Spedra 200mg vs Viagra: Strength, Onset, Duration and Side Effects Compared

• Publishes the indirect comparison NICE reports, including the measure where avanafil scored lower
• Compares only what regulators actually publish, and says plainly where the figures are missing
• Shows the price point where Spedra 200mg and one Viagra strength cost exactly the same
• States plainly why these two medicines must never be taken together

No head to head trial has ever compared Spedra with Viagra, so no ranking between them is properly evidenced. NICE states directly that "it is not known how avanafil compares to other PDE5 inhibitors" and that "there are no direct head-to-head comparisons".

But NICE does report one indirect comparison, and it is the finding most pages leave out. A systematic review and meta-analysis found that, compared with sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil, avanafil was "statistically significantly less effective on Global Assessment Questionnaire question 1", which asks whether the treatment has improved erectile function.

That belongs at the top of a page like this, even though it does not flatter the medicine. The rest of what genuinely differs is licensed timing, strength ranges, price, and whether an unbranded version exists.

One thing before any comparison. These two medicines must never be taken together. NICE names other erectile dysfunction medication among the special warnings and precautions for avanafil. NICE names other erectile dysfunction medicines among the special warnings and precautions for avanafil. The safety and efficacy of combining avanafil with other PDE5 inhibitors or other erectile dysfunction treatments have not been established, so they should not be used together.

Key things to know

• No head to head trials exist. NICE says the comparison has not been done.
• The one indirect analysis NICE reports found avanafil less effective than three other medicines in its class on a single global question.
• Do not take both medicines together. If you are switching between them, speak to your prescriber about how to do so safely.
• There is no dose equivalence. 200mg of avanafil is not equivalent to any Viagra strength.
• Avanafil is licensed to be taken approximately 15 to 30 minutes before sexual activity. NICE's evidence summary states 25 to 30 minutes.
• No duration figure is published for avanafil. MHRA does publish an observation window for sildenafil.
• Spedra 200mg and Viagra 50mg cost exactly the same here, £29.69 for 4 tablets, or £7.42 per tablet.
• Generic sildenafil 100mg is £1.01 per tablet. There is no generic avanafil in the UK.

Why Spedra and Viagra must never be taken together

Do not take Spedra and Viagra together. NICE includes other treatments for erectile dysfunction among the special warnings and precautions for avanafil. The safety and efficacy of combining avanafil with other PDE5 inhibitors or other erectile dysfunction treatments have not been studied, so patients should be advised not to use them together.

If one medicine has not suited you, speak to your prescriber before switching to the other. Do not use leftover tablets from one treatment alongside the other or decide on a switching interval yourself.

The absence of a published half-life for avanafil does not provide a basis for calculating a safe interval yourself.

Is Spedra 200mg stronger than Viagra? Why there is no equivalence

No. Milligram figures describe different molecules and cannot be read across, so no Viagra strength is equivalent to Spedra 200mg and neither medicine can be called stronger.

Spedra 200mg equivalent Viagra dose is one of the most searched phrases on this comparison and it has no answer, because there is nothing to convert between. A milligram figure tells you how much of one particular substance is in the tablet. Different substances are active at different amounts, so 200mg of avanafil and 100mg of sildenafil are not two points on the same scale.

Is Spedra 200mg stronger than Viagra is therefore a question without a milligram answer, and is Spedra 200mg better than Viagra has no evidence based answer either. Spedra 200mg or Viagra which is better meets the same wall, and so does the shorthand Spedra 200 vs Viagra. Both medicines are named by NICE among four first line drug treatments for erectile dysfunction, alongside tadalafil and vardenafil.

Strength is a clinical decision. Treatment suitability depends on an individual clinical assessment, and your prescriber will determine the appropriate treatment and strength.

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Spedra 200mg vs Viagra effectiveness: the one comparison NICE reports

Effectiveness has not been compared in a head to head trial. The single comparison NICE does report is an indirect one, and avanafil came off worse on one measure.

NICE states that a systematic review and meta-analysis found that, compared with sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil, avanafil was "statistically significantly less effective on Global Assessment Questionnaire question 1". That question asks: "Has the treatment you are taking improved your erectile function?"

Three caveats belong with that finding. It is an indirect comparison, and NICE separately states that "there are no direct head-to-head comparisons". A meta-analysis pooling separate studies is weaker evidence than a trial designed to compare. It concerns one question on one measure, not the full erectile function scoring used elsewhere. And it does not mean avanafil does not work, because every trial showed it beating placebo clearly. The finding is about relative position within a class.

Both Spedra and Viagra are oral PDE5 inhibitors. They enhance the effect of nitric oxide signalling, helping increase blood flow to the penis during sexual stimulation. These ed medications require stimulation to be effective and are prescription medications regulated for clinical utility and safety.

Both medicines have important contraindications and warnings, including the need to avoid nitrate medicines. Sudden vision or hearing loss is a medical emergency and requires urgent attention.

Alcohol can increase the risk of dizziness and low blood pressure when taken with either medicine, and it can also impair erectile function.

Spedra can be taken with or without food, although a high-fat meal may delay the onset of activity. NICE gives a licensed timing of 25 to 30 minutes, while MHRA documentation states that sildenafil normally takes 30 to 60 minutes to work. These are different types of evidence and should not be treated as directly comparable onset or duration figures.

Because both contain different active ingredients, avanafil in Spedra and sildenafil citrate in Viagra, they are not interchangeable by dose and require prescriber guidance for switching.

Neither should be combined with the other. If you want to switch between them, speak to your prescriber about the appropriate approach.

In summary, while Spedra offers a rapid onset and branded viagra has a longer market history with generic options available, the choice between these ed pills should be based on individual clinical assessment, considering efficacy, tolerability, cost, and patient preference, rather than direct comparison alone.

What the avanafil trials actually showed

Three 12 week randomised controlled trials with 1,334 participants, plus a 52 week extension in 712 men, measured response with the IIEF, which NICE describes as "a 15-item questionnaire, self-administered measure of erectile function".

These figures cannot be set against Viagra figures, because they come from different studies in different populations. Comparing percentages across separate trials is the error this whole page exists to avoid.

What they do show is that results differed between study populations as well as between strengths. The 200mg result in men with diabetes was lower than the 100mg result in the general population, illustrating why results from different populations should not be treated as directly comparable.

One further honesty point. NICE records that all the avanafil studies were funded by the companies involved in developing the medicine, and that 80 to 86% of participants were white, which NICE says limits generalisability.

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Spedra 200mg vs Viagra onset time

Avanafil has the shorter documented lead time, and the two figures are not the same kind of statement.

Read that carefully. The avanafil figure is a licensed timing, meaning the point the licence is written around. The sildenafil figure is a description of how long it normally takes. One is a range describing observed behaviour, the other is a narrow instruction. Comparing them directly compares a licence instruction with an observation.

Two further pieces of published context.

NICE reports that 300 attempts were made within 15 minutes of dosing in the avanafil trials, and 64 to 71% of those were reported successful. A licence variation examining the 15 minute point was submitted but was pending rather than approved, so 25 to 30 minutes remains the licensed position.

Food delays onset for avanafil. NICE states that "if it is taken with food, the onset of activity may be delayed". A substantial meal is a bigger variable than the difference between these two medicines, which is worth holding onto before treating a few minutes of documented difference as decisive.

Does a shorter lead time make it better?

Not necessarily, and this is the most useful reframe on the page. A shorter lead time is convenient. It is not a measure of how well something works, how long it lasts, or whether it suits you. A medicine that acts in 25 minutes and does not suit you is worse than one that acts in 60 and does.

Spedra 200mg vs Viagra duration

No duration of action figure for avanafil is published in the NICE or MHRA sources this page uses. MHRA does publish an observation window for sildenafil, and the two are not comparable.

What MHRA documentation states for sildenafil 50mg is that it "was effective at various times post-dose from less than 1 hour to up to 4 hours". That describes when effect was observed in a study rather than a duration of action.

For avanafil, no figure exists. NICE notes that the time from taking the medicine to the start of activity was not well defined during the studies, which is why the duration was never established.

That absence is the honest answer to spedra 200mg vs viagra duration, and it is more useful than a number invented to fill the gap. A half life belongs to one molecule, and a substantial number of comparison pages have copied one medicine's figures onto the other.

The patient information leaflet supplied with your medicine is the authoritative source for both onset and duration. If duration is your main consideration, raise it at the consultation, because one medicine in this class differs from the rest substantially on that measure.

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Spedra 200mg vs Viagra side effects

NICE concludes that "the overall safety profile of avanafil appears to be similar to that of other PDE5 inhibitors and no new safety concerns have been raised". The class shares a side effect profile because the medicines share a mechanism.

For avanafil specifically, NICE lists headache, flushing, and nasal and sinus congestion each at between 1 in 10 and 1 in 100, plus back pain, dizziness, drowsiness and altered vision each at between 1 in 100 and 1 in 1,000. Those come from clinical studies with 2,144 participants.

These effects are consistent with the vasodilatory effects associated with PDE5 inhibition. A headache, a flushed face and a blocked nose are the same vessel widening happening somewhere you did not intend.

The available trial data should not be used to assign an overall side-effect rate to one medicine versus the other, because figures from separate studies are not directly comparable. Avanafil and sildenafil have overlapping adverse effects, although their individual product information lists somewhat different adverse-event profiles.

Common side effects for both include nasal congestion, headache, flushing, and dizziness. Both medications can cause muscle aches and back pain, though these are less frequent. Serious side effects such as priapism or sudden vision or hearing loss require immediate medical attention.

Neither Spedra nor Viagra should be used with nitrate medications. Combining these drugs with nitrates can cause a severe and potentially dangerous drop in blood pressure. This contraindication is critical and applies to all PDE5 inhibitors.

Avanafil has greater selectivity for PDE5 than sildenafil in pharmacological studies, but this does not establish that Spedra has fewer side effects overall.

The active ingredient sildenafil in Viagra interacts with other enzymes, leading to a broader side effect profile. Spedra's active ingredient avanafil works in exactly the same way to increase blood flow but with greater enzyme selectivity.

Both medicines can cause headache, flushing, nasal congestion and dizziness, while other adverse effects occur at different frequencies. Sudden vision or hearing loss, priapism and other serious reactions require urgent medical attention.

Both are taken as needed and require sexual stimulation to produce an erection. The available NICE and MHRA sources used here do not establish a directly comparable duration of action for the two medicines.

Herbal remedies and other alternative treatments exist but lack the robust clinical trial evidence that supports Spedra and Viagra as effective treatments for erectile dysfunction. Registered online pharmacies provide access to these oral tablets under medical supervision.

Do not take Viagra and Spedra together. If you are considering switching from one to the other, speak to your prescriber.

Clinical trials and multicenter clinical trials have established the safety and efficacy profiles of both medications. Statistically significant improvements in erectile function have been demonstrated, though direct head-to-head trials between Spedra and Viagra do not exist.

In summary, the established differences include their active ingredients, licensed strengths, timing information and availability of generic sildenafil. Neither should be selected or combined on the basis of an assumed potency or duration comparison.

What is identical for both

• Nitrates are an absolute contraindication for both. Anyone taking a nitrate such as glyceryl trinitrate, in any form including a spray or patch, must not take either.
• Alpha blockers and blood pressure medicines require care with both.
• Priapism is a class warning. An erection lasting more than four hours needs urgent medical attention whichever was taken.
• Sudden vision or hearing loss needs urgent attention with either.
• Alcohol can increase the risk of dizziness and low blood pressure with both medicines and may also impair erectile function.

Because the safety profiles are similar and the contraindications overlap, side effects are a weak basis for self selecting between them. They are a good reason to talk to a prescriber, who can weigh your particular reaction against your history.

MHRA also cautions against ranking medicines on reported figures, stating that "it is not possible to compare the safety of different medicines or vaccines by comparing the numbers presented in the reports", because reporting rates are influenced by many factors.

Spedra 200mg vs Viagra price

Standard prices at this pharmacy, with cost per tablet calculated so they can be compared directly.

Spedra 200mg and Viagra 50mg cost exactly the same here, £29.69 for 4 tablets, or £7.42 per tablet. That is a coincidence of pricing rather than a statement of equivalence, and it is worth knowing if cost is part of your decision.

The comparison that actually moves money

Viagra 100mg works out at £10.12 per tablet. Generic sildenafil 100mg works out at £1.01 per tablet. Both contain sildenafil at the same strength.

That is roughly a tenfold difference for the same active ingredient. The difference is the brand, not the medicine.

Avanafil has no generic version in the UK, which is why Spedra sits between branded and generic sildenafil rather than below both. That is a licensing and market position, not a statement about the medicine.

Cost per tablet is not a measure of effectiveness, and a medicine that suits you at a higher cost is a better outcome than one that does not at a lower cost. The generic question is worth raising at the consultation, because it makes a substantial difference over a year.

Prices are standard website prices at the time of writing and are subject to change.

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Spedra 200mg vs Viagra 100mg, and vs Viagra 50mg

Both pairings are searched constantly and neither describes a like for like comparison, because the milligram figures belong to different molecules.

The only sense in which the top strengths line up is that each is the highest licensed strength of its own medicine. That is a licensing fact, not a potency match.

Avanafil 200mg vs Viagra and avanafil 200mg vs sildenafil are the more precise ways to frame the question, because they compare ingredients rather than brands. At ingredient level the honest summary is: no head to head trial, one indirect analysis in which avanafil scored lower on a single global question, a shorter licensed lead time for avanafil, and a generic available for sildenafil but not for avanafil.

Switching from Viagra to Spedra 200mg

Switching is a prescriber decision, and it is never done by taking both or by alternating between them.

Switching from Viagra to Spedra 200mg is a reasonable thing to discuss, and there are legitimate reasons: a shorter licensed lead time, a different tolerability experience, or simply that one has not suited you. What makes switching safer is having a prescriber determine how and when to change treatment.

Four things to raise at that consultation:

• What happened on the current medicine, including timing, food, alcohol and whether side effects were the issue.
• Every medicine you take, especially nitrates and anything for blood pressure or prostate symptoms.
• Your cardiovascular history, including any diagnosed heart condition and your blood pressure if you know it.
• What matters most to you on timing, format and cost over a year.

What not to do: do not finish a used pack of one alongside the other, do not take them together or decide the switching interval yourself. There is no dose equivalence to convert from. There is no dose equivalence to convert from.

To discuss whether a change suits you, view the erectile dysfunction treatments available and complete an online consultation with UK registered prescribers, or see the Spedra tablets product page for the licensed strengths. EveryDayMeds is a GPhC registered pharmacy, and clinical assessment happens before supply.

Spedra 200mg vs Viagra reviews: why this page has none

No customer reviews, ratings or star scores appear here, and that is deliberate on a comparison page more than anywhere else.

These are prescription only medicines. Individual testimonials cannot establish which medicine is more appropriate for another person, particularly when the underlying cause and medical history may differ.

There is a specific problem with review led comparison here. Response depends heavily on why you have erectile dysfunction, as the figures above show: the same 200mg dose moved the score 9.4 points in one population and 5.3 in another. A strong account for one medicine from someone whose cause differs from yours tells you almost nothing about how the other would work for you.

Unmoderated discussions may also contain unsafe advice about combining medicines, changing doses or obtaining prescription medicines without appropriate clinical assessment.

What appears here instead is verified data, with the population and participant numbers attached, and an honest statement of where no comparison exists.

Red flags: when to stop comparing and seek help

Seek urgent medical attention if any of the following happen after taking either medicine:

• An erection lasting more than four hours, known as priapism, whether or not it is painful
• Sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes
• Sudden loss of hearing, with or without ringing or dizziness
• Chest pain, especially during or shortly after exertion
• Fainting, or dizziness severe enough to make you fall
• Signs of an allergic reaction, including swelling of the face, lips or throat, or difficulty breathing

Do not take a nitrate for chest pain if you have taken either medicine. Tell the medical team exactly what you have taken and when.

Speak to your prescriber, if either medicine consistently does not work as expected, if side effects persist, or if you are considering switching.

Do not switch by taking both. That is the situation this page most exists to prevent.

Medical Disclaimer

This article is general information and does not replace personalised medical advice. It gives no dosing instructions and should not be used to self diagnose, self prescribe, self medicate, or to start, stop or change any medicine.

Avanafil and sildenafil are prescription only medicines. Suitability depends on an individual clinical assessment by an appropriately qualified prescriber, who will consider your medical history, current medicines and cardiovascular health. These medicines should only be used under the supervision of an appropriately qualified prescriber. Results vary between individuals.

Comparisons here describe how these medicines differ in licensing, use and price. They do not establish that either is more effective than the other, and NICE states that no head to head trials have been conducted. The one indirect analysis reported here compared pooled results from separate studies rather than testing the medicines against each other. No medicine named on this page is presented as better than another.

Trial figures describe average changes across defined study populations and are not predictions for any individual. NICE records that the avanafil studies were funded by the companies involved in developing the medicine, and notes limits on how far the results generalise.

The information here is not a complete account of any medicine named. The patient information leaflet supplied with your medicine is the authoritative document and should be read before you take anything.

All prices are standard website prices at the time of writing and are subject to change.

Never take more than the prescribed amount of any medicine, never take an extra tablet because one did not appear to work, and do not combine two erectile dysfunction medicines unless specifically advised by a healthcare professional.

If you experience chest pain, an erection lasting more than four hours, sudden vision loss or sudden hearing loss, seek urgent medical attention.