Any body got an answer to my problem?
Posted , 5 users are following.
Been on Amlodopine for 9 years. Also take Canderstartin and since Feb, Bisoprolol too for fast heart rate. After reading other people's comments about Amlodopine and the side effects l realised one,or maybe all, my meds are making me ill. But spoke to GP and we decided l would come off Amlodopine and she upped my Canderstartin to 8mg from 4mg. Still on Bisoprolol for heart rate. Now for the last 4 days ( and who knows, maybe tonight) l have been woken at approximately 4am with very bad heart rate and a choking feeling in my throat and unable to breath. First night it lasted 2 hours and my husband wanted me to go hospital but l didn't. Next night the same,and last night (early morning) the same. I'm now so scared to sleep. What could it possibly be. Any ideas? Could it be the after effects of stopping the Amlodopine and not really having enough 'night's cover of high blood pressure medication? My blood pressure incidentally has gone up too. Would appreciate any answers or advice. Thanks.
0 likes, 34 replies
Mesirm christine_20029
Posted
Hi Christine, I can identify with your issues and as many on this forum have stated the Amlodipine symptoms can be very scary at times. I was on it for over 12 years and have now been off approximately 6 months and now I'm not suffering with those so scary nights of wondering if I'm having heart issues. After several trips to the urgent care and finally a heart cath Cardiologist ruled heart out. Finally realized that the Amlodipine caused gastrointestinal issues which irritated my stomach and intestines resulting in gerds.
To name a few, symptoms included discomfort on my left side under breast, left arm, tightness in chest, anxiety. After about 3 months most symptoms subsided and during that time I woutdoors have occasional flare ups. My gastrointestinal dr prescribed omeprazole and ranitidine which helped me get through the Amlodipine withdrawals. I have added sour dough bread, buttermilk to my diet and occasionally eat pickles which I have been surprised calms my stomach issues. My sister says that cabbage helps her but I have not tried it. Everyone is a little different so it really helps to try to find what works for you. My gastrointestinal dr says these types of foods act as a natural probiotic which in the past seem to irritate my stomach.
It may take some time and working closely with your doctor to figure out what's best for you. I've received lots of great advice on this forum. My doctor finally added Amlodipine to my list of drug allergies.. As Debra16694 mentioned, the increase in the other BP pill may be causing or aggravating the symptoms. It would have been helpful if the doctor had allowed your body to adjust a little. My cardiologist increased my indapamide and I became dizziness so when I went back to the lower dose that problem left.
I hope you find your path to better health and know that you are not alone.
debra16694 Mesirm
Posted
Hi Mesirm - it's so reassuring to hear that you are symptom free at 6 months after being on it for some time. I am just 55 days off and am really in the "eye of the storm" in regards to the GERD/intestinal stuff. I took your advice and had a cup of buttermilk and immediately got relief from the GERD. I have taken the GERD RX in the past when the Urgent Care Dr prescribed it after I thought I was having a heart attack. The problem is those RX's have their own set of side effects - trying to go the natural way, but if it gets unbearable, I will resort to the RX.
Oddly enough last night I had one heck of my own anxiety attack. After giving Christine advice, I suffered horribly from one of my own. It was unseasonably very hot where I live, there had been a thundershower which warped my wooden windows shut. It was quite stuffy in my room and I think coupled with a "hot flash" I woke up to not being able to breathe and then the heart palpitations & the adrenaline rush, I was awake for 4 hours, just trying to calm myself down. It was horrible. I just read that when you are in a panic attack you should go get a handful of ice for your hand because your brain will then focus on the hand dealing with the cold ice and take away from your panic at the moment. Who knows, thought that was interesting. Also weird that I had one right after handing out advice - I was so worked up that I did take a 1/2 of an Ativan - and now battling with GERD all day - this really is unbelievable what this drug has done to me, I can only hope and pray that there is light at the end of the tunnel -
Keep up the communication - it's very helpful -
Debra
christine_20029 Mesirm
Posted
Thank you so much for your sound advice Mesirm.
It's good you are recovering well from the Amlodopine nightmare and things are levelling out nicely for you.
I doubt l could cut the dose of the Canderstartin as my blood pressure is quite high. Just this morning it had gone up to 167/85. This has given me a headache, so am loathe to cut back.
Keep well.
christine_20029 debra16694
Posted
Am really sorry you had a bad panic attack last night, l feel for you, especially as you gave me good advice and support with my problem.
Obviously l can relate to your terror and l hope it was a one off. I funnily enough woke at 5.40 this morning (as opposed to 4.30 as previous mornings) with only a slight heightening of the palpitations. Was so relieved and hope this is the start of my recovery also.
Best wishes.
Mesirm debra16694
Posted
Hi Debra, ...sorry to hear about your set back. In fact, I had a slight one myself. So today, I had a herbal cleanse which seems to re-set my intestinal track. Sometimes I wonder if there is still some residual medication in my digestive system that needs to be purged to help the body to heal. Anyway, not sure if you have tried any herbal cleanse; however, you may want to research them. I take mine in tea form. My gastrointestinal dr approved my use occasionally.
Hope me you are feeling better today. Keep in touch. Thanks for sharing. I'll have to try the ice.
Mesirm christine_20029
Posted
Thank you, Christine, for your well wishes. It's been a process of experimentation....like a science project. Trying different things and eliminating things. I hope you find your pathway to healing and wholeness.
jx41870 christine_20029
Posted
Christine, if your BP is running high like that you should see a doctor - at least your diastolic is staying within reason. When m BP runs high it can affect my sleep. And so can beta blockers.
?And from my experience, and the half-life listed in the info, amlodipine has a long half-life, you're not completely clear of it for weeks or months after stopping.
?Are you also on a diuretic? I have to be on that as well, or the other stuff barely works for me. Maybe with a different combination and maybe a little less beta blocker, you'd be better off. Best wishes.
christine_20029 jx41870
Posted
Hi jx
Thanks for your concern. I am not on any diuretics no and am trying also to wean off very gradually the deadly betta blocker Bisoprolol. That is another killer with horrific side effects. Makes me, along with the Amlodopine so very anxious. I take half as late in the day as l can. Yesterday l had a bad attack of palpitations and raised blood pressure. Felt really bad all evening and couldn't sleep half the night. Am literally sick of these tablets but what to take in the place of the Amlodopine l don't know. Am at Drs tomorrow morning so see what she comes up with.
Thanks once again.
Chi000 christine_20029
Posted
Hi Deb.. Christine....
I fully understand the discomfort and bothersome nature of the palpitations and ectopic beats especially if it wakes u up ...
I am going to relate a little about what an anti meds doctor once presented ..
The human body is very robust but it needs to be very balance .. and thus exist the circadian rhythm and all the hormones ... it needs food.. exercise .. and calm balance ...
When we disrupt this balance by being overweight .. lack of sleep and exercise .. stress ... substance abuse etcetc... the balance is disrupted and body displays primary symptoms like hypertension ..
When u start off with bp meds ...like Amlodipine.. you put in a foreign element long term ... which can cause secondary symptoms like all the described side effects ...disrupted heartbeat etc... instead of correcting what was wrong .
Then ...more trips to the doc .. more drugs to correct the secondary side effects..like the beta blocker to suppress the palpitations and anxiety ... leading to tertiary symptoms.. weakness ..
This is probably today's meds culture and is here to stay ..
A known effective way to deal with palpitations is the do hypnosis and meditations ... because it helps the body to restore hormonal balance and calmness in an holistic way ... sure .. it takes time and confidence .. but it beats popping more pills and more side effects ...
An hour a day of meditation is probably a good way of restoring proper breathing .. hence circulation... hence organ function .. hence hormonal balance.. hence
Rhythm balance ...
Try to head away from the path of meds ... if possible ..
christine_20029 Chi000
Posted
Hi chiooo
That's interesting. How do you know all these things if you don't mind me asking. Makes sense what you say about balance.
Chi000 christine_20029
Posted
Hi Christine...
I am not a doctor .. I am another patient.. another sufferer .. every time I go to the doc .. I seek relief when I leave with a bag of meds cos that seems like I got a solution ..
I have come to understand the med culture very well ... it is only human to think there is drug for every issue and all we need is to get the doc on it ...
But every drug benefits come a with a cost ..those are listed under side effects .. or may not even be .. as in the case of Amlodipine . docs dispense with the benefits first and deal with the costs later of it comes to that ..
Sleep deprivation and palpitations are unbearable .. i for one know the intense anxiety and misery ...but more drugs creates more uncertainties ... possibly
Bodily balance is designed at birth .. that has always been the gospel of traditional medicine ..accupuncture .. all about balance... is that simple ....😑
debra16694 christine_20029
Posted
Good Morning All - oh Chi000 I couldn't agree with you more - I have been going to an acupuncture ever since I started on my Amplodine side effect nightmare. Even though at the time my acupuncturist and I didn't know what was causing all the issues, she treated my symptoms. When I found out the cause of my issues, and went back to the acupuncturist, she couldn't believe the significant difference of the appearance of my tongue, because the tongue is a indicator of what is going on in your body. Amlodipine was causing havoc in my body.
I agree, our bodies are very powerful and have the ability to "heal" on their own. I believe that stress is the main culprit with blood pressure issues, some people know how to handle stress better than others. Case in point, I know people who are extremely overweight and do not exercise, and they do not have high blood pressure and then I know people who are thin and active who have it. So maybe it isn't "just" diet & activity, but more importantly "stress" levels. When I developed high BP I was taking care of 2 ailing parents, getting kids off to college, & a husband struggling to get work because he was self-employed. Let's just say, I didn't manage my stress very well at all!!! You are absolutely correct when you talk about balance, but there are so few people these days who lead "balanced" lives, and yes, the imbalance is what is slowly robbing us of living well, centered lives. I too have started to meditate, and it is amazing the results of just "losing" yourself for just 15 minutes can do to restore some peace in your crazy world & mind. I personally am a strong believer that treating the symptoms is not the way to go, we need to get to the source of the problem. Balance in life is key and I am struggling to get there. Obviously eating well, exercising daily, being at a perfect weight and living stress-free lives, is ideal, but we can do little things in our daily lives to start to achieve balance. It a struggle, I know...I suffer from imbalance, but I am trying desperately to change that and to not be put on more RX's.
Be well -
Chi000 debra16694
Posted
Hi deb
U r so right .. bp issues are a bodily signal of imbalance and instead of restoring balance .. we "cover up" the issues at hand and create an additional issue with meds ..
At that point of minds yr parents .. there were big uncertainties with their health .. yr kids .. yr husband ....simply ..life was ???????
So instead of finding god simple solutions.. you dwell on the issues and also .. loose sleep .. sleep late .. eat irregular ... stopped the 3x a week walks .. stop laughing .. stop positive thoughts .. so the ?????? became?????????????????????????
Blood pressure went up ... headaches came ... and ..... then ...amlodipine ... and hell thereafter ...
True ..?
Mesirm Chi000
Posted
Hi Chi000, ...love your inputs and could not agree more. Thanks for the reminder about balance & God simple solutions. ....just recently began adding buttermilk, sour dough bread, garlic, etc. to my diet. Have also added daily meditation because my body is not handling any of the blood pressure meds. Thanks again.
debra16694 christine_20029
Posted
Yes Chi000 - you are absolutely correct. I had no joy and laughter in my life. I only had a laundry list of "things" to accomplish and many needy people to care for. In hindsight I was needing to be cared for, but instead depleted all of my resources on others. I was spent emotionally, physically and mentally. I had no light at the end of the tunnel because I had no outside help & even if I did, I was raised to "do it all" and just handle it. Well, I succeeded at handling it all, but in the end, I am the one who suffered....high blood pressure, overweight, no exercise and no joy in my life & continued stress - a whacked out life...I am taking baby steps to restore that imbalance now. I think how we cope with stress is deep rooted in our DNA & my DNA sucks at managing Stress!
On the road to recovery now -
Mesirm debra16694
Posted
Debra, I can definitely relate. On the same road with you. 👌👌