Caverta (Sildenafil Citrate): How To Take, Dosages, Side Effects
Caverta contains substance sildenafil, which belongs to the class of PDE5 inhibitors. It works by boosting the blood vessel’s diastole in the penis, increasing blood flow during sexual arousal. Sildenafil helps to achieve an erection only when patient is sexually stimulated. Caverta is used to treat erectile dysfunction in adult men, which is inability to obtain or maintain penile erection sufficient for intercourse.
What Is Caverta and How Does It Work
Caverta (also known as Ranbaxy Caverta) was developed by Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, an Indian pharmaceutical company. It is based on sildenafil citrate, the same active component which is used in Viagra. However, Caverta tablets contain not only sildenafil citrate but also multiple other chemical substances to achieve the best effect possible.
To understand how Caverta works, one would have to know what happens in a man’s body when he’s developing an erection. When a man receives sexual stimulation, his brain receives a signal which prompts it to become aroused, and then, in turn, sends another signal to the penis to become erect. This is the first part of the erection development process, which occurs on neurological levels. During the next phase, the impulses from the brain trigger some chemical reactions in the tissues of the penis. The muscles in the penis have to be relaxed and the blood vessels wide, so that blood can easily pass through them and fill the tissues in the corpus cavernosum, thus making the organ firm and erect. This happens under the influence of several chemicals, but particularly because of nitric oxide, which forces the tissues to relax. After the man has reached an orgasm, the nitric oxide is neutralized by PDE5 enzymes, so that the penis can return to its original limp state.
Ideally, all those processes occur smoothly and in accordance with one another. Unfortunately, if one or more steps in this chain of reactions go wrong, the male organism is no longer capable of producing and maintaining an erection. In most cases, such malfunctions lead to insufficient amounts of nitric oxide in the penile tissues, which are easily destroyed by PDE5 enzymes. Thus, there is not enough time for the nitric oxide to be produced in amounts that would suffice for an erection. The easiest solution to this problem is inhibiting the PDE5 enzymes, so that the nitric oxide can be stored in the tissues and accumulated until there is enough of it.
Sildenafil citrate is a powerful PDE5 inhibitor, which means that Caverta is highly effective in addressing ED. Having added some special components, the Ranbaxy researchers managed to make Caverta even more efficient by reducing its impact on the cardiovascular system in general. Caverta works in a selective manner, mostly influencing penile tissues and vessels and leaving the function of rest of the body unaffected. This development means that it is safer to use Caverta than any other ED medication for people who suffer from hypertension. In addition, there is a lower risk of developing dangerous adverse effects as compared to other ED drugs.
Before You Start Using
Just like any other drug, Caverta has some warnings and precautions. To be sure that it is safe for you to start using Caverta, you have to visit your healthcare provider. This article only gives general information about Caverta and is not meant to replace a professional medical consultation.
Tell your medical practitioner if you intend to start taking Caverta and suffer from one or more of the following conditions:
- A stroke, especially in the previous 6 months
- Hypertension or hypotension
- Retinitis pigmentosa (a rare condition that affects a patient’s eyes)
- Kidney or liver diseases (even if you received treatment for them and they are gone)
- Blood disorders, such as leukemia
- Deformed penis
- Peyronie’s disease
- Stomach ulcers
- Any type of bleeding disorder
Also, make sure that you inform your doctor about having a history of the following conditions:
- Priapism (painful erection that lasts up to four hours and more)
- Sudden hearing or vision loss
- Sildenafil citrate allergy
Caverta may interact with certain other medications, so it is advisable that you write down every medicine that you are currently taking and present the list to your healthcare provider during the appointment. That way, you’ll be able to provide the most accurate information as well as make the most use out of the appointment time.
You doctor particularly has to know if you’re taking one or more of the following medications:
- Alpha-blockers (these drugs prescribed for patients with hypertension, so they might cause a dangerous decrease in blood pressure if combined with Caverta)
- Protease inhibitors (their dosage might have to be adjusted)
- Nitrates-containing drugs (not to be used with Caverta under any circumstances)
- Barbiturates (might decrease the effectiveness of Caverta)
Caverta tablets are meant to be used only by male patients who experience erectile difficulties. It is not to be used by women, so there is no data as to how Caverta may affect an unborn baby in a pregnant woman. Caverta should be kept out of reach for children, and it is not to be taken by anyone younger than 18 years old.
Caverta only helps a man develop an erection if he is exposed to sexual stimulation. It is not a trigger that causes an erection, but a way of creating optimal conditions for an erection to occur. Caverta will protect neither male nor female sexual partners from sexually transmitted diseases, so it is not to be used instead of condoms or other protection methods.
Side Effects
The most common Caverta side effects include:
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Facial flushing
- Diarrhea
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Mild chest pains
- Troubles falling asleep
These adverse effects are not dangerous and should go away of their own accord after a short period of time.
On the contrary, the following side effects pose a threat to a patient’s health and should be addressed as soon as possible:
- Allergic reactions (difficulties breathing, swelling in different parts of the body, hives, weird sensations, such as tingling or numbness, in the facial area)
- Confusion or fainting
- Numbness in arms or legs
- Sudden decrease in vision and/or hearing
- Sudden loss of vision and/or hearing
- Persistent shortness of breath
- Irregular heartbeat
- Severe dizziness
- Priapism
- Memory loss
- Speech problems
These side effects occur only in a very small number of Caverta users, but they are dangerous and thus should not be left unattended. If you or your sexual partner experience one or more of the abovementioned symptoms, do not hesitate to seek professional medical help.
This list of Caverta side effects may not be complete, so you may find yourself experiencing some other adverse effects that didn’t occur during clinical trials. Depending on their severity, they can be reported to your healthcare provider or left unattended. You can also report your experience to the medication developers so that the particular adverse effect can be included in the warnings (provided that it has occurred in multiple Caverta users).
If you notice that Caverta makes you feel dizzy or nauseous, be careful while going through your everyday activities, especially during exercising or other physically challenging activities. Do not sit or stand up abruptly, especially after sleep. If you don’t feel okay, stop whatever you were doing and sit/lie down. If the symptoms persist, consult your healthcare provider about them. It is advisable that you refrain from driving until you are completely sure that Caverta does not affect your everyday performance.
Caverta may be taken together with alcohol, but doing so decreases the effectiveness of the drug and increases the probability of developing serious side effects, so try not to drink alcohol before using Caverta.
How to Take Caverta: Instructions and Dosages
Caverta is not to to be taken on a regular basis, but only when a patient needs its effects (normally, prior to sexual intercourse). The best time to take a Caverta tablet is 30 minutes before sexual activities. That way, the pill has enough time to be dissolved in the stomach and deliver its effect. Alternatively, you can take it immediately before intercourse or up to four hours prior to intercourse, but you won’t necessarily get the best results if Caverta is taken outside of the recommended time period.
If you take Caverta on a full stomach, it will need more time to act or it may not be able to deliver its effect to the fullest. To avoid that, you should take Caverta at least two hours after a meal. The medication will work best if you swallow it with a glass of water, but you can also take it with juice, tea or coffee. Caverta is not to be taken with alcohol-containing drinks and grapefruit juice. Also, avoid eating grapefruit at least several hours before and after using Caverta.
Caverta is available in three dosages: Caverta 25mg, Caverta 50mg, and Caverta 100mg. The older a patient is, the smaller his starting dose should be because older people are usually more susceptible to the drug’s side effects. Generally, it is advisable to start with the lowest dose possible. Therefore, you might want to begin using Caverta with the 25 mg dosage even if you are young or middle-aged. If you are older than 60 and/or have a history of cardiovascular diseases, you definitely should start with a 25 mg pill.
Caverta 50 mg is the most popular dosage because it proves to be effective in most men. If you decided to start with a 50 mg dosage and it worked well for you, you might want to try the 25 mg one next time. If you found that Caverta 50 mg is ineffective, you can either try a bigger dosage or switch to a different ED drug. You should consult your healthcare provider before taking Caverta 100 mg because it is a significant increase in dose and it might considerably raise your chances of experiencing adverse effects. You shouldn’t take more than one Caverta 100 mg pill per day even if 100 mg weren’t enough to enable an erection.
If you happened to overdose, contact your medical practitioner because you might be in danger of developing some serious side effects. If you already are experiencing any severe adverse effects, seek emergency medical help immediately.
Why Choose Caverta?
Granted, there are currently quite many ED drugs on the market, and all of them are based on the same active component – sildenafil citrate, which was originally used in Viagra. You might wonder why should you buy an alternative when the original product is still available and has stood the test of time.
One of the biggest advantages of Caverta over Viagra is the fact that it is a generic medication. Generic medicines are growing increasingly popular due to their high price/quality ratio. If you choose Caverta, you can get a lot more for your money than if you buy Viagra. Why so? Because the amount of money invested into Caverta by its manufacturers is a lot smaller compared to the one for Viagra. The drug formula for Viagra had to be developed and tested multiple times to ensure that it is safe and effective, and both these stages of production require a significant financial input. In addition, Viagra is a branded drug, so a particular amount money goes into supporting the brand image on a regular basis, which is eventually reflected on the product’s self-cost. Also, a part of Viagra revenue goes into financing further research and developing new drug formulas. On the contrary, Caverta only needs two major investments to be produced: the manufacturing and the logistics costs. The self-cost of Caverta is significantly lower as compared to Viagra, so the consumers can purchase a high-quality product at a fairly attractive price. If you choose to buy Caverta online, you can also expect to benefit from numerous discounts and special offers, which are abundant in most online pharmacies.
However, reasonable prices are not the only reason why you should consider trying Caverta. Due to the improved formula, Caverta users face a noticeably lower risk of developing dangerous side effects as compared to other ED medications, including Viagra. This is corroborated not only by the research conducted by Ranbaxy but also by numerous Caverta reviews from the drug’s users. You can find some of the reviews online, and if you buy Caverta from an online pharmacy, you might want to write your own review to tell others about your experience with Caverta.
Disclaimer
The information uncovered in this article has been compiled with the educational purposes only. The team of authors provides the fact checking before posting any kind of information on this website. But the site’s administration does not guarantee correctness and/or update status of all contents in this article. This article can be taken as a guidance for self-treatment. Only licensed and professional healthcare specialist can diagnose and treat patients considering the personal symptoms in each particular case.