Viagra's Effects on Duration: Myths and Reality

Only a handful of studies are done on the subject, but they’ve reported conflicting results.

A study from 2007, divided 180 men with premature ejaculation in three seperate groups.2 They were given either 50mg sildenafil, 20mg paroxetine or received instructions for practising the squeeze technique. A technique that is used for preventing early ejaculation.

They found sildenafil to be effective in prolonging the time it takes to ejaculate and its effect was superior compared to the other two treatments.

But a study by McMahon and his colleagues, did not have the same outcome.3 In their study, sildenafil did indeed extend the time to ejaculate, but the results weren’t statistically significant. That means that they couldn’t tell if the change was caused by sildenafil or by coincidence.

It’s worth noting that sildenafil isn’t the only drug in its class (PDE-5 inhibitors), and studies have examined how effective other PDE-5s (such as tadalafil and vardenafil) are for PE. A 2017 meta-analysis of 15 randomized, controlled studies concluded that PDE-5s are significantly more effective than placebo for PE.4 It also found that PDE-5s combined with an SSRI antidepressant are more effective than SSRIs alone in increasing IELT.

Does Viagra make you bigger?

Sildenafil, also known as Viagra and nicknamed “the blue pill, “is an effective treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED). However, it doesn’t make your penis increase in size. No pill will.

When people talk about ways of increasing the male penis size, men tend to listen. A bit naive, you might say. As it makes us vulnerable to believe stories based on their promise and not on the validity of their arguments.

Male enhancement pills are the prime example. Where a bunch of subjective terms are used to formulate a meaningless sentence. We will save our commentary for another article, but let us be clear about this: A pill that increases your penis doesn’t exist. it’s complete bs.

Does it make you thicker?

No, Viagra doesn’t make your penis thicker, nor does it increase its length.

Here’s why: Your penis consists of two spongy tubes called the corpus cavernosa and corpus spongiosum. When you’re sexually aroused, your body releases the chemical Cyclic GMP. This chemical relaxes and widens certain blood vessels within your penis, enables the tubes to fill themselves with blood. This process is what causes you to have an erection.

To increase the girth and length of your penis, one must increase the size of the corpus cavernosa and corpus spongiosum. Unfortunately, though, the size of it is already set and determined at puberty. No pill can make it bigger.

Does Viagra increase your libido?

No. Viagra makes it easier for you to get an erection when you’re sexually aroused. It does not increase your libido.

It may, however, affect your libido indirectly by increasing your confidence in having sexual intercourse. Since Viagra increases your chance of achieving an erection, you might feel more confident to engage in sexual activities.

Will Viagra keep me hard after coming?

Whether you have ED or not, being able to come multiple times without the need to recover has been the dream of us all. The time you need before going in for a second round is known as the refractory period. Concerning Viagra’s ability to shorten the refractory period, the results remains inconclusive.

One small study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research says that it does. They found that Viagra reduced the refractory period by 5.5 minutes- from 14.9 to 9.4 minutes.5

But a double-blind placebo-controlled study done by Ekmekçioğlu (2005) failed to produce similar results. They found no difference in refractory time after taking Viagra.6

How long do you stay hard with Viagra?

Viagra starts to kick in after around 30 to 60 minutes. Peak plasma concentration is reached between 60-120 minutes. Viagra stays effective for 2-3 hours.7

Remember that Viagra assists you in getting an erection. It will not cause an erection on its own. Being sexually aroused is still required.

Things you can do to improve your sex life

Viagra isn’t the wonder pill some make it out to be. It’s highly effective in treating ED but fails to treat other sexual complaints effectively.

In those cases, you need other options. As a courtesy, we’ve listed the most effective ones below.

Lose weight and exercise

Losing weight and physical exercise are recommended as a fix for almost everything. The familiarity makes it easy for your brain to become uninterested when these terms pop-up. So instead of rambling on, here are a couple of statistics you might find interesting:

men who initiated physical activity in midlife had a 70% lower risk for erectile dysfunction than those who remained sedentary.

about one-third of obese men with erectile dysfunction regained their sexual function after two years of adopting healthy behaviors, mainly regular exercise and reducing weight

Evidence from 5 randomized studies published between 2004 and 2010 has demonstrated strong evidence that aerobic exercise can benefit people with arteriogenic ED.

Clinical exercise interventions have been shown to improve sexual responses and overall cardiovascular health. Mediterranean‐style diets and a reduction in caloric intake have improved erectile function in men with metabolic syndrome.

Now, what you do with this information is up to you. Losing weight and physicial activity are effective treatment modalities, but also require the most effort.

Delay sprays for premature ejaculation

Premature ejaculation sprays use substances like lidocaine to reduce the sensitivity of certain parts of your penis.

In a study from 2003, men with PE increased their ejaculation latency from 74 seconds to 11 minutes and 21 seconds after applying a lidocaine-based spray.8

PE wipes

Premature ejaculation wipes are very similar to moist toilet tissues. The only difference is that PE wipes contain the substance benzocaine, an ingredient with a numbing effect.