The Benefits of Long Term Cialis Use

Cialis (tadalafil) is powerful.. What makes Cialis unique among the erectile dysfunction drugs is its long half life. Thirty six hours after taking Cialis, a guy will still have about a quarter of what he took circulating in his blood stream. This means that guys can take this every other day and get themselves back in bad almost full time.  Plus, many guys like the fact that they don't have to anticipate their love-making sessions - who can predict a woman, eh?

NOTE:  Cialis has recently come out with a Cialis Daily lower dose version that can keep a guy in the game 24/7.  Eli Lilly's info page is here.

However, it turns out the benefits of long term, steady use of Cialis extend way beyond just simple bedroom convenience. (For some of the scary issues with long term Cialis use, see my link on The Dangers of Cialis for more information.)  Let's go over some of the big reasons regular Cialis usage is quite tempting upon first examination:

1.  Blood Flow Increases.  Duh!  Cialis increases blood flow - that's what erections are all about, eh? - but this can have important health benefits throughout the body as lack of circulation can effect many tissues including those in the brain.  One four-week study of  males (average age of 54) found that Cialis use induced profound and highly desireable cardiovascular and endothelial changes, including increases in the all-important FMD (Flow Mediated Dilation).

Do you know the foods and drinks that increase erection-boosting Nitric Oxide? Check out the Peak Erectile Strength Diet where I show you how to dramatically and naturally improve your erectile strength.

2.  Inflammation Reduction.  Researchers also noted a "robust", i.e. very significant drop in both C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule (VCAM) counts.  This is important because plaque buildup in the arteries is largely due to an inflammatory process where  leukocytes (white blood cells) adhere to and "attack" arterial walls.

Cialis attacks this plaque-building process in several ways, lowering both CRP, the systemic (body-wide) inflammation marker that is so intimately correlated with arterioscloerosis, and VCAM, which is a protein that helps white blood cells adhere to arterial walls and causes plaque buildup.  In other words, Cialis usage seems to directly improve two important markers of cardiovascular disease. So users may get both short term benefits in the bedroom and long term health results to go with it, although that has not been proven. 

4. High Blood Pressure and Hypertension.  Cialis has also been shown to lower high blood pressure.  Although it does not dramatically lower blood pressure, it will help most guys struggling with hypertension. [6,7,8]

5. Improved Relationships.  One study found that, for guys with erectile dysfunction, a significant percentage had improved partner relationships after taking Cialis, suggesting, of course, that sex really does matter. [9]

6. The Benefits of Sex.  In my link on How Sex Is Good For You, I document many benefits of making love.  Cialis likely increases many, if not all, of these benefits.  By the way, Viagra has many studies showing that it decreases the refractory period.  This is the time post-ejaculation that it takes for guys to recover before they can become erect. Cialis likely has this same benefit.

7.  Antidepressant Action.  In some Cialis may actually act as an antidepressant.

So then Cialis is a no-brainer, right?  Well, not so fast. All the PDE5 inhibitors have numerous side effects including possible changes of one's hearing, vision and GI tissues. I document this more extensively in my link on effects including possible changes of one's hearing, vision and GI tissues. I document this more extensively in my link on Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.

So is there a more natural solution that might have the same benefits? Well, exercise increases Nitric Oxide, just like Cialis. [3] Exercise lowers C-Reactive Protein long term (probably primarily due to weight loss). [4] Weight loss strongly lowers C-Reactive protein in numerous studies. [5] And weight loss, as I document in this link on the Testosterone to Estrogen Ratio, also raises testosterone while lowering estrogen significantly. (Weight training also appears to directly raise testosterone long term as well.)

In other words, one could make a strong argument that Cialis is simply a potentially dangerous substitute for exercise and weight loss. A more moderate position would be that Cialis should be used as a short term substitute until you get an exercise and weight loss program sufficiently far along.

REFERENCES:

1) International Journal of Impotence Research, 2007, 19:200–207, "Relationship between chronic tadalafil administration and improvement of endothelial function in men with erectile dysfunction: a pilot study"

2) The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Jul 2006, 3(4):716-722, "Testosterone:Estradiol Ratio Changes Associated with Long-Term Tadalafil Administration: A Pilot Study" 3) Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Dec 1996, 28(7):1652-1660, "Cardiovascular Effects of Exercise: Role of Endothelial Shear Stress"

4) J Am Coll Cardiol, 2004, 44:2411-2413, "Effect of six months' exercise training on C-reactive protein levels in healthy elderly subjects"

5)  Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2004, 24:1868, "Can Exercise Training With Weight Loss Lower Serum C-Reactive Protein Levels?"

9) International Society for Sexual Medicine, Dec 2009, 6(12):3458-3468, "Effects of 12-Month Tadalafil Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction on Couple Relationships: Results from the DETECT Study"