When a man approaches his doctor for the treatment of his erectile dysfunction (ED), the first question he logically asks is, “What medication works best?”

It is really a choice among the top three drugs currently available, Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. Although these medications generally have similar results and side effects, Cialis is more potent and long lasting compared to the other two. Sometimes it lasts over 36 hours.

There have been numerous studies conducted to compare the PDE-5 inhibitors to placebo, but only a few studies have been dedicated to the comparison of the three PDE-5 inhibitors to each other. There has been, however, an article published in the July 2006 edition of the Journal of Sexual Medicine that showed the interesting results of one of these studies.

Dr. John Dean and his associates studied 367 men over 32 weeks time. The first 12 weeks allowed each man to randomly use either Viagra or Cialis; then they used the other medication during the next 12 weeks. Then the men were asked to choose which of the two drugs they liked best, and they used that same one for eight more weeks.

Cialis was chosen by 71% of the men studied. Only 29% chose Viagra. Most of the men said that the reasons for their choice were the longer-lasting effects of the medication, as well as the firmer erection that they got. Also, the men who opted for Cialis said they had more self-confidence and sexual spontaneity with Cialis.

This research does not demonstrate that Cialis is better, however, it suggests that psychosocial relationship factors, in addition to simple reaction time and tolerance, are very important in selecting the right treatment for ED.

No scientific proof exists showing in battle Viagra vs Cialis that Cialis works better than Viagra. The men who used the medications exhibited that the simple effectiveness of the drugs is not enough. It is also important to consider certain psychosocial relationship factors when choosing the medication that will work best for you.