I know its was amlodipine!

I was a very active 49year old - non-stop!! Never sat to watch TV always keeping Busy, cooking, baking, hobbies, exercising, active Nana and super mom!! With adult children and being restricted from a 2011 back injury- That still didn't stop me. However with stress, my blood pressure started to fluctuate. It hit a high 200/180 at one point. Dr put me on amlodepine 5mg. I thought it was keeping my BP under the alert radar, BUT for 6 months I've felt like I was slowly dying and didn't know why. Until a few days ago I realized the only change was this horrible drug. I've had horrendous muscle cramping in every part of my body. Lifeless all the time. Pain in every joint. Literally feel like I've been crippling slowly- I finally read the side effects and this has to be the cause. Going to Dr ASAP.

Just wanted to share my crappy experience with amlodipine. I'm male, 55,  healthy, 165 lbs, fairly active (4-5 times a week I either walk 3-4 miles or do 40-60 minutes of elliptical), with BP that ranges from 120/80 (normal) to 140/100 (pretty much only at the Dr office and when I'm anxious). About a year ago my Dr put me on amlodipine 5mg. It reduced my BP maybe by 5 pts but after maybe 9 months I began getting episodes of flushing and tachycardia (not super fast, maybe 100 instead of 80). At the time I hadn't put 2 and 2 together but I was also getting frequent headaches (4-5 times a week, often waking up with one) and more stomach problems. Finally a couple of weeks ago I got to the point where I was really anxious all the time, and having a rapid pulse all the time, and my BP was high (130/90 to 140/100). I went to the Dr and was switched to Lisinopril. For about four days after stopping amlodipine I felt shaky and nauseous and sickly and had a lot of trouble sleeping - very much like drug withdrawal I suppose. But now that it's been a week since my last amlodipine, I have had only one little headache, my anxiety is way less, and my pulse is lower (haven't checked my BP yet). Clearly this drug was not a good match for me! P.S. I didn't experience any swelling or significant fatigue, but the other stuff was bad enough. Also P.S. During the year I had mentioned stomach and anxiety issues to the Dr, but instead of considering that it could be related to the amlodipine I was taking, I was prescribed zantac and ativan. The zantac helped somewhat, but I avoided the Ativan as much as possible - that stuff can be addictive.

After reading about the side-effects of Amlodipine  I took my bottle of that stuff and threw it into a trash can. I was put on it only several months ago by my doctor because my blood pressure was fluctuating. One time it was normal, other time 156/80. I started with 2.5mg and at the next test - nothing has changed. So, my Doc doubled the stuff to 5mg and again the fluctuation of my BP after 2 weeks on the stuff has not changed. However, what has changed, I started experiencing the same symptoms as many of the people in this discussion forum. The main ones were - I felt like doing nothing = no energy no motivation; about 4 hours after getting up and feeling rested, I could go right back to bed; also my lower legs (not feet or ankles) started getting puffy, especially when I got myself do something.

I took the liberty to do some research about this med. The main purpose of this med, as many of you know, is to block calcium from being deposited into soft tissues namely arteries and veins. In my further research I found that having calcium depositing into soft tissues is due to how we digest it. It make sense if our arteries and veins are turning into a stone that our BP will rise. However, the question here is '"Is this the cause of our elevated BP?"

When I asked my Doc what is the cause of high BP, his answer was "We don't know."

After what I found about the calcification of soft tissues, I went further and found that there is a test which can pinpoint whether one has this condition. The name of the test is CAC or Calcium Score or Agatston Score.

The test is done by non-invasive CT scan. Results between 0 to 400 are normal, anything higher is no good and risky.

Now, how many of us had this test done? I for one had not. Just think, if all of us, who have these adverse effects from this med, have not have the calcification condition but taking a med which is designed to de-calcify us. Some calcium in our soft tissues is needed and this med is taking the favorable amount away. Would not that make the condition worse and hence cause all of those side effects?

I have also found that the improper digestion of calcium is most likely caused by deficiency of vitamin K2, A and D3. Was any of you tested for that? I was not.

I found and ordered a compound named Artery Strong which contains the right amount of those vitamins from Terry Natural Vitamins, today. after that I found that the stuff is also available at The whole Foods. I'm not 100% sure of it since I have not yet made it to the store.

P.S. Just yesterday I received a message from my Doc to yet double the med to 10mg due to my bad BP test. Consequently, I visited this forum - read it - identify with it - and ditched the med.

FYI: I am not a medical professional nor a pusher for any vitamin company. I'm 65 yo and a retired software engineer who likes to get down to the deepest facts of how things work.

P.S.S. I'm going to ask my Doc for the CAC test and also tests whether or not I may be deficient for those vitamins. In the mean time, as soon as I get the Artery Strong I'll be tanking that. I'll see what will happen. My next BP test is in two weeks. Also, at one time I was religiously taking Magnesium, Calcium (just imagine) and Q10 and my BP was normal. I'm not a good pill taker hence started slipping, even stopped, oh well.