Hi marie86421. Thanks for the info! It hasn't been suggested to me that I have a scope where a camera is inserted into my nose. My problem at the moment is GERD & I'm told that GERD can cause a nagging cough...but also, a Respirologist is having me tested for Asthma. I have passed the spirometry testing, but now must go through something that's called the 'golden' test to confirm or rule out Asthma. Go figure..I had the spirometry test at the end of Jan. but can't have the other test 'til June 13..because the same Dr. is not available 'til that time. So, I would have a total of 5 months wait where if I do have asthma, it has had the chance to worsen now that the damp weather is upon us.
I also have a Gastroenterologist appt. next week because of the GERD. I'm sure he'll want to do an endoscopy to find out wha'ts going on. 2 1/2 yrs ago I had endoscopy..normal results. Then in July/2016 I had esophageal manometry...normal results..but this time has gone by & in my mind, just because those tests were normal, doesn't mean that something hasn't changed since then. I'm at wit's end with it all. Meds are all fine & good, but it reaches a point where one wants to say..."enough meds...just fix it". Yes, I'd go through surgery if necessary rather than taking more pills. Hell, I take 4 meds for bp., 2 tabs/daily of potassium chloride, 3,000 I/U vitamin D...3,000 I/U/week of B12, & 1 Tecta pill. My wife has said...'you take enough meds...no more".
Sorry to rant...but one does reach the end of the perverbial rope. Hope things continue to improve for you!!!
Hi Mike
I know exactly what you mean with regards to getting the problems fixed instead of just giving you something to alieviate the symptoms. Had a similar problem with getting things sorted for my own health problems. What is the point of keep medicating? Why not find out what is causing the problem and fix it?
I had acid reflux for a while and had the endoscopy procedure. Nothing sinister was going on and all was normal but I took Ranitidine for a while. That medication did not work for me and I was given Omeprazole which worked a treat. The only problem with that one is that it makes your bones weak and I had to take a calcium supplement to counteract the side effect. My acid reflux did go away eventually but it took a while. Do you think it could be something that you are eating or drinking irritating your stomach?
Good luck with your appointment next week. Let us know how you get on.
Marie
marie86421...Hello again.
I am taking Omeprazole, & it's also known as Tecta. I've been on it several months now. I honestly don't know if there's anything I'm eating or drinking that could be irritating my stomach. I don't eat fried foods, very rarely eat red meat.,don't eat onions, rarely have anything with tomatoes in it., etc.etc. I do drink a lot of water. Just 1 cup of coffee (12oz) black no milk or sugar per day.Tea? I'll have 1 cup, same measurement, but with a little skim milk..no sugar. I will not give up my morning coffee!!! lol
I carry Gaviscon tablets wherever I go, along with water. I do find that cool water will ease the pain of the heartburn. As soon as I feel it happening, I'll go get a bottle of water, & take a few big gulps. I get almost instant relief. If I feel it starting right after I have a drink of water, I'll drink more, & that kills it.
Originally, if I were to chew on 1 Gaviscon...I got relief. Now I find that 1 isn't good enough...I need 2.
I really do need for the medical profession to get to the bottom of my problem. I'm fed up with it all.
Thanks for your note.I do appreciate the support.
Hi marie im with losartan almost 2 weeks from now i experience swollen ankles and joint and leg cramps to and anxiety i tried not taking the meds for 2 days i felt great no side effects.. just want to ask did you wean off the meds or just stop taking losartan that day.
Hi Anthony
My husband stopped taking them straight away and did not wean himself off of them. Interestingly, the swelling in his ankles and lower legs remained until just recently, when he had to take some prednisolone for an unrelated disorder and this seemed to reduce the ankle and leg swelling.
Hi Mike
My husband has now seen the ENT specialist who put a camera scope up his nose and diagnosed nasal polyps. He also checked the back of his throat as sometimes they can appear there! He prescribed NeilMed (a saline solution) to flush the nasal passages before using Flixonase to eradicate the polyps. Well, I can tell you that the Flixonase has escalated my husband's cough to a new dimension. It is now much much worse and we thought we were going to have to take him to the Accident and Emergency to get him to stop coughing. On the leaflet that comes with the medication it does say that there could be an allergic reaction, coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing. We contacted the hospital and the consultant actually denied that it could cause coughing and told us to go back to our doctor as something else must be going on. Needless to say, he has stopped using the Flixonase for the time being.
Returned to the doctor and told her what we had been told by the hospital and she said that coughs can be notoriously difficult to resolve. Not what we wanted to hear. My husband is now on the to and fro wheel trying out different things to see what works to resolve the cough. She has given him a nasal spray and lo and behold it makes him cough. She has also given him Lansoprozole similar to Omeprazole just in case it is a silent acid reflux. We don't think it is that but we are going with the flow. She did suggest taking a codeine based syrup which we can purchase over the counter and not have a prescription for. It is called Phalcodeine. She said that this would sooth the throat and stop the need to cough. Once the course of Lansoprozole has finished my husband will try it.
We think that there is something going on with his chest and shall return to the doctor to ask for a referral to a chest specialist. We live in hope that we can eventually kill this cough.
I hope you are getting better results than we are.
Thanks for the info marie. Nice to know that your husband ankle swelling is gone.. by the way is he raking any bp meds now or you choose to have it natural way
By making some lifestyle changes he has managed to keep his blood pressure at a level that does not need medication anymore. He has reduced salt intake, lost weight and goes to the gym at least three times a week.
Wow great nice to here that it went well. This boost my self confidence about my case just have my complete lab test a while ago its all normal and i think its the anxiety is the one that causing my bp to rise up. I will talk to my dr tom and will show her my result and ask for a natural remedies hope it will all went well and all of us will be cured.
I hope you manage to find something that works for you. I think anxiety can cause all sorts of problems.
Hello Marie.I was taking Lisinopril for high blood pressure but it gave me a bad cough and swollen ankles also. So the G.P. prescribed Losartan but my cough persisted. As I have acid reflux, he thought that was the cause of the cough and prescribed Omeprazole for acid reflux causing the cough. The cough has gone away as I now take two omeprozole daily. My swollen ankles may have been caused by Lisinopril.
hi marie ..its my 7th day without bp med i remove them and i feel much better my bp will range 110-125/70-85. i do dash diet and exercise i eat lots of veggies and fish and fruit and drinking water with lemon. but i still feel some side effect but not as bad when im taking the meds. still wondering how long will this side effect will be out of my system.. hope we all get better soon.
owen90358...ACE inhibitors such as Lisinopril do cause a dry cough. Anything ending in "il" is an ACE. You were switched to an ARB such as Losartan. It can take a while for the ACE cough to go away. Acid reflux can cause a cough as well. It's the debris from the reflux that gets into the airways. Monitor your reflux. It's not good to be on Omeprazole or any other acid control for a long period of time.
Hi Anthony
I don't know how long it takes for blood pressure medication to leave your body once you have stopped taking it. My sister had the same problem and she said that it took at least 7 days for her to stop coughing.
I too hope that we all get better soon.
Best wishes
Thanks for your comment.I also have Barrett's esophagus so I have to take omeprazole twice a day to stop stomach acid getting into my esophagus.
its may 9th day without bp meds still feel fine except for a little dizziness after meal.. im still on dash diet low sodium and sugar more fruits and water. a little exercise brisk walking and i can do 20 push up but i feel dizzy after hehehe.
I'm amazed at the sort of things people tolerate when taking BP meds. The idea is that they should reduce your risk of becoming ill rather than effectively disable you. I'm also amazed at the attitude of some Drs towards this.
The easiest way to see if a particular medication is causing problems is to change it, even drugs in the same group can have a different side effect profile, so there is plenty of choices. With coughs, swollen ankles and with stomach irritation the first suspect should be the drugs and its easier and cheaper to try something else rather than start a whole series of investigations.
Perhaps starting a discussion with your Dr with the statement that your not prepared to carry on taking the drugs he's prescribed because of the side effects and sticking to that might prompt him to offer alternatives. A very common strategy now is to prescribe several drugs at much lower dosages, there are even mixed pills available. Remember that some side effects develop over quite long periods and can take a long time to resolve even without the drug being taken.
Laroxe...I agree totally with what you've written. Drs are far too quick in prescribing medications instead of taking a 'wait & see approach'. Some will make a patient suffer through side effects for a month because they think it takes a month for the meds to take effect. What nonsense. I fail to understand why anyone has to tolerate being ill because of a medication. I would say that in 2 weeks or a little more, one would have a good idea as to whether or not this med will agree with them. Yes, starting a discussion with the Dr. about how one feels should definitely 'be in the cards'. WE are their employers, not the other way 'round.
You're right about another thing. It seems a common strategy to prescribe several drugs at lower dosages. Again, I fail to see the logic in this practice. A lot of people have success with just ONE med. There's always the risk of the bp going UP when a med is removed because the body has become accustomed to taking multiple medications. Luckily for me I have a Dr. with whom I can speak freely, & I'm very comfortable with him. More of us need to speak up.
marie86421,
I had a similar experience. I was taking 5mg of Lisinopril, not for BP, but to protect my kidneys because I am a diabetic. My doctor told me that he thought the Lisinopril was causing a chronic cough and he changed me to Losartan. I immediately began to collect fluid in my extremities and I had dyspnea so bad that I couldn't walk 1000 ft without sitting down. When I called my doctor to suggest that the Losartan might be causing my symptoms, he changed me to Valsartan and told me that Losartan is suppose to help people with congestive heart failure symptoms an he doubted that was my problem. Instead of taking the Valsartan, I started myself back on Lisinopril. My symptoms went away and I told my doctor that I would rather have a cough, than to be disabled by Losartan. They told me I had an unusual adverse affect, but I wondered if it was happening more than they would like to admit.
Hello mgunnell
I think the doctors are only interested in prescribing drug after drug instead of getting to the core of the problem. If they sorted the problem out we would not need the medication.
My husband has been given some medication to take for nasal polyps and we asked at the time whether this would make him cough. As I asked the question I was given the most arrogant look and response from the consultant and told me categorically 'no'. But guess what? After two weeks he was coughing so hard I thought he was going to have a heart attack or burst a blood vessel. We contacted the hospital and got a message to the consultant but all they said was that the medication does not cause coughing, go and see your doctor. Funny that after he stopped taking it the cough disappeared. They lie full stop and don't really care.
I hope you manage to continue with Lisinopril without too much coughing.