Levitra is a prescription medication used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED).

Levitra has been around since 2003 and has helped millions of men with erectile dysfunction.

The active ingredient in Levitra is a compound called vardenafil, which belongs to a class of drugs known as PDE-5 inhibitors. Other PDE-5 inhibitors include Cialis and Viagra. Levitra was launched in 2003 as a co-marketing arrangement between Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline and Schering Plough.

Like other PDE-5 inhibitors, Levitra inhibits the action of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 5. With less PDE-5, more of a substance called cyclic GMP is available. Cyclic GMP (cGMP) is present in the smooth muscle cells lining blood vessels and allows blood vessel walls to relax, increasing blood flow. Increased blood flow to the penis during sexual stimulation is what produces an erection.

Levitra has the same indications and contraindications as Viagra and Cialis, because the differences in Levitra’s molecular structure are only slightly different from the molecular structures of Viagra and Cialis. Men who do not get good results with other drugs for ED may find that Levitra works better for them. Sometimes finding the right ED medication takes trial and error because every man’s physiology differs.

Cost of Levitra at Selected Pharmacies

The easiest way to save money on Levitra if your recommended dose is 10 mg (the standard starting dose) is to have 20 mg pills prescribed and split them, because the 20 mg tablets cost the same as the 10 mg tablets. Following is a sampling of prices from pharmacies in five US cities as of 17 October, 2014.

City
Pharmacy
Cost: 30 x 20 mg tablets
Cost per 10 mg dose
Average cost for city
Average city cost per dose

Miami
Navarro Discount Pharmacies
$943.19
$15.72
$952.95
$15.89

Wellmax
$943.37
$15.73

La Reina Pharmacy
$972.30
$16.20

Buffalo
Rite Aid
$943.12
$15.72
$953.22
$15.89

Tops Pharmacy
$943.19
$15.72

Medicine Shoppe
$973.34
$16.22

Indianapolis
Kroger
$942.87
$15.72
$960.86
$16.02

Walgreens
$968.89
$16.15

Walmart
$970.81
$16.18

Houston
Kroger
$942.87
$15.72
$952.35
$15.88

Heb Pharmacy
$943.37
$15.73

Sams Pharmacy
$970.81
$16.18

Seattle
Fred Meyer
$942.87
$15.72
$953.19
$15.89

Bartell Drugs
$943.37
$15.73

45^th St. Clinic Pharmacy
$973.34
$16.22

Overall average: $954.51; Overall average per dose: $15.91

As you can see, there isn’t a lot of variation in prices from one pharmacy to another and from one city to another. But in some cities, shopping around could save you up to $30 on 30 tablets, or about a dollar’s savings per tablet.

Other Options for Obtaining Levitra

It’s not always easy or convenient to make a doctor’s appointment. You have to estimate how much time to take off work, and it’s easy to guess wrong, because medical offices often fall behind schedule when unexpected situations occur. Moreover, a trip to the pharmacy often involves waiting half an hour or more to have a prescription filled, or else dropping off a prescription and returning later to pick it up. Either way, it’s a significant time investment and can be inconvenient.

Some men turn to online medical facilitators to obtain prescriptions for Levitra or other ED drugs. The drugs can then be dispensed by a pharmacist and shipped to the customer’s home. AccessRx.com, for example, offers this medical consultation at no cost and dispenses Levitra at a cost of $19.28 per dose. The slight increase in per-dose cost is more than worth it to men with busy schedules who have trouble taking time out for a traditional physician visit or for men who want more privacy in how they obtain medical services.

Scheduling physician appointments is tricky for busy people.

What If Levitra Doesn’t Work?

One risk men may take when consulting a physician about taking Levitra or other ED medications is spending a significant amount on the drug only to find out it does not work very well. Some physicians have samples on hand, but some don’t. One of the advantages of using an online medical facilitator that works with US-licensed pharmacists is that it’s easy to purchase a small quantity of medications so that if they are not as effective as expected, there’s less of a financial risk.

In general, men who are deemed to be suitable candidates for one ED medication are suitable candidates for other ED medications in the PDE-5 class. That’s because the drugs work very similarly, and have similar risk profiles. So if you were to try, for example, Viagra and were not satisfied with the results, or experienced an unpleasant side effect, you could mostly likely use Levitra safely, and it might work better for you.

Levitra tends to work for a longer time than Viagra, and takes a comparable amount of time to take effect (around 30 minutes). The effects of Levitra tend to last for around 5 hours, versus approximately 4 hours for Viagra. As with other ED drugs, if you take nitroglycerin or another long-acting nitrate to treat chest pain, you should not take Levitra or any other PDE-5 drug, because the combination of the two types of drugs can result in dangerously low blood pressure.

Additionally, if you take alpha-blockers for high blood pressure or a prostate condition, you shouldn’t take PDE-5 inhibitors including Levitra, because this combination too can cause dangerously low blood pressure. But for most otherwise healthy men, Levitra is safe and effective, and can make a significant positive difference in quality of life.

Why are ED Medications So Expensive?

Prescription medications for ED are somewhat expensive, and in the United States that is largely due to the fact that the three main drugs for ED are still under patent protection. The patent for Levitra in the US, for example, doesn’t expire until 2018. In fact, the only generic that is expected to become available in the US before then is a generic version of Viagra that is set to be introduced late in 2017. So if you live in the US, it will still be a few years before you will have much price relief for drugs like Levitra.

At AccessRx.com, we have dispensed prescription medications like Levitra in partnership with US-licensed pharmacists for over 15 years. Our more than half a million customers have enjoyed the ultimate in convenience, cost-effectiveness, and privacy due to AccessRx.com’s total dedication to great customer service, strict privacy, and most stringent online ordering security technology.