Cialis Side Effects

Cialis Side Effects, Information and Cialis Tidbits

What is Cialis?

Cialis is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) and is an orally administered drug. The biotech company ICOS developed Cialis (generic Tadalafil), and it was later marketed worldwide as Cialis under Lilly ICOS.

Cialis was approved by the FDA in 2003 for sale in the US, the third erectile dysfunction drug to be approved after Viagra and Levitra. Cialis is effective for up to 36 hours, earning it the title 'The Weekend Pill'. Tadalafil has also been used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and the rights to tadalafil were sold to United Therapeutics for $150 million to develop a drug for treatment of hypertension.

Cialis was discovered in 1993 in a partnership between ICOS and GlaxoSmithKline while studying heart patients. They noticed the compound IC351 in tadalafil caused penile erections, and Cialis was born. GSK let their agreement with ICOS lapse in 1996, and ICOS later partnered with Eli Lilly and applied for a patent on IC351. Cialis was later approved in 2003 and ICOS Corp was bought for 2.3 billion dollars by Eli Lilly.

Cialis works by inhibiting PDE5, the same as Levitra and Viagra, but boasts a 17.5 hour half-life, making it effective up to 36 hours. The inhibition of PDE5 enhances erectile function by increasing cGMP. However, Cialis will have no effect without direct sexual stimulation of the penis.

Potential for Abuse?

No information available.

Cialis Side Effects

Call your doctor immediately if you have an allergic reaction such as hives, difficulty breathing, swelling in your face, tongue, lips or throat. If you find yourself dizzy or nauseated during sexual activity or experience pain, numbness or tingling in your chest, arms, neck or jaw - stop activity and contact your doctor immediately.

Serious Cialis side effects:

• sudden loss of vision
• sudden hearing loss, ringing in your ears
• chest pain, heaving feeling in your chest, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating or a generally ill feeling
• irregular heartbeat
• swelling in hands, ankles or feet
• shortness of breath
• seizures
• vision changes
• feeling light headed
• penis erection that is painful or that lasts more than 4 hours

Less serious Cialis side effects:

• headache
• diarrhea
• upset stomach
• warmth or redness in face, neck or chest
• muscle or back pain

This is not a complete list of Cialis side effects. Consult your doctor for a full list.

Interesting Cialis Tidbits

Here are some interesting tidbits on Cialis

• Cialis has a half-life of 17.5 hours, making it the longest lasting ED pill on the market to date (36 hours).
• One of the first Cialis ads to air was during the 2004 Super Bowl.  There was some controversy surrounding an ED commercial during the Super Bowl, but Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction overshadowed the debate.
• In 2004, a combined $373.1 million was spent advertising Cialis, Viagra and Levitra.
• Cialis is one of the most frequent things advertised in spam e-mail.
• Cialis has sponsored America's Cup and the PGA Tour.
  

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