Blood pressure.

There are a lot of different medications available to treat blood pressure so it is worth asking your GP to try something different. I have been on blood pressure medication for a long time and luckily have had no side effects, though the GP has changed it a couple of times. My blood pressure is well controlled.

What a rotten time you’re having Bopeep14, not surprised you needed a moan. Can’t give you any advice about high blood pressure but have had experience of being on cocktails of meds that caused various side effects. If you’re not already doing it keep a detailed record of the meds you’re on, who prescribed them and when, and the side effects that you have suffered. I used to type this up as bullet points and take the file with me to every consultation. If nothing else it makes the doctors stop and think and several told me how helpful it was not having to scroll back through their records to find information leaving more time for discussion with me. I would urge anyone with a chronic health problem to read Staying Alive by Dr Phil Hammond. Hope they find the right med for you soon.

I smpathise with youBopeep - I take Amlopidine too and have swollen ankles, but not as bad as yours.
Before that I took a different one which made me pee a lot and led to too much sodium in my blood. and before that another one that made me cough.
So it seems to be trial and error.
They all controlled my BP though.
Do you take a betablocker too? I wish knew how all these things work (or not.)

I took Ramipril for years and it controlled BP. Then I was told it wasn't working as well and was given another(can't remember name) and suddenly started having dizzy spells, passed out couple of times and realised BP was too low! Taken off 2nd drug! Moved house new doctor, saw her for unrelated matters but she took BP and it was v low indeed! Off Ramipril (which made me cough!) and now have my own monitor which I check occasionally and always normal!

Just a quick update rung my GP surgery and explained the side effect i was having and got told that its not a side effect of the medication, and not to stop taking it. I know myself it is i stopped taking it for a few days no cold symptoms, started again they were back. I feel so poorly with them it goes into my sinusus and is very painful. I have tried to get an appointment to discuss it but no luck so far, a lot of GPs on annual leave, because of the school holidays. I really want to just stop taking it. Advice please.

BoPeep Don't be fobbed off, if you feel there is a connection, your fears are worth investigating and a substitute found.

Have you looked at the leaflet that comes with the medicine to see whether your experiences are mentioned as a known side effect? If they are, go back to your GP and show him/her the leaflet.

If not, and you feel that there is a link, anyone can report side-effects of a medication to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
Go to yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/ They keep all reports from the public and update the information if there is a problem.

If your GP won't listen to you, find another.

When my SiL visited us she complained of swollen ankles. I suggested she put her feet up when she could eg watching TV. Our sofas are designed to do this.

She was very reluctant (why?) but gave in to my nagging. And yes, it helped. The swelling was still there but reduced, and that was just in a few days.

She has continued this at home and started swimming 2-3 times a week and now her ankles are fine. She suffers from high BP too.

just a suggestion

Just reralised that you are talking about Amlopidine! If it was your GP he/she is talking bollocks and should go for a refresher course. If it was a non-medical surgery employee they don't know what they are talking about.

Swollen ankles are a common and well-known side effect of this drug - I have had them myself and asked to be taken off it. Create merry hell and/or change your surgery.

I was a bit quick there - thought you were still on the Amlopidine and it is a sore point with me.

I don't know about candesartan specifically, but blood pressure medicines do muck about with the consistency of your blood and the elasticity of your blood vessels, so it takes a certain amount of trial and error to find the combination that suits you. Don't be put off - keep booking appointments and telling the GP about your symptoms until they find something that has minimal problems for you. Remember, the squeaky gate gets the oil, the quiet one just gets the rust.

Could it be that all BP meds have side effects? One being water in the body used to thin the blood (I think).
I've been reading about the recent heatwave in France, many elderly people dehydrated and hospitalised. The link has just been made with BP meds which add to dehydration.
A bit late in the day?

OP - I was recently diagnosed and am going through the process of finding what works with minimum side effects. I started on 5mg of Amlodopine but it didn’t control my body enough. However the increase to 10mg caused unacceptable ankle swelling. I’m now back to 5 mg and have had added 2.5mg of Ramipril. The ankles are going down ( can take up to 2 weeks) and the bp is now regularly under 130/80. Ask your doctor to put you on an ACE inhibitor ( like Ramipril) not an ARB ( which is what those drugs ending in -sartan are).

‘The side-effects of angiotensin receptor blockers are usually quite mild; the most common being dizziness, headache, or cold or flu-like symptoms’

This quote is from blood pressureuk.org - a very useful and reputable website

www.bloodpressureuk.org

When I was first diagnosed with high bp, I was put on one of the medications ending with 'piril'. I started having the most dreadful coughing fits, totally out of control, and was sent to the local hospital, chest clinic. The professor in charge put me through a battery of tests, most of which came up pretty clear, and then he told me that he was certain that his first reaction that it was the bp tabs that was causing it. So, he had to order my GP to change this medication and within three months this debilitating cough disappeared. However, the Telimisartin did not really bring down my bp and I became quite worried anytime anyone needed to take it, knowing that I would get a high reading. Eventually, another GP told me to stay with that and also gave me another pill. Together these work magically, my bp is within reasonable rates most of the time and there are no side effects. Took me nearly ten years to reach that point.
As has been said, there are many different bp tabs out there, it does take experiment and time to find the correct ones for each individual.

I think you should speak to your GP and, if you are still worried, speak to another one. I would not take tablets bought on the internet but it is, of course, up to you.

Blood pressure is a strange thing - I have taken a mixture of meds over the years and at the end of last year was taking a mixture of five. Then in the New Year my blood pressure started to go down a lot and the doctor took away three of the doses. My BP was stable but then started going down again and eventually went too low and for the last three months I have had no meds at all and my BP is about 130/80 which is fine. I do monitor it myself in between visits to GP.
If you take any beta blockers they do tend to make you have an occasional deeper breath - when I went for a check up the heart man told me this was normal on that medication.

I first read about the Ramipril cough on a GN thread and was so glad I had. DH just coughed loudly and randomly all the time. He was so used to it that he didn't notice it (but we sure did!!) After I told him what you'd said he went to GP who somewhat shamefacedly agreed that it was a known side effect and changed meds. Result! No more irritating cough and I could keep the leg of lamb in the freezer. It was a damn close run thing though!

Thanks all still not managed to get an appointment yet, try everyday, i have bought a blood pressure monitor, at least i can keep a check on it myself.

Definitely talk to your provider. There are a number of different classes of blood pressure medications so you might just need a different class, or a different drug in the same class.

DEFINITELY DO NOT go for decongestants. Anything with phenylephrine or pseudoephedrine isn't safe for people with hypertension because these medications can raise blood pressure. You also have to be very careful with NSAIDs such as naproxen and ibuprofen. These can raise blood pressure as well.

I've had high BP since I was 40 and have taken many things. I find the old meds are best and take beta blocker.
One med gave me a sore throat and laryngitis and the Ear/Nose/throat doc said he was fed up with the prescription of new meds for BP as he always got to sort them out.

If they don’t suit me I take a half and often it is enough.

Don't even think about attempting to self medicate with meds from the internet , you could be buying any sort of unknown chemicals.
I take 7different types of bp medicine and it took my gp and the renal unit together a total of 4 years to find a combo that suits me. I had bad side effects from almost every type I tried , including swollen ankles and had coughs and sore tnroats.I
Every patient is different and will need their meds tailor made to themselves.

What about other methods of reducing your BP. I refused meds as didnt fancy the side effects. My GP said to lower salt intake, lose weight and/or cut caffeine.
I decided the easiest was the caffeine route and changed to herbal teas immediately, drank no regular tea or coffee for 3 months and my BP returned to normal. Might be worth a try.

Just found this post about bp. I've recently been put on Amlodipine 5mg (I'm already taking an ACE) which gave me palpitations and hot flushes. Was told not to worry and to be fair they did go after the first couple of weeks. Recently it was upped to 10mg and the palpitations became unacceptable plus I had stomach symptoms. Went back to the 5mg but need to see the GP soon for a repeat prescription and they certainly won't be happy with me lowering the dosage. They will have to try me on something else.

BP medication is very hit and miss. A lot of the brands didn't agree with me at all and I could feel/sense my body rejecting them. I took candesartan for years until I finally realised that they were doing more harm than good and my bp was rock bottom with just about an audible pulse. I phoned the GP who'd advised reducing the dose but I wasn't having any and told her that I was taking it upon myself to stop them before they finished me off.
I was just about functioning and didn't like it as it became an effort to put one foot before the other.
As if by magic my once 200/180 bp levelled itself and now with just bisoprolol tends to be on the low side but at least I feel human.