The Little Orange Pill: Levitra makes erections easier, harder and last longer. It was the second approved treatment for ED to hit the market after The Little Blue Pill, Viagra. In some ways though, Levitra can outcompete its older brother.
Levitra is a licensed treatment for ED and is the branded version of vardenafil. Vardenafil is the active ingredient in Levitra medication and it works by relaxing the blood vessels in the penis helping you get an erection.
Used by millions of men, it’s taken as needed, 60 minutes before you anticipate time spent in the bedroom. With the active ingredient vardenafil, Levitra pills stay active in your system for up to 5 hours, so there’s no need to rush things.
Compared to alternative ED pills on the market, such as Viagra, Levitra gets to work a little quicker, is more potent, and for older men or men with underlying health conditions, Levitra is often more easily tolerated.
When you get sexually aroused, signals are sent to the blood vessels in your penis which relax and dilate. As a result, more blood is sent into two shaft-like pieces of cylindrical tissue that run up your penis, and you get hard.
If you battle with ED the blood vessels in the penis don’t dilate as much as they should. Possible causes are high blood pressure, poor circulation or nerves not properly relaying signals. The result can be difficulty getting an erection, an erection that doesn’t last, or a ‘semi’ and no further.
The active ingredient in Levitra, vardenafil, is a PDE5 inhibitor. PDE5 is the enzyme in the body that causes blood vessels to tighten. By reducing its activity, Levitra helps your blood vessels open up, improving blood flow. This means, when aroused, blood flows more easily into the penis and you get longer-lasting, firmer erections.
Regular Levitra is a film-coated, orange tablet which is swallowed with water. Orodispersible Levitra is a white, round tablet which melts on your tongue, so it doesn’t need to be taken with water.
At the moment orodispersible Levitra isn’t available in Australia.
Staxyn is the name of the orodispersible version of Levitra in the USA. Like orodispersible Levitra, Staxyn dissolves on your tongue, contains the same active ingredient (vardenafil), and should be taken 25 to 60 minutes before sex.
Like orodispersible Levitra, Straxyn isn’t currently available in Australia.
Remember to only take Levitra as your clinician advises. If you have any questions while you're taking it, just log into your account and send us a message.
Levitra was first introduced onto the market by Bayer Pharmaceuticals in 2003. Back then, Bayer had a patent for the active ingredient in Levitra: vardenafil. Meaning, they owned all trading rights and no one else could produce an identical ED pill. The Levitra patent expiration date was the 31st of October 2018.
Today, with Bayer no longer exclusively owning vardenafil, other pharmaceutical companies can produce a generic version. Regulations ensure generic medicines contain the same active ingredient and have the same effect as their branded counterpart. Levitra and generic vardenafil may look different and come in different packaging but the two are medically identical.
However, there is no generic version of Levitra available in Australia at the moment.
Take one tablet whole with a glass of water. It should start to work within 25-60 minutes so long as you are sexually stimulated. Levitra should remain active in your system for up to five hours
Make sure you read the Levitra directions on the leaflet provided and never take more than one tablet in any 24 hour period.
Between 25 and 60 minutes. It’s a good idea to allow for the full 60 minutes, to make sure it’s had enough time to work. Once taken, it should stay active in your system for up to five hours.
If you’ve taken it with or after a heavy meal, it may take longer than the 60-minute window to take effect. If you find that it works but doesn’t last very long, speak with your clinician, they may be able to suggest a change in how you’re taking it or a change in dose.
The Levitra half-life when taking a standard 10mg dose is four to five hours. This means that the effects of Levitra will last for up to five hours. During this time you should be able to get an erection if aroused.
When we say it will ‘last for up to five hours’ we don’t mean that you’ll have a five-hour-long erection. This is not the case and should you get an erection that lasts more than four hours you should go to the hospital.
On the flip side, if you take Levitra and get an erection, but it doesn’t last very long, it may be that your dose is too low. Let your prescriber know and they may consider increasing your dose.
Normally, your doctor will recommend a starting dose of 10mg. If you start treatment with Levitra at a 10mg dose but find you aren’t able to get an erection or it isn’t working as well as you’d like, don’t worry.
It’s recommended that you try the prescribed dosage a few times before deciding how well it works for you. Once you have an idea of how your body is responding, talk to your doctor, it may be that you need an adjusted dose.
A higher dose of 20mg is available if you find you’re not achieving erections as you’d like to. A lower dose of 5mg is also available if you take certain medications or have pre-existing conditions that change the body’s ability to metabolise Levitra.
Yes. There’s no evidence to suggest that alcohol interacts with Levitra.
However, whilst a glass of wine can be a perfect addition to a romantic evening and shouldn’t impact Levitra’s effectiveness, excessive alcohol intake will affect how well Levitra works.
This is because a high alcohol intake can make it even harder to get a strong erection that lasts. As alcohol can make ED symptoms significantly worse, it’s a good idea to drink within sensible limits if you suffer from ED.
Taking Levitra with or without food is fine. Lighter meals are better as heavy or high-fat foods can slow down how fast the body absorbs Levitra. As a result, it will take longer to kick in and may be less effective.
If you’re taking Levitra with food and aren’t seeing the results you’d like, a good first step will be to wait two hours after eating before taking it. It’s possible you’re not getting the full effect.
The one dietary exception to remember is grapefruit juice, which can interact with Levitra, and so should be avoided.
A 2009 review of over a decade of research and more than 2000 men found that Levitra is effective, fast-acting and reliable. The review concluded it as: ‘A first-line treatment for men with ED, including those with underlying conditions.’
For example, in two studies involving over 700 men collectively, men reported being able to maintain an erection in around 63% of sexual attempts (as opposed to 26% in the placebo group) when using Levitra. Additionally, in a European study of over 300 men with ED, 80% were able to get an erection which would last throughout sex when taking 10mg of vardenafil, compared to only 21% for the placebo group.
Most recently, a Levitra clinical trial in 2018 found that when given 10mg of vardenafil not only were all aspects of erectile function significantly improved but so too was the man’s ability to successfully have sex.
Always read the instruction leaflet carefully before beginning Levitra. Remember, for Levitra to work you need to be aroused. If you’re not, it simply won’t work.
Big meals will slow how fast Levitra is absorbed, so lighter is better. Remember to be patient and give it the full 60 minutes to take effect and give yourself the best chance of achieving a full erection.
To make Levitra more effective it’s also a good idea to address underlying factors which can worsen ED. Stress, relationship concerns, diet, exercise, and smoking can all impact the severity of symptoms.
Some treatments for ED are also prescribed for other conditions.
Viagra, under the name Revatio, may be prescribed for pulmonary hypertension. Cialis, on the other hand, can be prescribed for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Levitra however isn’t licensed for any other conditions and should only be used when treating ED.
No. Levitra is not suitable for use in women and is a male-only treatment.
Yes, Levitra can help with performance anxiety, but it’s an ‘indirect’ effect. Meaning, whilst Levitra doesn’t change the chemicals in the brain which lead to anxiety, by eliminating any worry as to whether or not you’re going to get it up, you’re not as anxious.
Some medications, such as sildenafil (Viagra), may help premature ejaculation. There is some supporting evidence that vardenafil, the active ingredient in Levitra, may also help.
For example, in a small, 16-week, double-blind study, men who took vardenafil reported significantly increased ejaculatory control and in another 20 patient study men given vardenafil had a 67% improvement in PE.
Whilst these results are promising there isn’t a large enough body of evidence yet to draw reliable answers.
These two popular ED drugs both work by increasing blood flow to the penis during sexual stimulation, and they’re both taken in similar ways.
Sildenafil (Viagra) is slightly cheaper and has the added benefit of being one of the most well-recognised names in pharmaceuticals globally. Levitra doesn’t have Viagra’s PR clout but may be easier for men with pre-existing health conditions to tolerate.
Your prescriber, who’ll take into account your medical history, will be able to help you decide which ED treatment is best for you.
Comparison of clinical trials with sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil in erectile dysfunction. Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy, 6(1), 75–84.
Time of onset of vardenafil orodispersible tablet in a real-life setting - looking beyond randomized clinical trials. Expert review of clinical pharmacology. 10(3), 339–344.
Effects of food and alcohol on the pharmacokinetics of vardenafil. NIH. Jun;11(6):477-9.
Vardenafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction: an overview of the clinical evidence. DovePress. NCBI.
Australian Public Assessment Report for Vardenafil. p. 84.
The Efficacy and Safety of Flexible-Dose Vardenafil (Levitra®) in a Broad Population of European Men. European Urology. 45(5): 634-641.
Randomized Trial of CPAP and Vardenafil on Erectile and Arterial Function in Men With Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Erectile Dysfunction. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 103(4), 1601–1611.
A clinical study of sertraline and vardenafil in the treatment of premature ejaculation complicated by erectile dysfunction. Zhonghua nan ke xue = National Journal of Andrology. Jul;13(7):610-612. PMID: 17725303.
Effects of vardenafil administration on intravaginal ejaculatory latency time in men with lifelong premature ejaculation. Int J Impot Res. 21:221–227.
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