I've been on the amlodipine forum for a few months now. Not entirely sure how I got here, as I don't take it myself, nor does anyone I know. Perhaps I followed another poster from the general hypertension forum. I'm on that one, and will stay there, because my BP is creeping up a bit with age.
I'm very glad I did come on here, as I've learned that amlodipine doesn't suit everyone, and can even cause severe health problems in some cases. If, or almost certainly when, the time comes for me to go on BP meds I'll know not to take amlodipine or its close relative felodipine, and to be a bit leery of calcium-channel blockers in general.
Just before bowing out, which I'll do in the next couple of days, I'd like to remind people once more that it's not illegal to attempt to engage your doctor in dialogue about your treatment - though I know some UK GPs act like it is! - and you can easily look up the side-effects of medications on-line these days.
I'm a former nurse (10 years in the NHS, a looong time ago!) so I know all about some doctors' attitudes. However, they're not our masters or our parents, and it's not fair to expect them to be infallible. We, as patients, have a perfect right to ask questions and express our own views. After all, it's your body! If you call in a builder to do major work on your house and you're not convinced there's no alternative to what he's telling you needs to be done, I'm sure you don't meekly accept his word. It shouldn't be any different with your doctor.
I'm not badmouthing amlodipine. I know it suits some people very well. Obviously they're not going to come on a forum like this one, which is far more likely to attract the people having problems with it. All I'm saying is be aware of the side-effects of any medication you're taking (whether it's for BP or not) and don't allow yourself to be bullied or frightened by your doctor into any course of treatment you're not happy about.
I'll be out of here in a couple of days, then I'll stop haranguing people!