I was recently put on Amlodipine in the hope of simply popping a pill to lower blood pressure....I was totally on board! The very first day I began having muscle aches in my legs. Each day I had more aches in other parts of my body, including my back, arms and even in my face. On day 6 I had a follow up with my doctor and he told me I was crazy. That in all of his years of prescribing this medication, he had never heard of such side effects. I told him that I would not continue and it was like I had offended him personally. Wow. I am taking a brisk walk daily and taking Grape Seed Extract supplements also. Cut my cigarette habit in half ( I know I should quit altogether...but hey, I am a work in progress!). I believe it's starting to work, but only been a week. I have been researching Grapeseed and it's affect on lowering blood pressure and even if that is not the component that helps me...it sure can't hurt. It's loaded with anti oxidents and something is making me feel better. My BP was 145/89 yesterday which is heading in the right direction. Thanks for listening!
Patty
Good for you
Amlodopine is big trouble. There are other high blood pressure meds out there
Change your doctor. He should be aware of all the negative side effects of this drug
Good luck
You are NOT crazy. When I was on this dreadful drug, everything was off. I felt like I was dying with no energy whatsoever. My finger swelled to the point my wedding ring was stuck. The mark is still there more than a year later.. Doctors have to give the patient more credit for knowing their bodies. BP pills can kill you. BTW I am now eating beets every day which has helped a lot. I have not smoked in several years (good luck in getting rid of that). Exercise has become my new religion. Keep up your good efforts and you will reap wonderful rewards.
Thanks Sandy. I just started to see this doctor so I am going to see what he says after my next visit. Hopefully I will have been successful at getting my BP down without meds. But I am going to tell him how many other people have suffered side effects similar to mine. Hard to believe he doesn't know already.
Thank you Brenda. I know I am not crazy, but it's not the first time a doctor has made me doubt myself. I will stand firm and figure out another method of getting my BP down. Exercise will be the key, I am certain of it.
Morning Patti, your are not dreaming over your muscle aches. I had been put on the same medication and had found my legs started aching as we as my knees especially. Seen my Dr about this all he had said was keep on taking Amplodipine. Did he listen to what I had said or not?. Thinning your blood out Beetroot is another type of food you can have which will lower your blood pressure especially.
Regards
ADRIAN
Morning Patti, your are not dreaming over your muscle aches. I had been put on the same medication and had found my legs started aching as well as my knees especially. Seen my Dr about this all he had said was keep on taking Amplodipine. Did he listen to what I had said or not?. Thinning your blood out Beetroot is another type of food you can have which will lower your blood pressure especially.
Regards
ADRIAN
Some doctors are indeed not sensitive enough, although most of them participate in finding the best BP medication. Sometimes this means prescribing more than one. However, it is unfortunate to discredit all doctors and turn to beetroot, garlic and other gimmicks. These "organic" things are helpful for otherwise healthy people but are not curative agents. Rather change doctors. Resorting to this "organic" nonsense might prevent you from getting the proper care you deserve and this is the greatest danger when giving in to "snake oil".
Hello Patty over the last thirty years My doctor has tried many brands of BP medications some with deverstating effects he was always reasy to listen and changed the pills eventually after a twenty four hour BP test decided to see how I managed without pills although my BP stayed in the 150/90 range I felt so much better and could get on with my life. Two years ago after my Dr. had retired went to the the surgery with a chest infection new young DR. put me on 20mg Lercanidipine and 10 Ramipril although I told him I have white coat syndrom with in a week dizzy spells and unable to do any housework so stopped taking them blood pressre stayed around 150/90 went to see the nurse for routine thyroid blood test and she prescribed Amlodipine only took them for two days pins and needles in my arms and excruciating cramp in my legs and feet felt as if a vein was going to burst went to surgery saw a Health care assistant who spoke to another Dr. at the practice who changed medication to Felodipine 5mg went back a week later BP now in the 137/80 which I though was good got a telephone call from surgery to increase to 10mg thats when the problems started painfull swollen ankles and fingers nose bleed on waking in the morning. Spoke to the Chemist who said cut a pill in half and take 7.5mg but you cant cut these tabs. in half. On Wed.11th May2016 got another call from the surgery to increase tabs to 20mg I told the person no way and told her about the problems she has made me an appointment to see the health care assistant 20th May. I want to stop taking them and am thinking about taking one every other day. I havent been able to see a doctor since my DR. retired two years ago. You are not crazy I have never heard of grape seed extract but will try it I am now taking herbal Dandelion and Parsley water balance tabs hopefully to give me my ankles back. It seems everyone now is given BP tabs.
Very balanced reply Ian. Most GP/MD's will change your meds if you are having 'problems' The vast majority on Amlodipine have no or very little side effects.
On a personal note I have been on them for 16 years without any 'problems' - am I unusual - NO.
YES I think you are unusual and very lucky mybe you havent any other medical problems I had a thyrotic storm (Graves) which caused a few problems. One BP med. caused me to have kidney problems another lowered my BP so much I was passing out. It is all very well DR.s lookin g in a drugs book and deciding which one to try next we are all different. It would be lovely to see a doctor I am supposed to have blood tests every 6 months lucky to get one every year. My surgery is so overloaded it has had to close the doors to new patients.
Patty - sorry to hear that you are experiencing such severs side effects within such a short period of time. If your GP/MD will not take on board what you are saying it's usually because the symptoms you described are not listed on the data sheet that comes with every pack of meds. You have the option to contact and report any unusual side effects via what’s called the Yellow Card system - just google and it will give you guidance, if you are based in the US go to the FDA website. Amlodipine has been around for a long time and in the vast majority of cases has proved to be a very effective med. The removal of stress in your life can be your best friend.
On a personal note I have been on Amlodipine for 16 years without any 'problems' and my BP has not increased, in fact decreased, without the use of alternatives - so must be doing some good? Male 76.
Alberta23 - I would strongly counter your assumtion that I'm unusual. As an example I was started on 5 mg and after 2/3 years was upped to 10 mg (due to my age and the known 'problem' of raised BP as you get older) after I started steroid treatment in 2014 my BP went down and I went to my doctor who reduced it back to 5 mg.
I do have another medical condition - Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) - an auto immune disease which has no known cure which I contracted two years ago. The only thing that is available is steroids which 'cure' the symptoms - again not very nice meds, which have a listed 83 side effects - but it's an attitude - would I prefer to be in constant pain in every muscle in my body and be completely immobile and increase the chance of cardiovascular problems or have a life? I know what my answer is!
Of course the doctor knows about the side-effects, Patty! He's just taking the usual medical line. Doctors are trained to deny side-effects in the firm belief that if they reassure the patient, then the patient will stop complaining about them. Sorry to be a cynic, but I'm a former nurse!
Hi John,
Sorry to hear you have polymyalgia rheumatica. I know this isn't what this thread is about, but I think comments on acceptance or rejection of medication are relevant, since the subject has been raised.
I've had flare-ups of polymyalgia rheumatica for nearly 20 years now (part of another autoimmune condition - Sjogren's syndrome). I find that if I wait them out and move enough to stay flexible without over-tiring myself they eventually clear up. I had a particularly bad attack last year, combined with flare-ups of RA, tendinitis and a pinched cervical nerve for good measure, but I'm fine again now.
We're all different. Some of us would prefer to suffer pain for a while rather than sentencing ousrselves to the side-effects of drugs, while others opt for the medication route while accepting the inevitable side-effects. Both routes are valid. I suspect that what people on this thread are really talking about is the importance of doctors listening to their patients and entering into honest dialogue with them. I've been extraordinarily lucky with both my last GPs but I realise this isn't the case for everyone.
How funny Ian. Of course I would not dismiss all doctors good works. I just believe they get so defensive when you don't agree with them about everything. I am hypersensitive to all medications. For example, most people would take one or two vicodin for pain and I would get the same effect on 1/2 of one pill. I am a wimp. I am not resorting to an organic treatment other than diet and exercise. The Grapeseed extract is not a cure of any kind, but is proven to help with the health of blood vessels...can't hurt right. If I cannot get my BP down by these means I will certainly try another med. Thanks for your input.
Thanks for your feedback. I know that my best friend has been on Amlodipine with zero issues. I know several others that also have no problems. But we are not all the same and different meds effect each one of us in different ways. I am glad its working for you. I am a bit jealous that I cannot just take a pill and that's the end of it. I have to try to go on the "diet and exercise" route for now to see if I can bring it down on my own. I am hopeful but not convinced that this will work. Since my BP has just recently gotten high, I am giving it 90 days and then I will need to try something else.
BTW...I did report my side effects to the FDA, mainly because Dr.s that don't believe you will not report them. I did my part! Thanks.
Hello John Graves disease is also auto immune the thryroid controls the immune system after I went down to 5 stone I had radio active iodine treatment and now have to take thyroxine for the rest of my life. I have been left with crepitus in my bones which mainly effects my neck shoulders hands wrists and ankles. My body seems to fight against BP medication. Felodipine 10 which I have been on for the last two weeks has caused my ankles to swell and become very painful, my stomach distended and in two weeks I have gained 9lbs in weight not good for my bones. I live in Dovercourt Bay Essex England unfortunately it is not easy to see a doctor as the surgery is overloaded with patients and several of our doctors have taken early retirement. Best wishes Jacky
Hi Jacky - sorry for the delay guest around the house this weekend, up to my neck in waiter service etc. I think the answer is, as other have said on here and other forums - 'we are all different' but I strongly believe we should not succumb to our various ailments but have a positive attitude - also makes the world a better place. I see so many folks around me just give in (they are not on this forum).
An example a couple of weeks ago – whilst I was waiting at my very rural bus stop, to go into my local town, when a very elderly lady (well into her 80’s) slowly walked up the road to the bus stop, I just said ‘Good Morning’ and made a general comment about the weather, this lead into a more in depth conversation about her family, which it turned out lived many miles away. As we got on the bus she thanked me and said ‘You are the first person I have spoken to, in a proper conversation, for well over a week!’ – WOW - certainly did me a power of good and I hope her as well. I do make it a practice to greet people as I walk around my neighbourhood on my exercise walks, I generally get two types of response, one ‘Am I from another planet?’ or a smile that says ‘It’s good to communicate’. The amount of particularly younger folks are so tied up with a LED screen between their eyes and a cord from it attached to their ears and are in a parallel universe and totally oblivious to anyone around them.
Life is for living!
Hi Alberta,
I couldn't help noticing that you said your BP was 150/90 when you weren't on any medication. While that's outside normal limits, it's not worryingly high if you're over the age of 50.
My BP, having been a steady 110/70 all my life, started rising rapidly after the menopause and was at 150/90 by my mid-50s. As a former nurse, I knew too much about the side-effects of medication to accept this without a fight. I lost a small amount of weight (about 7lb), started walking more and put myself on magnesium 375mg per day. My GP was horrified, said I was putting myself in all sorts of danger taking magnesium (which is not borne out by any studies) and it would never work.
Six months later my BP was back to 120/80 and stayed there for the next 15 years. It really is worth trying magnesium, provided you stay within the recommended dose of course. Many others on these forums have had similar results. The only possible side-effect - which doesn't affect everyone - is diarrhoea. However, I see you suffer from Graves' disease, which can cause diarrhoea in itself, so magnesium might not be the best thing for you. For that reason I'd recommend starting with a half-dose if you're going to try it. I see you're in the UK. The Big B (no advertising!) does magnesium in a formulation that gives 375mg in two doses, so you can take them at either end of the day to reduce the effect on your bowels if that's a problem. This also allows for a half-dose during a trial period. However, magnesium isn't a quick fix. It takes several months to produce results. You can also take it in conjunction with a reduced dose of medication if required, but in that case you should monitor your BP at home to make sure it's not dropping too low.
Unfortunately, magnesium doesn't work against my current problem, which is raised pulse pressure. This is when the difference between systolic and diastolic is too great, regardless of the values of either. In the last couple of years I've recorded bizarre values like 160/50 - that one was in my doctor's office - and 135/65 is quite normal these days. I'm concerned about this as it's a sign of atherosclerosis, but my very sensible GP doesn't want to put me on meds (and I don't want to take them!) as they would lower both values, which could be dangerous in my case.
That's how I came to be on this hypertension forum - though I'm not quite sure how I came to stray onto the amlodipine board! I'd welcome any suggestions as to how to solve the problem of raised pulse pressure. The difference between systolic and diastolic isn't supposed to be more than 40, whatever the individual values, and 50+ is considered abnormal.