Get a spider bite... fix your erectile problems...

[Prrkitty]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509876,00.html

Quote: Oddly, the Brazilian spider delivers more than a painful bite that sends most victims to the hospital. Researchers have found its venom also stimulates an hours-long erection in men.

Patients not only experience overall pain and an increase in blood pressure, they also get an uncomfortable erection.

In Brazil, emergency room staff can immediately spot the victims of a bite.

"The erection is a side effect that everybody who gets stung by this spider will experience along with the pain and discomfort," said study team member Romulo Leite of the Medical College of Georgia, presumably speaking only about male bite victims.

"We're hoping eventually this will end up in the development of real drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction."

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This is similar, in principle, to Byetta for diabetes. Originally it was an enzyme from the Gila Monster's saliva. Then someone developed a chemically similar drug to the actual enzyme and created Byetta. It is prescribed for type 2 diabetics in two type doses... 5mcg and 10mcg - usually taken twice a day.

At the higher dosage though there are increasing incidences of "pancreatic necrosis"... i.e. your pancreas just up and dies - no warning, no indications ahead of time - it just "goes poof"... and croaks.

Yes I'm on Byetta... yes I'm on the 10mcg - 2x a day. BUT... seems my body doesn't like the 2nd dosage - no matter if it's 5mcg or 10mcg. It gives me horrible horrible stomach issues during the night.

So ... is the "cure" ... worth the possible paths to get there?

Granted... I doubt it'll ever be a spider bite "fix" for erectile dysfunction... but... ya know... if those "curing" enzymes were meant to be in our body... they'd have been put there from the start at our birth.

[rock_nog]

My question is - what advantages might spider-venom enzymes have over other ED treatments? I mean, I just can't really see the advantages over traditional ED treatments - unless it avoids the risk of "erections lasting more than four hours" - seriously, that warning gives me nightmares.

[Modus Ponens]

It could just be because it's nice to have another drug on the market that does the same thing as existing drugs; if something else out there doesn't work for you, try the spider venom.

[Xyvol]

In the old days they used Spanish Fly. The urine of this beetle contains a chemical that irritates the urethral passages, causing your genitals to swell. So if you don't mind the painful urination, or possibility of death by taking more than a tiny bit, then go for it. Or you could just get some viarga and not screw around with things that could kill you.

[Prrkitty]

Actually viagra has some pretty serious side affect... 1) damages your vision, 2) damages your heart, 3) you just up and die (and not from the sexual part either.

[Xyvol]

So I probobly shouldn't use it for recreational purposes?

[jerome]

So I probobly shouldn't use it for recreational purposes?

Like drilling holes in concrete? Hanging drywall? Getting the cat out of the tree?

I suppose the spider bite is the all natural way for those that prefer that kind of stuff. At one time people used to say rhino horn, but that's actually a myth. Unfortunately though, people still hunt them and then soak the horn (since it is actually just dense hair) in Viagra, in a liquid form, so it "works". Gotta love poachers... or not.