Amlodipine side effect???

Co amilozide, having said that I have been reading some other posts about side effects and I can relate to a lot of them so maybe it's par for the course, I have also gained a stone in weight since starting them with slightly swollen ankles and just above. But amlodipine are the only med that has stabilised my bp so maybe it's put up and shut up. ??

I do have mild cramping in my calf on a morning and now and then in my feet, also my outer shoulders are very painful when my arms are in certain positions but an xray said the gaps in my joint was ok so that was the end of that. What if they don't listen?? All the symptoms I have gone with were put aside so now I have them all together and sound more of a hypochondriac lol

Get off the drug ASAP.  Go to another cardiologist.   Meds should be changed over time so the effects do not compound.  Just curious, but has a complete blood panel been accomplished?  Some of these meds are hard on the kidneys and liver.  The pain is symtomatic of issues. Ignor them at your own risk.  I have gone to hell and back from effects of Alpha, Beta, Calcium Channel Blockers and everything inbetween.  I had serious side effects from all of them sometimes with even two weeks of use.  Altace put me in the hospital because I developed a cough so bad I would pass out.  From Beta Blockers, I suffered joint and muscle pain within two months of use as well as some kidney effects found during a routine blood panel and urine analysis.  These BP drugs should be taken seriously.  Every person is different, your doctor needs to vary your meds to see which do the least harm.  I mean exactly that.

I now have stage 3 ckd and I always had low bp but after going to doctors with neck pain I was told it was high bp yet obviously pain puts bp up and there began my bp med journey. I have a blood test yearly but have never been referred although I got vertigo was sent to a consultant had my ears checked and told it wasn't that, when I mentioned my neck he said he didn't know if I would be accepted to be seen for that. It does seem some get and some don't. My sister cannot tolerate the meds either she sometimes just takes half or none.

What is your resting BP?  There are new feelings about what constitutes high BP for persons over 60 or so.  Some of the findings suggest that a BP of 140-145/80-90 is acceptible for older persons.  The side effects from long term use (sometimes short time use) are worse than having a pre-hypertension value but is controlled by weight, right kind of food, and some exercise.  I am getting somewhat used to the side effects of clonidine which can be a problem.  I have been slowly weening myself off the med by moderate walking on my treadmill and watching what I eat.  Also have lost 10 lbs and working to get to 180 from what was 215. I am now down to ,15mg per day.  You are quite correct about pain.  When my chronic lower back pain is at its worst by BP developes wings. After taking Demerol, BP drops back into a reasonable range in about an hour.  By the way most persons BP is always higher in the doctors office.

Amlodipine keeps my bp around 120 over 80 but I have been told because of the ckd it needs to be lower. One med I was on sent my bp to 200 over 90 within a couple of days stopped them and it went down....! I would love to lose weight but not easy when my energy rate is low and you walk as if you are on hot coals until you move into plod mode. Thing is I think you eventually accept the change putting it down to getting older etc I forget how easily I got around before and the things I did and the doctors love to be able to use getting older as a reason. May see what next bloods are and make a decision about the med. Both myself and sister seem to react to different meds easily things such as tiredness and feeling zombie like so I think am I just over sensitive to side effects! Well done on your weight loss I hope you continue to feel the benefits, I have an exercise bike but I think my legs have shrunk as I don't fit on it very well now lol and the seat oh the seat the pain. ...

Morning 🌞 Can I ask how long you have been on bp meds and how many different ones? I have had them about 25 yrs and only on amlodipine the last two has my bp stabilised, before it was all over the place and white coat syndrome didn't help doctors decisions. Surely I don't want bp much lower to cause more dizziness than I already have! And is amloipine causing the dizziness? Do you think your weight loss is having an impact on your bp readings?

Weight loss is helping for sure.  I can't put a number on it though.  Exercise is another as I try to walk on the treadmill every other day, as a minimum. I can do about 1.5 miles in increments, up a 7% grade going between 2.5 and 4 mph.  I try to get my heart rate up to 90 or so.  The BP med I am on is Clonidine and it slows the BP down.  Before this med I could get to 115-120 bmp but now it is harder.  Relative to BP meds, I was first put on diuretics, then Ace Inhibitors, followed by Beta Blockers, followed by Calcium Channel blockers and other types in-between.  There were always consequences to virtually all of them from aches and pains to potential organ damage.  I am on Clonidine now which on the brain and has radically different side effects that I am learning to handle.  Vivid dreams, dizziness if moving my head suddenly, extremely dry mouth, and a general wasted feeling along with constipation and PM leg cramps and a feeling of heavy legs in the AM...  Before Clonidine I could easily do a mile in the AM (without stopping) and a mile in the PM (without stopping) on my treadmill.  To the best of my knowledge, no potential for organ damage.  Only problem is that Clonidine is not recommended for persons over 60 and I am 75.  I do take supplements and they do help.  COQ10, Turmeric, L-Arginine, and Magnesium.  The Magnesium supplement stops the leg cramps and eliminates the constipation completely.  I do eat the recommended amount of celery and drink pomegranate and Cranbury juice with meals and they are also helping.  I feel I can eventually beat this BP med requirement.  I am now down to .15 mg/day working to get down to .1 mg/day.  I feel the weight loss and consistent exercise is doing the trick along with healthy eating. 

To answer your question I have been on BP meds for about 10 years, however, not consistently the whole time.  I have a condition that results in random high BP surges up to 220+/115+ which can last from hours to a few days.  I have been checked for pheochromocytoma and found negative.  On occasion my BP will drop to under 100/50-60 for no reason.  This is also undiagnosed.  The clonidine keeps my BP between 120-140/65-85 depending on the time of day the BP is taken.  When one of the random surges occurs it is now limited to 160/90, a big improvement.  I have taken at least 15 different meds over the years so if you have a question on a specific one, just ask.

Also, relative to your question.  Amlodipine can cause dizziness if your BP gets down to 90-100/50-60 or there abouts.  That can happen if you move your head to fast or get up to fast and get a instantaneous drop in BP but this can happen with other meds if your BP gets to low.  I have this problem also with Clonidine so I watch myself.

I think you are right to try the natural way in weight loss etc as it seems you can't win with any of the meds, it's not easy exercising feeling as rough as you feel though, my walks are far and few between now the sight of an incline or worse a stile has me turning back .... never used to, also I have noticed people accommodate me when doing things now which makes me feel like an invalid but then I think I accommodate myself in some things so it's all frustrating. Don't know if I have the confidence to broach the subject with my gp's I always think I sound like a hypochondriac Iv had that many extra moans and groans. 😕 yet I tell others to take an interest in their own care and speak up as no one else will for you.

Unfortunately, today you have to be a bit of your own doctor.  Doctors are so overwhelmed that personnel care and interest has gone by the wayside.  Insurance reimbursement has been cut so much that doctor’s now only offer specific amount time for each patient and then rush at that.  Also many may not be up on the latest findings on new and old drug articles relating to issues with these drugs.  Every time I get a prescription, I do a search to find out all I can about it before I order the prescription.  Many times my pharmacist has pointed out bad interactions on new prescriptions and has refused to issue the drug.  He also calls the doctor to let him know so a new drug can be prescribed.

Looks like you have a good pharmacist and I agree you should know what you are taking I think a few people still have gp's on a pedestal but times have changed I don't think it's fair on them because as you say they don't know everything, a friends doctor told her she knew a little about a lot of things but nowhere near what a consultant knows which was honest of her. Most bp meds say take with caution if you have renal impairment yet I have been on them years it's hard to understand. I am trying to get in a lose weight mindset without making an issue of it so hopefully I will reap benefits.

I have learned that weight is the biggest killer of all followed, naturally, by lack of exercise and eating the wrong foods but then again this is just common sense.   I am confident that if I work at it I can ween myself off of the med in the near future.  Everything is in the genes.  How can you explain that some people who smoke all their lives live to ripe old ages with no ill effects while others suffer from Lung Cancer?  In my family, high cholesterol and BP issues are the norm yet there is long life on both sides of the family.  My cholesterol is off the chart in spite of generally watching what I eat and yet at 75 my carotids are pretty clear.  Seems pretty clear that life span is a given (genes) and all you can change/modify is your quality of life during your life span.   I need to stay on the healthy side of the tracks as I have seven grands that can still use a grandfather.

Do you take statins ? I was offered them but declined I think my reading was around 7 after listening to people's experiences and I dread having meds to cope with side effects of other meds it just goes on, yet I know someone on statin's who 'seems' fine. Decisions decisions lol

Statins are now the bad boy on the block as long term use has been associated with stroke and organ problems.  Try to adjust your diet i.e the dash diet which is the Mediterranean diet.  In other words the side effects of the statin are worse than the problems with high cholesterol which by the way is proven not to be the culprit in heart disease.  Inflammation is the killer and statins have no impact on inflammation.  That is why people who can tolerate low dosage aspirin can help stem off stroke or heart failure in the long term.  Not everyone can tolerate low dose aspirin.

You can search side effects of statins and get the low down.   Like other meds big pharma hid the problems to earn the bucks at our expense.