<p>According to Viagra's official website, men should avail themselves of the little blue pill no more than once a day. So that's exactly what I did: I took Viagra no more than once a day—only I did so for exactly two weeks straight.</p>
<p>Now, I realize it may sound a bit excessive to be ingesting the world's top erectile dysfunction (ED) pill as if it were everyday Ibuprofen, but I was determined to find out what it was like. Will I become a sexual god? Would my mood soar if I did? Would I have a hallucinate experience? Would the downward blood flow affect my brain? It was the only way to know.</p>
<p>Some relevant backstory: I'm 40 years old and thankfully still very <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href=" target="_blank">sexually active</a>, and I've been experimenting with Viagra for many years (though only sparingly). This article was a new experience for me. Nervous? Nervous? Excited? Definitely. I wanted to know what it was like to be sexually charged and walk around the world.</p>
<p>Are you curious to learn more? Continue reading to find out what happened when I used Viagra daily for two weeks.</p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href=" target="_blank">17 Best Foods for Your Penis, According to Science</a>.</strong></p>
<h2>What Happened When I Took Viagra Recreationally</h2>
<h3>1. Viagra has a long-lasting effect. It lasts much longer than 4 hours.</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-31688" src=" alt="A man getting ready to take a pill of Viagra at night. " width="500" height="332" /></p>
<p>Viagra is available in three different strengths: 25mg (the smallest), 50mg (the second largest), and 100mg. In the past, I've found that 25mg always did the job just fine. However, my journey begins with a bottle of the 100mg tabs which I've chosen to cut into thirds.</p>
<p>There were nights during my 14-day trial when I was ready to have sex, but had also consumed too much alcohol. As I expected, the dose certainly did the trick—and then some. The next day, I was prone to having sudden, hard erections.</p>
<p>What is the reason? Viagra doesn't stop working after four hours. Four hours is the half-life of Viagra, meaning that its effectiveness falls by 50%. After another four-hour period, the effectiveness drops by another 50 percent. "Viagra should be <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank">mostly gone</a> after about 16 to 20 hours," according to GoodRx.</p>
<p>So, even at my usual 25mg dose, I still woke up each morning with enough Viagra in my system to result in a penis so hard a cat couldn't scratch it.</p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href=" target="_blank">6 Tips for Ending a "Sex Drought," According to Therapists</a>.</strong></p>
<h3>2. Viagra may have been a (very-effective) placebo.</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-135782" src=" alt="Man holding viagra mixing alcohol" width="500" height="375" /></p>
<p>During the two weeks I spent taking Viagra, I couldn't help but notice that my erections felt harder, fuller, and more abiding over the course of an evening of sex. However, according to urologist <strong>Arthur Burnett</strong>, MD, <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank">professor of urology</a> at Johns Hopkins Medicine, I might be tricking myself. Burnett said guys like me, who have no problems with erections or achieving them, are wasting money by using Viagra.</p>
<p>"If erections are really intact, Viagra does not make a better erection," he says. Could this mean that I was experiencing a mental issue rather than physical one that made my natural erections appear less impressive?</p>
<h3>3. Viagra is effective in reducing performance anxiety.</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-340810" src=" alt="A senior man being hugged by his wife while taking a pill and sitting on the couch" width="500" height="334" /></p>
<p>Stress, depressions, relationship troubles, low self esteem, and anxiety over sexual performance can often affect erections. They've certainly been known to get in the way of some of mine. Psychotherapist, sex counselor, and author <strong>Ian Kerner</strong>, PhD, suggests that Viagra can help in these instances.</p>
<p>"I do find a higher percentage of men are dealing with sexual anxiety and sexual problems related to erectile quality and so there are more men dealing with situational ED and taking Viagra," he says. "The effect often for these men is a firmer, more consistent and dependable erection."</p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href=" target="_blank">100 Sexting Ideas So Hot They'll Melt Your Phone</a>.</strong></p>
<h3>4. I have had side effects from Viagra.</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-31707" src=" alt="habits after 40" width="500" height="347" /></p>
<p>When I took the Viagra, I experienced flushing: a warm feeling in my cheeks and ears that was also accompanied by a notable redness. Another unfortunate side effect of dilated blood vessels was the sudden and severe nasal congestion that made it impossible to both breathe through my nose or smell my partner—things that I really like to do when I'm having sex. To mitigate this side effect, I began using a nasal spray containing oxymetazoline when taking my pills.)</p>
<p>In 2015, <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank" data-citation="true">a meta-analysis of 150 trials</a> determined that while Viagra is the most effective of the various ED drugs on the market, it also has the highest incidence of side effects—headache, upset stomach, vision loss, blue-tinged sight, back pain, muscle pain, nausea, and dizziness, just to name a few common ones.</p>
<p>Another rarer side effect can be having a rock-hard erection that doesn't abate. The medical name for a perma-stiffy is called <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank" data-citation="true">priapism</a>. "It develops when blood remains in your penis and can't drain," explains the Cleveland Clinic.</p>
<p>While priapism might sound appealing to a guy interested in having his best sex, it's important to know that an erection that refuses to go away can cause permanent damage—including amputation. As the Viagra warning goes, "If you have an erection that lasts <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank">more than four hours</a>, get medical help right away."</p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href=" target="_blank">The Biggest Lie All Couples Say About Their Sex Lives, According to a Marriage Counselor</a>.</strong></p>
<h3>5. It was important to me that I eat well when taking Viagra.</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-403109" src=" alt="A male couple eating pasta out of takeout containers while sitting on their living room floor and laughing." width="500" height="333" /></p>
<p>What I ate and how much I consumed affected the speed at which Viagra worked. On an empty stomach, I was feeling flushed and—if turned on—sporting an erection within 20 minutes. If, however, I'd eaten a burger and fries, it was more like 40 minutes. This is confirmed by the <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank">company's website</a>, which says that a fatty meal can lengthen the amount of time Viagra takes to work.</p>
<h3>6. Viagra made me feel like I could go out again right away.</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-412503" src=" alt="couple having sex on the floor" width="500" height="334" /></p>
<p>I also noticed a couple of other benefits from taking so much Viagra, including shorter refractory time (meaning: the length of time between ejaculating and being able to have sex again).</p>
<p>"Some have used [Viagra] to enable faster recovery of erectile ability after ejaculation," says Burnett, thereby backing up my observation. In fact, Burnett's views on the recreational use of Viagra by men without ED are perfectly encapsulated by a 2003 study entitled: "Sildenafil does not improve sexual function in men without erectile dysfunction but does reduce the <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank">postorgasmic refractory time</a>."</p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href=" target="_blank">5 Body Language Signs That Mean Your Partner Is in the Mood, According to Experts</a>.</strong></p>
<h3>7. It took longer to orgasm with Viagra (which could be a good thing).</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-409219" src=" alt="man and woman fooling around in bed" width="500" height="333" /></p>
<p>It has never been an issue for me to not be able to control my orgasm. It’s because I discovered masturbatory edge as a teenager. That said, I noticed that, during this experiment, I really had to make an effort to bring myself to orgasm—despite having a throbbing, long-lasting erection that felt both great to me and my partner.</p>
<p>In 2005, researchers investigated this phenomenon to see if Viagra helped with premature expulsion (PE). The study concluded that Viagra "increased confidence, the perception of ejaculatory control, and overall sexual satisfaction, and <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank" data-citation="true">decreased the refractory time</a> to achieve a second erection after ejaculation in men with PE."</p>
<p>Another study from 2007 demonstrated that <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank" data-citation="true">greater ejaculatory control</a> was more than just a perception and proved that Viagra can be both effective and safe in the treatment of PE. What a great way to get the most bang for your dollar.</p>
<h3>8. I realized that not everyone enjoys marathon sex session all the time.</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-412036" src=" alt="A young couple under the covers at the foot of the bed, each looking away from each other and upset." width="500" height="300" /></p>
<p>It is said that with great power comes great responsibilities. And if you've got a penis like a crowbar, increased ejaculatory control, a mind less distracted by performance anxiety, and the refractory time of a horny 15-year-old, you may run the risk of your partner wanting or needing to tap out at a certain point.</p>
<p>"I want you to come now," is basically a nice way of saying, "That's enough of that, I'm bored/chafed/exhausted/too busy to do this all day long." This line was repeated to me numerous times during my experiment.</p>
<p>How long people like to have sex for is incredibly varied, of course, but, according to a 2008 study in the <em><a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank" data-citation="true">Journal of Sexual Medicine</a></em>, sex therapists defined intercourse lasting 1 to 2 minutes as "too short," 3 to 7 minutes as "adequate," 7 to 13 minutes as "desirable," and 10-30 as "too long." The longer the sex lasted, the sooner the cease-and-desist request came.</p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href=" target="_blank">60 Sizzling Sex Positions That Will Spice Things Up—Tonight</a>.</strong></p>
<h3>9. I realized you <em>can</em> overdo it and it <em>will</em> be bad.</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31689" src=" alt="Viagra" /></p>
<p>Given what Viagra, taken recreationally, can do—and did for me during a very fun two-week experiment—you'd be forgiven for jumping to the conclusion that upping the dose means upping the good times.</p>
<p>But take heed: Unless you really suffer from ED, you probably don't need it. And if you're taking it because you're drinking too much, well, I'd drink less than try to fight it with the pill.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, the internet is rife with accounts of men who overdid it with Viagra and ended up suffering heart attacks, death, and, in the case of a 66-year-old farmer in Colombia, <a rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" href=" target="_blank">requiring emergency surgery</a> on a penis gone gangrenous in the wake of a Viagra overdose. (Truth.) The biggest, hardest, proudest erection in the world isn't worth taking the risk of that happening.</p>
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The post I Took Viagra Every Day for Two Weeks & These 9 Things Happened appeared first on Best Life.
