Just out of curiosity - if doing home monitoring to take to the surgery

Perhaps you should! I can make mine go up and down at home, but never or hardly ever in the surgery or hospital.

The latest combination of candersartan and moxonidine are making me feel extremely spaced out and nauseous around mid morning and also if a meal is late. I am starting to think I would be better without any of them as certainly never felt peculiar before, but now I cough incessantly and am so dry.

The doctor smiles sweetly and says persevere, but she is not living with swollen ankles etc.

Just wish I could wear a monitor for 24 hours and then they would know for sure and I would be much happier!

Are you sure you couldn't manage it for 24 hours Jenny? I have to say it wasn't nice and the day I had it done I went to a village meeting about something and the damn thing parped off in the middle of someone giving a talk. I felt all eyes on me wondering why I couldn't control myself !! Sounds funny now but it wasn't at the time! And I got very little sleep that night. However it did sort the question out so I'm glad it was done really as it did take away any doubt of hypertension.- unfortunately not in my favour.

If you haven't had it confirmed how do they gauge your medicine? You sound to be on a lot but then perhaps the dose is low? Candesartan is presumably an ARB like Losartan, and Moxonidine a calcium channel blocker? CCBs are usually the first line of meds if you are an old git like me, but you can't have grapefruit with them so I asked not to have that. Ace inhibitors don't usually work I understand on oldies so I was just lucky

My BP was 163/96 after the 24 hrs and they said stage 2. The dr [who I had never met] told me on the phone that I wouldn't be able to make enough lifestyle changes to sort that and I was going to need medicine. I completely saw red - I was furious! Never had a days illness in my life and the idea of suddenly being told that I'd be on it for life, threats of stroke, heart attack etc etc scared the s**t out of me! Initially I eliminated salt, sugar, did the usual things and raised the bar on walking but it made no difference and after 2 months I went on to Ramipril. Very low dose to start then after a month it was raised, but some weeks later the cough was intolerable. They changed it to Losartan from which I have no side effects and fortunately it seems to have done what it should without adding anything else. Now told I only need 6 monthly checks. Next one due next Monday.

I would like to , but no one has even suggested it! At the moment I feel I am a guinea pig especially as my GP has gone on maternity leave and I now have another lady looking after me.

As well as the dry mouth and cough, itchy patches have appeared on shins and under feet. I have been diagnosed for over 10 years now and every single thing they tried at the cardiac dept in hospital gave me horrendous side effects until candersartan and that lasted for two years before the pressure shot up again! I turned 80 on Sunday, so would like to feel a little more human before finally kicking the bucket.

Afraid I laughed so much at your description of the monitor going off, bet there were some surprised people around.

At present I am on candesartan (8mg) once per day - I have never felt it controlled my blood pressure properly and often noticed spiking. Have suffered severe joint pains so asked gp last Tuesday for a change of medication - she said first of all we would send of blood samples to check for arthritis etc and when she checked my BP she said it was fine at 130/80. Two days later I went to the nurse to have my blood taken and she said my pressure was high at 150/90 and asked me to come back today for another check - it was exactly the same and she is of the opinion that candesartan is not controlling my blood pressure. My next appointment with my gp is next Tuesday when blood results should be back. Has anyone else noticed that candesartan does not control their BP sufficiently. I have started to feel nauseous and light headed. Last July on holiday in Portugal my whole bode swelled up with fluid and my pressure went sky high - gp just said it was due to heat but in previous years when taking other medication this did not happen. This feeling of my stomach lurching is awful and is beginning to make me feel very anxious.

Exactly the same as me, that's why they added in moxonidine with the candesartan(32 mg) daily, but I too feel very out of it , light headed and sick. Have just come in from a Keep it class and my legs, feet and ankles are all swollen up.

One thing my dr said recently was that blood pressure is not an exact science. Quite what to read into that statement I'm not sure as rises and falls throughout the day can be enormous. Also 2 readings taken just minutes apart can vary by huge amounts and I'm not meaning when I've just had a long walk.

I so agree and am beginning to wonder if it is all worth the bother. It is only that I have 92 year old husband with dementia to look after that keeps me trying. My original consultant discharged me back to my doctor because I would not take statins and warned me if I did not take BP medication I was a ticking time bomb. Unfortunately it is the family as my Dad had numerous strokes before a massive one which killed him and my older brother has had quite a few T.I.A s

Yikes Jenny, I'm sure it is all worth it if you do have high BP. But you have enough to deal with without a dr calling you a 'ticking time bomb'. She probably thought she'd shock you into doing what she said but you really don't want to hear that do you. I do hear that some drs prescribe statins for us oldies on a prevention policy rather than for any real reason, and they can have bad side effects although plenty of folk don't have them. I also hear that you shouldn't take them if you haven't had any previous heart trouble. From what you say though it sounds as though you have and have family history too. "Blame the parents" my dr said once !!

Hello Jane,

Your messages make me chuckle, you are so right with your comments. I have a school friend on statins and she is in a dreadful state, doesn't know what she is doing half the time. Another one gave up on them because of excruciating muscle pain and forgetfulness, so no way for me as I already have a lot of spinal pain due to a nasty R.T.A years ago.

How did you get on with your check and have you put on loads of weight without eating any more than normal? That annoys me to be told to lose weight and exercise when the medication cripples your feet so much it is difficult to walk.

As for compression stockings.....I have been using anti- embolism theatre socks when the swelling gets too bad, but as they are white they are always in the wash and very conspicuous!

Jenny

Woops, sorry I didn't see your mail. I have actually lost weight, almost 3 stone since a year ago; I'm quite skinny now, certainly no more to lose. I'm going on Monday to the nice friendly doctor to get the BP checked and then need to go every 6 months. That's unless of course she decides to alter the dosage or something. Hopefully that won't happen as the home monitor readings are OK. Bit up and down but she says to have an average of <135/85. at least i think that's what she's after and it should be find - just! as ever i expect it will be off the page when she takes it - it always is!! now i find that i have borderline diabetes and have just had the a1c test redone from a year ago. not at all happy about that and need to hit it on the head if i can. 5.="" at="" least="" i="" think="" that's="" what="" she's="" after="" and="" it="" should="" be="" find="" -="" just!="" as="" ever="" i="" expect="" it="" will="" be="" off="" the="" page="" when="" she="" takes="" it="" -="" it="" always="" is!!="" now="" i="" find="" that="" i="" have="" borderline="" diabetes="" and="" have="" just="" had="" the="" a1c="" test="" redone="" from="" a="" year="" ago.="" not="" at="" all="" happy="" about="" that="" and="" need="" to="" hit="" it="" on="" the="" head="" if="" i="">

Hi Jane,

Good luck for tomorrow. So sorry to hear about the diabetes. It must be the anno domini bit, at least it is in my case.

I have made a date with my doctor a fortnight too early as feel so sick and giddy and the cough is making me breathless

Jenny

Hi Jenny, Had my BP revue yesterday with my lovely dr and all well with the home monitoring. It came out at 129/76 which was an average over 7 days using 2 readings, both am and pm. She was happy with that. I think they ask for an average of 135/85 or below. AND she said not to worry about the HbA1c result of 41. It's still within the normal range, only just though. The other dr had said that as I'd had 2 A1c's with the same reading a yr. apart and had made a lot of lifestyle changes I was prediabetic and it would only get worse - to come and repeat the test in a year. I prefer to take the advice of my lovely lady dr. and not to worry!! Just hope I'm not being ostrich like.

Do hope you get your problems sorted and let us know.

Hi Jane,

Just come in drenched and so tired and giddy from the doctor's. Two of them this time, one a trainee. I took the list of side effects from the packet with all the side effects underlined plus a few more and she took me off them straight away! Have still to keep 32 mgs candesartan, but now having water pills despite my low kidney function. Just hope for the best.

At least it will give me another 4 weeks free from the awful giddiness, headache etc!

A coffee and kitcat have restored me to something near humanity. Glad to hear that you seem to be sorted. Just wish a doctor who has suffered some of the problems the oldies face would put their expertise into helping us. I am sure we are not the only ones having problems. Do keep in touch

Jenny

Good old kitkat!

Glad you have had the medication altered and I hope your side effects disappear soon. I've never had water pills and really didn't want them at my diagnosis as I already have to go to the loo far too often during the night! I think I've read they are often a first choice.

Also I wasn't keen on a calcium channel blocker - Amlodipine I think is what I would have been given - as you can't eat grapefruit with them and I'm a fan of that at breakfast. Initially I was on Ramipril which gave me a horrible cough until I was changed onto Losartan which has been fine.

I forgot to say in earlier message that in the surgery my BP rose to 180/?? That's a good enough reason for having a home monitor as I think I'd be over medicated otherwise.

When I first bought my monitor a friend who's had high BP for over 20 yrs told me it was a bad to take your own BP. She took a diuretic for years and then got gout so they changed it. Seems gout is a known side effect. Now she's just had a hip op and been told she no longer has hypertension. I thought it didn't go away once you had it . Had she had her own monitor she perhaps wouldn't have got gout!!

I called Amlopodine the drug from hell and came off after a fortnight, but they did start me on waterpills at the beginning. Then they said they were affecting my kidney function so they stopped those. I wait to see what happens next , but am so tired and achy. A good sleep would work wonders, but that is almost an impossibility as Fred gets up every hour on the our and rearranges the furniture quite often!!

Jenny