Amlodipine
 

Hi I have been on these meds for 18 mths to get BP down, given up all alcohol I seem to be getting muscle tenderness aches and bloody pains that I never had before I'm not a hypochondriac, I have googled it seems a problem but medics are saying if that was the case the pain would be everywhere anybody had any experience of these meds. I actually feel worse than when my BP was high and I was drinking every night !

Would it not be reasonable to try an alternate medication and see how that works out?

I agree it would be sensible to try another drug. This side effect has been reported with amlodipine. You could try another drug in the same group or a different class of anti hypertensive. Talk to your family doctor. Do please persevere as uncontrolled hypertension is deadly and IMHO all patients find an acceptable medication

An interesting article a few months ago followed another paper suggesting we should be treating more people with 'mild' hypertension. It posed the question 'with what' and looking through all the published papers noted that with the exception of afrocaribbeans no drug or drugs appeared significantly superior. They concluded therefore that the best drug was the one that was cheapest and had the least side effects ie the humble water tablet or diuretic.

So after 50 years of trillions of dollars spent on research, drug administration and pharmaceutical profits we may have come full circle. Proving my favourite addage 'learning is a lifelong occupation'

I’ve been on it for over 10 years due to having one kidney since birth. I can’t say I have ant side effects personally, but if it’s not for you then pipe up to your GP.

Also agree try alternative medication. I do not know which ones CAA approve as when in UK I wasn't treated for high BP but here in Oz I have regained my class one and am on Olmesartin for it.... just have to do a stress ECG every year but thats no surprise with my age. FYI this is about the third or fourth medication that I have been on for BP and the first where it works for me and I dont have any side effects

Non pharmaceutical means begin with weight control. One of our glider club members was on BP meds and began losing weight. He had to go in to his GP periodically to reduce his dosage as his weight went down.

Then there's exercise. Being retired I can walk 7-8 km a day up and down the local hills.

Diet also helps.

Have to agree with RatherBeFlying.... mine was a bit high 3 months ago despite the medication... been on a diet, not lost that much weight (5KG but will lose more), no alcohol plus exercise ( just fast walking for 30 mins 5x a week. Just been for the annual stress ecg and BP 130/70 which I am pretty happy with for an overweight late 50's pilot.

Just double checking, are you on a statin ?

It's unusual for side-effects to only become noticeable after this length of time. I was prescribed it but after a week or so felt like a zombie and so went back to my GP. I had to push though as the first telephone call I had, I got pushback. Went onto felodipine and no side-effects at all.

So, as others have said, go back to your GP. The posted question re statins is a good one. My cholesterol is marginally high but mainly due to high HDL (Ie the good stuff) and so the ratio is good. They keep trying to put me on statins but as I explain to them, I've run all sorts of permutations through the QRISK website. Dropping the cholesterol only gives a marginal improvement and so the risk of side-effects (at least IMO) outweighs the 'benefits'. QRISK lets you look at what your QRISK is compared to your cohort and what the affect of changing things like BP, cholesterol, weight etc will have. The trouble is that us chaps have two things that affect the QRISK an awful lot and over which we have no control and that is age and gender.

The point about stating is that they can sometimes cause muscle aches.