How Long Does Viagra (Sildenafil) Stay In Your System?

If you’re one of the 30 million men who deal with erectile dysfunction, you have a variety of choices when it comes to treatment. One popular option is the FDA-approved sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in brand name Viagra^®.

If you are considering taking Viagra or sildenafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, you might be curious about how this drug interacts with your body. Namely, how long does Viagra stay in your system?

Sildenafil is a type of prescription medication known as a PDE5 inhibitor, which blocks the enzyme phosphodiesterase-5. This helps widen your blood vessels and allows more blood flow to the penis — a necessary step in the process of getting an erection.

Normally, sildenafil remains in your system for a few hours, but a variety of factors can complicate the math. Below, we’ve explored how and why.

An average dose of Viagra or sildenafil typically will exit your system in a couple hours, though it could take up to three or more depending on the dosage you’re prescribed.

The sildenafil half life is four hours, which means that the active amount of Viagra in your body reduces by around half after four hours. In other words, most men affected by erectile dysfunction who use Viagra are able to maintain an erection without any issues for approximately four hours after taking this medication.

Exactly how long Viagra lasts can depend on a number of factors, including weight, medical conditions, and more. Depending on these factors, a person might experience the effects of Viagra for three to five hours, which means that you may be able to get an erection during that time with sexual stimulation.

But one erection shouldn’t last past a certain amount of time. If you find yourself with an erection lasting for four or more continuous hours — a condition called priapism — you should seek medical advice from a healthcare professional immediately.

Since sildenafil works with sexual stimulation to produce an erection, the factors that affect how long the drug stays in your system also play a role in erectile quality. Let’s take a look at them.

Dosage of Viagra

Generally, your Viagra dosage doesn’t change the Viagra half life or how long the drug stays in your system. The dosage can affect you in other ways, like decreasing the benefits of ED treatment while increasing common side effects.

Viagra for erectile dysfunction comes in multiple doses, ranging from 25mg to 100mg, with the most  common dosage of sildenafil being 50mg. There are also less common 20mg doses available, which are usually prescribed for a condition called pulmonary hypertension

A higher dosage may cause you to experience more side effects of Viagra, including headache, flushing, nasal congestion, back pain, nausea or dizziness. If your erectile function seems strange or you experience symptoms of any heart conditions, seek medical attention.

While you might be tempted to take more of the medication in an effort to last longer, don’t do it — it won’t work. Instead, taking a higher dose could increase your risk for low blood pressure and potentially cause a heart attack. Stick to what you’ve been prescribed. 

Age

While sildenafil has been found to be effective in men over the age of 65 — an important takeaway as 45 percent of men ages 65 to 69 have moderate erectile dysfunction — it’s a double-edged sword, as age can have an impact on your body’s ability to absorb medication.

If you’re older than 65 years old, it may take longer for Viagra to start working. The medication may also be broken down more slowly, so it can take longer to exit your body. Factors like heart disease and the use of other prescription and over-the-counter blood pressure medications like nitroglycerin can make the serious side effects worse.

Diet

Eating a large meal, particularly a high-fat meal, can slow down your body’s absorption of sildenafil. This can prevent it from working as quickly, and it may impact the effects of the drug. A full belly may also extend the length of time for which sildenafil keeps working.

While taking the medication on an empty stomach may make it work faster, it’s generally not advisable. There are also specific foods to avoid with Viagra, like grapefruit or alcohol.

Alcohol and Drugs

Alcohol consumption can lead to adverse effects like an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) and high blood pressure (hypertension). It can also affect your sexual function, especially when combined with Viagra.

Long-term alcohol consumption can increase the risk of experiencing erectile dysfunction, thanks to its effects on your cardiovascular health (remember, blood flow is an important part of getting an erection).

You can still enjoy a drink or two — which is the recommended daily limit for men — if you’re also taking ED medication. However, mixing lots of alcohol and Viagra could lessen the effects of sildenafil and increase the risk of side effects.

Medications

You shouldn’t take any medications, including sildenafil, without making sure that a healthcare professional knows about your current medication routine. This includes supplements, recreational drugs, and anything else that may cause drug interactions.

Sildenafil interactions include antidepressants, blood pressure drugs, antiandrogens, nitrates, and others. These medications can not only make ED symptoms more severe, but can also affect the amount of time that sildenafil works.

Psychological State

Your mental state could also affect your sexual function, which, in turn ,affects Viagra’s effectiveness.

Several psychological causes of ED could make treatment less effective. These can include stress, depression, or even sexual performance anxiety if you’re caught in a vicious cycle of worrying whether you’ll be able to rise to the occasion.

If you’re dealing with anxiety or other mental health conditions, online therapy could help to identify and reduce your worries.

You don’t have to just rely on name brand recognition to know that sildenafil works. Clinical trials showed that 63 percent, 74 percent, and 82 percent of patients had improved erections after taking 25mg, 50mg, and 100mg doses, respectively.

Viagra has been found to reach its highest concentration anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes. One small study of 33 men found that 100mg of sildenafil produced an erection within 30 minutes for most of the men, and as fast as 12 minutes in some.

But despite the rave reviews and scientific evidence, what do you do if Viagra doesn't work? There can be a few reasons why Viagra’s not working for you — if you’re not sexually stimulated, if you ate a high-fat meal, if you drank too much, or if you’re exceptionally nervous or anxious.

Start by narrowing down the possibilities to make the necessary changes or talk to your healthcare provider for more insight.

We know you can’t always plan how the evening will go, but if you can, you should plan to take Viagra one hour before any sexual activity.

And although Viagra tends to last an average of four hours, there are options for longer-lasting ED medication, such as Cialis^® and tadalafil (the generic version of Cialis). How long tadalafil lasts depends on dosage and usage, but on average a single dose can be effective for up to 36 hours.

If you plan to stick with sildenafil or want to give it a try, be sure to check out this guide on how to take Viagra for the best results.

Viagra is a miracle worker for many men. It’s widely known to help reduce erectile dysfunction, which has made it one of the most popular erectile dysfunction treatments available. But how long does sildenafil stay in your system?

• Sildenafil, which is both the active ingredient in Viagra and a generic version of this medication, is a PDE5 inhibitor that helps increase blood flow to the penis, allowing for firmer and longer-lasting erections.

• The half-life of Viagra is, on average, four hours. This means the drug is reduced by half after this amount of time, and that the effects last for four hours on average.

• Several factors can affect how long sildenafil stays in your system, including age, diet, alcohol consumption, medications, and your mental health. Coincidentally (or not), many of these factors also affect your sexual function and are linked to ED.

Viagra and sildenafil are just two options for erectile dysfunction medications. Along with Cialis (tadalafil), Stendra^® (avanafil) and Levitra^® (vardenafil) are two other common choices. Hims also offers hard mints available as convenient chewable ED meds.