A question for men...

they make you go blind.

.

Do you actual have issues with ED...or you looking for an "enhancement"?

Blindness is a rare side effect. Mostly it is a safe drug if you have been honest with your health care provider about your general health status and you use it as prescribed. (In other words, don't be getting them from a buddy "to try them out".)

Have you been evaluated for what is causing your ED? (common issue but you need to figure out if it is just stress or a health related).

(sorry...I am not a guy but as a nurse, drugs are my life now)

There is no such thing as a drug (herbal or manmade) that doesn't have a side effect, so when the ads make this claim, I'd start getting worried about what else they are lying about. (Even water has a side effect....it makes you urinate more).

active ingredients (ingredients taken from one of the VigaPlus websites and the herbal drug information comes from webmd.com):

Tribulis Terrestris - drug interactions with beta blockers, digoxin, an calcium channel blockers (so don't take if you have hypertension or cardiac issues); it can mess with your blood glucose levels (so don't take if you have diabetes); and has been linked to prostate problems (which can be the CAUSE of ED)

Withania Somnifera: don't take if you have a stomach ulcer, it can serve as a trigger for autoimmune diseases such as MS, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or other like diseases, and don't take near a time of surgery because it may effect how the anesthesia works.

Chlorophytum Arundinaceum: not enough is known on how this drug acts

Mucuna Pruriens (and L-dopa or levadopa): may change blood glucose levels (use with care with diabetes); use with caution in people with cardiovascular disease (low blood pressure, fainting, dizziness, and irregular heartbeats); can make liver disease worse; and can make mental illness worse.

Myristica Fragrans: dangerous in doses greater than found in food (hallucinations, seizures, death... (not sure what the dosage in VigaPlus is)

Piper Nigrum: only suspected to be dangerous in very high doses (but all it is a type of black pepper)

It may be "safe" if you have no health problems....but if you have ED, you have at least ONE health problem. Go find out what is causing the ED before you start playing around with untested, unregulated drugs...and that is exactly what most herbal supplements/drugs are.

If the problem is a side effect of a medication you are already taking, it is time to have a heart to heart with your doctor. Maybe there is an alternative drug that can be taken. More often you have to live with the side effect because the drug is necessary so maybe you can see if a dosage change or when you take the medication can be modified to improve the quality of your life (so to speak). If the doctor won't discuss this aspect of your health, then it is time to look for a new doctor who will be more understanding. He/she may not be able to change the medications but they should be able to have very frank discussions with you on this difficulty side effect and how it effects you as a person.

I've not had ED issues, so I can't speak to it nick. I'd speak to the doc who prescribed the psychiatric drug .. he should know and have thought about it sense I'd assume he has dealt with a number of men those side effects.

nick garai said:

It is a psychiatric drug. All of the psychiatric drugs have sexual side effects. Mine is occurring at higher dosages.

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Yes, many psychiatric drugs have this side effect. Taking an herbal or prescription supplement usually won't solve the problem because it isn't addressing the real cause of this type of ED. The hard part of this is that you mostly likely need the medication and at that dose. Make sure your doctor understands that you are having this side effect and that is matters to you. Like I said, it may not change anything...at least at this moment, but he needs to be aware.

Honestly, I think prayer is the better answer at this moment. For healing so that you don't need the prescribed med, for healing from the side effects, and for peace with the current situation in the meantime.

Do not stop taking the prescribed med for this reason. As bad as the side effect may feel to you, the condition that is being treated is usually worse. And I am sorry because those of us in the healthcare field do know that this is a troubling tradeoff.

Is this a new dosage or a new drug? Sometimes things settle down as your body gets used to a new drug or dosage. But you are describing a common complaint of many psych related drugs.

Is this a functional problem only?...because usually libido (desire) is also effected and that is not the same problem as ED.

nick garai said:

No. The medications I take cause me to lose my libido. It kind of sucks.

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It is a sucky side effect...and the meds for ED are to fix functional problems in a person with libido, they don't address that. I suspect that your function is fine.

Prayer is what I suggest...either for healing or for peace to accept that this is your current world for the time being. I am sorry that they don't have better medications at the time.

SO this makes me wonder if I was advised to take medicine that had this side effect of ED would I want to take it or not take it so that I wouldn't have the side effect!

That is a problem but doctors don't prescribe these medications without believing that the benefit is greater than the side effect. Psych meds are important!!! We kind of need our brains to be functioning properly to have decent lives....when it doesn't feel that way.