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Tadalafil is a commonly prescribed medication that’s primarily used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED or impotence), which is the inability to get or keep an erection hard enough for intercourse. 

However, tadalafil can also be used to treat other blood-based or prostate-based medical conditions that may be found in men. Women can also take tadalafil, but not in the form of Cialis (an FDA-approved ED medication). Adcirca and Alyd are both approved for men and women.

How to Get a Prescription for Tadalafil

Tadalafil is a medicine that can’t be purchased over the counter. You must speak to your doctor to receive treatment for various conditions. When a doctor prescribes tadalafil, patients can fill their prescriptions at a local pharmacy or online using services like USARX. 

Possible Side Effects

Your doctor has to rule out possible complications from taking tadalafil, such as heart attack symptoms, hearing loss, vision loss, and the potential of a prolonged erection in men. 

If you use riociguat or other nitrate drugs, your doctor won’t prescribe tadalafil due to an increased risk of a sudden or severe drop in your blood pressure. Prolonged chest pain, nausea, dizziness, flushing, headaches, and muscle pain could be life-threatening.

How Tadalafil Works: Why Side Effects Occur

Tadalafil and other ED medications belong to a group of drugs called phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, which prevent PDE type-5 from working too quickly. Tadalafil works to relax blood vessels throughout the body, increasing blood supply to your lungs, heart, and brain.

Possible Causes

If you need to take tadalafil, it could indicate that something is blocking your arteries. Erectile dysfunction is often an indicator of another serious illness, as ED doesn’t naturally occur from aging. In fact, men who experience ED can reverse its symptoms through lifestyle changes.

Although ED could be a sign of heart disease, low blood pressure, in general, could also indicate diabetes, metabolic syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, MS, or Peyronie’s disease in men. 

Prolonged tobacco use, alcoholism, cancers that affect the PDE5 indicator (prostate, lung), sleep disorders, low testosterone, high estrogen, and certain medications could block your arteries. Stress, anxiety, and depression could also increase your need for tadalafil.

Tadalafil and Its Uses

Tadalafil can also treat prostatic hyperplasia and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Prostatic Hyperplasia

Besides erectile dysfunction, Tadalafil (Cialis) is also used to treat symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (an enlarged prostate), indicated by difficulty urinating (dribbling, incomplete bladder emptying, hesitation, and a weak stream), urinary urgency, and painful urination in men. 

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Tadalafil (Adcirca) can improve the ability to breathe in people with PAH or pulmonary arterial hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs, causing dizziness, shallow breath, and tiredness). Ask your doctor if you need to lower your blood pressure to improve symptoms.

Can Tadalafil Be Used to Treat Sexual Dysfunction in Females?

Tadalafil can’t be used to treat sexual dysfunction in females, nor should it be used by women at all. Although randomized trials for ED medication (primarily sildenafil or Viagra) on women exist, there’s no substantial evidence that tadalafil helps women improve their libido.

Adcirca and Alyq, tadalafil brands approved for women, are only used to treat PAH. 

Tadalafil doesn’t even improve libido in men; it just enlarges the arteries in the penis to improve blood flow. Men still need to be sexually aroused in order to achieve an erection. If a man is experiencing low libido, it could be due to psychological, medical, or hormonal causes.

If you’re a woman and you want to treat your low libido, speak to your doctor about Addyi (flibanserin) or Vylessi (bremelanotide). Both medications affect specific pathways in the brain that influence sexual desire. If the problem persists, you may have another underlying issue.