ISTIN / Amlodopine misery...

I am looking to gather and share experiences of the drug Istin which is the brand name for Amlodipine.

I am a self-employed musician/guitar teacher in my mid-50's and have been on this horrendous drug for many years. Around 4 years ago I developed what I could only describe as a bad cold / hangover feeling with varying degrees of fatigue which slowly worsened until around 18 months ago when I started to feel absolutely terrible, some days almost unable to get out of bed.

Admittedly overweight and a bad snorer, I do exercise every day and I am a Vegan ( a diet I consider to be the most healthy and positively ethical choice these days).

After slowly and almost silently descending into what I would call premature old-age I was not myself, previously an outgoing, fun and upbeat guy had morphed into a depressive, negative, disinterested and irritable person. This situation had become so bad that I struggled to work and faced quitting my band of over 30 years!

Thanks to the wonderful NHS, I have had over the past 18 months MRI scans, counseling for depression and mindfulness , sleep tests, blood tests, have seen endocrinologists, respiratory specialists, neurologists and almost know the entire staff on first-name terms at St Georges in Tooting 😉

A couple of issues have been found, slight enlargement of Pituitary Gland and I do have Barrett's oesophagus, the latter I did not link to my symptoms of tiredness and inability to think straight.

The story is rather long and involved which has spiralled into often severe depression and feelings of total helplessness but I want to share this experience as FINALLY I have had a ray of light shine through the dark, gloomy cloud that has hovered above my head for so long.

After seeing several GP's at my local practice I recently saw a new doctor who seemed genuinely concerned at my situation which is not normal for a fairly healthy, young minded 50-something musician.

To my surprise and unlike any doctor I have ever met, she said, 'try coming off Istin for 10-12 days, check your blood-pressure regularly and come back to see me"

I am now two weeks off this drug and I have started to feel better, it is like a heavy, cold, dark, oppressive blanket has been lifted from my shoulders. I have more energy and am starting to laugh and joke once more. My blood pressure hasn't gone through the roof as I expected although I do keep an eye in it.

I am aware that psychological issues may be at work here, it could be all in my mind. I am still on edge waiting for the next problem or bad feeling to occur, I am not sure what will happen next BUT I hope my story may encourage people in a similar situation to address this problem.

After taking Amlodipine for many years with slight side-effects, it now strikes me that this drug can act negatively with ones body at different stages in life, or interact with new medications that have been introduced, it could be an interaction with Rivaroxoban, an anti coagulant medication I take that replaced the equally insidious Warfarin drug, I don't know.... all I do know is that after coming off Istin, I do FEEL BETTER!

It seems a mighty waste of time, money and resources that Health Professionals do not look into the side effects of drugs, maybe the millions of permutations of drug- interaction are impossible to analyse and, after all we are all different.

Thank God for our wonderful NHS and for sites such as this where we can share our experiences and hopefully, encourage others who are still suffering, often unnecessarily.

Feel free to write and share your thoughts.

Paul x

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