patients taking other medicines that block enzymes that break down Vardenafil. For full details, see the package leaflet.

The maximum recommended dosing frequency is one film-coated tablet or orodispersible tablet per day.

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. 

• Do not use it, if you are allergic to any of the ingredients.
• For a full list of side effects, please read the patient information leaflet.

The side effects reported in association with the use of Vardenafil are usually mild to moderate and of a short duration.

Very common: may affect more than 1 in 10 users

• Headache

Common: may affect up to 1 in 10 users

• Dizziness
• Flushing
• Blocked or runny nose
• Indigestion

Uncommon: may affect up to 1 in 100 users

• Swelling of skin and mucous tissue including swollen face, lips or throat
• Sleep disorder
• Numbness and impaired perception of touch
• Sleepiness
• Effects on vision, redness of the eye, effects on colour vision, eye pain and discomfort, light sensitivity
• Ringing in the ears, vertigo
• Fast heart beat or pounding heart
• Breathlessness
• Stuffy nose
• Acid reflux, gastritis, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting; feeling sick (nausea), dry mouth
• Raised levels of liver enzymes in your blood
• Rash, reddened skin
• Back or muscle pain, increase in blood of a muscle enzyme (creatine phosphokinase), muscle stiffness
• Prolonged erections
• Malaise

Other medicines and Vardenafil

Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are using, have recently used or might use any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription.

Some medicines may cause problems, especially these:

• Nitrates, medicines for angina, or nitric oxide donors, such as amyl nitrite. Taking these medicines with
  Levitra could seriously affect your blood pressure.
• Medicine for the treatment of arrhythmias, such as quinidine, procainamide, amiodarone or sotalol
• Ritonavir or indinavir, medicines for HIV
• Ketoconazole or itraconazole, antifungal medicines
• Erythromycin or clarithromycin, macrolide antibiotics
• Alpha-blockers, a type of medicine used to treat high blood pressure and enlargement of the prostate (as benign prostatic hyperplasia)
• Riociguat.

Do not use Vardenafil film-coated tablets combined with any other treatment for erectile dysfunction, including Vardenafil orodispersible tablets.

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, our Rightdose pharmacists or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet.

You can help to make medicines safer by reporting any side-effects to the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.

Before taking any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us.

Patient Information Leaflet Vardenafil Film-coated Tablets

Vardenafil should not be given to individuals under the age of 18.

What you need to know before you take Vardenafil

Do not take Vardenafil

• If you are allergic to vardenafil or any of the other ingredients of this medicine. Signs of an allergic reaction include a rash, itching, swollen face or lips and shortness of breath.
• If you are taking medicines containing nitrates, such as glycerol trinitrate for angina, or nitric oxide donors, such as amyl nitrite. Taking these medicines with Levitra could seriously affect your blood pressure.
• If you are taking ritonavir or indinavir, medicines used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections.
• If you are over 75 years of age and are taking ketoconazole or itraconazole, antifungal medicines.
• If you have a severe heart or liver problem.
• If you are having kidney dialysis.
• If you have recently had a stroke or heart attack.
• If you have or have had low blood pressure.
• If your family has a history of degenerative eye diseases (such as retinitis pigmentosa).
• If you have ever had a condition involving loss of vision due to damage to the optic nerve from insufficient blood supply known as non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).
• If you are taking riociguat. This drug is used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (i.e. high
  blood pressure in the lungs) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension 

Pregnancy and breastfeeding and fertility

• Vardenafil is not indicated for use by women.

Driving and using machines

Vardenafil might make some people feel dizzy or affect their vision. If you feel dizzy, or if your vision is affected after taking Levitra don’t drive or operate any tools or machines.

How to store Vardenafil

• Do not store above 30 °C.
• Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton after “EXP”. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.

Before using any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us.

Whichever erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment you are prescribed, always use this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.

Directions:

• The recommended starting dose is 10 mg. You should not take Vardenafil more than once a day.
• Swallow one tablet with a glass of water.

Take a Vardenafil tablet about 25 to 60 minutes before sexual activity. With sexual stimulation you may achieve an erection anywhere from 25 minutes up to four to five hours after taking Vardenafil.

• Do not take Vardenafil film-coated tablets with any other forms of Levitra.
• Do not take Vardenafil more than once every 24 hours.

Tell your doctor if you think Vardenafil is too strong or too weak. He or she may suggest a switch to an alternative vardenafil formulation with a different dose, depending on how well it works for you.

If you take more Vardenafil than you should

Men who take too much Vardenafil may experience more side effects or may get severe back pain. If you take more Vardenafil than you should, tell your doctor.

What if you forget to take Vardenafil

• Never take an extra dose to make up for a forgotten one. Never take 2 doses at the same time.
• If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you.

Vardenafil with food, drink and alcohol

• Vardenafil film-coated tablets can be taken with or without food but preferably not after a heavy or high-fat meal as this may delay the effect.
• Don’t drink grapefruit juice when you use Vardenafil. It can interfere with the usual effect of the medicine.
• Alcoholic drinks can make erection difficulties worse.

Vardenafil contains aspartame (E951)

Vardenafil contains aspartame, a source of phenylalanine. May be harmful for people with phenylketonuria. If you suffer from phenylketonuria (a rare, hereditary disorder of the metabolism) talk to your doctor before you start to take this medicine.

Warnings and Precautions

Talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before taking Vardenafil.

Vardenafil film-coated tablets should not be given to women or to individuals under the age of 18.

Tell your doctor

• If you have heart trouble. It may be risky for you to have sex.
• If you suffer from irregular heart beat or inherited heart diseases affecting your electrocardiogram.
• If you have a physical condition affecting the shape of the penis. This includes conditions called
  angulation, Peyronie’s disease and cavernosal fibrosis.
• If you have an illness that can cause erections which won’t go away (priapism). These include sickle cell disease, multiple myeloma and leukaemia.
• If you have stomach ulcers (also called gastric or peptic ulcers).
• If you have a bleeding disorder (such as haemophilia).
• If you are using any other treatments for erection difficulties, including Vardenafil orodispersible tablets.

If you experience sudden decrease or loss of vision, stop taking Vardenafil and contact your doctor immediately. 

• Do not use Vardenafil film-coated tablets combined with any other treatment for erectile dysfunction, including Vardenafil orodispersible tablets.
• You should not take Vardenafil if you do not have erectile dysfunction.

Ingredients:

The active substance is vardenafil.

The other ingredients of the tablets are: Cellulose microcrystalline Crospovidone Silica colloidal anhydrous Aspartame (E951) Titanium dioxide (E171) Iron oxide red (E172) Iron oxide yellow (E172) Magnesium Stearate

What Vardenafil looks like and contents of the pack

Vardenafil 5 mg is presented as 6 mm orange, round, biconvex tablets marked “5” on one side.

Vardenafil 10 mg is presented as 7 mm orange, round, biconvex tablets marked “10” on one side.

Vardenafil 20 mg is presented as 9 mm orange, round, biconvex tablets marked “20” on one side.

The tablets are provided in blister packs containing 2, 4, 8, 12 or 20 tablets.