Vardenafil

Vardenafil is a medicine known as a PDE5 inhibitor (phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor). It’s used to help more blood reach your penis so you can maintain an erection. Vardenafil is the non-branded version of Levitra and works in exactly the same way.

Vardenafil is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). ED is a condition where you might be unable to get and keep an erection when having sex. This happens because not enough blood flow reaches and stays in the penis to keep it hard.

Vardenafil works by allowing a natural chemical you produce to last longer in your penis, so you can stay hard. This is why vardenafil will only work if you’re actually in the mood to have sex before sexual activity.

To take vardenafil, you need to swallow 1 tablet whole with water about 25 to 60 minutes before having sex. You must be in the mood to have sex and have sexual stimulation for vardenafil to work.

You may get an erection that lasts between 25 minutes and up to 4 or 5 hours after taking vardenafil.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) can occur due to:

• stress or anxiety
• being overweight
• drinking alcohol
• smoking regularly

ED is more likely to occur if you have a medical health condition, like diabetes, that can lead to blood vessel or nerve damage.

When you have ED it usually lasts for a short time. But if you have ED more often than you’d like, vardenafil might be a solution for you.

Do not use more than 1 tablet of vardenafil in a 24 hour period. If you feel 1 tablet is not enough or too much, get in touch with a doctor who can suggest a different dose or alternative ED treatment.

If you take more than 1 vardenafil tablet, you’re more likely to get a prolonged erection (priapism), or back pain. So you must call 999 or speak to a doctor immediately.

You should not use vardenafil if you:

• are a woman
• are allergic to any of the ingredients in vardenafil tablets
• are taking certain medications, such as nitrates, ritonavir, indinavir or riociguat
• are under 18 years old
• have certain heart conditions
• have recently had a heart attack or stroke
• have low blood pressure (hypotension)
• have certain eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa and non-arteritic ischaemic optic neuropathy

Talk to your doctor before taking vardenafil if you:

• have an abnormal penis shape due to angulation or Peyronie’s disease
• have sickle cell disease, multiple myeloma or leukaemia
• have stomach ulcers
• have haemophilia
• are taking other treatments for ED, like Viagra tablets or Vitaros cream

Please get in touch with your doctor if you’re unsure about whether you can take vardenafil. For further details, you can read the patient information leaflet in your box of vardenafil.

You may experience some side effects when you take vardenafil, but you should find they go away within 1 or 2 hours.

Common side effects of vardenafil include:

• headache
• feeling dizzy
• face turning red (flushing)
• runny or blocked nose
• indigestion

Uncommon side effects of vardenafil include:

• face, lips or throat swelling
• sleeping problems
• ear ringing
• fast heartbeat

Rare side effects of vardenafil include:

• allergic reaction
• fainting
• nose bleed
• chest pains
• painful erections

If you notice any of these side effects, stop taking vardenafil and get in touch with your doctor straight away. For a full list of possible side effects, please read the patient information leaflet that comes with your vardenafil tablets.

When using vardenafil, you should watch out for:

• being unable to see properly
• any loss of vision
• any hearing problems
• heart or chest pains
• breathlessness

If you experience any of these, stop taking vardenafil and contact your doctor immediately or call 999.

Drug interactions

Some other medications may interact with vardenafil and affect how it works. You must speak to a doctor before taking vardenafil if you’re taking any other medication including:

• nitrates, such as GTN spray or isosorbide mononitrate
• medicines for angina
• nitric oxide donors, such as amyl nitrate
• arrhythmia medicines, such as quinidine, procainamide, amiodarone or sotalol
• HIV medicines, such as ritonavir or indinavir
• antifungal medicines, such as ketoconazole or itraconazole
• macrolide antibiotics, such as erythromycin or clarithromycin
• alpha-blockers, used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) and benign prostatic hyperplasia
• riociguat
• any other treatments for ED such as Viagra, Cialis, Spedra, Levitra or Vitaros cream

Food and beverage interactions

You can take vardenafil on an empty stomach or with food. Do not eat a heavy, high fat meal beforehand as this may delay the effect of vardenafil after you take it.

You should also avoid drinking alcohol before taking vardenafil because this can make it more difficult to get an erection.

Do not drink grapefruit juice if you plan to take vardenafil, as it will not work as well as expected.

Which active ingredients does vardenafil contain?

The active ingredient in each vardenafil tablet is vardenafil.

The other ingredients are crospovidone, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, colloidal anhydrous silica, aspartame (E951), titanium dioxide (E171), iron oxide yellow (E172), iron oxide red (E172).

As vardenafil tablets are a generic product, please check the patient information leaflet in your box of tablets in case there are any changes to the ingredients list above.

How should vardenafil tablets be disposed of?

If your vardenafil tablets are unused or expired, take them to your local pharmacy to be disposed of.

How should vardenafil tablets be stored?

You should store vardenafil in its original packaging, in a cool and dry place away from children or animals.

In which pack sizes is vardenafil available?

Vardenafil 10mg is available in pack sizes of 4, 8, 12, 16, or 28 tablets.

Information on the manufacturer

The marketing authorisation of vardenafil is Rivopharm UK Ltd, 30th Floor, 40 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, E14 5NR, London, UK.

Vardenafil is manufactured by Rivopharm UK Ltd.