Amniodipine making the sclera of my eyes red.

Posted , 4 users are following.

Greetings and kind regards to you all.

i am a newbie and dining these discussions informative and interesting,

I have been taking the Amniodipine for a short while for high BP.imitially the 10mg doses had so many negative effects on my body that I cheekily told my doctor that I had self reduced the dose to 5 mg whilst carefully monitoring my BP.

my eyes however feel sore tired watery at times and are always ref.

i have of course discounted conjunctivitis by treating it!!!

i just wondered if anyone else may be experiencing the reddening of their eys due to this drug.

the physical exhaustion...restlessness at night along with my sore eyes indicated to me that I will be probably be consulting my GP soon to lead with him to change the drug!!

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi kitekato, yes I have found these discussions very helpful as well.  I can agree that a 10mg dose of Amlo caused so many side effects, and my doctor agreed to reduce the dose to 5mg (also taking irbesartan, no real side effects there).  I find that my eyes get dry at night and I have to use eyedrops.  Now that you mention it, my eyes are tired and watery during the day, and eyesight is blurry.  I loathe taking this particular med, I have self-reduced the dose to 2.5mg and still find the side effects hard to live with.  

    Did you find any difference in your BP reading when you reduced from 10mg to 5mg?  I want to tell my GP that I will stop taking Amlo but I am worried about increased BP.       

    • Posted

      suezan36...if you're still suffering side effects after lowering the dosage to 5mgs from 10, then I would guess this medication is not for you, & I get the feeling you are thinking the same. I would suggest to you that you not worry about your bp increasing because of stopping the Amlodipine, because there is something else your doctor can prescribe in place of it. It doesn't have to be a high dose either. Some doctors think they can lower the bp by prescribing a higher than normal starting dose, when this simply increases the liklihood of side effects. My belief is why not start out at the minimum dosage..see how it goes, then if necessary, increase the dosage. These days, we pretty much have to take charge of our own health. 
  • Posted

    Hello Kitekato

    I was prescribed Amlodipine - initially 5mg. I had a cold - it was February - i said that I suspected Amlo - "no, it's good stuff" so he doubled the dose.

    Soon afterwards, I noticed a brown blob on the pavement in front of me, and it went before me as I walked.

    I saw an optician who said "nothing wrong" so must be brain. I took myself off amlo. I am now on atenolol and haven't had any trouble since.

    • Posted

      Hi david s.... So much trouble with Amlodipine..banned in the Netherlands, yet you'd think the medical professionals here in Canada would pay attention to that, but they don't. I too take Atenolol, 25mgs 2x/daily, & it doesn't bother me. A doctor who was treating me for something else said that Atenolol wasn't a particularly good medication, but when I was taking Metropolol, I had such bad headaches, it made me worry, but this is not so with Atenolol. Strange how with both of these medications being a Beta Blocker, one works

      much better for me than the other. It's all well & good your doctor said "no it's good stuff" when referring to the Amlodipine,  but it's NOT good stuff when it causes something else. I fail to understand just why we have to tolerate an ailment caused by medication, when we're trying to lower bp or whatever to keep;us healthy. Get on to your doctor & ask for something else.

  • Posted

    Hi kitekato....The higher the dosage, the higher the risk of side effects. I know a few people who are taking Amlodipine without problems, yet I know a few who have experience side effects. I'm one of those people. The 10mgs caused my feet/ankles & legs to swell., so I was taken off the Amlodipine. The swelling is a very common side effect, but if the dose is lowered & a diuretic taken with it, it's not so bad. However, I started having burning sensations in the legs, & it has spread somewhat. Oh yes, I'm blaming the Amlodipine but can't see a Neurologist until March/2016. 

    There are other medications out there, so if you're not at all happy taking the Amlodipine, then by all means, tell your doctor to take you off, & give you something else. There are ARB's, such as Losartan, Valsartan & Irbesartan, with the latter being a very good medication.Also, there are ACE's, such as Perindopril, etc.etc. A common side effect of an ACE is a hard, dry hacking cough. I have been very lucky in that regard, taking Coversyl, but no cough. I personall know a few people who did suffer the cough, & had to stop taking the medication., so you may be wise to suggest an ARB, but your doctor is very well aware of all the medications out there to treat high bp. It seems Amlodipine is the 'flavour of the day'...but that doesn't mean we have to put up with a medical condition that is caused by a medicine just to treat something else.

  • Posted

    Thank you all so much for your contributions ! I really appreciate your care and empathy .fabulous bunch of people.!!!!🎻🎵🌷

    Suzean36 my BP reduction has remained the same since lowering the dosage.

    Actually my predicament is what brought me to the GP in the first place was actually cluster headaches....through a,detailed examination ....it was discovered that I was hypertensive.

    nt having experienced a headache in all my life you can imagine how challenging this has been for me...ie severe unbearable,crippling pains in the back of my eyes predominantly.Ths is still being investigated via scans etc.certainly the headaches could be related to the BP.

    so dear Mike 923.....my options to change may be limited as this tabletwas prescribed   for a duel purpose..ie curtailing the migraine type headaches and bringing my BP under contriol.

    It certainly has brought my BP back to a realistic norm where the GP was puzzled at my initial 259/reading!!!!the focused pain of the headaches have dissipated apt hgh the pain is always there  ie murmuring as opposed to strategically focused stabbing type pains.

    so yes indeed I am finding the side effects challenging.

    i take the tablet in the evening now to try and limit the fatigue.

    thank you all again for reading my post.

    Especially as I only posted last night!😊

  • Posted

    I do intend to have a another chat soon with my GP though...and your comments have added impetus to my design to do so!

    Dear Suzane36.  Even to be on a lower dose like yours would be a help.

    yes my yes are permanently red  sore and dry I am using eye drops to combat  the dryness .

    when trials were carried out on this amniodipine drug...one wonders how big the sample was as surely a sizeable percentage  of the sample must have had some of these side effects.

    Mike 92384 I did not realise that Amniodipine had been banned in certain countries .Surrely NICE or whosoever oversees the licensing of these tablets must have had some concerns.

    perhaps cost is the issue I guess.

     

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