Lifestyle Changes to Complement Medical Treatment

But apomorphine doesn’t bind to opioid receptors and is nonaddicting. For Parkinson’s patients, apomorphine is delivered via subcutaneous injection at doses often higher than those used in ED treatment.

• PDE5 inhibitors require sexual arousal to work effectively.
• They are contraindicated with nitrates for chest pain.
• Possible side effects include headaches and flushing.
• These medications do not cause an erection without stimulation.
• Effectiveness varies among individuals tested during clinical trials.
• Consult a doctor before starting any ED medication.

Studies into its use for Parkinson’s revealed intense nausea as a potential side effect — often to the point that doctors would have to prescribe an antiemetic to deal with nausea and vomiting. ED patients taking apomorphine as a sublingual film — or, in the case of Rugiet, a lozenge — may also experience some nausea, but this appears to decline with regular use.17 Apomorphine appeared on target to become a viable alternative to Viagra in 2000, but the manufacturers behind its two branded forms intended for ED patients pulled it from FDA consideration despite what appeared to be a sure path to approval. They cited the need for further study, particularly into the drug's interaction with nitrates and its potential to cause fainting in less than 0.2% of trial participants.

Name	Active Ingredient	Onset Time	Duration	Brand Names	Common Side Effects
Viagra	Sildenafil	30-60 min	4-6 hours	Viagra, Kamagra	Headache, flushing, nasal congestion
Cialis	Tadalafil	30 min	Up to 36 hours	Cialis, Adcirca	Muscle pain, indigestion
Levitra	Vardenafil	25-60 min	4-5 hours	Levitra, Staxyn	Dizziness, flushing
Stendra	Avanafil	15-30 min	Up to 6 hours	Stendra	Flushing, back pain

Today, apomorphine remains FDA-approved for Parkinson’s disease but is only prescribed for ED treatment as an off-label use.

• Advances in regenerative medicine aim to restore erectile tissue.
• Stem cell therapy is being researched for ED.
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are experimental.
• These treatments target tissue repair and blood vessel growth.
• Are still in early clinical trial phases.
• Consult specialists to explore emerging options.

The only major providers we recommend that offer apomorphine in any form are Rugiet and BlueChew, but they typically combine apomorphine with tadalafil and sildenafil in a lozenge. That lozenge’s sublingual administration may decrease the time it takes to start working. It’s possible to get apomorphine-only lozenges from Rugiet, but they only come in the 3mg dose at a cost of $30 for six doses. If you’re looking for ED medications that aren’t technically PDE5 inhibitors (which sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil all are), this may be a viable route. We’ll discuss these combination offering in our next section, which is all about combination therapies. May improve outcomes in men resistant to monotherapies Can offer treatment outside of just PDE5 inhibitors May increase the risk of side effects Combination therapies are exactly what they sound like: some combination of commonly prescribed ED medications. Studies have shown that certain combinations can be more effective than a monotherapy on its own.23 As with monotherapies, the exact combination and dosing will be a matter for your physician to prescribe. Combination therapies have become more popular among the providers in this guide. Rugiet was the first to offer multiple drugs in a single product with its lozenges, but Hims and Roman soon followed suit. And BlueChew’s recently developed Max and Gold products combine several ED therapies into a lady era tablets single chewable tablet.

• Sildenafil (Viagra): A popular PDE5 inhibitor to treat erectile dysfunction.
• Tadalafil (Cialis): Offers longer-lasting effects for up to 36 hours.
• Vardenafil (Levitra): Acts quickly and lasts several hours.
• Stendra (Avanafil): Provides rapid onset of action within 15 minutes.
• Alprostadil (injection): Penetrates directly into the penis to induce an erection.
• Erectile dysfunction patches: Topical patches delivering medication for quicker absorption.

Let’s start with Rugiet since it kicked off the combination craze with its product, Rugiet Ready. The specific combinations available to you from Rugiet depend on the results of your doctor’s consultation, but here’s a look at their standard mixes: As you can imagine, combining these three medications theoretically increases the chances that they will work for you quickly and remain active in your system for up to 24-36 hours (as long as tadalafil is one of them). However, side effect risks may also increase as you combine medications. The obvious downside to Rugiet is its cost. You can opt for larger shipments to reduce your cost per dose, and that can save you over 30%, but it results in significant up-front costs. For example, a monthly six-pack of medium strength Ready is $99. To get the best cost per dose, you can get 12 of those six-packs shipped to you quarterly for $799. That’s a lot of savings, but it’s likely cost-prohibitive for many men. To learn more about Rugiet’s offering, check out our comprehensive review of their services. Rugiet has also expanded its catalog to include a daily tadalafil combined with DHEA to boost testosterone, but we don’t regard DHEA as a very good option for improving testosterone levels with an OTC treatment. You can also get a combination of tadalafil with either minoxidil or paroxetine to treat hair loss or premature ejaculation concurrently with ED, but both treatments have less tadalafil in them than comparables from Hims. Hims has led the way in the chewable combination space since they introduced their Hard Mints and Sex Chews. Recently, the company has expanded these efforts to introduce several new combination treatments that combine common ED medications with ingredients to treat hair loss, premature ejaculation, and more. Here’s a quick look at some of its simpler combination chewables: Hims also offers more novel combinations that slightly outperform those Rugiet recently added to its catalog. This product combines daily tadalafil (likely as a 2.5mg or 5mg dose) with an unspecified dose of fluoxetine, a prescription selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that’s been studied for years in the context of premature ejaculation.26 Like Climax Control, this Sex Rx product uses daily tadalafil as its ED-fighting base, combined with oral finasteride and oral minoxidil. It’s unclear at this time if the medication can be delivered with just one of those two hair loss medications, but both have been shown to be very effective as oral treatments.27 Again, this drug combination starts with tadalafil, and Hims has combined it with atorvastatin, a statin designed to reduce your risk of certain cardiovascular events, like myocardial infarction.28 Then there’s Roman’s combination sex chew offering, called Sparks, which is only available as a combination of 22mg tadalafil and 55mg sildenafil for the constant rate of $12/dose.

Area of Research	Description	Promising Developments	Challenges
Gene Therapy	Targeting genetic causes of ED	Experimental treatments	Delivery and safety concerns
Stem Cell Therapy	Regenerating erectile tissue	Early clinical trials	Efficacy and long-term effects
NO-Donors and Nitric Oxide Modulators	Enhancing natural nitric oxide production	New drug candidates	Side effects and regulation
Pharmacogenomics	Personalized medicine based on genetics	Custom drug development	Complexity of genetic profiling

That 22mg tadalafil dose is much higher than we’d buy blue pill recommend for men new to ED medications. If you’re used to taking such a high dose, this might be a viable product, but there are superior options with more flexible dosing for lower prices from Hims. BlueChew Max combines tadalafil with either sildenafil or vardenafil, depending on your preference, making it a superior choice for men interested in putting those two together without adding apomorphine to the mix. BlueChew Gold expands in the opposite direction, combining the three medications seen in Rugiet Ready and adding oxytocin to the mix.

Which erectile dysfunction treatments are typically recommended?

We’ll discuss these combination offering in our next section, which is all about combination therapies. May improve outcomes in men resistant to monotherapies Can offer treatment outside of just PDE5 inhibitors May increase the risk of side effects Combination therapies are exactly what they sound like: some combination of commonly prescribed ED medications. Studies have shown that certain combinations can be more effective than a monotherapy on its own.23 As with monotherapies, the exact combination and dosing will be a matter for your physician to prescribe. Combination therapies have become more popular among the providers in this guide. Rugiet was the first to offer multiple drugs in a single product with its lozenges, but Hims and Roman soon followed suit.

For You

And BlueChew’s recently developed Max and Gold products combine several ED therapies into a lady era tablets single chewable tablet. Let’s start with Rugiet since it kicked off the combination craze with its product, Rugiet Ready. The specific combinations available to you from Rugiet depend on the results of your doctor’s consultation, but here’s a look at their standard mixes: As you can imagine, combining these three medications theoretically increases the chances that they will work for you quickly and remain active in your system for up to 24-36 hours (as long as tadalafil is one of them). However, side effect risks may also increase as you combine medications. The obvious downside to Rugiet is its cost. Oral oxytocin boasts some evidence for improving female sexual desire, and its reputation as “the love hormone” implies that these effects could work just as well in men.

Product	Dosage	Quantity + Bonus	Price
Cialis Generic	10mg	10 Pills	31.41€ 29.91€	Buy
Levitra Professional	20mg	120 + 4 Pills	348.44€ 331.85€	Buy
Cialis Generic	10mg	60 + 6 Pills	105.81€ 100.77€	Buy
Levitra Professional	20mg	20 Pills	101.00€ 96.19€	Buy
Kamagra Soft Tabs	100mg	180 + 8 Pills	425.45€ 405.19€	Buy
Cialis Generic	2.5mg	90 + 6 Pills	112.43€ 107.08€	Buy
Cialis Generic	40mg	60 + 6 Pills	130.98€ 124.74€	Buy
Viagra Generic	25mg	10 Pills	25.19€ 23.99€	Buy
Kamagra Polo	100mg	32 Pills	125.88€ 119.89€	Buy
Cialis Professional	20mg	360 + 6 Pills	807.03€ 768.60€	Buy
Kamagra Polo	100 mg	272 + 12 Pills	622.94€ 593.28€	Buy
Viagra Generic	50mg	20 Pills	40.52€ 38.59€	Buy
Kamagra Polo	100mg	272 + 12 Pills	622.94€ 593.28€	Buy
Cialis Generic	5mg	90 + 6 Pills	115.91€ 110.39€	Buy

But there’s not enough science backing this up just yet.

ED Treatment Options

You can opt for larger shipments to reduce your cost per dose, and that can save you over 30%, but it results in significant up-front costs. For example, a monthly six-pack of medium strength Ready is $99. To get the best cost per dose, you can get 12 of those six-packs shipped to you quarterly for $799. That’s a lot of savings, but it’s likely cost-prohibitive for many men. To learn more about Rugiet’s offering, check out our comprehensive review of their services.

Avoid drugs and limit alcohol

Rugiet has also expanded its catalog to include a daily tadalafil combined with DHEA to boost testosterone, but we don’t regard DHEA as a very good option for improving testosterone levels with an OTC treatment. You can also get a combination of tadalafil with either minoxidil or paroxetine to treat hair loss or premature ejaculation concurrently with ED, but both treatments have less tadalafil in them than comparables from Hims. Hims has led the way in the chewable combination space since they introduced their Hard Mints and Sex Chews. Recently, the company has expanded these efforts to introduce several new combination treatments that combine common ED medications with ingredients to treat hair loss, premature ejaculation, and more. Here’s a quick look at some of its simpler combination chewables: Hims also offers more novel combinations that slightly outperform those Rugiet recently added to its catalog. That said, as we’ll discuss soon, mental health plays a big role in ED, and oxytocin has been shown to help in cases of anxiety and depression. So, it’s possible that the oxytocin in Gold is there to address potential psychiatric complications around premature ejaculation medicine ED, rather than physiological ones.46 Given the current state of available doses, we don’t recommend combination therapies to men who haven’t tried ED medications before. If you discover that a monotherapy can work for you, there’s no reason to add another medication to the picture.

Treatment Options

This product combines daily tadalafil (likely as a 2.5mg or 5mg dose) with an unspecified dose of fluoxetine, a prescription selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that’s been studied for years in the context of premature ejaculation.26 Like Climax Control, this Sex Rx product uses daily tadalafil as its ED-fighting base, combined with oral finasteride and oral minoxidil. It’s unclear at this time if the medication can be delivered with just one of those two hair loss medications, but both have been shown to be very effective as oral treatments.27 Again, this drug combination starts with tadalafil, and Hims has combined it with atorvastatin, a statin designed to reduce your risk of certain cardiovascular events, like myocardial infarction.28 Then there’s Roman’s combination sex chew offering, called Sparks, which is only available as a combination of 22mg tadalafil and 55mg sildenafil for the constant rate of $12/dose. That 22mg tadalafil dose is much higher than we’d buy blue pill recommend for men new to ED medications. If you’re used to taking such a high dose, this might be a viable product, but there are superior options with more flexible dosing for lower prices from Hims. BlueChew Max combines tadalafil with either sildenafil or vardenafil, depending on your preference, making it a superior choice for men interested in putting those two together without adding apomorphine to the mix.

Be physically active

BlueChew Gold expands in the opposite direction, combining the three medications seen in Rugiet Ready and adding oxytocin to the mix. Oral oxytocin boasts some evidence for improving female sexual desire, and its reputation as “the love hormone” implies that these effects could work just as well in men. But there’s not enough science backing this up just yet. That said, as we’ll discuss soon, mental health plays a big role in ED, and oxytocin has been shown to help in cases of anxiety and depression. So, it’s possible that the oxytocin in Gold is there to address potential psychiatric complications around premature ejaculation medicine ED, rather than physiological ones.46 Given the current state of available doses, we don’t recommend combination therapies to men who haven’t tried ED medications before. If you’ve tried monotherapies and had poor or mixed results at various doses, a combination therapy might be the way to go. In that case, we’d recommend starting with Hims, where you can choose between numerous combinations at slightly better prices and more reasonable doses than you’ll find from Roman, BlueChew, or Rugiet. Our testing also confirmed that Rugiet lozenges are susceptible to high temperatures and may melt if left in a hot car or even outside on a hot enough day. That makes them less ideal for certain situations and climates than more durable chews from Hims or Roman. With up to 40% of ED cases proving to be psychological in origin, a large number of men can find relief through mental health care, whether that’s talk therapy, psychiatry, or a combination of the two.44 You can try to find an in-person therapist or psychiatrist, but the industry has largely moved online over the last several years, so we’ll focus this section on teletherapy resources for mental health that can help men address psychogenic ED. While Cerebral is a little more expensive than some excellent competitors, it offers plans for talk therapy, psychiatry (medication access), or both.

Drug Type	Mechanism of Action	Target Enzyme/Pathway	Typical Use Cases
PDE5 Inhibitors	Inhibit phosphodiesterase type 5 enzyme	PDE5 enzyme	Relaxation of penile arteries
Testosterone Replacement	Increase testosterone levels	Hormonal pathway	Hormonal deficiency cases
Vasodilators	Directly relax smooth muscle	Nitric oxide pathway	Severe cases of ED
Melanocortin Agonists	Stimulate melanocortin receptors	Central nervous system	Experimental, limited availability

That makes it a great place to start for men concerned with psychological issues leading to ED, as they can start with talk therapy and expand their care to include medication if it becomes necessary, without having to switch to another platform. Cerebral also works with several insurance companies, so there’s a good chance you’ll only have co-pays to worry about if you’re covered. Here’s a current list of Cerebral’s insurance partners: Of course, coverage varies by state and by plan, so if your provider is on that list, it’s not a guarantee you’ll be covered. Still, those providers account for more than half the U.S. population, so it would be worth visiting the Cerebral site to check your coverage. And if you’re not insured, Cerebral still offers plans that are competitively priced and may still be affordable for you. Other companies offer financial assistance for patients who lack insurance, but the care provided might not be as comprehensive as Cerebral’s offering. Because talk therapy is likely the best place for men concerned with psychogenic ED to start, BetterHelp is a close runner-up to Cerebral. It doesn’t offer psychiatric care, so you’d have to switch to another platform if you ultimately need psychiatric medication to address the mental health concerns that are contributing to your ED.

Testing and Treatment

Still, those providers account for more than half the U.S. population, so it would be worth visiting the Cerebral site to check your coverage. And if you’re not insured, Cerebral still offers plans that are competitively priced and may still be affordable for you. Other companies offer financial assistance for patients who lack insurance, but the care provided might not be as comprehensive as Cerebral’s offering. Because talk therapy is likely the best place for men concerned with psychogenic ED to start, BetterHelp is a close runner-up to Cerebral.

Fungal Infections

It doesn’t offer psychiatric care, so you’d have to switch to another platform if you ultimately need psychiatric medication to address the mental health concerns that are contributing to your ED. That said, if talk therapy is enough to address the problem (perhaps in combination with a PDE5 inhibitor discussed elsewhere in this guide), BetterHelp offers what we feel is the best combination of cost and quality of care. Two of the most common root causes for psychogenic ED are anxiety and depression, which are among the most commonly treated issues in telehealth psychology and psychiatry. As a result, our breakdown of evaluation criteria for ED-related treatment largely followed the same standards set in our guide to finding the best online therapy, specifically looking at quality of care, cost, privacy, and platform. Related:The Best Online Therapy in 2026 Evaluating the potential quality of care you might get from one company to the next is nearly impossible, given the thousands of therapists and psychiatrists involved, their diverse backgrounds, and your unique needs. That said, if talk therapy is enough to address the problem (perhaps in combination with a PDE5 inhibitor discussed elsewhere in this guide), BetterHelp offers what we feel is the best combination of cost and quality of care.

How do couples cope with ED?

But apomorphine doesn’t bind to opioid receptors and is nonaddicting. For Parkinson’s patients, apomorphine is delivered via subcutaneous injection at doses often higher than those used in ED treatment. Studies into its use for Parkinson’s revealed intense nausea as a potential side effect — often to the point that doctors would have to prescribe an antiemetic to deal with nausea and vomiting. ED patients taking apomorphine as a sublingual film — or, in the case of Rugiet, a lozenge — may also experience some nausea, but this appears to decline with regular use.17 Apomorphine appeared on target to become a viable alternative to Viagra in 2000, but the manufacturers behind its two branded forms intended for ED patients pulled it from FDA consideration despite what appeared to be a sure path to approval. They cited the need for further study, particularly into the drug's interaction with nitrates and its potential to cause fainting in less than 0.2% of trial participants.

Can ED medications cause permanent damage or long-term side effects?

Today, apomorphine remains FDA-approved for Parkinson’s disease but is only prescribed for ED treatment as an off-label use. The only major providers we recommend that offer apomorphine in any form are Rugiet and BlueChew, but they typically combine apomorphine with tadalafil and sildenafil in a lozenge. That lozenge’s sublingual administration may decrease the time it takes to start working. It’s possible to get apomorphine-only lozenges from Rugiet, but they only come in the 3mg dose at a cost of $30 for six doses. If you’re looking for ED medications that aren’t technically PDE5 inhibitors (which sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil all are), this may be a viable route. Two of the most common root causes for psychogenic ED are anxiety and depression, which are among the most commonly treated issues in telehealth psychology and psychiatry.

How do health care professionals treat ED?

If you discover that a monotherapy can work for you, there’s no reason to add another medication to the picture. If you’ve tried monotherapies and had poor or mixed results at various doses, a combination therapy might be the way to go. In that case, we’d recommend starting with Hims, where you can choose between numerous combinations at slightly better prices and more reasonable doses than you’ll find from Roman, BlueChew, or Rugiet. Our testing also confirmed that Rugiet lozenges are susceptible to high temperatures and may melt if left in a hot car or even outside on a hot enough day. That makes them less ideal for certain situations and climates than more durable chews from Hims or Roman.

Medical treatments:

With up to 40% of ED cases proving to be psychological in origin, a large number of men can find relief through mental health care, whether that’s talk therapy, psychiatry, or a combination of the two.44 You can try to find an in-person therapist or psychiatrist, but the industry has largely moved online over the last several years, so we’ll focus this section on teletherapy resources for mental health that can help men address psychogenic ED. While Cerebral is a little more expensive than some excellent competitors, it offers plans for talk therapy, psychiatry (medication access), or both. That makes it a great place to start for men concerned with psychological issues leading to ED, as they can start with talk therapy and expand their care to include medication if it becomes necessary, without having to switch to another platform. Cerebral also works with several insurance companies, so there’s a good chance you’ll only have co-pays to worry about if you’re covered. Here’s a current list of Cerebral’s insurance partners: Of course, coverage varies by state and by plan, so if your provider is on that list, it’s not a guarantee you’ll be covered. As a result, our breakdown of evaluation criteria for ED-related treatment largely followed the same standards set in our guide to finding the best online therapy, specifically looking at quality of care, cost, privacy, and platform. Related:The Best Online Therapy in 2026 Evaluating the potential quality of care you might get from one company to the next is nearly impossible, given the thousands of therapists and psychiatrists involved, their diverse backgrounds, and your unique needs.