I know its was amlodipine!

I have been put on amlodipine today I have taken one so far but after reading what others are saying it has put me right off continuing with this drug the reason I have been changed to this drug is because I reported to my doctor that I was getting serious side effects from lisinopril ie severe dizziness I was not warned about this and if I had been driving this would have had very serious consequences that's why I came off this drug but reading other peoples reports amlodipine seems to be worse at the moment I feel that I want to see the doctor and tell him I don't want these drugs at all and suffer the consequences of high blood pressure and on my own head be it... I would be very greatfull for any advices or comments on this matter regards ian.....

Ian,

I was on amlodipine and Linsinopril.

Both are serious bad news.

I have opted to not take anything.

Amlodipine made me feel like a ZOMBIE. Big memory problems.

Linsinopril has messed up my mind big time.

Huge memory errors. Forgetting what I just did.

Seeing things differently from what they really are.

Doing better now, but the problems are still there two months later.

well many years ago I was put on Karveside tabs for HBP,only took 1 tab & could not get out of bed because of pain could not pick my head up off pillow,experienced severe pain in whole body & my legs, arms were badly cramping,one of the worst experiences in my life,never took another one whew!!. that was in 2011.

Then decided to change my lifestyle & eating,started exercise & was okay.

Went through some hugh emotional upheavalment & back came the HBP,so went to the doc,I don't know

why I must of 4gotten last drug experience,anyway cutting a long story short,was put on Perindopril 10mg

& 5mg Amlodipine,only took 1 tab within 5 min's I started feeling like my head was getting, heavy,10 min's

later my head felt like it was going to explode,dizzy as can be,plus started getting so hot,had to put ice packs on my head I could not stand to have any clothes on,my body started shaking all over, my speech was

inaudible. could not open my eyes as they became swollen & the tears were rolling out,not from crying,Good thing my 2 daughters were home, well this went on for 6 hrs,before it started to subside & I was finally able to sleep,I called the doc up the next day but was unable to get an appt,you can guess hey! I did not take

another one,so I've taken charge of my own health again,changing diet & making sure that I keep up with my

exercise WHY do we do this to ourselves,take all these chemical's & we do not address the main causes of

our health issues,I truly believe we need to address our whole life Instead of depending on someone else to stuff us up even further with Chemical's that don't suit our bodies,we have to learn what & how to eat &

exercice plus to change from being a victim of the pharmaceutical companies.Apologies for my ranting

but I'm really pissed off, cause we are told go see the Doc if you are not feeling well yet they make us more ill with this stuff, I reckon it is a vicious cycle to be come part of,again I say I'm really going to take charge of

myself. thanks for this forum where we can share plus rant our feeling's,I wish everyone the best in their

endeavour to get their health back. Peace & power to you all I know we can do it .

I took Amlodipine 2.5mgs for one month. The BP went way down, but my heart rate went up 10 points,

not too bad, and I immediately developed irregular heart beats, felt dizzy while standing at the sink in themornings, hard to breathe. My doc did not warn me of that.

At the follow up a month later, I thought I was doing well (what am I nuts?), but the original reason I

began taking it was to improve circulation in the extremities. It helped that for one week and a half. Then the problem got much worse.

So he upped the dose to 5mgs.

Oh my! Heart rate went up 20 more points the first day, dozens of irregular heart beats, nearly passed

out at the computer. I took that for four days then stopped completely. It also made my hands shake.

I decided my 135/85 BP was not bad and told him I am good with that. He actually agreed.

So now I take nothing for BP and am better for it. Big Pharma has created an artificially low reading in

order to sell treatments. I told my doc that, and without saying anything, I could see he knew it. He told

me even 145/90 was not a bad BP.

It took seven months for the irregular heart beats to finally stop.

I have taken six different BP meds, all with bad side effects. Lisinopril made me cough, and friends Ihave had the same problem. All of us had to stop that one.

My mother has been on this med for a few months after her BP went out of control after being controlled for years. Previously she had been on Vasotec and a diuretic. She has renal artery stenosis and one functioning kidney that has been stable for years. Now after being put on amlodipine 5 mg/day in addition to her regular meds, her kidney is failing. Does anyone know of this med causing kidney failure and is there any way to search the thread for mention of this? Thank you.

I've been talking Amlodipine 5mgm for 2 weeks now although I was prescribed it several years ago but stopped taking it when I fainted when my BP dramatically dropped and I fainted! Although my BP still remains high (I am due to see my GP for a review this week) I am suffering from forgetfulness, dizziness and lethergy. I know my GP will want to increase the dose but I'm concerned about the effects.

Susan - I also have only one kidney (the other was removed in my early teens) and I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease about 7 years ago. This happened after being on Ibuprofen for about 7 months due to another illness remaining undiagnosed during this time. However, during that time I had also been subjected to a scan using dye and have since heard that a certain dye is also harmful for the kidneys.

I cam off Amlodipine recently after a couple of months due to very swollen ankles and uncomfortable legs. I was started on Diltiazen but increasing the dose failed to restore my high BP to normal so Ramipril was added about a month ago. At the time of prescribing it, the renal consultant said that my kidney function would worsen but that in the long term reducing the BP would protect my kidney.

You mention that your Mum has renal artery stenosis. If I remember correctly at the appointment with the renal consultant he mentioned that narrowing of the arteries to the kidney could be the reason for high BP and also make it difficult to respond to some medications; also that some medications could be harmful if there is narrowing of the arteries to the kidney. This can be checked out by an MRI.

In what way is your Mum's kidney failing? For instance has she been told that her eGFR blood test reading is lower than it should be, or is it an abnormally high creatinine, potassium or urea. I have been told that the latter can rise with BP treatment.

Matron

I feel sure that with the side effects you are suffering your GP will suggest changing the medication.

I recently had a horrible bout with Amlodipine.

I'm 36 and late last year I decided to start seeing a physician regularly. Everything in my checkup was normal but my BP was coming in at about 140-150 and they originally tried Ramipril with no real results, doc then switched me to Lisinopril and a few weeks in I was getting some bad shortness of breath side effects. They then decided to have me try Amlodipine a few weeks back. The first few days in I was experiencing no side effects. Once I had been taking it about a week, I had some pretty uncomfortable face flushing side effects. When I first told my doctor about the flushing, she actually had the nerve to tell me, that it was probably just warm in the room, that the meds wouldn't do that. The flushing got to where it felt like my face had a light sunburn on it 24/7. After a week of that I could not take it anymore.

I stopped taking the Amlodipine and 2 days later my face broke out into the hives, I had these red, rashy spots all over my face. It felt like to me, it was some kind of withdrawl symptom. I went to a clinic and was given a shot that cleared up the hives. Over the next week, my face stayed warm all the time, but I started getting to where I couldn't get enough sleep. Normally I get 6-7 hours and I feel amazing, refreshed and alert. During that week, I was getting 9-10 hours of sleep and still feeling tired at work, even needing naps after work. I was also experience a really strange sensation that is very hard to describe. The closest thing I can think of how it felt was being tipsy, but not drunk. Kind of out of it, but I could still function at work. I even noticed that when I would be typing something like a text message I know how words are spelled, but my fingers just kept bumbling and hitting the wrong keys. It was awful!

I'm now in my second week off the meds, and I'm starting to feel normal again, the flushing is very very feint and Im hoping in the coming weeks it will be gone.

I know meds have their place, but so far, my body has not liked any of them. I'm generally a pretty healthy person, but could stand to slim down about 5-10 lbs.

Before trying any other meds, I'm going to just drop that extra weight and see how that does with my BP. I just need a few months of feeling normal again.

Chris - it took almost 4 weeks for my swollen ankles and stiff legs to return to normal after stopping Amlodipine so hang in there and I'm sure the flushing will disappear shortly. Do come back and let us know if losing a few pounds reduces the BP.

Hi, I've just registered here to support those who have ditched Amlodipine. I am 67 and have just been told I suffer from high BP. I've never smoked, drink two glasses of wine a week, I'm not overweight and I swim at least 5,000 metres every day, plus, I put in three gym sessions a week. I've been on Amlodipine for one week and I am so tired, light-headed and my memory is fading fast. I've taken my last tablet this morning, especially after reading the posts here. I'll go for the life-change option. I stopped having salt on my food 8 weeks ago and I have started eating more fruit. My BP this morning was 130 over 70. I can live with that. Before I was put on Amlodipine it was 156 over 84. I didn't think that was too bad either!

I am 27 years old from the philippines.

I am taking amlodiphone 5mg (norvasc) for almost 6months.

This month my doctor told me to increase my AM to 10mg.

After taking 10mg of AM, I have heavy legs and lower back.

I just always want to lie down but I can't sleep as normal.

This thread explains me all symptoms I am having right now.

I do not know If I need to stop taking 10mg of AM.

jonjon - go back to your Dr and tell him how bad your legs are. The same happened to me on Amlodipine and I was switched to Ramipril. Didn't feel too great on that one either so am now trying another, Losartan Potassium. My hubby developed very swollen ankles when increased to 10mg of Amlodipine, so the Dr reduced the dose back to 5mg and added in another BP pill again in a small dose. He is fine on those. So do ask for a change in medication - there are loads out there. Incidentally, I have been told by my pharmacist that the pill I've just started is one that is the least likely to bring in patients complaining of side effects. Good luck!

I am so pleased I found this site, following a long period of 5mg Amlodipine I was prescribed 10mg of this drug. within a couple of weeks my ankles / lower legs have become swollen and equally worryingly I have noticed my memory which is usually good is suspect. I find myself wondering why I have walked into the kitchen having forgotten within a few moments what I went in there for. I have also noticed what I can only described as fleeting moments of very slight vagueness / dizziness. It is clear from all I have read that this wretched drug is almost certainly responsible. As I sit here this evening with my legs elevated in an attempt to reduce the swelling I have decided to stop taking this drug. Many years ago I was prescribed Vioxx for my arthritis which almost killed me and was sadly responsible for a number of deaths due to elevated BPs and similar problems before the penny dropped and it was taken off the market. Vioxx was great for my pain relief but following a spectacular nose bleed caused by a BP of 190 over 121 I was taken off this drug before it killed me but before it was banned. I much appreciate the comments of contributors on the subject of Amlodipine , only by sharing our experiences can we save ourselves from issues such as these.