since my husband started taking micardis plus(ARBII) i noticed he started loosing his sex drive. is this mean normal or should i have it replace?

Erectile dysfunction and loss of sex drive is a very common problem in men with high blood pressure. The disease process is the major contributor to impotence, but many of the drugs used to treat hypertension also cause it.
However, Micardis and the other angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) are less likely than all the other classes of BP meds to cause sexual dysfunction. In fact, ARBs may be particularly effective in actually RESTORING erectile function in men with high blood pressure who suffer from impotence.

Perhaps your husband should check with his doctor, as there may be many other reasons, (not drug-related), that are responsible for this problem right now.

zuzu xx

Thanks! Do you think this can be fix?

Tina,

I agree with zuzu that ARB's are probably the easiest of the BP drugs on a man's erectability :D and libido (with the exception of diuretetics) but, in general, all classes of BP meds are MURDER on sexuality.
Remember we're talking about hydraulics here...what fills the hose is liquid under pressure....reduce the pressure for health and you've reduced the pressure for EVERYTHING :nono: ...and the fire fighters have to carry buckets instead of using the hose.

A hint that I've worked out for myself....a 4 hour drug like propranolol (old Inderal-the first beta blocker) can be largely out of my system when I NEED it to be if you follow my drift! ;)

An alternative is to get really good at managing those "buckets." ROFL!

My best advice... take it slowly.... It gets rid of the psychological aspects.

i hope this is not funny for most of you because he feels different too since he took the drugs.He's doubling doses of vit.e.

Tina-
Is he having other troubling side effects?

i hope this is not funny for most of you because he feels different too since he took the drugs.He's doubling doses of vit.e.

No Tina, its not funny for anyone. Zip had the same problem that I did with those things. For me it was all the beta blockers the ended in -ol (Atenolol, Toprol...). They not only produced ED, but killed my libido, down to, uh, nonsexual :rolleyes:

I had to beg to come off of them and it made a world of difference.

There was a beta blocker called Ziac that I was on once. After I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was switched. Fortunately with weight loss and exercise I don't have to worry about diabetes nor hypertension now.

Tell your hubby to keep after the docs to get him something that will produce the desired result without the horrible side effect.

Hi zuzu, actually my hubby had an SAH (congenital)His family has no history of HBP so i guess its acquired. He recovered fast, no paralysis at all as in normal. But im worried about the side effects of the drugs like impotence (he's only 32)i:(

about troubling effects i dont see any so far..;)


"Fortunately with weight loss and exercise I don't have to worry about diabetes nor hypertension now."

ubernier,you mean your hypertension is gone since you do some exercise? how frequent? so you dont take ang HBP meds now? is there a possibility he stops taking the meds in the near future or its forever?

TINA- Thank goodness the SAH produced no long-lasting, nor permanent damage.
Obviously we here on this board don't know your husband's medical history, except that he had a subarachnoid hemorrhage ( possibly as a result of high blood pressure?) but yes, as UBERNIER says, it is possible to get off hypertension meds, depending on the individual. Some people who are overweight, find that weight loss drastically reduces BP. Exercise on a regular basis can help too. Stress reduction. Dietary changes as well. No or low salt intake. It depends on how high the BP is to begin with and whether there are any other health issues involved.

I too would be interested to hear Urbernier's story!

zuzu xx

"Fortunately with weight loss and exercise I don't have to worry about diabetes nor hypertension now."

ubernier,you mean your hypertension is gone since you do some exercise? how frequent? so you dont take ang HBP meds now? is there a possibility he stops taking the meds in the near future or its forever?

Hi Tina/Zuzu:

Actually most of my story is in the heart disorders and high cholesterol forums. I have seen your informative posts for some time Zuzu, so I usually only add when I have personal experience to contribute because your posts are always so very informative. ;)

Anyway, yes, I had 3 hypertension meds, a triglyceride med, allergy med, and diabetes med. I weighed 227 lbs, was sedentary, and was eating as much food as possible, which was mainly a high fat diet. (My sandwiches consisted of about 1.5 lbs of meat with about 8 slices of cheese inside the sandwich and acting as my "bread.") My carbs came from sugar mainly.

I lost weight down to 155 lbs and continue to run every day. That has allowed me to reverse the diabetes, come off of Tricor, and have bp readings in the 100/60 range unmedicated. I have gained a little weight back to about 165, and the result is my bp is now in the 110/70. A far cry from the 170/112 that I had when I was diagnosed with hypertension years ago.

I have links here from a while back that summarize a bit of this:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=61608
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=61620

Ubernier-
Just spent 45 minutes reading your story. Informative! Amazing! Awe-inspiring! Inspirational!
Essential hypertension (well-controlled on meds) is my only problem and fortunately I have not gone through what you have, but I've slacked off in the exercise department of late and you've inspired me get back to my old regimen.
Okay, here I go.
Got my walking sneaks on.
Actually going to shut this computer down.
Here goes....and I thank and bow to you!

zuzu xxx

zuzu, according to the neuro surgeon its congenital or but what made it ruptured is the HBP 180/110.is it really possible to stop the HBP meds for post SAH patients?


ubernier, thanks very encouraging. i let him do that also...

zuzu, according to the neuro surgeon its congenital or but what made it ruptured is the HBP 180/110.is it really possible to stop the HBP meds for post SAH patients?


ubernier, thanks very encouraging. i let him do that also...

Tina,

It depends greatly on the amount of room for improvement that can be made. Also, not everyone will be as lucky as I am. I have a feeling that Zuzu does the right things and still has hypertension. I had so much room for improvement that the smallest change in my lifestyle was an improvement for I could do no worse to my body. I ate as much as my stomach could hold and did zero exercise. I would spend 8 hrs at work at a computer and 8 hrs at home at a computer. The other 8 hrs, sleeping of course. You just can't get much more sedentary. If your husband, has a great deal of weight that can be shed or is totally sedentary, then perhaps he might be able to decrease dosages, or meds, and possibly come off. I don't mean to give you false hope, nor to shatter any hopes. I wanted to let you know, though, that in some cases in can be done ;)