New Study: No Clear Winner Among 3 ED Medications

Friday, June 05 2009

June 5, 2009

Many men have asked their doctors which erectile dysfunction medication works best, and which one has the least amount of side effects. Hopefully their doctors answered correctly...

According to a recent study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (part of the department of Health and Human Services), all three FDA-approved medications for ED work with equal effectiveness, and none of them appear to be more harmful (in terms of adverse events/side effects). 

The reason for this may be that all three ED medications work in a similar way as PDE-5 inhibitors. 

To borrow a quote...

“The PDE-5 inhibitors are all effective, just not one over any of the others,” said Matthew Cantrell, assistant clinical professor at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy and clinical pharmacy specialist at the Iowa City VA Medical Center. “This pretty much represents maintenance of the status quo in ED treatment. Product selection is still up to the prescriber and patient and specific factors such as price and formulary status.”

Even the prices of the three ED medications are very similar. On AccessRx, for example, 10 Viagra pills and 10 Levitra pills are $199. Ten Cialis pills are $219, but Cialis works for up to 36 hours while Viagra and Levitra work 4 to 5 hours. So price appears to be a push too. Many patients choose to buy the highest-dose of each pill and cut them in half with a pill splitter to save money.

The overview of the study also details the fact that side effects for each of the three pills were found to be about the same in terms of prevalence and intensity. 

Different ED medications will have slightly different effects for each patient due to the different ingredients in each of the three medications. Patients at AccessRx are able to order more than one medication in each transaction and can try all three (Viagra, Cialis, Levitra) conveniently.

In fact, AccessRx is working on putting a trial pack together with three pills for each ED medication. Check back in the coming weeks for the debut of this new item.

Brian Bujdos