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Can I stop taking ramipril after my blood pressure come back to normal?

Posted , 4 users are following.

evgeny37383
evgeny37383

Hi!

I need some help!

I'm 37, my hight 1.80 and I weight 79 kg. My average blood pressure is 138/90. My GP prescribed me Ramipril 1.25mg.

I reduced my salt intake, stopped drinking caffeine, stopped drinking alcohol and started going to the gym regularly. I completely changed my life style. 

What I would like to know is: If my blood pressure comes back to normal after the treatment, can I stop taking blood pressure medicine or I have to take it for the rest of my life?

Many thanks in advance for your help!

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • jane243
    jane243 evgeny37383

    Posted

    You don't say how long ago you were diagnosed and I assume you were given a 24 hr monitor as you mention your 'average blood pressure'.  Are you male or female?  Were you given time after diagnosis to allow the life style changes to take effect? In your shoes I would have wanted to wait and see whether salt reduction, exercise [assuming you don't already do enough], no smoking if you smoke and less alcohol would have had some effect before starting meds.   Your BP isn't that high but I'm imagining your GP might have thought your life style changes were unsustainable?   In all probability the BP would have risen anyway so you would end up with medication sooner or later. 

    I'm afraid medication is usually for life.  Ramipril 1.25 is the lowest dose which in my case at least was raised after a month. The higher dose did bring my BP  down and ultimately I was able to drop right back to the 1.25 dose. Except that after a week or 2 on the higher dose i developed a nasty cough and Ramipril was changed to Losartan with no side effects. It can take up to 6 weeks for the medication to work and your BP to settle down.

    If you stop the medication without the drs say so you will find the BP will rise again and probably higher too.

    Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear!  BP medication is the one med I would recommend you to be utterly compliant about, the risks are too great not to do so.

    • evgeny37383
      evgeny37383 jane243

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply!

      I'm a male and I'm not a smoker.

      I had 24 hrs BP monitoring two months ago.

      The thing is when I wake up and measure my BP in the morning it's always normal 120/83. It gets high when I become active and stays average 138/90 all day.

      Ramipril gives me side effects. As my BP is not dangerously high I was just thinking to stop taking medicine and to reduce my BP naturally without medicine, but I guess it won't be as easy as I think. I didn't know that even on treatment it takes months before BP goes down.

    • jane243
      jane243 evgeny37383

      Posted

      Do you take your BP after your evening meal or later in the evening as usually it is lower then than first thing in the morning?

      You don't mention what side effects Ramipril gives you but I guess it could be a nasty cough? You should ask the dr to change it for you, he will. 

      Good luck.

    • evgeny37383
      evgeny37383 jane243

      Posted

      I think I messed up my BP with alcohol. I always ate healthy and did sports, but I got drunk almost every weekend in the past.

      My morning BP reading 120/83 was before I started taking Ramipril.

      I take Ramipril every morning after my breakfast.

      Ramipril does give me tickly cough. My GP changed  Ramipril for Amlodipine, buy side effects from Amlodipine were terrible. I couldn't bear them.  I had terrible headches, hot flushes, felt dizzy, couldn't concentrate at work and couldn't work out in the gym. I had to stop taking it. I asked GP to prescribe me Ramipril again.

    • jane243
      jane243 evgeny37383

      Posted

      If you look on the NHS website under hypertension, or even this one, it will list all the different meds drs prescribe. I thought it was normal for them to change Ramipril which is an ACE inhibitor to Losartan or on of the other 'artan' group of meds. If they don't work then all sorts of others are tried but Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker and works in a different way and has different side effects as you have found.  Lots of people on this site say that Losartan has few if any side effects.
    • evgeny37383
      evgeny37383 jane243

      Posted

      Thank you very much!

      I will ask my GP about Losartan when I see him next time. I hope I won't have any side effects smile

       

  • AlexandriaGizmo
    AlexandriaGizmo evgeny37383

    Posted

    5.10 tall and nearly 12 and a half stone, I would say that given those figures your waist measurement is probably higher than is healthy, did your Dr tell you to lose weight and do more eexercise etc
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