Levitra Professional is vardenafil 20 mg in a tablet meant to dissolve in the mouth rather than be swallowed whole. The molecule is the one in generic Levitra; what the "Professional" name describes is the delivery, not a different or stronger drug.
What "Professional" actually means here
Nothing clinical. It is a supplier's product name, and it is worth saying so plainly because the word implies a grade of medicine that does not exist. There is no professional-strength vardenafil: the licensed maximum single dose is 20 mg, which is exactly what this is.
What you do get is an orodispersible tablet — one that breaks down on the tongue without water. Some of the dose is absorbed through the lining of the mouth, so the start can come forward a little, typically toward the 20-to-40-minute end rather than the full hour. The window is unchanged at four to five hours.
Who it suits
- Anyone who dislikes swallowing tablets — the most honest reason to choose this format, and the one it genuinely solves.
- Anyone who wants to take a dose discreetly, without a glass of water in hand.
- Men who prefer vardenafil to sildenafil — usually because sildenafil gives them visual side effects or is too easily blunted by food.
It suits you less well if you are still finding your dose. This format comes only at 20 mg, and a dispersible tablet is not designed to be halved. Start on generic Levitra at 10 mg if vardenafil is new to you.
Where this sits in Australia
Vardenafil is a Schedule 4 (prescription-only) medicine in Australia, and orodispersible presentations sold from overseas are not TGA-registered — they are manufactured for other markets. If you have heart disease, take blood-pressure medication, or have never used a medicine in this class, talk to a doctor first.
How to take it
Place the tablet on the tongue and let it dissolve — do not chew it, do not wash it down, and do not drink for a few minutes afterwards. Allow 20 to 40 minutes before sex, and take no more than one dose in 24 hours.
Handle it dry. Orodispersible tablets are deliberately fragile and begin to break down on contact with moisture, so open the blister with dry hands and only at the moment you intend to take one.
| Levitra Professional | Levitra tablet | |
|---|---|---|
| Active ingredient | Vardenafil — identical | |
| Strength | 20 mg only | 10 mg or 20 mg |
| How you take it | Dissolves on the tongue, no water | Swallowed with water |
| Typical onset | 20–40 minutes | 25–60 minutes |
| Window | 4–5 hours | |
| Dose flexibility | None | Can start at 10 mg |
Side effects and the one absolute rule
Vardenafil's usual profile: headache, facial flushing, a blocked or runny nose, indigestion. Mostly mild and dose-related. This format adds the possibility of an unpleasant taste while the tablet dissolves.
The absolute rule: never combine vardenafil with nitrates (angina medicines such as glyceryl trinitrate) or with amyl nitrite "poppers" — together they can drop blood pressure dangerously. Vardenafil also needs care alongside certain heart-rhythm medicines, strong antifungals and some HIV medicines; see ED pills and other medicines. An erection lasting more than four hours, or sudden loss of vision or hearing, is a medical emergency.
The alternatives worth knowing
The plain tablet, with a 10 mg option, is generic Levitra. Other dissolve-in-the-mouth formats of different molecules are Viagra Soft Tabs and Cialis Soft Tabs. If the four-hour window is the constraint, tadalafil runs to about 36 hours — see generic Cialis. Everything sits together on standard-strength ED medications.
Getting the format right
An orodispersible tablet only earns its advantage if you use it as one. Three things decide that:
- Let it dissolve fully. Swallowing the fragments early turns it into an ordinary tablet with a worse taste.
- Do not drink immediately after. Washing the dose down defeats the mouth-lining absorption you chose the format for.
- Keep the blister sealed until the moment of use. Humidity in a bathroom will soften these tablets in the pack.
Storing it
Below 25 °C, dry, and in the original blister. Because these tablets are designed to break down on contact with moisture, they are the least forgiving format we sell about storage — a bathroom cabinet is the worst place for them, and a wallet or glovebox is worse still. See storing and disposing of medicines.
Sources
- TGA — Therapeutic Goods Administration: the Poisons Standard and the register of approved medicines
- Healthdirect — Erectile dysfunction
