Candesartan Cilextil so many side effects for me, help!!

Hello, Mike, here I am again - assuming that you are the one who gave me some useful advice in the same matter.

As you can see from my reply to Wendy, I am back on Olmesartan (Openvas here), since Eprosartan had did not agree with me at all. And Felodipine I honestly have come to hate: I do have to "grab" it quite regularly I am afraid (life is pretty exciting at the moment), and then feel absolutely awful. Do you happen to know, or be acquainted with, a calcium antagonist that has fewer side effects?  Please consider that I cannot take diuretics owing to my intolerance to sulfonamides - have tried though. Oh dear, the effect!

Anyway, look forward to hearing from you. You can ask "them" to send your reply direct as I do not often open this forum.

Thank you and best wishes

Elke

Dear Betty and Mike, thanks so much for answering me. I was on Valsartan briefly before I took Candesartan but it was withdrawn unfortunately. I repeatedly told my Dr of all my complaints as they appeared, over the year I've had an mri, anxiety meds, antidepressants, and a 24hr ecg test. Needless to say nothing was found & I felt that I wasn't getting anywhere so I started looking into the drug, saw the many side effects and raised this with my Dr. He listened but acted surprised like the side effects don't exist! He told me Valsartan was available again so put me on 40mg twice a day, a dose that I've never had before. I'm hoping that I can come off the anxiety tablets soon if I Valsartan agrees with me. I won't fall into the mistake of putting up with random ailments again though!

darlene88042..you sateed that the Candesartin is your 5th medication you've tried. Have you tried a few pills together, i.e. the Candesartin along with the Hydrochlorizide? Sometimes our bodies need more than 1 medication to get the bp down.

Hi Gwen

Terrible to hear, why does it have to be so difficult it is a scary process for all of us. The side effects are a real problem for amn I am finding out but not taking anything doesn't seem to be an alternative. I've never heard of Spironolactone so i can't offer any insight there. I'm only on day 3 of Candasartin and only 4mg plu 25 mg hydrochlorazide which i seem to be doing okay on so far, but the first little while of any drug is usually okay it's down the road that things seem to go sideways

darlene88042..You're so right when you say 'down the road that things seem to go sideways". I can take a new med...things go great...then when it hits the 2 week mark, I can feel very weird. This happened very recently, but I persevered with it, & now I feel fine. 

I don't know what's worse..having the ailment, or the medication at times. The side effects can make us feel very ill, so it makes me think..'what's the point'. I have a great doctor..one I can talk with very easily, & I trust him implicitly. 

Hi Gwen

I have never heard of a centrally acting hypertensive or Dr. Lobo I'll have to have a look into these 2 options, thanks for the info I really hope you find something that works for you!

Hi Mike

Having a great Doctor is VERY important I'm glad that you have someone you can talk to easily, I feel exactly the same way about meds, sometimes I feel like the side effects are just not worth taking the medication but then the alternative could be worse, quite a precarious situation. My sister had a stroke last week so that makes me even more aware that I have to control the monster within. Best of luck!

Hi Darlene ,,, nice of you to reply ,, Im sorry to read that your sister had a stroke last week , i do hope she is recovering well ! Like you i somnetimes think that there is no point taking medication with terrible side effects then the reality dawns ! I found Dr Lobo on  the internet when i looked for intolerant people , I don't know why more are not doing research like he is ! He is based at Barts , but has a private practice ,,, i only know the names of some centrally acting ones but no doubt they will not be any use for me ! I feel at rock bottom now as just when i think things are ok i get the bad side effects ! Hope you are ok on the combination you are taking Darlene !

Hi gwen22261...Candesartan as you know is in the class of ARB's..as is Valsartan, Irbesartan. There are some differences in the ARB's..perhaps you might like to try another besides Candesartan. 

I was always taught that the reason for elevated bp is because of something going on in the body. The body will react by the bp rising. Makes sense to me...but doctors don't seem to investigate what might be going on..instead they prescribe a bp medication. 

I have a few things going on in the spine (nothing drastic)..at the bottom of the spine I have moderate-severe narrowing at L5-S1 on the bilateral neural foramina...& I also have some osteophyte (bone growth) in a vertebrae in my neck which also has caused some narrowing. The Neurologist blamed what's going on in the spine as to why my legs burn, or I have pins/needles. My family Dr. who is a great guy, quoted the Neurologists report.."In conclusion I believe what is happening in the spine is the cause of what the patient is experiencing". Of course, Doctors don't contradict one another unless a doctor is a complete idiot. So, considering that surgery on the spine can be very risky, does this mean I'm stuck feeling horrible?. It's simply not fair. Now here's my theory as well...Yes, I have things going on in the spine..but I also have bp medication, & frankly I don't think the meds are lowing the bp as my GP would like. When meds are increased, there's always the probability that side effects will pop up. As long as something's going on in my spine, I don't have a whole lot of faith that the bp will ever come down to where the Dr.wants it. I have spent thousands of $ trying to find relief from what's going on...& finally I'm having treatements with a Chiropractor. The burning in my legs has been alleviated a lot, but I still get the burning the odd time, AND headaches because of the cervical spine. Sometimes I feel as though I'm doomed to be not feeling as well as I could/should..all because it's 'risky to have surgery on the spine".

I try to keep positive..& can certainly sympathize with anyone dealing with side-effects of medications.  

Hi Mike , I have tried Losartan as well as Candesartan , both gave me the same effects , i have not tried Valsartan tho i do know that some tolerate it better than the others , My Dr thinks that all in the same goup will do the same things so he wants me to try a centrally acting one ! I feel as tho i will end up not being able to take any and then what happens ,,,, i daren't think ! You are right that the body reacts to something going on and it is the easy way out to just prescribe a tablet , I was sent to have tests to rule out anything else when they call it essential hypertension ,that included a kidney scan and a CT angio < The tests were all ok so that is when i started on the treadmill of tablets ! I have read about your spinal problems ,, all no fun altho not sinister ,I think it does mean you are stuck with feeling horrible in the absence of an operation which the Neurologist probably will not do as it can be very difficult and could leave you worse off ! No its not fair , Iv had such a terrible six months after my heart decided to go into heartblock and i had to have a pacemaker inserted ,, i keep saying the same ! Doctors will not contradict each other ,you are right on that as well , sometimes perhaps they should ! I can imagine how awful it is to have burning and pins and needles ! you just want it to stop ,Its hard having to spend a lot of money on alternative therapies but if the Chiropractor is helping now then perhaps worth it ! Headaches are terrible to have , I also have fibromyalgia or chronic pain syndrome and i get headaches sometimes and a lot of muscle pain which i find had to put up with ! hopefully your BP will stay at a reading which is acceptable ,,, pain will put it up as you know ! Its good that you manage to stay positive as i cannot and wallow in despair ! I dread side efffects and yes when the dose is upped the side effects can get worse ! Of course because i get muscle pain anyway it is easy for the Dr to put it all down to that , and some maybe is but some definately is not ! its good to know that there is someone who can empathise with side effects ,,, and there does appear to be more that we  read about ! take care Mike ,, I would keep asking about an op as things change !