[Wellspotted]

Is anyone on here taking blood pressure medication? I am on Lisinopril and Amlodipine and just started Hydrochlorothiazide last week. The last one really makes me feel weird. About 4 hours after taking it I experience sudden hunger and if I don't eat immediately I feel faint (I guess - never have fainted in my life). I plan to talk to the doctor this week about this.

He put me on it because the other 2 weren't doing enough, but I hate the way it affects me.

Anyone have any experience with BP meds?

[carolprudm]

I take Benicar Can't tell if I have missed a dose

[Louise]

I take Verapamil. It's an older medication, but keeps my blood pressure under control very well.

[EponaRoan]

I'm on atenolol. (One benefit was it cutting down on my migraines.) I take it at night before bed - maybe switching the time you take it would help if you're taking in the am?

[Bluey]

I am on a beta blocker, Toprol XL, for a heart arrhythmia, not to control blood pressure, but it is also used for some, at a much higher dose, for that.

Be careful when you order brand name medications, you may not always get what you are thinking.

One time, the insurance demanded the pharmacy change it to the generic.
They did, but didn't tell me or the cardiologist.
After five days, the pills look identical, I was getting sick again.
I went to the Dr, found about the medication change when asking if there may be something wrong with the new bottle.
The Dr had a fit the pharmacy had changed medication without asking first.
The pharmacy thought it was for blood pressure and for that, the generic was working fine, they said.
The Dr said they should have known by the amount it was not prescribed for blood pressure control.

[saitou_amaya]

I take lisinopril, which has worked best for me out of the many many BP drugs I've tried. Talk to your doctor about it! Sometimes they really need to play around with it to find the right meds. I had a kidney transplant and if there is anything I've learned its to be your own advocate and if something don't feel right, speak up.
Also worth mentioning, Hydrochlorothiazide is actually a diuretic. It helps blood pressure by regulating the amount of fluid in your body. Is it possible that you are feeling faint because you are dehydrated? This is a common problem with diuretics. Also could be low potassium because of the medication. Try a potassium-rich snack next time and see if you notice a difference. But most importantly talk to your doctor!

[FitToBeTied]

Hydrochlorothiazide here as well. I take it right before going to bed otherwise I can get a bit dizzy.

[Where'sMyWhite]

Currently I am on Diovan HCT (Valsartan and Hydrochlorothiozide). I have been on a few over the years but this seems to do a good job overall. No dizziness or anything else I have noticed from the HCT (also have taken HCT separately ad not noticed a problem).

[BuddyRoo]

Wellspotted, are you taking a combination of those meds at the same time? You might talk to your doctor about splitting them up.

If you've only started feeling off with the Hydrochlorothiazide, could it be that you're getting dehydrated? Because that's a diuretic. Have you been monitoring your BP at the time when you're feeling "weird"? Are you perhaps bottoming out?

My mom is on a few meds for BP/CHF and it's taken some careful tweaking plus very careful attention to salt intake to keep her feeling good.

[laskiblue]

Am I the only one taking an old school BP medicine? I take the generic version of extended release Inderal, and I notice within 12 hours if I've missed one. The cheapest price I've found for the dosage I take (120 mg) is $45 per month (no insurance).

[Lady Eboshi]

Investigate a low-carb diet and try it for about 3 months. You may well find you can get off some, most, or all of these meds. High BP, "high cholesterol," insulin resistance, and obesity are all components of Metabolic Syndrome which is absolutely induced by the grain-based diet we have been (erroneously!) force-fed for the last 30 years. Basically, we're eating ourselves sick and then looking to medications for the cure. Plenty in common with feedlot cattle, and brought to you by the same industries.

[Where'sMyWhite]

Not sure how my grandfather and mother were force fed the high grain diet that gave them the high blood pressure I inherited.

[pony4me]

Lisinopril. It works well, and is inexpensive. My diet is pretty healthy; lots of veggies, and not a lot of grains. Weight is fine, and other metrics are good. That's the only med I take, and I'm over 55.

[Bluey]

Investigate a low-carb diet and try it for about 3 months. You may well find you can get off some, most, or all of these meds. High BP, "high cholesterol," insulin resistance, and obesity are all components of Metabolic Syndrome which is absolutely induced by the grain-based diet we have been (erroneously!) force-fed for the last 30 years. Basically, we're eating ourselves sick and then looking to medications for the cure. Plenty in common with feedlot cattle, and brought to you by the same industries.

On the other hand, at least people today are not starving regularly, since those industries mass produced enough to feed so many.

[carolprudm]

Investigate a low-carb diet and try it for about 3 months. You may well find you can get off some, most, or all of these meds. High BP, "high cholesterol," insulin resistance, and obesity are all components of Metabolic Syndrome which is absolutely induced by the grain-based diet we have been (erroneously!) force-fed for the last 30 years. Basically, we're eating ourselves sick and then looking to medications for the cure. Plenty in common with feedlot cattle, and brought to you by the same industries.

YUP, I was on 20 mg Benicar + HCTZ, went low carb and was able to cut down to 5 mg Benicar, no HCTZ

[Canaqua]

Not sure how my grandfather and mother were force fed the high grain diet that gave them the high blood pressure I inherited.

Mine is inherited, and not lifestyle related, as well. When it first started creeping up, in my early 40s, my PCP and I tracked it carefully. I'm not overweight and never have been, I eat a decent diet, I exercise, all blood work normal, etc... Tried several months of even better diet, even more aerobic exercise, no alcohol at all, etc...nope, kept creeping up. Since my brother's is also high (and his started much younger) and my father's, PCP figured it was hereditary and meds were the only answer.

Fortunately, mine is controlled with quite small doses of lisinopril and hydrochlorothiazide. My PCP says she finds that those two drugs are often more effective when used together and the dose of each can be much lower than if either was used in isolation. I don't have any side effects on this combination.

[Wellspotted]

Thank you all very much for your replies and feedback. I have felt a little better today, maybe because I have remembered to eat something every single hour and to drink even more often. I have actually eaten some sugar snacks, which I try to avoid, and they have actually made me feel better. Never in my life have I thought that I need to eat MORE, or more often; I have always been somewhat overweight, and the positive thing for me was always to NOT eat. Now I am being told to eat more often (small meals) and to not let myself get really hungry. This is a totally new way for me to live. But today I have actually felt hungry, not all-of-a-sudden-feeling-so-hungry-I-felt-sick, which was what was happening every other day since I started taking this hydrochlorothiazide tablet. Hopefully my body is getting used to this. I have not taken prescription meds in nearly 50 years and I hate doing it, but I believe that these meds are helping my BP. I just wish I felt more energetic and not so scared all the time.

[Louise]

I'm sorry that you're scared, Wellspotted. Try not to be. There are many blood pressure meds out there and I'm sure that something will work out to be the best one, or combination for you. Just keep your doctor in the loop and, hopefully, he or she will keep trying until you are successful.