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Amlopidine experience

  1. Prescribed 5mg amlopidine to reduce \"high\" blood pressure several weeks ago.

    All went well first few days though my blood pressure plummented, one reading was 87/52. It had an impact within a few hours of taking the first tablet. Unfortunately problems started, constant dizziness, and some very badly disturbed nights, coundn't sleep and felt like someone was sitting on my chest, couldn't lie down in bed. I then started to get what I realize now were panic attacks and anxiety. Decided last weekend after another horrible night to reduce to to 2.5mg this made little difference.

    Couldn't cope any longer and stopped taking it at the start of this week.

    The first night was truly awful, felt like I was going to have a heart attack,

    couldn't settle spent night on settee, drifted off to sleep and woke up suddenly at 3am coughing and gasping for breath, after that I felt a little better and managed a few hours sleep in bed.

    The following day was better, the dizziness had almost cleared up.

    Had another not very pleasant night and the following day, Wednesday, in the morning my chest felt quite strange but that cleared through the day.

    Now this morning (thursday) feeling almost back to normal, undisturbed nights sleep, very very slightly lightheaded but any feelings of anxiety and panic have gone, blood pressure 120/81. I'm shocked that a tiny little tablet could have such a negative impact, I felt absolutely awful . I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and go and see my doctor and explain. Thank heavens I stopped taking this horrible drug after just over 3 weeks.

    I guess it works very well for some people but not for me, the only other thing I use is a symbicort inhaler for asthma.

  2. ooooppsss spelling :oops: Update, took last half of a 5mg tablet on Monday morning. Second day off meds and still a little residual dizziness during 5 hours working mowing lawns but no feelings of chest pain or anxiety, it's such a relief.

  3. Saturday morning, 4th day since stopping taking the amlodipine 5mg.

    Feeling so much better, decent nights sleep last night, first for quite a while. The feelings of anxiety seem to be diminishing though yesterday evening they came back for a while. Keeping an eye on my blood pressure if it goes up guess I'll have to go and see my GP and see if there is an alternative to amlodipine. As I only had mild hypertension I'd much prefer to try some life style changes rather than get hooked on taking tablets for ever more. Guess I'm just one of the unlucky ones who have a bad reaction to this drug. Is it just me but I find it quite difficult to make my GP listen, I'd tried to tell him I'd had some really bad nights after starting this tablet. Prescribing BP drugs seems to be statistics driven and not based on the individual. I quote \" if 1000 people are found to have hypertension prescribing BP reducing drugs for them statistically will prevent one stroke or heart attack in that group and save the NHS money\"

  4. No. It's not just you. I've come to the conclusion, sadly, that they don't want to listen. They don't like to give in to you in any way at all, or look as if they don't know what they are doing. They hate to be told, even in the nicest possible way. Useless the lot of them, and I'm beginning to hate them all with a passion :evil:

  5. Still making progress, slowly feels like I'm getting back into control, felt much more active today and interested in getting back to my hobbies, though this evening there is a hint of anxiety creeping back. Just 7 days today since I stopped taking it.

    I'm in something of a quandary about what to do next apart from keeping an eye on my blood pressure. My GP said come back and see him in October and I've got a couple of weeks to think about things before being expected to order a repeat prescription, my confidence in him and his attitude has been rather diminished by this experience. He just wouldn't listen when I tried to tell him about my disturbed nights which began about a week after starting on amlidopine.

    Good luck Flutterby52, hang in there.

  6. Thank you. I hope your bp stays down so you don't have to be on any medications, or at least on one that has the least side effects possible. The less we have of these poisons inside us the better :yuk:

  7. I have just been prescribed the 10mg variety of this drug (but not collected it yet).

    Reading the various experiences related here, I'm wondering whether to even begin taking it!

  8. That's a tricky one, not everyone has any side effects at all and if you have a persistant high blood pressure problem it is a very effective treatment. 10mg straight in seems to be on the high side for an initial dose, I think it's usually 5mg then upped if it hasn't had the required effect but I'm no doctor just someome who's suffered the side effects.

    There will be masses of people for whom amlodipine has been very effective without any side effects, for what's it's worth I'd say start taking it but watch out for any of the side effects kicking in. I didn't have a problem for about 5 days or so after starting taking it and it was very effective at dropping my blood pressure, almost too effective.

    If you've got any worries perhaps you should talk to your doctor about them?

    Good Luck..

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