Amlodipine Question!

Hi Kev, 

It's one of those that depends on you, really.  When I was prescribed Amlodipine 5mg it gave me a dry cough for a week or so, and really really bad headaches, which in time went (2 weeks) and since then it hasn't had an effect on me.  My GP doubled the dose after a recent spike in my BP, and the 10mg dose gave me the headaches again which this time wouldn't shift.  I also take Losartan, but have persuaded the GP to drop my dosage, in return for me losing weight.

Hello

I take it also 5mg, and do get ocasional headache but generally it's OK. Does wonders for my bp. I wouldn't pre empth problems. Most people take amlodipine without any serious side effects. I really would avoid using Google for health issues.

Good luck with it

Hi Kev,

I've been taking 5 mg for a number of years with no side effects. But if you're concerned about your peripheral neuropathy, is there any way for you to ask your GP about it, just to give yourself some peace of mind?

Kev, check with a good pharmacist whether Amlodipine is safe for you to take with your neuropathy.  The know more about drugs than GPs.  Amlodipine caused varicose eczema for me and it does get a lot of bad reports on forums such as this but some people find they are ok on it especially at the lower dose.  My hubby is ok on it as long as the dose isn’t increased otherwise swollen ankles result.

Amlodipine is often a first line med if you are over 50 I think. My doc said he would recommend I take it but I read up about it and didn't like the sound of the side effects. I saw another dr at the practice and was put on Ramipril. That worked but gave me a nasty cough so was changed to Losartan since when there have been no issues whatever and it works.  However I believe it doesn't work for everyone.

I couldn't find any actual evidence that Amlodipine had been withdrawn from use in the Netherlandsor banned for humans. I did find a number of message boards with strident members of the Tinfoil helmet brigade telling us it has been banned but nowhere official.

I also found apotheek.nl which is a website run by the Dutch Pharmacists professional organisation that has some in depth information about the drug, I also found mijnmedicijn.nl which is a user forum for people to discuss their experience of using medicines, the most recent post about amlodipine was from a 49 year old woman on 10th April 2018 so I'd say quite categorically it has NOT been banned in holland.

I've been on Amlodipine 10mg pd for a few years now with no ill effects, I take it in conjunction with Ramipril (and a few others for my AF management) and my BP is generally around the 80-90 diastolic