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Weight Gain on Losartan!

Posted , 34 users are following.

wendy02361
wendy02361

Hi all, I am a 56 year old female who has always been on the slim side. Since taking Losartan (after awful side effects on Ramipril and

Amolopodine) I have found that I have put on a lot of weight. my GP warned me about swollen ankles but they didn't swell, my legs certainly have though. i have put on over 2 stones and am constantly hungry. My joints are extremely painful and my feet are very painful. I am waiting for a podiatrist appt to discover what can be done with my feet. I have been diagnosed with an aniexty disorder but wonder whether the Losartan are making that worse too. I'm beginning to feel really depressed and have been tempted to just ditch the Losartan altogether but am scared due to my high blood pressure. I would be very grateful to hear from anyone else who has experience similar side effects from Losartan. I take 50mg every evening. Thanks for your time

7 likes, 56 replies

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  • pam60654
    pam60654 wendy02361

    Edited

    I have the same side effects as you Wendy.  I would say the main ones are a permanent anxious feeling in my chest, a real sore feeling in the top of my chest on breathing, cramp in my feet and problems with heat in my lower legs at night.  I will follow your thread with interest.  Please let us know if you find a med that doen't have these awful side effects. x
    • wendy02361
      wendy02361 pam60654

      Posted

      Hi Pam, Thanks for your post. Have you tried any other meds or have you always been on Losartan? i recognise the anxious feeling in chest, as though something awful is going to happen. I am not getting the cramp but had that very bad while on Ramipril. There seem to be a variety of other men's but I've had 4 different ones now and they all made me feel terrible. Ramipril made me cough and choke and have the most awful sleep disturbances. That along with the cramp was too much to bear. I have a full time job in the city and its hard enough to keep it together some days without suffering all these side effects.  I'm going to take a self reading of my BP at the doctors soon - this goes through to my doctor. I'm scared about the dangerous side of high BP but my doctor doesn't think I'm due for a stroke yet but a strong contender in the future. Once while my doctor was taking my reading, he asked me to stop talking as "it doesn't like it when you talk". I realised my BP shot up when I spoke so maybe I shouldn't talk much! I will let you know how I get on. 
  • pam60654
    pam60654 wendy02361

    Edited

    I have been reading about magnesium supplement being an alternative to BP meds.  I am going on holiday for 3 weeks so I am coming off my meds and giving it a try.  I will take my bp testing machine with me and keep an eye on my stats.

    I will let you know how it goes. x

    • wendy02361
      wendy02361 pam60654

      Edited

      Hi Pam, Thanks for sharing - I hadn't heard about this alternative. Imagine if it worked! Have a great holiday, I look forward to hearing how the readings go. 
    • wendy02361
      wendy02361 pam60654

      Posted

      Hi Pam, Hope you had a great holiday - how did the magnesium supplement go?
  • emily66117
    emily66117 wendy02361

    Posted

    Hi Wendy.  I take both Losarton and Amlopodine and have put on five inches on my waist since starting.  When I went for a check up a nurse suggested coconust water.  It is expensive but works just as well as Losarton.  Also lots and lots of exercise works well.  Amlopodine does cause anxiety
  • garcia1774
    garcia1774 wendy02361

    Posted

    Hello!! This is my second time being back on Losartan. (Due to health insurance reason) I gained weight, felt anexity worsen, horrible back pain, and have a hard time trying to sleep! The only blood pressure pill that really worked for me is Benicar! But it is just soo expensive! I lost weight with Benicar and felt much better. But now coming back on Losartan, I feel so much worse and have already gained weight and wake up in tears because of my back pain. I don't know what else to do at this point. My BP still averages around 140/98. I am glad I am not the only one going through these struggles. Heart dieases runs strong in my family-- and I am only 35.
    • emily66117
      emily66117 garcia1774

      Posted

      Hi garcia,

      I don't have any health insurance either.  140/98 is fairly good actually.  I just have to re-iterate to try and use all non-drug methods to get the BP down.  If you take Magnesium and Potassium with the Losarton (it doesn't block Calcium) things go a little better.  I would also swear by Nattokinase.  It is just great and works wonderfully on fibroids too.

  • Susan1129
    Susan1129 wendy02361

    Edited

    I have been taking Losartan for about 2 months and had seen a slight weight increase... until this past week.  4 to 5 pounds in the first month or so, and now I am suddenly up about 5 pounds over a 2 week period, with no real change in eating or exercise.  I found this discussion again and wanted to say that I am going to stop this drug and transition to natural methods of dealing with high BP and not subject myself to this anymore.  I have swollen ankles, bloating, and the weight gain that seems to be coming out of no where.  My doctor won't really believe this is going on, but will be happy to switch me to something else in the pharmaceutical line-up. 

    • emily66117
      emily66117 Susan1129

      Posted

      It's really easy to control BP with natural methods.  Just exercise a little.  Don't eat salt, have lots of fruit and veg and Ziko cocunut water.  I believe that doctors have brought the recommeneded BP down to 120/80 just to give the drug companies more sales.  I50/100 is perfectly safe.

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey emily66117

      Posted

      Emily, it might be easy for some people to control their raised BP with natural methods, but this most certainly does not apply to everyone.  For instance, I don't eat salt, have lots of fruit and veg daily, drink plenty of water and keep active, but I still have high BP.  Some people have a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure, whilst others have health conditions that can lead to high blood pressure.  On top of this some people have to take certain drugs for their health conditions which in itself can lead to high blood pressure needing treatment with BP meds.

      In a similar vein, whilst 150/100 might be safe for some, it certainly might not be for others, especially that diastolic figure, so it is a little unwise to state that "150/100 is perfectly safe".

  • pam60654
    pam60654 wendy02361

    Edited

    Hi Wndy

    I have been on these pesky pills on and off for the past 20years.

    I have tried all the other BP meds but they all give me nasty side effects.

    I am off Losatan at the moment and I lost 4ibs in the first weeks and then 2lb on the 2nd and 3rd week.  My weight usually levels out by the 4 week mark.

    This happens every time I stop taking them so the conclusion is

    "Losartan cause weight gain"   the doctors don't believe us but I am living proof.

    • emily66117
      emily66117 pam60654

      Posted

      Yes, I really just take my BP medications on vacation now with all the salty food, and when my BP hikes with family spats.
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