Viagra and Lexapro Stack: Interaction & Effects

Although antidepressants can aid overcome depression or anxiety and other related conditions, they are associated with some constraints. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) medications can help lift individuals out of depression. But antidepressants come with some negative effects including those that can affect the patient’s sex life.

SSRI medication certainly reduces interest in sex and can make it difficult to become aroused or sustain arousal, and reach orgasm. If this is the experience affecting several men with erectile dysfunction (ED), what should be done to regain arousal and lead a better sex life? If ED is your major problem, Viagra is the best safe remedy. This guide contains pointers on stacking Viagra with Lexapro antidepressant and what to expect.

What Exactly Is Lexapro?

Lexapro is a brand name medicine under the generic name escitalopram. Escitalopram is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (or SSRIs) antidepressants. It is used for acute and maintenance remedy of acute medication of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD).

SSRIs function by affecting certain brain chemicals that may be unbalanced in patients with anxiety or depression. Treatments of depression affect the concentration and function of certain neurochemicals in the patient brain, and/or their receptor locations.

By doing so, it increases serotonin levels in the brain, which helps improve symptoms that might lead to depression or anxiety. Is Lexapro potent? This drug was shown in clinical studies to be significantly more effective than placebo in the treatment of MDD and GAD. Also, Lexapro, as an antidepressant, ranked number 2 according to ABCNEWS ranks on popular antidepressants in regards to efficacy and acceptability [1], [2].

The body chemicals – serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine all play a role in depression. Antidepressants alter the concentrations of these various body chemicals called neurotransmitters.

These neurotransmitters are involved in depression and its treatment is aimed at serotonin, norepinephrine, and to a slightly lesser extent, dopamine. Most notably, these types of neurotransmitters, combined, serve various functions in the body that involve mood – in regulating anxiety and depression. This control allows us to feel euphoric. Serotonin also serves various other functions like stimulating nausea and maintaining bone health [3].

However, as a side effect, hypersexuality has not been mentioned as a symptom of depressive disorder in the available literature. This condition may also be linked to depression and anxiety. SSRIs medication including paroxetine and fluoxetine has been associated with hypersexuality. Existing research data may support hypersexuality as an independent negative effect of certain SSRIs [4].

Although SSRIs can help cope with depression and anxiety, one major negative effect of antidepressants includes various conditions including those that can cause undesirable impacts on the patient’s sex life. And coping with this common negative effect of antidepressants is necessary.

In addition to a reduced interest in sex, SSRI remedies can potentially make it difficult for a man to become or sustain stimulation, and reach orgasm. Some men and women taking SSRIs med aren’t able to achieve an orgasm at all. These undesirable symptoms of sexual dysfunction is a common experience with individual age.

What should be done to fight this condition? If you experience any sexual dysfunctions while taking an SSRI medicine, communicate with your medical specialist. About 35 to 50% of men with untreated MDD experience some type of major sexual dysfunction before treatment.

Also, you can add a potent ED drug prescribed by a doctor. For some men experiencing ED, taking tadalafil (Cialis), sildenafil (Viagra), or any PDE5 inhibitor can alleviate SSRI-induced ED. Furthermore, men with ED conditions and having depression or taking an SSRI may benefit from adding Lexapro or bupropion to their remedy. These medications have the potential to counter SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction. It also effectively boosts sexual drive & stimulation, as well as boosts the intensity or duration of an orgasm. Also, an effective medicine – buspirone (or BuSpar), can effectively restore the ability for a man to have an orgasm and increase libido [5].

Switching to a different antidepressant medication such as bupropion – Wellbutrin, and Remeron is less likely to trigger sexual problems in men. Most notably, a medicine – bupropion, which alter both dopamine and norepinephrine, can sometimes boost sexual response.

Sexual side effects of certain medications become a problem that goes undiscussed and untreated. The next section talks about the first erectile dysfunction medicine that effectively fights against ED and helps men lead a happy sex life. Viagra has a very impressive history. Let’s discover what this drug is and its possibility to stack with Lexapro.

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What Is Viagra?

Before the approval of Viagra as a sexual potency pill, sildenafil – its active ingredient, was originally developed in 1998 to treat cardiovascular conditions (a treatment for heart-related chest pain) by Pfizer pharmaceutical. Its mechanism was meant to function by dilating the heart’s blood vessels with the target of blocking the body natural enzyme – a PDE-5 protein.

In animal tests, sildenafil worked well and the animals were not experiencing any obvious negative effects. So, due to this effect, sildenafil, in the early 1990s was brought into a phase one clinical trial to test whether humans, with heart problems, can safely tolerate a new possible treatment compound.

When men enrolled in the clinical study due to cardiovascular problems, they were surprised because they were getting better erections unlike usual experience when sexually stimulated. Due to the mechanism of sildenafil, blood vessels dilating during drug administration in clinical trials were not in the heart as it was meant to target, but rather the penis. The drug began to also dilate blood vessels as part of its mechanism in the body that leads to quality penile erections [6].

The mystery? The sildenafil was working both in the heart and also in the penile area. And with that, due to a major discovery, sildenafil, the so-called “potency pill” was discovered. It was approved for medical use for treating men experiencing ED conditions in the United States and Europe in 1998 due to its safety, efficacy, and tolerability in correcting the effects of impotence when a man was sexually aroused and ready to engage in sexual intercourse.

Millions of men had been prescribed sildenafil. ED was a major problem that affected men as they aged, due to some health conditions, use of certain medicines (such as SSRIs), and individual lifestyle. Sildenafil, under the brand-name Viagra® by Pfizer, became the first line of treatment for men looking for a remedy to ED.

Although there are other approved ED medicines, its mechanisms of action are the same and nearly have equal effectiveness and tolerability. Due to the patent expiry of sildenafil by Pfizer in some countries, other approved manufacturers have emerged producing generic Viagra that has the same therapeutic formation, efficacy, quality, and safety.

Combination of These Pills

What to expect when combining Viagra and Lexapro? Sildenafil is not contraindicated with SSRIs medications. Viagra in combination with an antidepressant is safe. According to the study, Viagra can help overcome such common and unpleasant side effects of antidepressant medication, as sexual dysfunction. Approx. 30-70% of men suffer from ED during antidepressant treatment. So, they stopped taking meds and it became a big problem for them. But the study showed that 55% of men felt better and more confident after taking sildenafil.

From another study, the reversal of sexual dysfunction after using sildenafil in males receiving certain various types and dosages of SSRIs including Lexapro is promising. This study evaluates the effects of sildenafil on sexual dysfunction in patients who are concurrently treated with SSRIs. Sildenafil proved to be helpful in the treatment of SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction [7].

Lexapro and Viagra Side Effects

Sexual dysfunction is a well-documented negative effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). In regards to sexual side effects, commonly reported negative effects of an antidepressant include:

• erectile impotence;
• ejaculatory delay;
• anorgasmia;
• loss of sensation;
• decreased pleasure.

Independently, Lexapro’s negative effects are comprehensively given on drugs.com. Take note of other drugs that can affect the safe use of an antidepressant [8].

However, to stay safe while under escitalopram medication, inform your medical specialist if you have ever had:

• liver or kidney disease;
• seizures;
• low levels of sodium in your blood;
• heart disease, high blood pressure;
• a stroke;
• a bleeding/blood clotting disorder;
• bipolar disorder (also manic depression);
• drug addiction or suicidal thoughts.

Viagra, on the other hand, is widely documented and it’s safe to adhere to all sildenafil dosage rules. This includes what to do before taking an ED med, expected negative effects, Viagra contraindications, warnings, and precautions among other drug safety precautions. It’s necessary to acquaint with sildenafil important safety information.

Viagra is safe if taken by healthy individuals. It gives an amazing sexual power effect that helps most men with all degrees of ED beat these conditions and lead a happy sex life.

Some side effects are short-lived – come and fade away with sildenafil continual use. In summary, common Viagra negative effects include [9]:

• headache;
• upset stomach;
• flushing;
• dizziness;
• abnormal vision, and blurred vision;
• stuffy or runny nose;
• muscle pain;
• nausea;
• back pain;
• rash.

Rare negative effects can happen including:

• a prolonged erection that will not go away, called priapism – that can last for more than 4 hours; if it persists, immediately consult with a doctor, as this condition can damage your penis;
• sudden vision loss – either one or both eyes;
• sudden hearing loss or decrease.

All the necessary sildenafil information is on Viagra’s website [10]. It’s necessary to first consult with a medical specialist before taking an antidepressant or ED medication. In case of any strange negative effect that does not disappear after stopping or discontinuing medication, it’s recommended to immediately consult with a doctor.

Withdrawal Time

It is recommended not to stop taking any prescribed drug until you have spoken with your doctor. If you stop taking it, the medicine effects will finally leave your body, and, most likely, your symptoms might return. Quitting “cold turkey” some type of medication may cause withdrawal symptoms. Stopping some types of antidepressant medication suddenly is not recommended. Reason? It may worsen your anxiety or depression treatment. This leads to antidepressant discontinuation syndrome (withdrawal symptoms).

Several people experiencing antidepressant withdrawal may have some strange negative effects. Generally, here are some of the possible effects of quitting too quickly [11]:

• nightmares;
• anxiety;
• fatigue;
• disturbing thoughts or images;
• diarrhea;
• headache;
• vomiting;
• depression and mood swings;
• nausea;
• trouble sleeping;
• abdominal cramping;
• flu-like symptoms;
• sweating.

Certainly, Viagra withdrawal symptoms are not likely a dangerous experience. Viagra is safe – only taken as needed and it’s not physically addictive, but if overused, it may cause psychological dependence.

Interaction with Food and Alcohol

By following safe dosage and precautions, it’s safe to take Viagra with or without food. However, fatty meals may delay its onset of action. Sildenafil medication interacts with grapefruit/grapefruit juice. Large amounts of this product can potentially affect the potency of sildenafil. Also, this fruit is known to boost the level of sildenafil concentration in the blood and can delay the sildenafil noted onset of action or unexpectedly lower sildenafil effectiveness. The effect of grapefruit may not cause any serious negative effect on those using it but, as part of safe dosage, it is advisable to avoid it [12].

It is not recommended to drink alcohol while taking Lexapro or any other SSRI drug. Alcohol may also worsen some of the negative effects of Lexapro, including drowsiness and dizziness. This is because alcohol can also cause these negative effects. Patients who drink alcohol while taking Lexapro treatment may feel more depressed or anxious, and these symptoms may be more complex to treat [13].

Lexapro and Viagra interact with certain types of medications including disease interaction depending on individual health. These two precautions are contraindicated and it’s necessary to adhere to the instructions given in the drug leaflet as well as a doctor’s prescription. Let your doctor know about other products you are taking, be it an herb, prescription drug, over-the-counter drug, or a supplement. What’s more, do not suddenly stop taking antidepressant (SSRIs) medications, talk to your doctor before making such a decision.

What Are the Best Places to Buy Viagra and Lexapro Online?

Viagra and Lexapro medication can be bought from your local pharmacies, as well as online – from the best, legit, and trusted e-pharmacy. Buying from walk-in pharmacies is the best option. However, from those pharmacies, a prescription will need to be tendered. Besides, the prices of such medications are usually higher compared to cheap but legit online drugstores. If you’re looking to get these potent drugs as a remedy to depression and ED affordably and with or without prescription, the best place to buy is from trustworthy online vendors.

Below are some of the best places with a higher rating to buy Viagra and other types of health medications. Some of these vendors don’t offer Lexapro, but they are best to get quality Viagra from these e-pharmacies.

ViaBestBuys.com

ViaBestBuys is one of the best e-pharmacies, here you can find Viagra generics. It’s a reliable ED vendor with a proven track record of exceptional offers, delivery, and services. It offers genuine and quality medication sourced from approved manufacturers. Several buyers who have bought from this vendor rate it high in terms of their excellent customer service/support, favorable drug pricing, and quality of erectile dysfunction medication. This vendor has an excellent TrustScore from Trustpilot online review portal.

ViaBestBuys has impressive customer-tailored price-reducing experiences. It offers excellent discounts via vouchers and coupon codes, as well as time-to-time great deals. In an era where monetary technology is advancing, Bitcoin is becoming the next boom in online shopping. This vendor promotes this type of safe, simple, ultra-fast, and secure payment option by offering up to 25% discounts to buyers who pay for their orders with Bitcoin. If Bitcoin is not your preferred option, it also accepts payments of various products via a credit card or PayPal.

ViaBestBuys also gives free generic Viagra and other ED med samples to those who may want to test its efficacy and tolerability of the ED tablets before buying.

Moreover, buyers enjoy an online drugstore that offers excellent service and delivery. This vendor has two shipping methods:

• the Express Mail Service (or EMS). This delivery is ultra-fast – it takes 7 to 12 days. Although the EMS delivery option costs $49, it is free for orders over $180;
• Standard shipping is cheaper ($39 shipping fees) and it takes 10-18 days. Enjoy free delivery for purchases you made worth over $130.

However, ViaBestBuys does not ship directly to some very few countries due to their strict custom and stringent import laws. These countries include Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Israel, Pakistan, and Brazil. However, buyers wishing their parcels delivered to these countries can still experience a successful delivery by using a reshipping service like SkyPax. In any case, this vendor fulfills what it promises. It offers a full refund or reships buyer packages for free in the unlikely event that their shipped products get delayed or seized by country-specific customs.

CialisBit.com

Viagra and other ED drugs are extremely cheap from this vendor. Its operations and the products it offers are very similar to ViaBestBuys online drugstore in terms of the source of its products, and the discounts it offers.

This vendor is legit and the customer is its priority. It accepts payments made using a credit card, PayPal, or Bitcoin (BTC). Using BTC from this vendor rewards you with a 25% discount.

At a customer-focused approach, CialisBit ships ED drugs to the USA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and worldwide. However, due to strict country-specific custom laws and import regulations, CialisBit does not ship directly to Canada, Brazil, South Africa, and a few other countries listed on its drugstore shipping page.

CialisBit available shipping options include:

• the EMS usually costs $49 per delivery, but it doesn’t cost a penny for buyer total purchases of over $180;
• standard delivery (or Registered Airmail shipping) – slightly cheap as it costs $39 as shipping fee, but it’s free for buyer orders worth over $130.

Although there are certain few countries this vendor does not ship to, using a reshipping service such as Skypax can still get your packages delivered to your country. Other countries this vendor does not ship directly include Switzerland and Norway, but interested buyers from this region can still use PR Strømstad AB re-shipping service and get their parcel delivered. It has a 100% delivery success rate.

Talking about ED and getting quality drugs labeled Viagra and the pharmacy you order from is not a happy experience. Cialisbit also understands your privacy and regardless of the ED drug a customer orders, it ships directly to their front door in discreet packaging, without any reference to the erectile dysfunction pills or e-pharmacy name on the packaging. Shop safely and expect your parcel delivered on time. CialisBit constantly tracks all shipped customer packages and, in rare experiences, gives a full refund or free reshipment if the package gets lost or stuck in customs.

HighStreetPharma.com

This is an excellent e-pharmacy to buy Lexapro, genuine ED, and other medications from. HighStreetPharma protects customer’s privacy very seriously by fulfilling all orders in discreet packages. It also accepts order payments only by gift cards and cryptocurrency. It attends to any customer who lacks a prescription – just like the aforementioned e-pharmacies.

Including ED and a wider selection of categories for medicines used to treat certain health conditions such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, antibiotics, nootropics, and herbals remedies. It also offers more antidepressants.

HighStreetPharma has two shipping options – Express shipping and Airmail shipping. Notably, the shipping rate varies depending on your preferred option. Orders shipped via the EMS can be tracked. Its delivery time takes from 7-14 business days. However, Airmail shipping takes 14-21 days and free for orders above $150.

However, as a trusted and legit e-pharmacy with impressive positive reviews, be aware that this e-pharmacy does not offer refunds or reshipments for some specified countries listed on its website. Be sure to note if your country is listed before making an order of any medication from its website. However, HighStreetPharma encourages its customers to use SkyPax reshipment service for its countries not explicitly covered.

PureRxPills.com

Like ViaBestBuys, HighStreetPharma, and CialisBit, PureRxPills is a trusted and recommended e-pharmacy. It doesn`t offer Lexapro but has a Cipralex antidepressant. PureRxPills offers a wide range of health treatments without a prescription, however, it requires that a buyer provide certain needed medical information by filling a form during checkout. This is a very important experience to ensure you get the right drug depending on your health. As an excellent e-pharmacy, it offers amazing price-reducing experiences such as time-to-time deals and impressive discounts via coupon codes and vouchers.

PureRxPills ships buyer packages worldwide once a buyer answers the medical questions provided. This vendor accepts your orders for any type of medication offered and it offers a payment option using a credit card. Once the payment is successful, the shipping address is confirmed and your parcel is ready for shipping!

Although it does not list which countries it does not deliver to, PureRxPills tracks orders, and reships packages or gives a refund, if the package delivered gets damaged or stuck with customs.

Resume

Sildenafil as Viagra® and generics are an effective treatment for most ED conditions. It produces hard, strong, and firm erection as early as 15 min and for most men with ED, within 30 min after dosing and only when sexually stimulated. Its duration of action lasts at least 4 hours. While SSRIs medication causes sexual dysfunction problems, adding a potent ED remedy such as Viagra is necessary. For a group of men, taking Viagra (sildenafil) or other approved ED drugs like Levitra, and Cialis has the potency to overcome SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction. Taking ED drugs concurrently with some antidepressants can effectively boost male sexual drive & arousal, as well as enhance the intensity or the time of orgasm.

References:

1. LEXAPRO – escitalopram oxalate tablet, film-coated. Retrieved: April 16, 2020. Nlm.nih.gov.
2. Popular Antidepressants: How They Stack Up. Researchers Rank 12 Common Antidepressants on Efficacy, Acceptability. By ABC News. Published: January 29, 2009. Abcnews.go.com.
3. Escitalopram | Mechanism of action. Retrieved: April 16, 2020. Wikipedia.org.
4. Sertraline-Induced Hypersexuality in a Patient Taking Bupropion. Piyush Das, MD, Abhishek Rai, MBBS, […], and Vijay Dewan, MD. Published: April 5, 2012. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
5. When an SSRI medication impacts your sex life. Updated: October 22, 2019. Published: May 2017. Health.harvard.edu.
6. Viagra’s famously surprising origin story is actually a pretty common way to find new drugs. By Katherine Ellen Foley. Published: September 10, 2017. Qz.com.
7. Sildenafil in the Treatment of SSRI-Induced Sexual Dysfunction: A Pilot Study. Marina Damis, M.D., Yatin Patel, M.D., and George M. Simpson, M.D. Published: 1999. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
8. Escitalopram | Brand Names: Lexapro. Retrieved: April 16, 2020. Drugs.com.
9. Viagra | Wondering about possible side effects? Retrieved: April 16, 2020. Viagra.com.
10. Viagra | Viagra.com. Retrieved: April 16, 2020. Viagra.com
11. The Dangers of Abruptly Stopping Antidepressants. Retrieved: April 16, 2020. Healthline.com.
12. Effects of grapefruit juice on the pharmacokinetics of sildenafil. Jetter A, Kinzig-Schippers M, Walchner-Bonjean M, Hering U, Bulitta J, Schreiner P, Sörgel F, Fuhr U. Published: Jan 2002. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
13. Is it safe to drink alcohol while taking Lexapro? Retrieved: April 16, 2020. Medicalnewstoday.com.