General Chat

Just been talking to a relative who is on Valsartan and she reckons they are supposed to have fewer side effects.
I am to see the doc to get my first medication for high blood pressure which was diagnosed a couple of weeks ago or so (seeing doc on 31st March, his earliest apptmt to suit me)

Wondered what other types people are taking and whether one comes out better than others re side effects. Seems side effects can include fatigue and weight gain, well thanks very much but I already have those from the fm and cfs!!

Lizx

I take two pills Liz. Amlodopine and bendroflumafluazide, the second is a diuretic. I have not had any side effects except slight swelling of my ankles in hot weather.

I have been taking Valsartan for some years now,Liz, and I have never had any problems whatsoever. No fatigue...no weight gain (except if I overeat! lol)...XX BC

My o.h. is on ramipril
I really hate the thought of taking any medication which has so many side effects, some of which are the same as those I suffer because of my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, so don't want those to get worse and new things happen as well.

Lizx

Thanks BC Well I know my chocolate intake doesn't help my weight lol

Will see what doc suggests as he has told me he has been on bp meds for 10 years, but wondered if it was worth asking for a particular one through research on here.


Lizx

Propranolol - no side effects.

Vera

Thanks Vera

Lizx

Liz

doctors here follow a progression with medication when a patient is diagnosed with high bp, and you have to go back every 2-4 weeks for bp tests while they determine what is best for you.

They also suggest that you check your own bp in between visits, using one of the machines in a chemist's.


First, they prescribe a fairly low dose diuretic

Then they up the dose to its maximum, which is usually about 25 mg

Then they add one of the bp medications, starting with a low dose and gradually increasing it if necessary

Then they may add another bp medication, again starting low.



I'm on 25 mg Hydrochlorothiazide (diuretic), Ramipril 20 mg, and Atenolol 50 mg

They now want to check me at least every 3 months ........... although they take my bp if I go in between times.



I have my own bp machine, and take my own bp when I remember .............. the doctor would like that to be at least once a week!


I haven't noticed any problems with side effects .............. and I've been taking bp medication for about 9 years.



Good luck




sylvia
xx

I've only been on medication for three months, with fortnightly checks to see how the medication is working and to monitor possible side effects.

Initially I was prescribed Amlodipine, which caused a small reduction overall.

I was then prescribed Bendroflumethiazide in addition. This had hardly no effect on my BP and was replaced after a month by Lisinopril.

I am also monitoring my own BP ever other day or so, and it does seem to be falling since the last change of medication. If you do this then it should be at around the same time of the day, otherwise the readings are less meaningful. Also it is the trend that is important, rather than one isolated reading.

When I asked him my doctor stated that it would take 4 - 6 months to establish what was best for my particular circumstances. If I notice any side effects I am to make an appointment straight away, but so far I haven't noticed any.

It is also important, if you are on diuretics, to have regular blood tests as sometimes, levels of salts such as Potassium can get out of balance. It is also recommended that you reduce your alcohol intake, where necessary, otherwise your BP could drop to too low a level and suffer dizziness or fainting.

Rita, yes it probably is a lot to do with dosage, whether you get side effects. My Lisinopril.dose is only 5mg.per day, for example.

Thanks for all this info, I must get o.h. to check my bp on his home monitor over the weekend. Haven't had it checked for a couple of weeks and I should get it done more often and can do it after the meds have been prescribed and started, each evening when he is around.

Now I will know what to expect, so thanks again, hopefully it will only be a low dose of whatever he prescribes and things will be ok.

I rarely drink and then not much, a drink with a meal or something so won't have a problem with giving up or cutting back lol

Will keep you posted but good to have all this input

Lizx

I'm on Amias, Liz, which I take at bedtime. Sometimes in a morning, I find it difficult to do things like clean out the hearth, or lift anything heavy, but by late morning it has passed. I sometimes wonder if my BP is a little low, due to the tablet. Though I have a machine to take my BP, I tend not to use it nowadays.

Thanks Angelsong, maybe you should check yours with the machine occasionally. My doc told me to keep an eye on mine but it wasn't urgent to see him hence getting an apptmt two more weeks away.

Lizx

Liz, I find that my BP both at the surgery and at home, can give several different readings!! It isn't every morning that I feel ropey, just the odd one, and I sit it out quietly until it passes. My BP is normally well controlled by Amias.

Hope you get some medication which suits you and works for you. I had a few different prescriptions which didn't suit me before Amias did the trick.

Margaret Rose, Oh so do I, can't go hungry even tho I need to lose several pounds. I try and eat healthily but do slip up with chocolate. I rarely buy biscuits, so eat lots of fruit and veg and use a small amount of sugar in tea and coffee and don't add salt or sugar to other things if I can get away with it.

Lizx

Well, went to the doc today, he took my blood pressure again and said it was still on the high side but he thought I wouldn't need medication just yet. I said I suppose that means I need to lose some weight and then maybe my bp will go lower so I don't need meds at all for a while. He suggested I try to lose a stone!!!!!! and I have to have a further bp check in two months and see how I am doing. It's going to be so hard to cut back on the chocolate but if I do that and get a bit more exercise maybe I will not have to take any tablets.

I had an asthma check up too as was overdue. That went well, the asthma nurse said I had done better than I had for a long time with my big puff of wind so was pleased with that.


Coincidentally, I had a call yesterday from a cousin in Manchester who is a little older than I am, he had a triple bypass two years ago and is on bp tablets, as is his wife who is a month younger than I am. He asked me about the family tree and all the heart problems in my Dad's side, his Dad's side too, as his own son who in around 40 has now been diagnosed with heart problems and is having treatment, and also joining in with a survey and trials or something, to further investigate heart disease in younger people.

As we have had several people in my Dad's side have early heart attacks, two of them dying from them, and three women have had to have pacemakers, no wonder I was worried but I told my doc and he said my heart looks fine at the mo.
Bit of a worry for my son tho, he has it from both sides of his family, as his own father had a heart attack the year before last and he was in his late 50s at the time. His Dad's brother had a heart attack too just after he was 60 and their Mum, my son's Nanna, had a heart attack a few months before she died recently, but she was 84.

Oh well, good thing it's nearly summer and I can try to eat more nice fruits and salad instead of fattening things!

Wish me luck with the lower chocolate intake, I may well get very crotchety lol

Lizx

Oh and thanks for all the input.

Nudging