I've been taking 5mg Amlodipine for 8 days. Is it safe to stop?
Posted , 6 users are following.
My BP has always been on the high side. I went to the doctor with headaches. He took my BP and said it was very high and prescribed this dose. I came home a checked it my machine and it was 200/105 which scared me into taking the tablets. The next reading (before the meds could have registered) was 157/105
.The last reading was 138/90.
I'm have a 24hr monitor soon.
I'm wondering whether to keep taking the tablets, worried I will get 'hooked' and it will be harder to stop. Or stop and see what the monitor says.
I really don't want to take this.
I have been advised that Hawthorn and Garlic tincture is effective in lowering BP. I also take a Turmeric paste 3x3 a day.
Any thoughts would be useful. Thankyou,
Denise
0 likes, 12 replies
chris21802 Yurtdweller123
Posted
Hi I have been using tumeric for many many years I live in the Middle East and they use it all the time I make a tea out of it or a make hot milk out of it and and put it in the milk I have been on amlodipine Carvedilol Hydrochlorothiazide or htz and warfarin and one of those is causing severe back pain gout like terrible and I'm going to gradually take myself off as soon as I go see the doctor and get off this stuff I am overweight and soon-to-be 65 I'm in so much pain I feel like an old lady the other things that we can take we just have to be careful you know how it interacts with other medication good luck and bless you
Yurtdweller123 chris21802
Posted
Thankyou Chris.
I thought as I'd only been taking it for 8 days it may be ok to stop. I will be sensible and check with my doctor first.
Good luck with coming off and getting out of pain. Have you tried Hawthorn/garlic tincture?
Advice on the Turmeric Support site UK is to leave 2hrs between meds and turmeric paste. Amlodipine is safe to take in this way with the turmeric/blackpepper /coconut oil paste. This could help your pain too. It has definately helped my joint pain.
Good luck.
chris21802 Yurtdweller123
Posted
I am sorry that I forgot to mention about amlodipine you're not supposed to stop cold turkey you have to talk to the doctor and have it reduced little by little don't ever cold turkey anything unless the doctor said it's okay
Oregonjohn-UK Yurtdweller123
Posted
I'm not aware that you can be 'hooked' on Amlodipine. I have been on them for 17 years but have over that course of time gone up and down on doseage as my BP has varied. I am currently on 2.5 mg so not a high dose but I would never just stop! If you find that Amlodipine has some side effects that are extreme, go back to your doctor and ask for a different med. My GP/MD is aware that I closely monitor my BP and has advised me never to completely stop taking them. I have tried a number of alternative 'meds' and they all have never worked for me as far as reducing my BP is concerned. I also don't like taking tablets/potions just for the sake of it. I have found the best 'cure' is daily exercise (I just walk about 5 miles at a brisk pace and stop when needed to have a rest) and eating a balanced diet at regular times. Believe me when I say I could eat anything at anytime and I was as 'fit as a fiddle' until I retired some 17 years ago. Adjusting you lifestyle and calorie intake to what you expend is the bottom line, and it gets more crucial as you get older. Hope this helps - John
Yurtdweller123 Oregonjohn-UK
Posted
Thankyou John.
I'm not sure I meant hooked. It's just that many people say how difficult it is to stop even with their doctors help.
Thankyou for your advice about exercise and diet.
I want to find a natural way to control my BP and hope I can do it.
Many thanks, Denise
jx41870 Yurtdweller123
Posted
It sounds like it's working, I think you should stay on it for now. It's not addictive. It does seem to work for most people, probably the vast majority of people. It works fine for my brother. It just doesn't work for me.
?Be careful with the turmeric, it is also a class-2 MAOI, and if you eat a lot of aged cheese or meat or certain other foods it will send your BP up thirty points or more for about a day.
Yurtdweller123 jx41870
Posted
Thankyou for your reply. I'll check out the turmeric/food connection.
Do you mind me asking what way it didn't work for you?
jx41870 Yurtdweller123
Posted
Look up "MAOI cheese".
?Amlodipine for me, at 5mg or less (skipping some days), seemed to be causing arrhythmias. Anyway when I stopped the amlodipine, the arrhythmias were reduced by 90% in severity and frequency. Although now a few months later, the arrhythmias seem to be coming back.
?Also, stopping the amlodipine doesn't seem to have raised my BP any, as long as I'm still taking the hctz, atenolol and olmesartan - the hctz most of all.
?Finally, when I tried increasing the amlodipine to 10mg/day it was fairly horrible, felt like my heart rhythm was totally out of control.
?The only way I figured this out is a series of experiments, using natural BP reducers instead for days or weeks, but that's a boring diet and the dosages are hard to control, which is why I don't just use them instead.
Yurtdweller123 jx41870
Posted
Hi, I asked on the Tumeric support group and they sent me some info. It seems the amount of curcumin in turmeric is not usually high enough to cause this problem. In the MAOI meds its much higher. I have stopped my amlodipine and feel fine. BP is my normal slightly high reading. I'm having the 24hrmonitor on Monday so will go from there.
Hope you get your BP under control.
Thankyou for your help, Denise.
jx41870 Yurtdweller123
Posted
Turmeric is one thing, the concentrated curcumin is another. Fortunately it's only a mild MAOI, and it's apparently the type-2, that is not as bad as the type-1, but I'm pretty sure I can use it to send my BP 20-40 points higher in about eight hours, if anyone wants to see! It then goes back down again within about 18 hours.
?Not as bad as a big dose of type-1, where the same food might then send the BP 60-80 points higher and kill you.
dawn66944 Yurtdweller123
Edited
I have been on it for 5 weeks. My BP was 231/115 initially. The said I would have to be on it for a long time. This was absolute rubbish. It made me very ill like I was dying, shattered and worn out and all sorts of strange feelings in my body and severe anxiety, jumping out of my sleep all the time, palpitations and all sorts. I was beside myself crying at work and just wanted to be normal. I have a BP monitor and my BP was okay with only three high readings in that time and even down to optimal. I was also taking vitamin b complex and c, magnesium too. My readings have been down to 117/74 but the anxiety bought it up a lot. I thought back to when I started feeling so ill. I went to my doc who was rubbish said we all have to die of something seriously. It was from when I started this med. If you look up online a lot have the same issues. I felt that I was going mad and dying also. So scared. It has been banned in one country. I stopped it after 5 weeks this last three days and I am getting back to my normal self no anxiety either just that tired feeling drained slightly but I am also drinking apple cider vinegar with hot water, garlic, beetroot pills and the above as mentioned. My BP has not gone up it is between normal and optimal, highest has been 145/84. I have booked up with a naturopath and am sticking to natural help in future. Exercise and maybe meditation and mindfulness if I get stressed. I also was given some happy pills my throat felt as if it had a lump.. the side affects were listed as making your throat swell.. they also made me feel awful and like a zombie. They say keep taking them and it will pass... no way.. some say suicidal thoughts. These pills are poison read up on them and also natural remedies but go under a specialist practitioner. My friend did with cancer and it went away. TY Bollinger check it out.
Oregonjohn-UK dawn66944
Posted
Dawn, I have to correct you on the point that it is banned - it is not - this gossip has been around for years. It has worked well for the vast majority of users for decades and if it was 'dangerous' (your word 'poison!) it would have been withdrawn years ago. You always have the option to report adverse affects either on the Yellow Card scheme in the UK or the FDA in the States. If this med doesn’t suit you go back to your GP/MD and ask him/her for another BP med - there are dozens of them. Some work for some people other not. If you are Hypertension, and it appears you are (140 is borderline!!), you should never stop taking any BP med as you have a high risk of heart attack and stroke etc. On the point of alternatives - don't you think the NHS/Others would be prescribing these if they work and at a cheaper cost?
I would highly recomend you read the full story of Ty Bollinger 'claims' of cures, he has even been exposed for quackery and cures for everything (including cancer) which have turned out as false.