Vardenafil

Vardenafil tablets are a prescription treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED) in adult men, available here as 10mg and 20mg film-coated tablets. Vardenafil is the active ingredient in Levitra; here it is supplied as a generic medicine. To get vardenafil from Bury Healthcare Online you complete a short online consultation, and a UK prescriber reviews your answers before anything is dispatched.

How to get vardenafil tablets online

1. Choose your strength and pack size, then select Start Consultation. Your choice is a preference: the final decision is made with your prescriber.
2. Complete a short online consultation about your health, blood pressure and any medicines you take. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. A UK prescriber reviews your answers before anything is dispatched. They may ask you questions, suggest a different medicine or strength, or decide treatment is not suitable. If it is not suitable, you get a full refund.
4. Approved orders are dispatched from our GPhC-registered pharmacy in Bury (GPhC 1126145).

We supply up to 4 tablets per order. Every order is reviewed by a prescriber.

What is vardenafil?

Vardenafil is a PDE5 inhibitor, the same family of medicines as sildenafil and tadalafil. It can be a useful alternative if another ED medicine did not work well for you or caused side effects. The manufacturer of the generic tablets we supply may vary.

How vardenafil works

During sexual arousal vardenafil helps the blood vessels in the penis relax, so more blood can flow in and an erection is easier to get and keep. You still need to be sexually stimulated: it does not cause an erection on its own, does not increase sex drive and is not a cure.

Who should not take vardenafil

Vardenafil is for adult men aged 18 or over with erectile dysfunction. Do not take it if:

• You are allergic to vardenafil or any of the other ingredients.
• You take any nitrate medicine for chest pain (for example glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) spray or tablets, isosorbide mononitrate or isosorbide dinitrate), or use “poppers” (amyl nitrite or other nitrites). The combination can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure.
• You take riociguat for pulmonary hypertension.
• Your doctor has advised you not to have sex because of a heart problem, or you have unstable angina or severe heart failure.
• You have had a heart attack or stroke recently, or you have low blood pressure (below 90/50).
• You have ever lost sight in an eye because of reduced blood flow to the optic nerve (NAION), or you have an inherited eye condition such as retinitis pigmentosa.
• You have severe liver problems.
• You have end-stage kidney disease needing dialysis.
• You take the HIV medicines ritonavir or indinavir, or you are over 75 and take ketoconazole or itraconazole tablets.

Tell your prescriber about:

• Heart problems, high or low blood pressure, or an irregular heartbeat
• Liver or kidney problems
• A bleeding disorder or an active stomach ulcer
• A condition that affects the shape of the penis (such as Peyronie’s disease), or a condition that makes a long-lasting erection more likely (such as sickle cell anaemia, multiple myeloma or leukaemia)
• Other medicines, especially alpha-blockers (for example doxazosin or tamsulosin), other blood pressure medicines, HIV medicines (such as ritonavir), certain antifungals (ketoconazole, itraconazole) and certain antibiotics (clarithromycin, erythromycin)
• Any other treatment for erectile dysfunction
• A heart rhythm problem called long QT syndrome (including if you were born with it), or medicines for an irregular heartbeat such as quinidine, procainamide, amiodarone or sotalol

The consultation asks about all of these. Some answers mean we cannot supply online and will direct you to your GP.

How to take vardenafil

• Take one tablet with water about 25 to 60 minutes before sex.
• It works for around 4 to 5 hours, and you can have an erection during this time if you are aroused.
• A high-fat meal can delay how quickly it works.
• Do not take more than one tablet in 24 hours, and do not take it with other erectile dysfunction treatments.
• Avoid grapefruit juice and heavy drinking.

Lower doses are needed with some medicines and with liver or severe kidney problems. Your prescriber decides the right strength from your consultation answers.

Side effects

Like all medicines, vardenafil can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. They are usually mild and short-lived.

• Very common (more than 1 in 10 men): headache
• Common (up to 1 in 10 men): flushing, dizziness, indigestion, feeling sick, blocked nose

Sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil compared

All three are PDE5 inhibitors and work in the same way. The main differences are how soon they start working, how long the window lasts and whether food makes a difference. Your prescriber can help you choose.

Important safety information

Get medical help straight away (call 999 or go to A&E) if you have:

• An erection that lasts more than 4 hours
• Chest pain during or after sex. Tell the medical team you have taken an erectile dysfunction medicine, because nitrates must not be given to you.
• Sudden loss of vision or sudden loss or decrease in hearing. Stop taking the medicine.
• A severe allergic reaction, such as swelling of the face, lips or throat, or a severe skin reaction

This page is a summary. Always read the patient information leaflet supplied with your medicine. Erectile dysfunction can be an early sign of heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure, so it is worth seeing your GP for a health check as well. You can report side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.

Medically reviewed by Hassan Khan, MPharm, Independent Prescriber — Superintendent Pharmacist, Bury Healthcare Online (GPhC-registered pharmacy 1126145). Last reviewed: October 2026. Information checked against the UK Summary of Product Characteristics.

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