Viagra

[SRIXON]

I tooka viagra this morning, not sure it was such a good idea, feel quite weak. :-((

[SnazzyD]

Good morning. Perhaps you need to see a doctor in case you’re one of the people who get cardiac problems with Viagra.

[SRIXON in reply to SnazzyD]

Ok thx

[Hidden]

Presumably you’ve had this on Prescription or bought from a Pharmacy after discussion with a Pharmacist in view of your high blood pressure?

If you feel unwell l would suggest your ring your Doctors Surgery or Contact 111 or go to A&E.

[SRIXON in reply to Hidden]

Prescription, thanks for your input.

[Hidden in reply to SRIXON]

Give the Surgery a ring for advice.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

If your BP has not yet been got under control I'm a bit surprised your GP provided a script for Viagra. You said it was pretty high just a couple of weeks ago. Are you on any other medication for the BP problem?

[SRIXON in reply to PMRpro]

Im on 3 lots.

[JakeSearcher]

In general, if one has PMR and taking Pred, is It ok to take an occasional Viagra? I have not asked my Rheumie about this but I intend to.

[Hidden in reply to JakeSearcher]

I have just checked on nice website and it has a severe warning about Viagra/sildenafil and pred. The interaction ... is predicted to cause hypokalaemia (potentially increasing the risk of torsade de pointes) when given with sildenafil. Manufacturer makes no recommendation.

Severity of interaction:

Severe

Evidence for interaction:

Theoretical

bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/silden...

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

patient.info/doctor/torsade...

[SRIXON in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou for response, i have read your notes and links, excuse my ignorance, im struggling what exactly is Torsade de points. Col x

[Hidden in reply to SRIXON]

It's an abnormal heart rhythm. Perhaps you may need to talk to your Dr about how you felt after taking the Viagra. It can lead to serious issues so before you think of taking it again please speak to your gp.

I hadn't heard of it but I am sure some of the more medically minded have.

[SRIXON in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to SRIXON]

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

is an article about it that explains it quite well. I know it sounds scary - but these are facts you need to be aware of and discuss with your doctor.

Basically the problem here is that the autoimmune part of PMR can lead to arrythmias (I'm speaking from personal experience here) and so can pred (it is usually what GPs claim is causing palpitations even if it isn't). And then you add in the effect of the Viagra in association with pred. There are 3 different aspects that I can think of off the top of my head and I'm not a doctor. It needs thinking about and possibly some investigations done.

You took Viagra, you felt unwell - you need to talk with a doctor about whether this is a good idea again.

[SRIXON]

Thankyou