Caverta

Caverta (sildenafil Citrate) relaxes muscles and increases blood flow to particular areas of the body. Sildenafil citrate is a phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor. It works by helping to increase blood flow into the penis during sexual stimulation. This helps you to achieve and maintain an erection. Caverta is used to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence) in men.

Use Caverta as directed by your doctor. Check the label on the medicine for exact dosing instructions. An extra patient leaflet is available with sildenafil. Talk to your pharmacist if you have questions about this information.

Take Caverta by mouth with or without food. Caverta may not work as quickly if you take it with a high-fat meal. Caverta is usually taken about 45 minutes to 1 hour before sexual activity; however, it may be taken anywhere from 4 hours to a half hour before sexual activity. Talk with your doctor about the best way to take sildenafil.

Stop using Caverta and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling;
• irregular heartbeat;
• swelling in your hands, ankles, or feet;
• shortness of breath;
• vision changes;
• feeling light-headed, fainting; or
• penis erection that is painful or lasts 4 hours or longer.

Continue taking Caverta and talk with your doctor if you have any of these less serious side effects:

• warmth or redness in your face, neck, or chest;
• stuffy nose;
• headache;
• upset stomach; or
• back pain.

Side effects other than those listed here may also occur.

• Avoid drinking alcohol, which can increase some of the side effects of Caverta.
• Avoid using other medicines to treat impotence, such as alprostadil (Caverject, Muse, Edex) or yohimbine (Yocon, Yodoxin, others), without first talking to your doctor
• Do not take Caverta if you are also using a nitrate drug for chest pain or heart problems. This includes nitroglycerin (Nitrostat, Nitrolingual, Nitro-Dur, Nitro-Bid, and others), isosorbide dinitrate (Dilatrate-SR, Isordil, Sorbitrate), and isosorbide mononitrate (Imdur, ISMO, Monoket). Nitrates are also found in some recreational drugs such as amyl nitrate or nitrite ("poppers"). Taking Caverta with a nitrate medicine can cause a serious decrease in blood pressure, leading to fainting, stroke, or heart attack

Before taking Caverta, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following medications:

• bosentan (Tracleer);
• cimetidine (Tagamet, Tagamet HB);
• an antibiotic such as erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab) or clarithromycin (Biaxin);
• doxazosin (Cardura), prazosin (Minipress), Terazosin (Hytrin);
• HIV medicines such as amprenavir (Agenerase), tipranavir (Aptivus), darunavir (Prezista), efavirenz (Sustiva), nevirapine (Viramune), indinavir (Crixivan), saquinavir (Invirase, Fortovase), lopinavir/ ritonavir (Kaletra), fosamprenavir (Lexiva), ritonavir (Norvir), atazanavir (Reyataz), or nelfinavir (Viracept);
• an antifungal medication such as itraconazole (Sporanox) or ketoconazole (Nizoral);
• carbamazepine (Tegretol), phenobarbital (Luminal), or phenytoin (Dilantin); or
• rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane) or rifabutin (Mycobutin).

If you miss a dose of sildenafil and you still intend to engage in sexual activity, take it as soon as you remember. Continue to take it as directed by your doctor.

Store at 77 degrees F (25 degrees C). Brief storage at temperatures between 59 and 86 degrees F (15 and 30 degrees C) is permitted. Store away from heat, moisture, and light. Do not store in the bathroom. Keep sildenafil out of the reach of children and away from pets.