Ramipril: Depression, Anxiety, Chronic fatigue, Muscle weakness

Hi Thomas527

I experienced some of the same side effects you mention while taking the 10mg Ramipril.

I had fatigue, muscle weakness, inflammation & joint pain, which made it very difficult to "do" anything! While on this medication my cholesterol level went up from 5.1 to 6.4 (Millimoles per litre) and this medication never really helped blood pressure. After I went off the Ramipril it took me close to six months to get my

strength back, and interestingly my cholesterol returned to my lower level of 5.1

I addressed my blood pressure with daily brisk walking. and eating lots of fresh food and less cooked. The biggest difference in lowering my BP was relaxation and deep breathing, so essentially lowering stress.

Hi Thomas, sorry I have no long term experience of taking Ramipril because after a week I got itchy blisters that drove me crazy, and stopped taking it. I will never take it again. I hope they can find suitable medication for you and you begin to recover soon. good luck.

Hi Thomas

I experienced a lot of the symptoms you are describing - go back to your GP and tell him - I was changed to Candesartan after my symptoms - apparently GPs should be feeding back that patients are having these side effects but apparently a lot of them don't bother reporting them. Hopefully you will get new mecication that will agree better with you.

I have been on Ramipril since 2010 and have had various side effects during the years.  The worst are really bad acid reflux which I have had since 2010 and just recently I have had all the symptoms you mention.  Fatigue, muscle weakness, joint pain.  I also get stabbing pains in my muscles which feel as if someone is stabbing me with a red hot poker and my joints feel as if I have got flu ie very sore to the touch. I have also had really bad mood swings and feel depressed.  As I have always been a glass half full kind of person this must be the Ramipril. I am going to buy a blood pressure monitor and check my own bp regularly so that I can prove to the doctors that it is only high when I go to the doctors and can come off the Ramipril.

HI Thomas527

I have had only found severe muscle weakness and pain in hips, knees, elbows and shoulders with a weakness such that I could not play squash or even pick a brick or go up my loft ladder.  As someone who has played squash for over 40 years this seemed wrong.  After stopping taking Ramipril after consulting Doctor and taking my own Blood pressure regularly and lifestyle/ eating changes I have managed to control blood pressure without medication.  I have already a much more detailed response to someone else if you want to check,  I have however not experienced any of the other symptons,  and within 5 days of stopping I put myself back on the Squash Leagues and now after a couple of months my muscle strength is restored  and I played squash last night with someone half my age for an hour and won the match.  I now play twice a week.

Hi Thomas,

I am 59 and have just been forced off of taking Ramipril due to kidney problems (related ??). I had been on 10mg for a number of years. Within days I noticed a vast reduction in joint pain, muscle weakness and fatigue which I had put down to my age but now am not too sure as I feel 5 years younger. I am also sleeping better. I was initially concerned about coming off of blood pressure medication but I have not seen an increase in my blood pressure, I just feel better! I also started to look at the effectiveness of pressure lowering medication and am not sure it has the stated benefits. I am certainly going to look at more natural ways of lowering my blood pressure rather than taking tablets.  

Good for you Thomas, taking ownwership of our conditions is empowering and as long as we are prepared to accept good advice from our doctor, I believe is generally beneficial. Good luck and I hope everything works out well for you.

Yes I had all of the above been on this drug 8 months, my dr reduced it from 5 to 2.5m and advised me that if the caugh didn't ease off in two weeks time then stop taking it, I left it off 4 days ago and at last had one nights sleep well at least a few hrs, hopefully this will improve every day 

I have been on this medication for over a year now. In July of this year (1 year since i started taking this med), I started getting night cramps and pain in my righ hip, knee about 6 months after taking it. The Dr's though it was Sciatica as i have experienced this in the past. But i have been goin to Physio and Massage Therapy with not much relief at all. I have had x-rays done on my knee to see if it may be Arthritis but his came back clear. I told my physician that i read Ramipril could cause Joint and Muscle pain and could it be from the meds, he said no you have been on it for over a year, if you were going to experiece pain from the meds it would have happened sooner. Funny thing is i never had this kind of pain before. Anyone else have the hip/knee pain?

I have just posted a response on another thread about joint pain and Ramipril - who knew? I certainly didn't. I've been blaming my increasingly painful joints and muscles on all sorts of things and my GP has not been much help.

I've been taking the stuff for a couple of years now and have, until today, been thinking the joint pain was all part of the menopause as it all started about the same time.

I used to really enjoy going to yoga classes - now I can't get off the floor without climbing the furniture. My weight crept up and up - for most of my adult life it has been around 10ST. Last Christmas it hit 13ST and my cholesterol has climbed steadily too.

My OH and I have made some changes in our diet (cut out sugar and highly processed food, reduced bread/cereals, more veg, salads, seeds and nuts, cider vinegar and coconut oil).

I have lost 18LB and I feel SO much better in so many ways. Yet my joint/muscle pain is getting worse. As from tomorrow I stop the Ramipril! I am really hoping I have found the answer.

Hi Thomas, I think you need some magnesium phosfate; advice to get a referral from your general practitioner to check your magnesium and potassium levels. Kind regards, R