Blood Pressure.

Lefthanded- Re: Amlodipine, if you begin to have severe leg cramps, that BP medicine is the first culprit in my book. Both my husband and I took it for about 6 months. He developed gout and I had severe leg cramps. Dr prescribed another BP med for me and symptoms disappeared. My DH still has gout even though he quit taking it also.
I hope everything works out for you.

I have been tried on several of the BP drugs and now have a cocktail which seems to be working - one of those I take us a low dose of a beta blocker - that causes me to take a very deep breath every once in a while - the cardiologist asked me if I had that. I think most of these drugs have some sort of side effect - it is finding the drugs which suit you best.
Recently I went for a routine ultrasound sort of thing of my heart - it showed I have thickening of the walls which is 'normal' after years of BP drugs. At the moment does not seem to be causing me any problems

Lefthanded - I have been on a BP treatment for 10 years or so called Lercanodipine hydrochloride which is a calcium - channel blocker for high BP. The only side effect is the real need to pee for a few hours in the morning.

As for tips to lower BP I was told to go into the surgery and when you sit down with the nurse to really flop into the chair and relax. Also don't talk at all whilst the reading is being taken.

A lot of people believe that drinking beetroot juice is a good natural way to reduce BP. Beetroot juice is usually mixed with apple juice so this may not be a good idea with your blood sugar levels.

Thanks for all the advice. I was warned about the ankles thing, although the surgery nurse did tell me that it was more common in women than men - we'll see.

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I have been on mess for a few years. I took my BP this morning, 117/66 which is great and better than it has been for apmg time. I have recently lost 2 stone in weight and intend to loose a few more. I suppose I should get BP checked at the surgery in caseeds. Need to e adjusted. I know loosing weight can help lower BP and I don't want to start fainting.