The slow build up of side effects- anyone had the same?
Posted , 55 users are following.
I was prescribed amlodipine 5mg and then, very quickly, 10 mg about 1 year ago. My high bp was detected by my optician via an eye test (!). I have only just discovered this site and wish I had done so earlier.
I am 64, married, semi-retired/work part-time, am fairly active ( e.g. do a lot of walking; go to gym regularly). My bp was taken by the nurse last week and was defined as \"absolutely normal\"; my own readings at home now average 130/80. I had been a heavy smoker for 50 years but gave up a year ago, i.e. as soon as I was put on this awful medication, simply by \" \"going cold turkey\".
My diet is extremely healthy because my wife has to eat very carefully and sensibly for medical reasons.I am a big believer in medical self-help/ alternative treatment and I am personally averse to taking any pills on a long term basis without attempting alternative treatments. I'm not trying to depict myself as a \"health/lifestyle angel\"- I like a drink and good food, like a laugh, go to football, love rock music gigs.
However, my relationship with my GP is not what one would call a \" \"partnership\". One of the most recent NHS policy straplines in terms of patients' rights ( and, boy, how I hate these types of weazel words) is \" \"no decision about me, without me\". Well, folks, even in the first few weeks of taking amlodipine and of being bumped from 5mg to 10 mg my GP was strongly inferring that I would be on bp medication \" for life\". And, when I complained about weight gain, he said he was not concernd \"as long as my bp came down\".
What I have realised, especially after reading this site, is that the side effects of amlodipine can also build up very slowly over a long period of time, i.e. as opposed to being more of a sudden or \" allergic\" body reaction. The danger of this \"gradual accumulation\" of symptoms is that the patient can come to accept these side effects as normal. In my own case, I guess I have up to now been thinkng that they were all to do with natural ageing , smoking cessation, etc. Indeed, my contact with my GP is so minimal that it's a wonder I think of the amlodipine at all.
The main side effects for me are:
-weight gain ( and, I suspect ,fluid retention); for 30 years I could have sent anybody to, say, M&S with a note of my size for a shirt, a suit, jeans, etc. Now, after 1 year of amlodipine, I have 5 business suits which no longer fit and a new, larger suit purchased as a stop gap in July which does not fit. And ditto with dress shirts. And so on.
-calf cramps during the night;
-exacerbated pain in what ,previously , were weak spots/ old sports injuries ( hip, back, knee);
- significantly reduced intellectual/ creative energy;
-\"doing the same amount of activity ( walking, gardening,etc) takes more and more effort/ makes me more and more tired\"- in other words, I still try to do the same length of walk, amount of gardening but it takes longer and takes more out of me; and no- I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT I CAN SIMPLY HAVE AGED THIS MUCH IN 12 MONTHS!
I have paid for acupuncture, which has yielded good benefits; I am about to purchase the RespeRate breathing machine ( has anybody else out there used this/ found a benefit from it?) plus some Cumel natural herb tablets.
However, my huge, huge concern is that my realisation, after reading this site, that amlodipine's side effects can also be gradual and can literally \" \"creep up on you\" if there is no real dialogue with your GP will fall upon the deaf ears......of......my GP.
7 likes, 72 replies
michelle50192 doug64
Posted
I just posted about my current experience with this med. I'm starting to think it is the cause of more symptoms I have been experiencing lately. But the funny thing is, before this, I was on Azor 5/40...worked wonderfully! No side effects, but I had to change beacuse it was costing me nearly $450.00 for a 90 day supply...and Azor is a combo of amlodipine and olmesartan!
deborah53662 michelle50192
Posted
Hi I am replying to this as I believe also it has a massive side effect of hair loss especially in women typically receding hair line from the front of the scalp, my hair grew back tufts within a month of stopping the drug it probably won't ever be it's former glory but it's much better and for women this isn't a nice side effect kind regards debbie
deborah53662 doug64
Posted
jim02851 doug64
Posted
I came across this site quite by accident this morning, and it rang so many alarm bells that I felt I had to comment.
Two yrs ago, (60 yo) I broke my rt ankle, ended up in hospital for a week till it was fixed. As it was clearly no smoking, I couldn't, so when I finally came out I had done the start of cold turkey so I thought I,d leave it out till the plaster came off (6 wks).
After this time, plaster off, told I was fit and healthy, take it steady and expect a full recovery.
After a further six months it was obvious to me that a plate (implant) to hold the bone was unsatisfactory, and after a long wait on waiting list, by which time I was contemplating removing it myself, I went private.
They told me my BP was dangerously high, -GP- Ramiprill-no-Amlodipine-. In six wks I was unable to think at all, and very frightened after the steady buildup of these side effects to the point I could not even dial the phone, or form a sentence.
Diff gp,..stop immediately, come back when clear of this. well, it took a full six wks. I feel most fortunate to have recovered. Now take (as I simply had to get implant removed) Losartan +Indapamide with success, and implant is gone.
No matter how I interpret the list of side effects for amlodipine I do not see mine listed.
If I look at American sites, they are, but not common. No one is interested...
I am left with zero trust of these drugs, or the manufacturers, or those who prescribe them.
I am simply staggered that Amlodipine is still Available.
I can offer no advice other than if this rings any bells, stop.
Jim
Chi000 jim02851
Posted
If u read thru the posts .. yours is listed but expressed in different ways .... mainly
Brain fog
Zombie
Lost my life
What other side effects are u having ?
jim02851 Chi000
Posted
Hi Chi.
I am not now getting any other side effects from Amlodipine, because i stopped taking it, as per my post. I have made it clear that I will not take it again, even if. consequences are fatal. Fortunately, I happen to see a Lady gp with whom I am able to communicate fully and easily with. fantastic.
I have (however) now talked to around 40 others my age,(62) around half use Amlodipine, and are satisfied with it, none looked stunned or were short of things to say . Half of those still smoke, I don't. So it does suit at least some.
Brain fog, confusion are totally inadequate words to describe my state after 5 wks.of A. I reckon one more and I would have been a dribbling incoherent mess.
Losartan 25mg and Indapamide 2.5mg produce ripping intermittent tinnitus and some degree of fug, which by comparison is almost a pleasure, and may I'm told, have greatly improved my sense of humour but not my ability on scaffolding !
I would not be surprised to learn that another "side effect" of Amlodipine was successful suicide. I do not write this lightly.
Best wishes. Jim.
Beeny doug64
Posted
Irregular heart beat. My worse side effect
Is my body temp. has gone haywire! I have night sweats every night and during the day depending on what I, my doing. I am
78 years old so it is not the menopause
although one Doctor even gave me HRT
Nothing has worked they just want to give
me antidepressants which make me sick.
I am now going to insist on changing all
my medications because especially the
excessive sweating at night,I have to
change my night ware 3 times is controlling my life. I am a go ahead lady who still likes to play golf and enjoy life .
I sometimes feel like coming off all drugs
and trying alternatives. Thank you for
Reading this.
Howie123 doug64
Posted
I wanted to share my experience of taking Amlodipine. This is a long post, but I think it is important to share the details in the hope that it may help someone in the future. I was prescribed 10mg Amlodipine in around 2003 (can’t remember exactly when), I would have been aged 39 at that time. I was already taking 10mg Ramipril for moderately high blood pressure. I took both the medications very diligently and never missed a dose.
All of the symptoms described below start to creep in very slowly at first over a ten year period. I was struggling with tiredness and general fatigue which worsened, although I did have a high responsibility job. I had numerous Dr’s appointments in this ten year period with no real progress in improving things. I saw a young junior Dr who was still in training in 2013 and she said I needed to see a Neurologist.
After the Neurologist visit, I was diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinsons disease in February 2013, aged 49. My initial symptoms were loss of arm swing in my right arm, slight dragging of the right foot, tiredness and a history of sleep apnoea. I had no tremor. At the time of diagnosis I was still taking 10mg Ramipril (for high blood pressure), 10mg Amlodipine (for high blood pressure) and 10 mg Escitalopram (antidepressant – generalised tiredness was diagnosed by my GP as depression).
The specialist put me on a Parkinsons medication called Sinemet (25/100) three times a day. I did initially see some improvement in my symptoms, but this did not last long and the symptoms returned. The specialist replaced the Escitalopram with 10mg Selegiline daily (another Parkinsons drug). Again, there was some improvement, but it was not long lasting. The specialist then increased my sinemet dose to 5 times daily (dose 25/100). Again, I saw some limited improvement for a short period just for the symptoms to return again. The next step was to drop the Selegiline, reintroduce the Escitalopram and increase the Sinemet dose to 5 tablets @ 25/100 and 5 tablets @12.5/50. I continued to take the high blood pressure medications throughout.
Over the next couple of years, my symptoms continued to worsen, with speech affected some days, loss of clarity of thinking and other Parkinsonian symptoms. Worst of all, I had to take medical retirement in 2014 (aged 50) from a career that I enjoyed immensely as I just was not able to function. I was becoming increasingly disabled and had to have speech therapy to help me communicate.
In 2015 my symptoms seem to be progressing more rapidly and I started with dystonia in my arms. As the medication did not seem to be effective, I always wondered if my initial diagnosis was correct and having researched the subject thoroughly, I did wonder if I may have Multiple System Atrophy as I was starting to display a number of red flag symptoms for this, particularly as the progression was so aggressive.
I had read some research papers on drug induced Parkinsonism and that certain groups of drugs were known to cause this. These two groups of drugs were SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) which includes Escitalopram that I was taking and Calcium Channel blockers which includes Amlodipine that I was also taking.
I decided that the only way to really understand what was going on was to get a baseline whilst un-medicated. I researched very carefully how to safely reduce my medication regime as I was acutely aware of the dangers of suddenly stopping some of the medications.
Firstly, I carefully titrated my sinemet dose down until I stopped completely. Surprisingly, I did note a small improvement in some symptoms, but I wasn’t sure if I was experiencing a ‘placebo’ effect.
The next one to stop was the Escitalopram, I had been on this for 7 years. Again I thoroughly researched how to stop taking this and titrated down until I was off this drug. I did have some slight side effects for a couple of weeks that caused some light headiness, but it was nothing too bothersome and from my research, I knew to expect this. I noticed a very significant change in cognitive functioning, I hadn’t felt as clear headed for years. No change to Parkinsons Disease symptoms at this stage. One thing that did change significantly is that after stopping this drug, I no longer woke up during the night to go to the toilet. I have had nocturia for several years 3 or 4 times a night and I haven’t had it again since stopping the Escitalopram.
Next was my blood pressure medication, as I been taking these medications for about 10 years. I needed to be very careful here and started to monitor my blood pressure at home as I titrated off these medications. I reduced the dose of Amlodipine by taking half a tablet for a week and then coming off it completely. I have observed a very slight increase in average blood pressure, but it is only small. I hadn’t altered my Ramipril dose and still take this.
What happened next is hard to believe. Within a couple of days of stopping the Amlodipine, my Parkinsons symptoms improved significantly. By day five my dystonia had gone completely, by day seven my arm swing had returned in both arms and all the symptoms I had associated with Parkinsons were all gone.
I was signed off by the specialist in December 2015 with my final diagnosis being drug induced Parkinsonism (caused by Amlodipine). The specialist arranged a DAT Scan this confirmed that dopamine levels were normal and this confirmed the drug induced diagnosis.
Since then my health has improved very significantly although I am diagnosed currently with Functional Neurological Disorder which affects movement, but not as bad as I was previously. I no longer experience the tiredness, lethargy and host of other symptoms. I don’t know whether this new diagnosis is as a result of taking all the unnecessary Parkinsons medications for a couple of years or I had an underlying weakness that the Amlodipine magnified.
I understand that the Neurologist I see has seen other patients who have had a similar reaction to Amlodipine. GP’s in my experience are not aware of this side effect of what is a very commonly prescribed medication.
I still take Ramipril and also Indapamide to help keep blood pressure regulated.
Thank you for reading, I hope this may help someone in the future.
rob55013 Howie123
Posted
Hi Everyone,
As i was reading through all of yours comments, i would like to share my experience too, i am 45 years old, i was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2018 (three years ago), my bp back then was 190/110 due to stress and overweight. After ECG, Echo, stress test and many other tests they didn't find anything and decided to put me on Amlodipine 10mg and Ramipril 10mg. Both medication worked fine for two years, my bp was down to 120/80-130/90. But the problems started after two years, in january 2021 my body start with tremors everyday at the same time in the evening, which lasted from 20min. to 2hours, during these tremors my hands and feet are very cold and of course my bp spikes up up to 150/100 and it came with anxiety attacks which during these intesified and changed to panic attacks where i was crying being scared of heart attack or stroke, i have a wife and three kids they all get scared too and i felt ashamed, i am exmilitary and never in my life felt like this before. I started exercise cardio workout, brisk walking and strict diets, i lost 42lb. in four months. I still need to loose around 10lb to be in perfect bmi, but anyway my bp now lowered even more to 90/60 to 110/70 which is great, but the side effects gets now even worst then ever before my anxiety, panic attacks, tremors cold feeling are coming more often and stay longer. To add more to the side effects my hair loss, nausea, shaking, trembling teeth, blurry to peripheral vision from time to time, fatigue, tiredness, wake up sweaty at 3am (bp normal), my sexual life is gone as well, my brain can't concentrate on anything except on anxiety, my constipation and acid reflux, upset stomach and so on... Finally i decided to slowly to come off amlodipine started taking 5mg for a month, but that doesn't change much maybe slightly less tremors, but still there. Decided to cut amlodipine to 2.5 and add magnesium glycinate 200mg supplement and beetroot juice and b12 complex supplements, for two weeks i felt much much better, no tremors all back to almost normal, bp still same no change there (still taking ramipril 10mg in the evening without any reduction), but today from nowhere huge panic attacks came back, two hours ago i was so scared like i was never in my life i was crying, screaming, shaking, tremors, cold it alk came back from hell, my fear-health anxietyfrom whatever that was, i was thinking to give goodbyes to my children and wife, because i was thinking this is my last day alive here. I already explained this to my GP, she doesn't believe me that amlodipine can cause all this, i beg her for a change from amlo to something else, but she says, she doesn't think its a good idea. I asked her for help with my anxiety and panic attacks and tremors, but she doesnt believe me, she doesnt want to prescribe me anything else for that. They (GPs) doesnt accept any personal visits yet only phone calls, i feel hopeless and tired from all this, especially during these dufficult times its even more painful when i dont have anybody to support me, except you people in here, who believe me as you all have been through this, i had spare propranolol which helped me to calm down so i am able to write this long story in here, you are the only ones who knows about this amlo hell. I have decided i will from tomorrow morning completely stop taking amlodipine, because it does nothing for my bp for at least 6months except bp spikes and horrible side effects. I do believe that amlo causing some sort of damage in the brain after two years, which started with little tremors and then everything gets worst after two years. If i survive this, i'll get back to you people and let you know how it goes. I live in Europe which is right now bit a difficult time with everything during covid. Thank You all for everything, you are the only ones who have these experiences like me and it makes me feel a little better, because i am not alone anymore. Thank You and stay safe.