VARDENAFIL

(var DEN a fil) Brand: Levitra, Staxyn

What is the most significant information I must know about vardenafil?

• Do not take vardenafil if you are also using a nitrate drug for chest pain or heart problems (such as nitroglycerin). Taking vardenafil with a nitrate medication can reason a sudden and serious decrease in blood pressure.

• During sexual activity, if you become dizzy or nauseated, or have pain, numbness, or tingling in your chest, arms, neck, or jaw, stop and call your doctor right away. You could be having a serious side effect of vardenafil.

• Contact your doctor or search abnormal medical attention if your erection is painful or lasts longer than 4 hours. A prolonged erection (priapism) can hurt the penis.

• Stop using vardenafil and get abnormal medical help if you have sudden vision loss.

What is vardenafil?

• Vardenafil relaxes muscles and increases blood flow to special areas of the body.

• Vardenafil is used to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence).

• Vardenafil may also be used for purposes not listed in this medicine guide.

What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till taking vardenafil?

• Do not take vardenafil if you are also using a nitrate drug for chest pain or heart problems. This includes nitroglycerin (Nitrostat, Nitrolingual, Nitro-Dur, Nitro-Bid, and others), isosorbide dinitrate (Dilatrate-SR, Isordil, Sorbitrate), and isosorbide mononitrate (Imdur, ISMO, Monoket). Nitrates are also found in some recreational drugs such as amyl nitrate or nitrite ("poppers"). Taking vardenafil with a nitrate medication can reason a sudden and serious decrease in blood pressure.

• To create certain you can safely take vardenafil, speak your doctor if you have any of these another conditions:

· heart malady, heart rhythm problems;

· a last history (in the past 6 months) of a heart onslaught, stroke, or congestive heart failure;

· a private or family history of "Long QT syndrome";

· tall or low blood pressure;

· seizures;

· liver malady, kidney malady (or if you are on dialysis);

· a blood cell mess such as sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, or leukemia;

· a bleeding mess such as hemophilia;

· a stomach ulcer;

· hearing or vision problems, history of vision loss;

· an eye mess such as retinitis pigmentosa (an inherited condition of the eye);

· a physical deformity of the penis (such as Peyronie's disease); or

· if you have been told you must not have sexual intercourse for health reasons.

• Vardenafil can decrease blood flow to the optic nerve of the eye, causing sudden vision loss. This has occurred in a little number of people taking vardenafil, most of whom also had heart malady, diabetes, tall blood pressure, tall cholesterol, or determined pre-existing eye problems, and in those who smoke or are over 50 years old. It is not clear whether vardenafil is the actual reason of vision loss. Stop using vardenafil and get abnormal medical help if you have sudden vision loss.

• FDA pregnancy category B: Although vardenafil is not for use in women, this medicine is not expected to be deleterious to an unborn baby.

• Although vardenafil is not for use in women, it is not known if vardenafil passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. Do not use this medicine without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

• Staxyn may contain phenylalanine. Conversation to your doctor till using this form of vardenafil if you have phenylketonuria (PKU).

How must I take vardenafil?

• Take exactly as predesigned by your doctor. Do not take in larger or less amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

• Vardenafil can be taken with or without food.

• Vardenafil is generally taken only when needed, about 60 minutes till sexual activity. The medicine can help attain an erection when sexual stimulation occurs. An erection will not occur just by taking a pill. Follow your doctor's instructions.

• To take the orally disintegrating tablet (Staxyn):

· Hold the tablet in its blister pack before you are ready to take it. Open the package and peel back the foil from the tablet blister. Do not push a tablet through the foil or you may hurt the tablet.

· Using dry hands, remove the tablet and seat it in your mouth. It will begin to dissolve right away.

· Do not swallow the tablet intact. Let it to dissolve in your mouth without chewing.

· Swallow different times as the tablet dissolves. Do not take Staxyn with liquid.

• Do not take vardenafil more than once a day. Let 24 hours to pass between doses.

• Contact your doctor or search abnormal medical attention if your erection is painful or lasts longer than 4 hours. A prolonged erection (priapism) can hurt the penis.

• Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Since vardenafil is used as needed, you are not likely to be on a dosing schedule.

What happens if I overdose?

• Search abnormal medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.

• Overdose symptoms may include back pain, muscle pain, or vision problems.

What must I avoid while taking vardenafil?

• Drinking alcohol can magnify determined side effects of vardenafil.

• Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with vardenafil and lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit commodity with your doctor.

• Do not use any another drug to treat impotence, such as alprostadil (Caverject, Muse, Edex) or yohimbine (Yocon, Yodoxin, others), unless your doctor tells you to.

What are the possible side effects of vardenafil?

• Get abnormal medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your person, lips, tongue, or throat.

• Stop using vardenafil and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

· sudden vision loss;

· ringing in your ears, or sudden hearing loss;

· chest pain or hard feeling, pain spreading to the hand or shoulder, nausea, sweating, common ill feeling;

· irregular heartbeat;

· swelling in your hands, ankles, or feet;

· shortness of breath;

· vision changes;

· feeling light-headed, fainting;

· penis erection that is painful or lasts 4 hours or longer; or

· seizure (convulsions).

• Smaller serious side effects may include:

· warmth or redness in your person, neck, or chest;

· runny or stuffy nose;

· headache, dizziness;

· upset stomach; or

· back pain.

• This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may message side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What another drugs will affect vardenafil?

• Do not take vardenafil with similar medications such as sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis).

• Till taking vardenafil, tell your doctor about all another medications you use for erectile dysfunction, or if you are using any of the next medications:

· conivaptan (Vaprisol);

· imatinib (Gleevec);

· isoniazid (for treating tuberculosis);

· an antidepressant such as nefazodone;

· an antibiotic such as clarithromycin (Biaxin), dalfopristin/quinupristin (Synercid), erythromycin (E.E.S., EryPed, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin, Pediazole), or telithromycin (Ketek);

· antifungal medicine such as itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral), miconazole (Oravig), or voriconazole (Vfend);

· drugs to treat tall blood pressure or a prostate mess, such as alfuzosin (Uroxatral), doxazosin (Cardura), prazosin (Minipress), terazosin (Hytrin), tamsulosin (Flomax);

· heart or blood pressure medicine such as diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac), nicardipine (Cardene), or verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan);

· heart rhythm medication such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), quinidine (Quin-G), procainamide (Procan, Pronestyl), or sotalol (Betapace); or

· HIV/AIDS medication such as atazanavir (Reyataz), delavirdine (Rescriptor), fosamprenavir (Lexiva), indinavir (Crixivan), nelfinavir (Viracept), saquinavir (Invirase), or ritonavir (Norvir, Kaletra).

• This list is not complete and another drugs may interact with vardenafil. Speak your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over the counter, vitamin, and herbal commodity. Do not start a new medicine without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about vardenafil.

Remember, hold this and all another medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medicine only for the indication prescribed.

Disclaim: Each effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses external of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way must be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safety, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the help of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

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