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Reluctant to take Blood Pressure Medication

Posted , 3 users are following.

helen33824
helen33824

I know several people in their 70s who have experienced fainting and dizziness as a result of meds reducing their BP to 120/80 and lower, including two people (my husband being one) who recently suffered worrying blackouts and ended up in hospital. In both cases their meds were stopped and my husband’s BP has now reverted to his original readings of around 155/80. (He was on Amlodipine, Lisinopril and Bendroflumethiazide and his BP before passing out was 97/60).

For many years my BP stayed in the region of 120/80, which I took for granted until my husband’s blackouts, when I took my BP and found it now varies between 140/80 & 155/85 1st thing in morning . It’s probably been creeping up with age (I’m 73) but isn’t helped by current anxiety.

We’re both now loath to see a doctor about our BPs as we don’t want to have meds inflicted on us to force it back down to 120/80, causing more problems.

1 like, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • andy36449
    andy36449 helen33824

    Edited

    This sounds very similar to something I went through a number of years ago. I was diagnosed at the GPs with high BP in around 2017 started on a succession of BP Medications to fix it. I eventually ended up on candesartan and Amdopoline which worked fine for around 2 to 3 years. They then started to give me terrible headaches, such that sleep was difficult or impossible, so attempts were made to find other medications - all to no avail. I think I must’ve tried just about the whole of the pharmacopoeia to find a tablet that worked, and which didn’t make me feel absolutely dreadful and struggling with day-to-day life.

    I took the decision to come off them all, and went back almost back to my normal self. I then opted to be referred to a BP clinic run at our local hospital. A very good consultant examined my case and all the tests and heart scans which I had over the last couple of years and declared as far as he could see I didn’t have high BP But extreme white coat syndrome. He said he thought I was normal risk for my age..

    The almost word is pertinent here, I’ve never quite shaken off the headaches and anxiety about blood pressure, making it very difficuit to take it even at home - the buzzing of the machine and the arm cuff really affect me badly. I'm about high 150s/80 , i suspect lower but see previous sentence. I just get on with life now & try & put the whole episode behind me.

    I’m sure that the medications help vast numbers of people who take them, but some (i've heard around 13 or 14%), just can’t tolerate them and have to live without.. So there are casualties from such mass medication. The only medication I'm on now are low dose statins, and it took a few attempts to find one which agreed with me.

    i don't know if this helps, and please don't take it as advice as to what you should do, but at least it shows that you are not alone.

  • Bern9999
    Bern9999 helen33824

    Posted

    your story really resonates with me, so similar to mine, only difference is i am still struggling with headaches from Lercanidipine , after trying at least 3 other medications, dont have the courage to stop taking them, its a vicious cycle, well done uou, and good health going forward.

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