Benchmarking, just in case it Is the Amlodipine

I'll begin with the apology I see many members put: I'm sorry this is long but it's a blessing in itself to have somewhere to put it all down. 

I'm 67lbs down in a 100lbs weightloss drive. 

I was diagnosed T2D in June 2015 but within 8 months had brought my blood sugar right down, and it's still so low that the GP said this summer "It's as though you weren't diabetic". 

At that June 2015+8 months mark the Diabetes Nurse prescriber took me off the 2.5mg Bendroflumethiazide which I'd been taking alongside the 100mg Losartan that I'd been on for years. BP then 112/76. 

When I saw the GP in June 2017, although my weight had been up as well as down over the past year, it is still 67lbs on June 2015, so I'd hoped he might cut the Losartan in half. Instead, BP being now 155/95, he added in the Amlodipine. I asked for the Bendroflumethiazide back as I'd never had any problem with it but he said it was no longer recommended for people over 55. I'm 62. 

I read the PIL but I do trust this GP so said a prayer and took the tablet at bedtime.

The next morning I felt quite spacey, though not actually bad, although I might have misunderstood a traffic light while out driving that morning, which worried me. 

The first 2 weeks, I felt wonderful. The most calm and content I've felt for years, decades. Not hyper, just beautifully calm. 

Week 3 I felt fine, though not quite as wonderful. 

Week 4 I began to get jittery, anxious and tearful. I didn't like it one bit, as it was very reminiscent of a time in 2013 when, post (successful)chemo I developed anxiety and low mood strong enough to be retired early from work. I'm always afraid of sinking back to that. 

My legs were also incredibly tired. 

My BP was 132/74, though, so at least the Amlodipine was doing its job. 

Oh, and the amazing plus for the first 3 weeks was superb sleep! in 2013 I'd also began to suffer insomnia, which made the anxiety a hundred times worse. Although that's largely subsided (though never back to my pre-chemo days of being able to sleep for Britain), on the Amoldipine my worst nights were 7.5 hours!!

I fed up to week 3 back to the pharmacist, at his request. He'd never heard of anyone feeling a mood enhancement on Amlodipine but I'm convinced of it, it really was instant. 

In week 4, I tried to tell myself it was just swinging back the other way, and would eventually stabilize in the middle. Hm. 

Beginning of week 5, I woke up feeling absolutely dreadful. I call it feeling viral, I don't know what it is but it is something I come down with occasionally, once every couple of years or more: the general sense of having been beaten with crowbars, achy all over, headache.

I was happy! Perhaps week 4 was just coming down with this. My mood was fine ~ not happy to be feeling dire but no tearfulness. Result. 

Tottering to the end of week 6 now. My sleep isn't wonderful any more, most nights (8 hours last night but I had a lot to catch up on), not very restful. I tried to have a lie in this morning but it's not natural to me. Legs tired again. BP 130/70. Had a cry. 

Oh, the other thing I wanted to record, I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, is that I feel full and a bit nauseous a lot of the time, from week 4 onwards. 

So, really just logging this someplace where people will understand that I'm not being some kind of mournful wimp. I'm not sad, I'm not unhappy. It's taken a while but I'm happy in my retirement - but the fatigue and tearfulness is difficult to cope with. Will carry on until I can get to see GP but  hoping very much to be able to swap this med for something else. 

Is it likely that any calcium blocker will have the same side-effects? 

Thank you. 

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