"...nobody associates your nasal function with your manhood."

Uhm, I think they are more closely related than you might think. I actually read somewhere that the tissue in one's nose is considered erectile tissue. I often wondered that why, for no apparent reason, one nostril would suddenly swell shut. Imagine a nose getting hard on.

After a while I think LW will figure out whether or not the little helper pills would freak the GF out. I can't imagine having to disclose my Rx list upon meeting someone.

btw, I love the little antispam question for posting privileges. Why don't more websites use this instead of the drunken numbers?

I read in a medical journal recently that viagra is also an effective treatment for sunburn. It keeps the bedsheets off your thighs.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I wish there really was such a thing as gingko viagra, so it could help me remember what the fuck I was doing!

LW, don't worry about it. I think this is where "don't ask, don't tell" about your meds is appropriate. Unless and until you decide to be each others' proxy in medical matters, does she really need to know?

I just don't see how YOUR meds are any of HER business.

Pirate milk comes from telephone cows to work in cars.

Those pills are awesome, just a pity about the insane price-gouging - I can't wait until the patent expires.

I think Amy's advice is spot on.

Life's too short to not just have fun and enjoy the relationship, instead of worrying about silly and pointless chimp-brain insecurities that don't even really mean anything, like whether or not it's not the 'real' you (whatever that even means in this day and age, when everything is 'fake' - even things like toothpaste and shampoo are unnatural .. and technology isn't going anywhere), when hey, you're in your 50's and having a good sex life with a woman you like, especially if she's enjoying it too. Let go, enjoy it. This is the 'real you' anyway, in a sense - the 'real you' is someone who can afford Viagra and has a doctor that has written a prescription, I doubt you would ever stop taking it anyway - for what, to be more 'real'? that would be silly. It's a non-issue, and I think the less of an issue you think of it as, the less of an issue she will think it is even if she accidentally discovers your pills. Just think of it as, you're just keeping things more fun.

Even just for her sake, I'm guessing she'd rather be with someone going forward (e.g. on to 60 etc.) who happily takes the pills, as it's effectively also 'for her pleasure' (unless she doesn't want sex).

The allergy pill is a good analogy .. if an allergy pill stops you sneezing all day, would you worry that not sneezing on your dates isn't the 'real you'?

My wife knows I sometimes take them, that always just felt right/natural to me, but our situation may be different. In our case it works well that way as e.g. sometimes if she's in the mood for a 'marathon session' then she'll tell me to take a pill and meet her in the bedroom :) But I think it depends on the situation .. if she doesn't need to know and it's working for you then she doesn't need to know.

My wife having smooth legs isn't the 'real her' but I'm glad she shaves.

"btw, I love the little antispam question for posting privileges. Why don't more websites use this instead of the drunken numbers?"

I'm a software/website developer, I can answer that .. there are several reasons, the first is website size/profile ... e.g. the spammers target their resources on the largest websites and most popular website backend systems, while they focus very few resources on relatively 'smaller' sites, and (as they automate their attacks). So e.g. if a large site adopted the same scheme, it would be broken. Secondly, the questions need to be created manually, and this isn't feasible for sites that must handle very large numbers of users and comments (again, as e.g. if a high-profile site like Blogger asked "Milk comes from cows or telephone poles" then the spammers would just add that question to their spam algorithms). Third, CAPTCHA's are language-neutral, these questions are language-specific ... the high-profile sites must cater to a multilingual global audience, so if they asked "Milk comes from cows or telephone poles?" then, say, a Spanish website user from Bolivia would be completely lost.

When you are at the point where the relationship is serious (as in seriously going to last) and you'd want that person to make medical decisions on your behalf should you, say, be unconscious from a car crash, then that person should know. Not because of what the pill is FOR, but because the ER doctors will want to know.

As an aside, I auto-pilot typed my anti-spam answer and instead of "cows" put "cars" the first time around. Oops!

Can anyone tell me, after taking Viagra, and if the pill performs its job normally, after orgasm do you still have an erection or is that the end of it? I understand that side effects might make things hard to handle for "four hours or longer". What I'm asking is what happens if the pill works as planned?

What she doesn't know won't hurt her, and unless the pills are for herpes break-outs, they're none of her business.

I milk cowed telephone poles for all they're worth.

"erections lasting more than four hours."

Are those real, or a clever marketing gimmick (they imply it without ever claiming it could actually happen, so they can't be charged with false advertising)?

"Can anyone tell me, after taking Viagra, and if the pill performs its job normally, after orgasm do you still have an erection or is that the end of it?"

Just from my own limited experience, broadly, yes - it's the 'still have an erection' - the 'recovery time' is either diminished, or gone entirely, I'm often immediately ready to continue for 'round two' .. that's one of the really great things I like about it (and that my wife likes about it). But, it isn't always the case, it seems to depend on a bunch of things, ranging from the dosage taken, to how horny I was to begin with, to how tired I was/am before/afterwards (you have to be quite fit to get the best out of it, I think), to I don't know what, the phases of the moon. Never four hours though, and the erection goes away (as normal) if I start doing other things, like work.

"Are those real, or a clever marketing gimmick"

I don't think they're a 'marketing gimmick' at all, given that a four-hour erection is considered a medical emergency and a 'very bad thing' ... priapism, as it's called, is a potentially serious condition. The reason you hear everyone talking about four-hour erections specifically, has nothing to do with marketing, it's because four hours is the most common general definition of priapism (you definitely do not want to market your product as potentially causing serious medical emergencies, it's there as a warning). If you're having a four-hour erection, it means you've reacted in a negative way to the medication, and should call a doctor .. it's definitely not something you want.

I have Viagra in my medicine cabinet, my wife and I have separate cabinets. I have never hidden it and she has never mentioned it. She has stuff in her cabinet that I don't know about. We value each other's privacy.

My problem with Viagra is that it affects my blood pressure. I take other medication for high blood pressure. If I take them too close together, within 4 hours, I will get dizzy and have runaway heartbeat.