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Coming off amlodipine help please....

Posted , 10 users are following.

mandy3374
mandy3374

I’m a 42 year old female that was on amlodipine on/off for about a year.  I wasn’t always good about taking it daily until this January.  I was under a lot of stress and was traveling, so I made a point to take this med every day.  I’m not on any other medications.  By the end of January I was absolutely miserable!!  Went to my PCP because I had a headache that was more pressure than it was pain, she sent me home with the usual migraine protocol.  It didn’t do anything.   So she gave me a strong anti biotic, of course that did nothing.    4 days after that visit I was in the ER, my heart was racing and it felt like I was having a heart attack.  They did a CT scan that showed normal except that I had mucus retention cysts in my sinus cavities, but they said that should not be causing these issues.  Next I was sent to the neurologist, they did an mri on my brain which came back good as well.  So I spent the entire month of February barely able to function.  The head pressure, the anxiety had me convinced I would not make it through the night, leg pain and spasms, swollen legs and feet, neck & shoulder pain, brain fog, severely depressed and I just felt sick.  Like I had the flu.  I started taking vitamins and the magnesium and potassium helped....and then on March 1st on found this website.  I immediately stopped taking the amlodipine.  The first few days I noticed improvement and I was so excited...things just kept improving....until last Tuesday.  This time it was more stomach issues initially...bloated, no appetite, and dizzy.   By Thursday I felt like I was right back to the way I felt on the amlodipine. 😢😢.  Those of you that have stopped taking this poison, what have you done to help get through coming off this drug?   I just wanna feel like myself again....please help.   (Ps.  I’m looking for natural solutions...I don’t trust any meds at this point). 

0 likes, 19 replies

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  • Chi000
    Chi000 mandy3374

    Edited

    Yes Mandy...

    This is normal.... because you took Amlodipine.... did not expect to cease the medication and the side effects ceasetotally as well...

    The side effects will come and go and it will probably take several weeks or months to ease off.....

  • debra16694
    debra16694 mandy3374

    Posted

    Hi Mandy - Amlodipine is a toxic drug...take it from me, I was on it for 5 years. Here’s the good news, you were not on it for very long, so you should have an OK time getting it out of your system and finally feeling back to normal.  Beware though, you may suffer some residual stuff like headaches, bloating, gas muscle cramping, but just remain calm and they should go away within time.  I am still on another B/P  RX, but my goal is to get off of it as well.  There are a laundry list of natural foods & supplements you can take to lower your B/P - I would recommend you reading thru the many posts on here to see what other people have done as well as your own internet searches.  The one thing that is key is to find self calming solutions to your stress whether it’s thru exercise, acupuncture, massage therapy or meditation...you need to find an outlet for your stress - I have not been good at self-care in this department, but I am working on it - do take care & hopefully the poison will leave your body quickly with no side effects - 

    • mandy3374
      mandy3374 debra16694

      Posted

      Thank you for the advice on self care.  Certainly not something I have been good at either.  However, this has been a real wake up call for me.   I need to take care of myself, because I don’t want anything the doctors are handing out.  During the time period doctors gave me EIGHT diferrent rx.  Most I picked up but didn’t take.  Immitrex, topamax, prednisone, antibiotics, Nasseau meds, Valium, and another for lorazepam .   I took the anti biotic and the lorazepam when needed.  But I’ve really tried to do this with vitamins and otc meds....it’s been a struggle.   And I’ve spent countless hours reading posts in here trying to remind myself of the light at the end of this tunnel and trying to find out what others did to minimize the withdrawal sysmptoms.  
  • chris21802
    chris21802 mandy3374

    Posted

    Dear Mandy

    My goodness you experience some terrible side effects. I have been on amlodipine for several years and the side effects began slowly but surely. Muscle cramp spasms, gout in my toe, headaches, neck stiffness, swelling in my elbows, swelling in my Achilles heel I could not walk so I have started to wean myself off and take a half a pill every other day and I could tell the difference. I am taking other medication for BP however I'm sure it's raise a little bit my GP won't say anything she doesn't do anything that's why I decided to take it off myself I have been miserable and I'm so sorry you had to go to ER. Amlodipine is toxic, it is band in the Netherlands. Take care

    • mandy3374
      mandy3374 chris21802

      Posted

      It’s such an awful medication, and the worst part is my BP wasn’t even that high.  So I feel like I’m going through all this for almost nothing.  😢.  It’s sad that we to take our health into our own hands and do the research to help ourselves...makes you wonder what we pay them for.  🤔

    • richard35021
      richard35021 chris21802

      Posted

      For the record Amlodipine is not banned in the Netherlands.  I checked with an old school friend who has lived and worked there for 30 years.  It is avoided by most medical practitioners there due to its side effects but it is not banned.  That is an internet urban myth.
  • Bayliner
    Bayliner mandy3374

    Posted

    I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing these Afflictions. Lowering your pressure Naturally is THE ROAD TO BE ON. Using milled Flax seed, Fish oil, Garlic pills, Beet capsules and Beet juice, Hibiscus tea ,good Multi, Walking will work BUT also reducing stress and setting a place apart daily to avoid conflict is extremely important. Pastries, cookies, crackers, candies, Pop should be avoided. Fruit, veggies should be substituted. Raisins etc

    Amlodipine has a half life of about 12 hours so it stays working for a longer time. Amlodipine also is NOT BANNED in the Netherlands or anywhere else in the world...it is on the list of essential 3rd world medicines..so it is working for many people. However this drug is powerful so  lowering the dose will reduce sides.

    So increasing the Natural while reducing Amlodipine in time or any other BP med...(always monitoring) is a path of patients and determination . While doing this you may get a spike and have to shortly increase your BP med but record your doses as you reduce the dose you will see the improvement..

    All of the above WILL BRING POSITIVE OUTCOMES but BE CAREFUL to monitor at least twice a day.

    My purpose is to encourage and well, much of the above you already may have tried.

    Good  Luck Best Wishes and God Speed

     

    • mandy3374
      mandy3374 Bayliner

      Posted

      Thank you for all your  words of wisdom.  I did some research to find a naturopathic doc in my area, and I’m going to see what solutions they have to offer.  I’m about 250 pounds 5’7” so I have some pounds to shed, and I plan to do that with walking and following a ketogenic diet.  But I’m open to taking the supplements my body needs to make me feel whole again.   Because right now I feel like an empty miserable shell of a person.   I know this med works wonders for some people, but I was not one of them....and I found out the hard way 😢

  • mandy3374
    mandy3374

    Edited

    Did anyone of the woman coming off amlodipine experience breast tenderness along their sides?  
    • debra16694
      debra16694 mandy3374

      Posted

      Hi Mandy - Not sure how old you are, but peri menopause, menopause symptoms almost mimic amlodipine symptoms.  Google 66 menopause symptoms & you will see similarities. For me, because i am age appropriate, I just always assumed that it was menopause causing my symptoms. I guess that’s the reason I stayed on the stupid drug for 5 years.  Since coming off Amlodipine, I generally feel better, but am still plagued with tons of muscle aches, weird sensations, bloating and anxiety. I never had any of those things before amlodipine, but again, maybe they are caused from menopause as well.  I can tell you from experience, that breast pain can be trapped gas (weird eh?) the thing I found that works best for trapped gas & bloat is activated charcoal.  Also, I don’t know what your B/P is, but generally Dr’s are B/P RX mad, get yourself a B/P monitor, take your B/P fairly often and document it.  Time, date, readings.  That will give you a true B/P reading & know that your B/P changes thruout the day - I think Drs want everyone a perfect 120/80 & I think that may be a tad unrealistic given age etc.  I know the extra baggage is tough, I struggle with it myself, try not to concentrate on “diet” but just feeding your body healthy, nourishing foods that don’t have added sugar & flour.  Believe me, I get the battle! Also, drink tons of water to flush that poison out of your system, add some lemon and or cucumber to help cleanse and detox. Good Luck! 

    • mandy3374
      mandy3374 debra16694

      Posted

      Thank you so much Debra, I took activated charcoal yesterday and I feel like it really started the process of cleaning me out.  I’m going to take some more tonight.  I also scheduled a lymphatic drainage massage for next week.  Thank you for all your advised!!  I’m just working on getting myself healthy from the inside out.  This week the depression, anxiety, headaches, breast tenderness and back pain are wreaking havoc on me.   But I’m going to just keep working on clearing out my body of all the bad crap I’ve put into it over the years.  
  • anna16311
    anna16311 mandy3374

    Posted

    Hi Mandy, I started taking this particular med back in November along with valsartan at night.  For a few months, I felt fine but then I realized I could hardly climb three flights of stairs (my apt being on third floor).  My legs were feeling extremely heavy and weak.  I just felt horrible.  I stopped taking this poison five days ago.  Today, I feel like crap.  Lightheaded and dizzy and just not right.  My doctor told me it would take about 12 days to get out of my system.  I just pray these weak spells and heavy legs go away!!!!  My goal is to lose a little weight and exercise more in hopes of getting off the valsartan as well!  Hang in there!!!
    • mandy3374
      mandy3374 anna16311

      Posted

      I hope you are feeling better and better each day!  I stopped taking this poison March 1st...and I was starting to feeling better and then last week...bam!  I felt like I was back at square one.  I have been taking naturally calm a magnesium supplement throughout this experience and it’s really helped with leg cramps and anxiety.   I wish you all the best!!
    • chris21802
      chris21802 mandy3374

      Posted

      Mandy, magnesium really does help I had to stop taking magnesium because I take Coumadin. Today I had success at my doctors. I told her that I reduced my amlodipine to 5 mg and a hardly have any side effects however my blood pressure went up a bit because I was anxious so things are getting a little bit better. I am so grateful for the Lord for his Tender Mercies and I pray for all of you and you Mandy take care my friend God bless you
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