My brains my blow out of my ears but I feel great...
July 19, 2011 4:49 PM Subscribe
Blood pressure meds, I am not taking mine and I feel GREAT.
Up until about a month ago I took Lisinopril and Atenolol (at night) for high blood pressure (145-170/90-100). I have dutifully taken these for years and my BP is usually about 140-142/90. About one month ago the pills ran out and I could not afford to have them refilled, so I did not and stopped taking them.
Now I feel terrific! Lots of energy and generally rosy. While talking the drugs I was so tired all the time, literally falling over in the afternoon sometimes. I had a lot of mental confusion and felt like I was in a cloud, and my BP didn't go down all that much. I am 53, female, and of normal weight.
So what is up? Are then any blood pressure drugs that don't make one feel like crap? Or is it just the ones I was taking? What drugs do you suggest?
(I did tell my doctor that I was incredibly tired; he told me to take a nap in the afternoon. Napping is not going to happen.)
Up until about a month ago I took Lisinopril and Atenolol (at night) for high blood pressure (145-170/90-100). I have dutifully taken these for years and my BP is usually about 140-142/90. About one month ago the pills ran out and I could not afford to have them refilled, so I did not and stopped taking them.
Now I feel terrific! Lots of energy and generally rosy. While talking the drugs I was so tired all the time, literally falling over in the afternoon sometimes. I had a lot of mental confusion and felt like I was in a cloud, and my BP didn't go down all that much. I am 53, female, and of normal weight.
So what is up? Are then any blood pressure drugs that don't make one feel like crap? Or is it just the ones I was taking? What drugs do you suggest?
(I did tell my doctor that I was incredibly tired; he told me to take a nap in the afternoon. Napping is not going to happen.)
Sometimes beta blockers (Atenolol) can cause the user to feel lethargic. But there are LOTS of options you can discuss with your doctor or pharmacist in many classes. Not taking them is a bad idea - high BP does terrible damage to your kidneys and cardiovascular system, even though you can't feel it. Tell your doctor exactly what happened and that you'd like to try something different if he/she feels you still need the meds.
Also, a LOT of BP drugs are on the $4.00 plan at WalMart/Kroger/Walgreens/whatever you have locally. This doesn't mean they're inferior to other drugs. It just means they are generic and have been on the market long enough to be cheap. (I think lisinopril and atenolol are both likely on the plan as well, but I digress...) Stop by the pharmacy for a brochure and don't be ashamed to take it to your doctor. They will totally understand that price can be prohibitive and would rather you be honest about what you want. :) Love, your local MeFi phamacist.
posted by keribear at 5:19 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, a LOT of BP drugs are on the $4.00 plan at WalMart/Kroger/Walgreens/whatever you have locally. This doesn't mean they're inferior to other drugs. It just means they are generic and have been on the market long enough to be cheap. (I think lisinopril and atenolol are both likely on the plan as well, but I digress...) Stop by the pharmacy for a brochure and don't be ashamed to take it to your doctor. They will totally understand that price can be prohibitive and would rather you be honest about what you want. :) Love, your local MeFi phamacist.
posted by keribear at 5:19 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Talk to your physician. There are a wide range of BP drugs with a wide range of side effects; high blood pressure is not something you can afford to mess around with long-term.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Lowering your blood pressure in itself will make you feel like crap.
It also lowers your risk of stroke, heart disease, damage to literally every organ in your body, blindness... The list goes on.
You should, however, get used to lower (ie, "normal") blood pressure within a few days or weeks, if you stick to taking your meds regularly. As others mentioned, if you still feel very very wrong after a month, talk to your doctor about trying something else. But mistaking the fact that you feel better off them for not needing them, will damage or kill you, eventually.
posted by pla at 5:35 PM on July 19, 2011
It also lowers your risk of stroke, heart disease, damage to literally every organ in your body, blindness... The list goes on.
You should, however, get used to lower (ie, "normal") blood pressure within a few days or weeks, if you stick to taking your meds regularly. As others mentioned, if you still feel very very wrong after a month, talk to your doctor about trying something else. But mistaking the fact that you feel better off them for not needing them, will damage or kill you, eventually.
posted by pla at 5:35 PM on July 19, 2011
My mom was feeling pretty good right before she had her stroke. I'm just sayin'.... IANYD and Don't wanna be a doctor anyway.
posted by driley at 5:45 PM on July 19, 2011
posted by driley at 5:45 PM on July 19, 2011
(IANAD, IANYD, etc.)
2nding Inspector Gadget. Have you discussed other options (ARBs, diuretics, calcium channel blockers, etc.) with your healthcare provider? What about lifestyle changes (diet, exercise)? Those are effective for some individuals, not so much for others.
The side effects you're describing are common with many drugs that lower blood pressure, unfortunately. It could be, though, that those side effects wouldn't be as intense with a different drug regimen.
posted by pecanpies at 5:49 PM on July 19, 2011
2nding Inspector Gadget. Have you discussed other options (ARBs, diuretics, calcium channel blockers, etc.) with your healthcare provider? What about lifestyle changes (diet, exercise)? Those are effective for some individuals, not so much for others.
The side effects you're describing are common with many drugs that lower blood pressure, unfortunately. It could be, though, that those side effects wouldn't be as intense with a different drug regimen.
posted by pecanpies at 5:49 PM on July 19, 2011
You can get real nice battery operated BP devices.
Just fyi, but several doctors and nurses I know do not recommend these electric home devices. They have all - literally like 5 of them - said that they are too inaccurate compared to the pump you get at the surgery and a qualified practitioner using it.
posted by smoke at 5:58 PM on July 19, 2011
Just fyi, but several doctors and nurses I know do not recommend these electric home devices. They have all - literally like 5 of them - said that they are too inaccurate compared to the pump you get at the surgery and a qualified practitioner using it.
posted by smoke at 5:58 PM on July 19, 2011
Even a low dose of atenolol made me feel like a zombie. I have not yet encountered a BP med that made me feel better, and I've taken dozens.
You're of normal weight and have moderately high HTN and you feel better off meds - okay, this was me six months ago, so I feel obligated to share the short version of my story. After 10 years of taking BP meds that made me feel like crap, I abruptly stopped taking them last December and my BP actually went down (from 160s/100s to low 140s/90s) off meds. I changed doctors and within a few weeks had a diagnosis: I don't have essential HTN at all, I have primary aldosteronism (tumor in my adrenal gland) that is causing secondary HTN. The treatment is still getting sorted out.
Meanwhile, I've made it my mission to tell everyone I encounter who talks about HTN but is not overweight, in poor health, or doing better on meds to ask their doctor for the blood tests for aldosterone and renin.
posted by chez shoes at 6:14 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
You're of normal weight and have moderately high HTN and you feel better off meds - okay, this was me six months ago, so I feel obligated to share the short version of my story. After 10 years of taking BP meds that made me feel like crap, I abruptly stopped taking them last December and my BP actually went down (from 160s/100s to low 140s/90s) off meds. I changed doctors and within a few weeks had a diagnosis: I don't have essential HTN at all, I have primary aldosteronism (tumor in my adrenal gland) that is causing secondary HTN. The treatment is still getting sorted out.
Meanwhile, I've made it my mission to tell everyone I encounter who talks about HTN but is not overweight, in poor health, or doing better on meds to ask their doctor for the blood tests for aldosterone and renin.
posted by chez shoes at 6:14 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
... do not recommend these electric home devices.
posted by smoke
Tell ya what, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and I'll bring my (doctor recommended) device along, and check it against their readings. I'll let you know what happens.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:48 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by smoke
Tell ya what, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and I'll bring my (doctor recommended) device along, and check it against their readings. I'll let you know what happens.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:48 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Chez shoes makes a very good point. If you are young or were young when you became hypertensive (for the purpose of this I would class young as <4>
However, high blood pressure needs to be treated. If there is a secondary cause, that should be addressed, but otherwise I would strongly suggest working with your doctors to find a medication combination that works for you. As others have said, uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to strokes, kidney failure and eye problems. These things are not good.
posted by *becca* at 6:57 PM on July 19, 2011
However, high blood pressure needs to be treated. If there is a secondary cause, that should be addressed, but otherwise I would strongly suggest working with your doctors to find a medication combination that works for you. As others have said, uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to strokes, kidney failure and eye problems. These things are not good.
posted by *becca* at 6:57 PM on July 19, 2011
Nthing not using "I feel great" as a metric for needing blood pressure medication. "I feel like crap" is a perfectly legitimate metric to drive a search for a different blood pressure medication. There are roughly a zillion of 'em out there, some of them quite cheap.
Checking your device against the doctors is not a bad idea, but that's only accuracy. It could be that if you took the cuff off and put it back on you'd get a reading that was nothing like the one you just got. You should also test for precision by taking 3 to 5 measurements in a row (taking the cuff all the way off and putting it back on) to see how much variance you get. There are ways to work around poor accuracy or poor precision. If you have poor accuracy AND poor precision, throw it away.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:08 PM on July 19, 2011
Checking your device against the doctors is not a bad idea, but that's only accuracy. It could be that if you took the cuff off and put it back on you'd get a reading that was nothing like the one you just got. You should also test for precision by taking 3 to 5 measurements in a row (taking the cuff all the way off and putting it back on) to see how much variance you get. There are ways to work around poor accuracy or poor precision. If you have poor accuracy AND poor precision, throw it away.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:08 PM on July 19, 2011
IANAD, but have you talked to your physician about non-med ways of treating HBP? Diet, exercise, losing weight, salt restriction (if you respond to salt). I suspect you have, because that's standard procedure before going the med route, but perhaps this is a time to double down on this approach? The idea behind it is that if you it is the meds that are making you miserable, then if you manage to control your BP without meds, you'd be A-OK, with health benefits to boot. Of course, if that's not an option, or you're not a responder, then perhaps you can talk to your doc to find out if there are other meds that won't make you feel crappy.
posted by VikingSword at 7:41 PM on July 19, 2011
posted by VikingSword at 7:41 PM on July 19, 2011
I take Toprol for my blood pressure as well as Plavix, aspirin and lipitor. I am tired in the afternoons. I switched the timing for when I take my daily meds from the morning to the late afternoon. It has helped immensely in terms of not needing that 4:00pm nap. I would talk to my doc about the side effects, the results now that you stopped and the timing of when you should take the drugs.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:09 PM on July 19, 2011
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:09 PM on July 19, 2011
We're all different, but I went off beta blockers because I could barely get through my day on them due to fatigue and it was incredibly not fun. Oh and diuretics are seriously in the not-fun category for me as well. Then my doctor put me on an ACE inhibitor. At first I thought I'd have to go off them, too, due to a dry cough but that went away after a few weeks. Now I feel GREAT, AND I'm taking my BP meds. It rocks.
posted by hazyjane at 4:30 AM on July 20, 2011
posted by hazyjane at 4:30 AM on July 20, 2011
I have taken atenolol for a while now. When I first started it I noticed the lethargy side effect too. My doctor at the time suggested I take it just before bed so that I was sleeping while the worst of the effect was happening. Now I don't notice any side effects as I'm sleeping through them. I only take a low dose once a day though and its the only drug I take for blood pressure. As a side note it did also help with unrelated anxiety attacks I was having so not all the side effects where bad.
posted by wwax at 7:38 AM on July 20, 2011
posted by wwax at 7:38 AM on July 20, 2011
Followup on the BP machine (Omron hem-790IT):
I took 4 readings, changing arms, reapplying the device, both before and after the doctor used the arm-band and stethoscope. My top and bottom readings vary within a total range of 5, the doctor's reading is also in that range, near the upper limit. Pulse is identical, or +-1.
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:52 AM on July 20, 2011
I took 4 readings, changing arms, reapplying the device, both before and after the doctor used the arm-band and stethoscope. My top and bottom readings vary within a total range of 5, the doctor's reading is also in that range, near the upper limit. Pulse is identical, or +-1.
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:52 AM on July 20, 2011
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You could try the Lisinopril alone. It works perfectly for me, with genetic high BP. No noticeable side effects.
Let me caution you about Calcium Channel Blockers. I ran out of Lisinopril, and boomeranged way up there. The doctor panicked, and switched to a Calcium Channel Blocker. I had a terrible reaction after just 4 or 5 tablets. A year later, some of the symptoms of that reaction are still slightly noticeable. Swelling and pain in the extremities, deathly stabbing pain in the chest.
You can get real nice battery operated BP devices, to adjust your dosage to the minimum effective amount.
High BP is problematic, precisely because there are no symptoms. Until you stroke out, or your kidneys stop working.
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:12 PM on July 19, 2011