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I know its was amlodipine!

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Nigel
Nigel

I am a healthy 58 yr old and normally very active. BP was rising over the last year or so to 178/98 and so this Jan my Doc put me on Amlodipine 5mg. Thats when it started. Firstly with a loss of energy, then total loss of stamina, I felt like a Zombie all the time. As the month progressed I started to get forgetful, dizzy spells, very tingly left hand and painful joints all througfh my left side. BP did not drop as fast as hoped so Doc added Lisinopril 2.5mg. Hey... off with the faries now! After two weeks I could not concentrate on anything people were telling me and to the point that I was becoming detached from the real world. And that was only after a couple of weeks on the cocktail. I decided to trial which drug was causing this and first removed the Lisinopril for a few days then swapped over to stopping Amlodipine. Cor.. what a difference. Almost the next day after stopping Amlodipine I started to recover. After just one week people at work are now saying 'welcome back' and I know what they mean. BP not down yet but I am never going near Amlodipine again, its a wrecker!

Has anyone else had anything like my reaction?

42 likes, 815 replies

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  • joanieh
    joanieh

    Edited

    I have also recently started taking 5 mg of Amlodipine and for the first two weeks didn't experience any side effects. However, I am now feeling like a zombie. I sleep for 12 hours then feel exhausted after just being awake for about 4 hours. It really is debilitating and today I have decided I can't tolerate the side effects any longer so I'm coming off it. I am currently taking Irbersarten but this wasn't bringing my blood pressure down enough so my doctor prescribed Amlodipine as well. Unfortunately I have a low kidney function and it would seem the options as to what I can take are not as good as lots of BP tablets have a detrimental effect on kidneys and also high blood pressure can cause kidney disease so I just hope my GB can come up with another suitable alternative. Would rather have high blood pressure than carry on with this horrible drug.
    • hsssam
      hsssam joanieh

      Posted

      Read an article from Dr. Mark Sircus. How sodium Bicarbonate can rejuvenate kidneys.
  • Guest
    Guest

    Edited

    Hi Nigel

    Just read your experience, mine is very similar, although I went from years on Lisinopril 40mg to this year 20mg PLUS Amlodipine 5mg. All went well for a while (3-4 months) then it crept up on me, I thought I was at the beginning of senile decay/dementer or even alzhermers (excuse spelling, forget how to spell it). I decided last weekend to stop the Amlodipine which did have an immediate impact for the better however I think I have been left with of the residues of it and I thought I would give the Am. another go. Now two days of it and I'm definately back to similar situation as yourself. Did visit the quack but no joy or advice as to the side effects we are having (wonder why?) so have decided to pack the Am. in. One other big draw back I have maybe due to the Lisinopril is lack of sleep or unable to get to sleep but when I do its nearly time to get up so at best I may catch 2-3-4 hours interupted sleep. This I feel adds to the increase in BP - so why do we bother.

    Anyway I am glad that I have read your report but sorry that you have been through the mill with the side effects. Have noticed from other peoples experiences we are not alone and the drug is banned in Holland - well at least we know why.

    Hope you get back to normal and find a better way to control your BP., take care.

    • dave02310
      dave02310 Guest

      Posted

      Hi Nigel 

      would you kindly let me have an update on your present situation I would be grateful to hear how things are going a year later 

    • john82721
      john82721 Guest

      Posted

      Sadly the internet is full of misinformation, although there are lots of posts saying it, Amlodipine is not actually banned in Holland. Personally as a fellow sufferer from this ghastly drug I wish it was banned completely.

      Interestingly I just found this U.K. webpage to report side effects of drugs

      https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

  • Guest
    Guest

    Edited

    I took 10mg of Amolodipine for two months, after which I went from being able to run 15-20 miles per week, to walking after only 1-2 miles with severe calf cramps. After stopping using the drug for 1 week I was back to my usual fitness. I would never take this drug again.
    • jeremiah60782
      jeremiah60782 Guest

      Posted

      did you have to wean off gradually or did you stop cold turkey?

    • quyn2678
      quyn2678 jeremiah60782

      Posted

      i stopped cold turkey per my doctor . it says you should follow nelsons schedule . However, they dont tell you theres consequences of not taking it as well.

  • paulconnell
    paulconnell

    Posted

    Yes Nigel very similar experience of forgetfulness, dizzyness and mistakes at work.Also paranoid because everyone was critical of practically all i was saying and doing,eventually lost job which ironically was a nurse. paul c. :cry:
  • Guest
    Guest

    Edited

    been on it for almost five years - have basically lost the last five years - sleep problems - cant sleep then can sleep but not for long its a nightmare - decided to look it up and i see folk have had similar problems - think i am gonna just stop it - cant live like this any more - cant function properly - like i said have lost years and i am only 38 AND i cant get that time back with my daughter - been an excuse for a mum for years and the depression ooo thats another story - basicaly had enough - stopping it now - zombie no more
  • Guest
    Guest

    Edited

    It looks like I've been in the same boat as the other people on this drug.

    I was put on amlodipine 5mg by my GP for medium hypertension. It only lasted a week before I came off it. It gradually seemed to be poisoning me, with the effects getting worse each day. Dull, zombie-like during the day, extreme fatigue during the evening, insomnia at night. I cant remember what I did at work during the 4th and 5th days on it. On the 6th day, I felt I was ready for a nursing home (at 54 that's usually a bit premature, I think). Blurred vision was getting severe.

    On the 7th day, my memory was so bad that I couldn't remember who the medicine was for - me or my wife! As my vision was so blurred, I couldn't read the pharmacy label on the box. I guessed it probably wasn't my medicine, especially since I couldn't remember when it arrived in the house, so I didn't take it. By the next day, I was starting to come round, and realised what had happened, so I decided not to take it any more.

    I'm now in my third week off it, and the mood swings are gradually getting less extreme. Hopefully, a few more weeks will get me back to normal.

    My GP was surprised at the severity of these symptoms, said he was sorry it had given me such a bad experience, and prescribed me some ramipril instead.

    When I found this site, I realised I wasn't the only person to be messed up by amlodipine. Ramipril seems like a similar disaster waiting to happen, and I don't feel like being an experimental animal again, so I think its time to get to work on changing my lifestyle instead of my prescription! What's the point of fixing my blood pressure with drugs if I end up as a useless zombie?!

    • mary29416
      mary29416 Guest

      Edited

       i changed to ramipril and wish i had stayed on  amlodipine. The cough is terrible. Been taking them for 4 wks ,had a cough for 3 wks. Hurts my chest and gives me headaches. I feel ill al the time. Will never touch  ramipril again. Wouldnt wish this cough on anyone. hope it works okay for you Guest.
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Hi!

    My name is val 22 y/o. I went to the quack yesterday because I felt numb. he gave me the AM 10mg. on my first time of taking it . I felt like a sledgehammer hit my head. so I went online to research and after what I discovered, I am Trashing these tablets.

    • karen85535
      karen85535 Guest

      Posted

      You were definitly right to ditch it, especially at your age... (Ramipil is another one to be avoided I understand if you want to have kids, as I understand it can cause damage).  I just happened to stumble up this forum today after being concerned about myself taking 10mg of Amlodipene - I am getting swelling feet and ankles and tingling, swollen and sore fingers.... not to mention just about all of the above other symptoms I have just read.... Sounds like a horiffic drug! I'm trashing mine too! 
  • Dolly_the_sheep
    Dolly_the_sheep

    Edited

    I have had dreadful side effects whilst taking this tablet, depression, weight gain, swelling from the knees down to feet, as I have osteo arthritus in my knees, the swelling actually made it worse. Muscle aches. Severe tiredness. After seeing the first doctor, he prescribed a water tablet. This did not work so I went back and saw another doctor and he sent me for blood tests, things still did not improve so I went back and saw another doctor, he told me to stop taking this tablet. Within 3 days of stopping this tablet I had no more swelling, felt happy, more energy, my knees felt loads better. All in all I felt well after 5 months of feeling crap.
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