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Switching from Tamsulosin to Cialis?

Posted , 8 users are following.

uncklefester
uncklefester

Just curious if anyone ever switched from Tamsulosin to Cialis? I am in the process of making the switch and things aren't going real well. Flow has slowed down quite a bit, and urgency is starting to come back. I assume this is because the drugs work differently so the Cialis hasn't had a chnace to work but the Tamsulosin is out of my system. 

Or if you started taking 5 mg daily Cialis for your BPH symptoms how long did it take to start getting relief. I have read a few testimonials on line saying in about a week some have started seeing relief. The Cialis website sayd up to 4 weeks. 

Any experience would be helpful. I don't want to go back to Tamsulosing but I certainly don't want my LUTS to get worse

Thanks

Unk

0 likes, 22 replies

22 Replies

  • thomas1947
    thomas1947 uncklefester

    Posted

    When I began taking Cialis for BPH, I had been taking Rapaflo (siludosin) for some time, and my urologist told me not to stop the Rapaflo. This suggests to me that Cialis works a bit differently than the more traditional medications and should be considered an adjunct to them.

    The Cialis gave me a stronger stream, and seemed to give me a more complete void. Not much help with the frequency problem, however.

  • arlington
    arlington uncklefester

    Posted

    I haven't heard any cases of Cialis working by itself re BPH.  I have seen where it helped in conjunction w/ the alpha-blockers.

  • Peter02
    Peter02 uncklefester

    Posted

    Take Tamsolosin 400 mcg  a day then added Cialis 5mg a day which I find v helpful. I tried firstly chaging from the Tamsolosin to the Cialis but gave in after about 3 wks as urinating became more & more difficult.  Maybe if you took a higher dose of Cialis 10 mg that might prove more effective although if I take 20 mg I get headaches & flushing & wouldn't be able to tolerate taking that on a daily basis.

    On the Tamsolosin 400 mcg I was managing (my BPH symptoms vary) but by adding the Cialis 5mg daily (in the evening before I go to bed) has made quite a difference - The other night I slept for 6 hrs without waking or needing to urinate which has not happened for a long time.

    By the by, a couple of years ago when on holiday & not sleeping in an air conditioned room, as it was pretty warm I was sweating a lot. Slept like a paper all night!

  • uncklefester
    uncklefester

    Posted

    Thanks you for the replies. Its interesting because my uor ( shes a PA ) said to switch and not to take them together because of a drop in blood pressure. Maybe she was wrong

    The reason I'm switching is I think the Tamsulosin was really killing my ability to get erections. I'm also on fenasteride so that probably doesn't help. Has anyone gotten erection help from Cialis with tamsulosin and fernasteride?

    • thomas1947
      thomas1947 uncklefester

      Posted

      I get help I'd prefer not to get, like in the middle of the night. Have to get up, stand over the toilet till it subsides, urinate, then back to bed.  I've thought about turning the 5's into 2.5's to see if that helps, but those little almond shaped pills are hard to cut in half.

    • jimjames
      jimjames thomas1947

      Posted

      Get a pill cutter from the drug store or Amazon. Cuts most pills pretty easy. If you want to get fancy, some of the pill cutters have molded interchangeable inserts that fit different pills.
  • jimjames
    jimjames uncklefester

    Posted

    Are you on 5mg Daily Cialis or 2.5mg?

    I was on 5mg and found it similar to Tamsulosin, but better because no retro and some sexual benefits. That said, neither worked real well for BPH. 

    For me, Daily Cialis started to work within a few days and from a pharmaceutical point of view should be up to blood concentration levels very quickly. Not sure what to make about the "4 week" thing, maybe the manufacturer is waiting for the placebo effect to kick in? Just kidding. I'd give it at least a week or two.

    Jim

    • uncklefester
      uncklefester jimjames

      Posted

      I'm taking 5 mg. So far it's helped a bit with erections. I wake in the night with one before I didnt. Of course that's not always a good thing like when you have to pee. Today flow has picked up a bit and burning I had during urination since the switch is gone. Maybe I've turned the corner. It's only been about a week so maybe better days ahead.

  • jimjames
    jimjames uncklefester

    Posted

    Regarding Daily CIalis and Tamsulosin at the same time, I read somewhere here does that but your nurse is correct in that there could be blood pressure issues, so probably best work through a doc who will medically monitor. 
  • mike588
    mike588 uncklefester

    Posted

    Apparently the work differently relaxing different smooth muscles and that explains why it doesn't work as well. It's not a matter of Tamsulosin working out by Cialis, it's because the Tamsulosin was more effective.

    I can tell you for sure it's OK to take both together - my Urologist said it's OK. If you have a reaction then stop or call your doctor - maybe try taking Tamsulosin every second day and Cialis every day and see if that is enough. Cialis should only take a few days to work but if their own web site says otherwise it must be true for some. Having said all that it's probably time to consider surgery before things get worse - unless you've already done that?

    • uncklefester
      uncklefester mike588

      Posted

      Actually I've been doing fairly well. Getting up at night is when the problems start. I decided I wanted to get away from the side effects tamsulosin caused.

    • mike588
      mike588 uncklefester

      Posted

      I don't blame you. Cialis works well but I think it kind of wears off, or maybe at some point the prostate is just too big for it to be effective.

    • jimjames
      jimjames mike588

      Posted

      Mike,

      The effects of Daily Cialis wore off fairly quickly for me. Same with Tamsulosin a year earlier. So I don't think it has anything to do with prostate size or the prostate growing. I just think the effect wears off for some people and others it doesn't. Of course prostate size and the degree of impingement may factor into this initally, but less so in terms of it wearing off short term.

      Jim

  • uncklefester
    uncklefester

    Posted

    Click here to view image

    • arlington
      arlington uncklefester

      Posted

      That's great news!  What dosage of Cialis are you taking?  What time of day?    Thanks

    • jimjames
      jimjames uncklefester

      Posted

      I also found Daily 5mg Cialis worked as well, perhaps even better than Tamsulosin for BPH. Non sexual side effects were similar with the exception that the Cialis gave me heartburn. This was easily cured by taking one OTC Prilosec 30-60 minutes before breakfast. 

      Jim

    • uncklefester
      uncklefester arlington

      Posted

      I take 5 mg at 7:30 PM. It is not a tier 1 drug so my insurance doesn't cover it. That said when I see uro in Oct I'm going to ask him to try with insurance again due to exceptioanl night time flow. Even (2) .4 mg doses of tansulosin didn't help with bad night time flow. Very happy with the results.

    • uncklefester
      uncklefester jimjames

      Posted

      I have heart burn trouble with it also. Not too bad though. I power through it. If it get real bad I'll take a couple of Tums. I don't like taking them though in fear of causing kidney stones ( I don't know if they do but I aint taking any chances)

    • jimjames
      jimjames uncklefester

      Posted

      Tums helped me only a little, but OTC Prilosec worked like a charm. One is an antacid, the other a protein pump inhibitor (PPI) that significantly shuts off acid  production for 16-24 hours. They work best 30-60 minutes before a meal. I took mine before breakfast, but any meal should work. Amazon has some pretty good prices. I went for the Prilosec label but generic Omeprazole should be the same thing. You could also try and get an Rx for Nexium (another PPI; generic is esomeprazole) and let the insurance pay. I found Prilosec worked better than Nexium but for you it could be the other way around. 

      Jim

    • mike588
      mike588 uncklefester

      Posted

      contact me if you want the name of a reliable Canadian pharmacy I use - they sell a generic Indian one and it's FDA approved and much more affordable

    • george65627
      george65627 mike588

      Posted

      Hello "mike588"

      Several drugs mentioned in this thread. You mention a reliable Canadian pharmacy to obtain them through. Are you referring to Cialis? If so, I would love to know who to order from. Most everything I seem to find looks shady at best. If mentioning in the thread is not allowed, would you please email me directly.

      Thanks so much, in advance,

      George

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