All the facts

Bill, Thanks for your reply - I certainly agree that in some cases the problems may well be due to anxiety, however some of the (worrying) symptoms involve reports of very watery semen, reduced spern mobility and low levels of testosterone. These symptoms can definitely not be attributed to a psychological effect (No matter how much you worry about your semen, that won't change its viscocity!) If the medication can have an effect on these properties, it would be no surprise if the erectile dysfunction is also due to the medication's effects, not to mention the fact that the changes I mentioned without any erectile problems would be enough of a concern for anyone.

I've just spent 30 minutes carefully reading through all of these posts and I have to say - it's clear from Matt, kirrabeachbum and jackisback that despite what some posters are claiming, the side effects are not only real but far beyond those claimed by Merck. I won't ramble on about how Merck and other pharmaceuticals are unreliable in what they say (there are PLENTY of other sites that can fill you in on that). Instead, I just want to say that not only are these guys' stories valid but they serve as a warning. Simply saying that it's psychological or is caused by something else is deliberately avoiding the obvious evidence. I can understand (believe me!!) how we all want this medication to work. We all want it to be safe. But that doesn't make it safe. So if you're thinking about speaking out against these people who have experienced seriously bad side effects, just think for a moment - is what you're about to say anyway influenced by what you WANT the truth to be. And for the record, I'm afraid to say that there are pharmaceutical posters on these sites (although obviously I can't say if they're on this forum). I actually know this because a friend of mine works in one of these companies and has colleagues who do it. I'm glad to say he's since quit (although it wasn't actually for that reason). Their posts look exactly like yours and mine (i.e. very informal, probably with spelling mistakes). I've found this makes it frustratingly difficult to know if what you're reading is true or not.