Can women take tadalafil (Cialis)? Not for sex: Cialis is not intended for use by women. The Australian consumer medicine information says so plainly, and there is no approved use of tadalafil for female sexual problems. The one situation in which women do take tadalafil is a different disease — high blood pressure in the lungs — under a specialist, as a different product.
Is Cialis approved for women?
No. "CIALIS is not intended for use by women" (Cialis CMI), and the European product information states that it is not indicated for use by women (EMA). It is a treatment for erectile dysfunction, which by definition is a condition of men.
Do women ever take tadalafil?
Yes, for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) — high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. Adcirca, a tadalafil product, is used to treat adults and children from 2 years of age with PAH (EMA). That is a specialist treatment at a different dose, not a sexual medicine.
Does tadalafil help female sexual dysfunction?
There is no evidence good enough to say so, and no regulator has approved it for that. The idea is that more blood flow to the genitals might help arousal, but the problems grouped as female sexual dysfunction — low desire, arousal, orgasm, pain — have many causes, and blood flow is only one of them. How the medicines marketed as "female Viagra" differ is explained in is female Viagra the same as male Viagra?, and the treatments that exist for women in is there a female equivalent of Viagra?
What would the side effects be?
The same medicine carries the same side effects whoever takes it. For ED medicines, healthdirect lists headache, facial flushing, a blocked nose and indigestion or reflux as common, and changes in vision, sudden hearing loss, dizziness or fainting and allergic reactions among the rarer, serious ones (healthdirect). Like all PDE5 inhibitors, tadalafil must never be combined with nitrates, because together they can cause a sudden, dangerous drop in blood pressure.
What about pregnancy?
The Cialis product information notes that there are only limited data on tadalafil in pregnant women; it is not a medicine to take while pregnant unless a specialist prescribes it for a condition such as PAH.
What should a woman with sexual problems do instead?
See a GP. Pain during sex, low desire and arousal problems each have causes a doctor can look for — the causes of pain are covered in painful sexual intercourse. The same question for sildenafil is answered in can women take Viagra?
The short answer
Cialis is not intended for women and is not approved for female sexual problems. Women take tadalafil only for pulmonary arterial hypertension, under a specialist. For sexual difficulties, a GP is the right first step. More on women and ED medicines is in our guide for women.
