Stop dreading it. Start enjoying it.

Depends which one. Sildenafil takes about 30 to 60 minutes and works for roughly four to six hours — a heavy or fatty meal slows it down noticeably. Tadalafil takes a similar time to start but stays active for up to 36 hours, which is why it suits people who would rather not plan an evening around a tablet. It also comes as a low daily dose.

Neither does anything on its own. You still need arousal — these restore the plumbing, not the interest.

Try it properly before writing it off. A great many men who say a tablet failed took it once, on a full stomach, after a few drinks, under pressure. Guidance is to try it on at least four to eight separate occasions, at an adequate dose, before concluding it does not suit you.

If it genuinely does not, there are routes forward: a higher dose, a different tablet — they are not interchangeable and people respond differently to each — or a different form of treatment entirely. Tell us rather than giving up quietly.

Yes. Performance anxiety and stress are among the most common causes, particularly under 40, and the tablets work regardless of what started it — arousal signals are arousal signals.

What a tablet cannot do is break the cycle on its own. Often its real value is removing the fear of failure for long enough that the anxiety loses its grip, which is why for many men it is a bridge rather than a permanent fixture.

Yes, and this one matters more than the rest of this page put together: nitrates. If you take GTN spray or tablets, isosorbide, or any nitrate for chest pain, ED tablets are dangerous alongside them — the combination can drop your blood pressure to a life-threatening level. The same applies to nicorandil, and to recreational “poppers” (amyl nitrite).

There are other interactions too, including some blood pressure medicines, alpha-blockers used for the prostate, and certain antifungals and HIV medicines. This is exactly why the assessment asks for everything you take, prescribed or not — including anything you would rather not mention.

Not out loud. The assessment is written and private. A clinician may message you if they need more detail, and you can always ask for a conversation, but nobody makes you have one.

Every case is read by a registered clinician. They can and do say no when treatment isn’t appropriate, that’s the point of having a clinician rather than a checkout button.

Then you’re not charged: the hold on your card is released. The clinician might suggest a safer alternative, ask for more information, or refer you back to your GP. We’d rather lose a sale than push the wrong treatment.