big, eye,
just as we have discussed the hype is beginning to subside and real fundamentals will set in, i am concerned about the parts:
" For years, patients seeking help for impotence ''have had this
concept of this magic pill they can take,'' said Hampton
Roads doctor Gerald H. Jordan."
"But he has serious reservations about Viagra. Despite the
hype, it simply won't work in some men, he said."
big don't get me wrong viagra is a big big hit.
gw
April 23, 1998
Demand is strong for impotence pill
but doctors fear misuse
BY MARIE JOYCE AND PAT DOOLEY, The Virginian-Pilot
Copyright 1998, Landmark Communications Inc.
For years, patients seeking help for impotence ''have had this
concept of this magic pill they can take,'' said Hampton
Roads doctor Gerald H. Jordan.
The pill was a distant hope for a long time. But now, patients
are clamoring for Viagra, a pill to treat impotence that could
become the biggest-selling drug in medical history.
Jordan is glad that men have an alternative to established, less
appealing treatments -- an injectionor a suppository. He and
his colleagues at Devine Fiveash Urology, which has several
offices in Hampton Roads, are arranging appointments for the
many men who have called. Jordan also is a professor at
Eastern Virginia Medical School.
But he has serious reservations about Viagra. Despite the
hype, it simply won't work in some men, he said. Insurance
companies may balk at covering it after a time.
And abuse could be a problem, he said. Jordan has already
heard reports of men with normal function taking the drug to
enhance performance. In the weeks since the drug was
approved by the Food and Drug Administration, phone lines
at doctors' offices across America have crackled with pleas
from men and their partners.
Several pharmacists in South Hampton Roads said people
are calling to ask whether Viagra is available and how much it
costs.
''There is a really high demand for it,'' said Andy Jung,
pharmacist at Eckerd's at Linkhorn Business Center in
Virginia Beach.
''People are comparing it to Prozac when it first came out,''
Jung said, referring to the popular antidepressant medication.
Some callers have been surprised by the cost -- about $96
for 10 pills, said Janelle English, a pharmacy technician at
Colley Discount Pharmacy in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood.
But they're buying anyway.
''I think it's going to be very popular,'' English said.
At Devine Fiveash Urology, doctors anticipated the rush by
sending letters to patients suffering from erectile dysfunction,
the technical name for impotence.
''Most folks are saying, you know, 'How quick can I get in?'
'' said Jordan.
Analysts had offered widely varying estimates of sales -- from
36,000 a week to 40,000 a day -- for Viagra, made by
Pfizer Inc.
But despite the numbers, Jordan said, some patients are
destined to be disappointed.
''The pill was studied in people with relatively mild erectile
dysfunction,'' and may not work in men with a more serious
problem, he said.
Also, scientists and patients may have different definitions of
effectiveness.
Studies show that it helps 70 percent to 80 percent of men
when taken one to two hours before sex.
But ''we all have patients calling, saying, 'Gosh, it gave me an
erection, but it only lasted seven minutes,' '' he said.
The other methods of treatment directly stimulate an erection.
Viagra makes it easier to achieve, but there's still no
guarantee, Jordan said.
In fact, Viagra is no more effective than other drugs, he said.
The difference is that it's just a lot easier to take a pill.
An estimated 30 million American men suffer from some level
of erectile dysfunction, according to the National Institutes of
Health. With the graying of America, the army of men living
with impotence will only grow.
Viagra, doctors say, will persuade men and their partners to
confront an ailment once talked about only in hushed tones, if
it was talked about at all.
Viagra works by blocking a chemical that inhibits erections.
A small percentage of patients suffer side effects, including
headaches and stomach problems. It's not recommended for
men who take certain drugs to correct angina.
Its popularity in large part can be attributed to the
cumbersome nature of other treatments.
Viagra is not recommended for men who have normal
function but are seeking enhancement.
Jordan doubts that such a warning will stop anyone
determined to use the pill to obtain longer erections.
He's already heard reports of people without impotence using
the medicine -- offering $100 to get just one pill.
A number of Internet sites, including one maintained by a
New York urologist, are selling the drug.
''The abuse potential is incredible,'' he said. Because the
FDA does not regulate the practice of medicine, doctors may
prescribe drugs for reasons other than what was originally
intended -- a practice called ''off-label'' use.
''I think a lot of guys are going to be taking this on a date,
hoping they'll get lucky,'' Jordan said.
Some patients have taken three or four when the original
dose, typically one pill, didn't work. One suffered a headache
for days. ''I don't think that his brain was helped by that
experience,'' Jordan said.
Even though known side effects are minimal, it is always risky
to take a medicine you don't really need, said Jordan.
Many times, the long-term side effects don't become
apparent for years after a drug's release, he said. That's why
he and his colleagues are requiring all patients to return every
six months for checkups.
So far, some insurance companies have been willing to pay
for the drug, said English, the technician at Colley Discount
Pharmacy. People also are purchasing it out of pocket.
But Jordan isn't sure that insurers will continue to foot the bill
for something with such huge demand. Previously available
drugs are not cheap -- the suppositories cost about $26
each, he said, and the difficulty in using them put a brake on
the demand.
Knight Ridder News Service contributed to this story.
Web links
Viagra
information from
drug
manufacturer
Pfizer.
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