Shortcoming of the Little Blue Pill

Dear Dr. G,

I think it is my turn this week to have a hard talk with Dr. G.

I am a 49-year-old man who is not exactly at the peak of his health. However, I guess I am just a regular city folk who faces the issues of a sedentary lifestyle.

I often have elevated sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol when I go for my regular check up. My doctor suggests I should have regular exercise, eat less fat and carbohydrate. I think it is often easier said than done.

My doctor recently opened up the issues of bedroom matters, which is hard to talk about.

I think I have been having issues of erectile dysfunction. Don’t get me wrong; it is not that serious. I can still get reasonable erection for initial penetration, however, the hardness usually wilts away half way through the business.

I discuss this with my doctor who suggested I should harden up and get the hard pills. My wife and I have been contemplating this for a while, and decided life is too short to call it the day for our sex lives.

Before we embark on a journey of Blue Diamonds in the Bedroom, we really would like to know the facts and the shortcomings for the hard pills.

I would like to put Dr. G on the spot to explain how do the blue pills work?

What are the side effects of the pills and can they be dangerous?

Will I get addicted to the pills? And will I need to take higher dose in the future if I start taking them now at a young age?

Regards,
The Not So Hard Man

The blue pill, or less well known as sildenafil, is a medication discovered more than twenty years ago for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Since 1998, other similar compounds were also registered for the treatment of ED. These include well-known medications such as tadalafil, vardenafil and udanefil with similar efficacy and side effects.

Sildenafil is just a very simple compound to create the simple process of vessel dilations in a man’s pride and joy. The activation of nerves via sexual thoughts, leads to the release of secondary messengers called cyclic GMP in the penile blood vessels. The accumulations of these chemicals result in muscle relaxation allowing more blood flow to the manhood. In a normal state, the prolonged erection is clearly unnecessary and unnatural. Hence, an enzyme phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5) is required to cool down the boner. For men suffering from ED, the blockade of the PDE enzyme, by the blue pills can sustain erection.

The science behind the mechanism of the blue pills also gives an understanding of the potential side effects. The enzyme PDE exists in several subtypes throughout the body. For example, the activation of the sub-enzyme in the back muscles manifests itself as backache following the medication. Without prior knowledge of such adversity, it is often mistaken as the backache of strenuous sex, instead of the pills. Another peculiar adversity of consuming the blue pills is the blurring of vision or even seeing blue lights. Similarly, this is due to the stimulation of the PDE of the retina. Other side effects of PDE5-I may include headache, facial flushing, indigestion and nasal congestion. Different types of the pills may have different affinity towards the PDE5 enzymes. Hence, for men with shortcoming of one hard pill, may opt for another type to avoid such minor drawbacks.

After two decades of consumption and hardness, it is universally accepted the safety record of the blue diamond is as good as gold. Despite the hard facts on safety, men are still encouraged to consult their physicians prior to the indulgence. This is to ensure correct doses of drugs and the identification and rectification of the causes of ED.

The guilty pleasures of sex, especially with the magical aid of the hard pills, often prompted men with the doubt of long-term damage such as addictive possibility and the dependence of the good stuff.

Hopefully, the medical explanation behind PDE5-I as a simple compound that opens and closes the floodgate for the gush of blood to the manhood may reduce the fear and anxiety.

Jack Ma once said on the TED stage: “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” For men suffering from ED, it is usually “Today is not hard, tomorrow will be worse. And the day after tomorrow is definitely not going to be any sunshine!” When Dr. G is put on the spot weighing out the pros and the cons of the blue pills, his view is “Never give up, once you overcum the shortcomings of the hard pills, today is hard, tomorrow is harder, and many blue sunshine will follow in months and years to cum!”