BP medication nightmare

[Yachtingaroundtheworldiwish]

Every one I’ve tried upset my stomach. Can anyone suggest a BP medication that is gentle on your stomach? I’m feeling desperate.

Have you discussed with the gp? They will be better to advise you. Theres so many different types to try but they all affect blood pressure differently so one that suits someone else might not suit you.

Everyone reacts differently.

a few years ago I tried quite a few different ones, my stomach wasn't really the issue, it was more nausea, dizzy, just feeling crap.

since my stroke, I'm in a cocktail of drugs £ feel bloody awful but don't know which or which combination is the culprit.

i take 109mg of Losartan in the morning & 1mg of Doxazosin at night. (In hospital they tamped it up to 2/4/8 in a few days & I was really unwell in that. They dropped if totally when I came home, but BP was still a bit high, so put me back on 1 mg.& increased the Losartan from 50 to 100. One consultant said it was better to be on smaller doses of several different types than a bigger dose if one as they all work differently.

plus as much as I hate to say it, you do need to persist & give your body a chance to get used to to it.

Though 6 days of pregabilin (for nerve issues, not BP) was the most I was prepared to give it, the side effects were getting worse day in day & the dizziness became intolerable!

best of luck x

Thanks for your replies, sorry to hear about your health @Ihad2Strokes .

Yes, every time I’m put onto a new medication I discuss with the GP. I’ve tried Amlodipine, Ramipril, Doxazosin, Lercanidipine, indapamide and Losartan. I’ve just stopped the Losartan as I’d rather be dead than feel so awful. I took it for 10 days and the upset stomach just got worse and worse. I ended up being admitted to hospital after taking ramipril with high potassium and low sodium.

Lisinopril? I take that and haven’t had any side effects at all. Diltiazem? Bisoprolol? What exactly is happening when you say upset stomach?

I’m on bisoprolol. I have crohns and lots of things mess with my guts, but I’ve been absolutely fine with them. I hope you can find something that works for you.

Another vote for Bisoprolol here, but you need to make sure via GP that it is suitable for your level of BP.

I don't have high BP but have to take it for Atrial Fibrillation to slow my heart rate down! Never had a problem with it at all, and it comes in various size doses, that were titrated to get to the correct dose for me.

I know this is an old thread, but just wondered if you have found a BP drug you can take without it upsetting your stomach. I'm on the fifth drug now and worry that I'll never find something. Most cause horrendous urgent diarrhoea or, if not diarrhoea then really swollen ankles, hair loss and and dry eyes. I'm beginning to think there's nothing I can take.

Candesartan seems ok for me

That's one I haven't tried, thank you.

I had the same issue. I am now on Candestarten which seems to be better, though I've never felt well generally since I was put on BP medication. The others had really bad side effects.

I found the doctor utterly useless. They have to look up the side effects on their phone and seemed clueless.

I think I'm going to try the candesartan as that's two recommendations. The GP just stabs around trying different things without really considering if I'm likely to tolerate it. It's been going on for over a year now. Like you I never feel completely myself on the drugs but I know I need to find something I can take.

It's not the GP's job to know the side effects of all the medications they prescribe. That's the role of your pharmacist. I'd suggest you ask your pharmacist first about the side effects you are experiencing, and whether they can suggest any drugs that have the same therapeutic effect but fewer side effects that you can then discuss with your GP.

Why isn't it the job of a GP to know this? Mine didn't even know that statins increase the risk of diabetes and exacerbate existing blood sugar issues!

Drug interactions, side effects, risk profile, dosages etc are all within the pharmacist expertise. That's what they spend 5 years studying before starting full time work as a pharmacist. A doctor's expertise is diagnosis, symptoms, treatment options. No one person can know it all, that's why there is a split in roles.

But for your answer about statins and blood sugar, as blood sugar control or T2 risk is not a published contraindication for statins, there is no reason they would know. Doctors don't have time to read every medical research paper that is published, and so use tools such as NICE or CDC guidance to inform the prescribing process. Neither of these organisations consider the T2 risk to outweigh the benefits of statins in a population at risk from adverse cardiovascular events.

I need to come back and read this thread again.

I suspect my GP doesn't know the effect that statin sound on diabetes either. Before I had the Stroke I refuse to take them. But they put you on them in hospital and there is a lot of pressure to stay on them.

I'm seeing an endocrinologist and I'm looking at having surgery for parathyroid issues so I'll try to talk to about the statins at the same time somewhere along the line if I can, but yes, I need to read this thread again properly

@Yachtingaroundtheworldiwish

how are you getting on now?

I have diltiazem and that’s okay I’m on the highest dose

I’m now on Losartan as the least bad medication, the highest dose. Unfortunately it’s not brought down by BP enough. I tried Lercanidipine again. Gosh, it made me so ill. I took it for five days, with worsening heartburn. I was swigging gaviscon and persevering. On day five, I felt very unwell and had an early night. I broke out into awful sweats. I lay on my bed in front of a fan. I then experienced agonising cramp in both legs. I jumped up and immediately started retching. I then had to run to the bathroom and had diarrhoea. I notified the GP who texted me and told me not to take it, as if I was going to.

Anyway I’m trying a very low dose of doxazosin to be taken just before I get into bed to try and stop any side effects.

Has the GP suggested taking a combination? I take losartan and lercanpendine. 2 lowers doses are better then 1 high one. Took ages to figure this out, worst side effect for me was feeling burning hot like I had a fever with losartan and very sick with ramapril.

So basically I need to see a pharmacist and not a GP to discuss whether I should be prescribed medication in future? Crazy.

The GP wants to put me on statins too . I just can't face more drugs and side effects. I've read that statins play a role in dementia and cause horrendous side effects. It's all so terrifying and I don't trust the doctor at all , so how do I make decisions?

Pharmacists are super knowledgeable,I'm surprised you are surprised at this.

Apparently it’s very common to need two different drugs for high blood pressure.

I have been on Lisinopril for 22 yrs, I take nifedipine and furosamide . The nifedipine I originally took was Adalat but manufacturing discontinued sometime during covid and GPs were a bit wrapped up with the pandemic so we’re not aware. I struggled to get hold of it and eventually gave up. After about 12 months I was experiencing worsening PVCs so was put on a different nifedipine which sorted it out. The water tablets are because I get peripheral swelling from the lisinopril. My GP claims it shouldn’t really work but it does.
The drugs I’m on are older ones but they work.

I did attempt to change to Ramapril but it had a paradoxical effect and my blood pressure shot up dramatically when I took it.

I also have a bit of a reactive liver that can become inflamed with some drugs so my GP prefers to keep me on the tried and tested ones I’ve used for years.

My blood pressure is a little higher than they would like at the moment but that is down to taking Anastrazole for the last five years. I took my last one yesterday so I’m hoping my Bp starts to come down a little. I will have to monitor it over the next few months just in case it drops too low.

I would go back to your GP and maybe look at different options. Whenever I need to change meds my GP tends to refer me to the clinical pharmacist at the practice. They are generally much more knowledgeable about current regimes and the side effects of Bp meds available.The pharmacist at my GPs has been very helpful when I’ve wanted to adjust things.

All meds can have side effects, you need to give them a few weeks to settle down. Dizziness, for example is often short lived and can be reduced by titrations the dose from a very low dose increasing g it gradually until the desired BP is achie.

Thanks everyone. It's really helpful to hear the experience of others. I've got an appointment with the GP in a few weeks so going to discuss it with her again.