My doctor gave me a prescription for "daily use" Cialis 5mg about six weeks ago. He gave me three 7-day sample packs plus a coupon for a free month's worth to be turned in to my pharmacist (you can also print a free month's coupon at the Cialis website). He also told me that many men can get by on 2.5mg daily and that I should try cutting the pills in half to see how that works out for me.
So, taking the 5mg daily dose, I noticed an immediate improvement in my ability to get and maintain erections and they are much, much, harder than previously. Though not quite 61 years old and reasonably fit, age is catching up to me and I was having a lot of trouble getting stiff enough for penetration (though it usually "rose" to the occasion once inside). Combined with other things going on in our lives which have kicked up our libido, we are now having really incredible intercourse every day; usually twice a day, and often 3 or 4 times per day.
I have also tried getting by on 2.5mg daily with mixed results. Frankly, I am not certain if the poorer performance is due to the lower dose or other things so I am still experimenting. I think I need to stick with the low dose long enough to stabilize and then maybe it will work better, but not sure.
As to a couple of other points:
1) Yes, I have a much "fuller" non-aroused state when taking Cialis. Absolutely no doubt about it and, yeah, I like it.
2) The Cialis site and literature says that alcohol can be used when taking Cialis but not "in excess". My impression is that for side effects to occur, you would have to imbibe large amounts of alcohol or Cialis; amounts that would cause problems regardless of any potential interaction. HOWEVER... it also seems to me that ANY amount of alcohol seriously kills the effectiveness of Cialis. A single bourbon on the rocks in the evening will leave me totally limp until the next morning when I can suddenly achieve that rock-hard erection again. Damn shame; I really like a good quality bourbon on the rocks...