Testosterone Vs. Viagra

[Lindsay IMT Staff]

Nightly, the television viewing public is bombarded with a continuous barrage of middle-aged men seeking sexual fulfillment by using pharmaceutical products. Unless one mutes the television or leaves the room, one must watch a pathetic display of men bemoaning the loss of their sexual prowess. There is no doubt that all people, men and women both, experience a flagging of their sexual desire and performance as the years accumulate. However, this need not be the case, and this disappointing loss is remedied far more safely and inexpensively than one might imagine. For starters, any individual suffering loss of libido or sexual potency should have a blood test confirming one’s levels of testosterone and DHEA. The results will almost always indicate that...

Testosterone Vs. Viagra - Blog - Testosterone replacement & general men's health articles

 

[gdevine]

Many middle aged men have a strong libido but have difficulty in achieving good erection quality simply due to the increase in the PDE5 enzyme which hampers the production of NO2 as we age.

A PDE5 inhibitor suppresses the PDE5 enzyme in return increasing NO2 which for many men is all they need to obtain good to excellent erection quality.

Testosterone is a neuro-sex hormone and acts nothing like a PDE5i.

The comparison is suspect here.

 

[Megatron28]

PDE5 enzyme? NO2? How about in English?

Your avi freaks me out gdevine. I keep seeing your thick, meaty and veiny apendage all over this forum!

 

[gdevine]

PDE5 enzyme? NO2? How about in English?

Your avi freaks me out gdevine. I keep seeing your thick, meaty and veiny apendage all over this forum!

Takes some work to get forearms like that my friend

The PDE5 Inhibitor essentially blocks the degenerative action of PDE5 enzyme on "cyclic GMP" in the smooth muscle cells lining the blood vessels supplying the corpus cavernosum of the penis (the tissue that allows for an erection) and also the Prostate as well (that's why Cialis is now approved for BPH).

As we age, like the aromatase enzyme, the PDE5 enzyme increase in serum....just part of aging that sucks; but there are wonderful and safe drugs that can reverse that.

So, as we age the increase in PDE5 makes it harder for men to get good strong erections. By inhibiting the PDE5 enzyme with an inhibitor like Viagra, Levitra or Cialis a man can usually get a much better erection when the enzyme is suppressed.

It also promotes Nitric Oxide (NO) which acts as a vasiodilator expanding blood vessels for more and greater flow.

So, reduce more of the bad PDE5 enzyme, relax the smooth muscle tissues and increase blood flow and volume via vasiodialation all equals much improved erection quality in men.

A sex hormone like Testosterone does not act that way; it acts more neurological on the parasympathetic and sympathetic pathways which controls your libido and sex drive.

BTW, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) does as well...some Doc's in the know even consider Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) a sex hormone believe it or not!

 

[IMT staff]

The comparison is suspect here.

I wouldn't say the comparison is suspect here at all, especially due to the common misconception that they act the same way. There is no need to over complicate the differences between these 2, it is put much more simply and still accurately that viagra increase blood flow and testosterone increase's the primary sex hormone, testosterone, which in turn can increase NO2 and may improve erection quality.

To put it best, about half the men who are diagnosed with ED, which is entirely different than low libido, can improve erection quality and libido with testosterone alone, without the stuffy nose and headaches that accompany PDE5 inhib use. The other half need to add a PDE5 inhib to their testosterone, not take a PDE5 inhib alone, since there is recent literature supporting the fact that testosterone will increase the effectiveness of the PDE5, so you can take less and maybe not have nearly as significant side effects.

I would say the comparison is not only interesting, but one of the main questions of your average male looking into to low libido or erection issues that they have

Normal vascular endothelium is essential for the synthesis and release of substances affecting vascular tone (e.g. nitric oxide; NO), cell adhesion (e.g. endothelins, interleukins), and the homeostasis of clotting and fibrinolysis (e.g. plasminogen inhibitors, von Willebrand factor). The degeneration of endothelial integrity promotes adverse events (AEs) leading to increased atherogenesis and to the development of vascular systemic and penile end-organ disease. Testosterone (T) is an important player in the regulation of vascular tone through non-genomic actions exerted via blockade of extracellular-calcium entry or activation of potassium channels; also, adequate T concentrations are paramount for the regulation of phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE5) expression and finally, for the actions exerted by hydrogen sulphide, a gas involved in the alternative pathway controlling vasodilator responses in penile tissue. It is known that an age-related decline of serum T is reported in approximately 20 to 30% of men whereas T deficiency is reported in up to 50% of men with metabolic syndrome or diabetes. A number of laboratory and human studies have shown the combination of T and other treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED), such as PDE5 inhibitors, to be more beneficial in patients with ED and hypogonadism, who fail monotherapy for sexual disturbances.

The aim of this review is to show evidence on the role of T and PDE5 inhibitors, alone or in combination, as potential boosters of endothelial function in internal medicine diseases associated with reduced T or NO bioavailability, i.e. metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, coronary artery disease, hyperhomocysteinemia, that share common risk factors with ED. Furthermore, the possibility of such a strategy to prevent endothelial dysfunction in men at increased cardiovascular risk is discussed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3126062/

I wonder why they did not think the comparison was suspect ^^^?

 

[bigben34]

Interesting stuff....I'm a big fan of testosterone + liquid cia every couple of days...I know GDevine is a cialis fan too.

 

[gdevine]

I guess my response was a little misguided; it's not quite what I meant.

What I should have said, and to keep it simple, it that the pharmacokinetics of Testosterone are vastly different than a PDE5i...that's all.

BTW, the research is good, but there are many others out there on PubMed that reflect that many men on a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) protocol still have libido and ED/EQ issues and the use of a PDE5i with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) can be a sure bet for some men where testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doesn't work alone.

Testosterone replacement, which is great and I am a huge advocate for it in men; is not the Valhalla of youth for libido and erection quality. Many men on successful testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) procotols still need PDE5i's (and even some other drugs like a co-administered alpha blocker) to achieve good erection.

Libido is extremely complex and erection quality, while understood, is not as easy achieve in some men no matter the protocol.

Thank God there's Trimix for those men...now that stuff is a winner

 

[IMT staff]

What I should have said, and to keep it simple, it that the pharmacokinetics of Testosterone are vastly different than a PDE5i...that's all.

I agree that some men have trouble being fixed with testosterone alone, it is a much better chance than not though. Not everyone who seeks or needs testosterone has ED, as a matter of fact half of the men with lowT have no symptoms at all, at least that they understand. So this is rarely the case.

So yes the pharmacokinetics (what the body does to the drug) of these 2 are different, some of the pharmacodynamics (what the drug does to the body) are actually the same.

So they are not as different as they seem, is my point