What is the best medication for high blood pressure if a person is Type 2 diabetic? I've heard that some can actually increase blood sugar; also, what side effects can be expected from them?

Thanks...Roxanne

Diuretics are the first line of defense for hypertension. It has recently been brought to light that diuretics may actually cause higher blood glucose levels. I have not found that to be true. I was on diuretics for many years and presently not taking a diuretic and my BS has not dropped. There may be other things involved that I am not aware of.

Hypertension must be treated if a person is unable to keep it under control via diet that is very, very low in sodium, lose weight if needed, and exercise daily. Hypertension is known as the silent killer. For those with diabetes my doctor wants my BP to be 120/80 or lower, peferably in the 110/80 range.

Ace inhibitors are usually recommended for diabetics. My doctor switched me from atenolol, a beta blocker to Altace, an ace inhibitor. Some people develop a cough, but I have had no problem

Thank you, all, for the info. I'm concerned about starting blood pressure meds since my endocrinologist warned me about higher glucose numbers. I take it a diuretic is somewhat different than true blood pressure meds?

My mom, not diabetic, just started taking lisinopril for blood pressure and they told her she might become dizzy from it. Anyone have any dizziness issues from these medications?

I have lots of questions, this is merely the first of them...Roxanne

I take an ACE inhibitor known as Univasc - available in generic as Moexipril, 15 mg in morning. It is one of the older ones around. It seems to do a pretty good job. It does give me a tickly sort of cough sometimes, but not constantly. Otherwise, no side effects. My dr had tried me on a couple of others before Univasc became available as generic, trying to save me some money, but I got unpleasant side effects. I also try to watch salt, and try to use low sodium or salt-free products too.

I've posted many threads about hctz (diuretic) on this board. It is a fact, hctz can raise glucose and cholesterol levels. I personally experienced this. My a1c was always 5 point something until five or six yrs ago, when a nurse practioner prescibed hctz. Over the yrs my a1c rose to 10.9 and cholesterol jumped from 130 to 337.

Once i discovered this fact, i stopped the diuretic and my glucose dropped to 7.5 and my cholesterol dropped to 243. That proved to me that it was the diuretic that caused my problems. However, my cardio still insist that i take a diuretic. she just prescribed a new one called torsemide. I cut the pill in half, that way i am not getting such a large increase in glucose or cholesterol rise.

I also took lisinopril for over seven yrs. I became very allergic to it. it is a great bp med and it helps the kidneys in diabetics. Lisinopril put in the er so now im on new bp meds. I now take clonidine .01mg, verapamil 240, torsemide 10mg(halfed) and my bp is usually 130/80. This is what my gp wanted my bp to be and it is working for me so far.

Everyone is different and react differently to the meds. Wish you the best in a bp med that works for you. Remember, it can take awhile to find the right combo.

Gosh, how were you allergic to lisinopril and how did it put you in the ER? That's scary!

What is hctz? Is that the name of only one particular diuretic? I've never heard of it before.

Gosh, how were you allergic to lisinopril and how did it put you in the ER? That's scary!

What is hctz? Is that the name of only one particular diuretic? I've never heard of it before.

Roxx,

It is hydrochlorothiazide, which is one of the most popular diuretics to prescribe for hypertension.

This actually describes a bit more from something that was mentioned in the other thread that I responded to you. However, it overlaps a little with the medications for hypertension. I took it for years, even after the diabetes diagnosis (and later on was switched to Ziac, which is a combination with HCTZ). I can't really say whether or not it affected my glucose levels like it did for jtu. When I came off it, I was losing weight quickly in the process of trying to "fix" my plight after the heart attack. I remember that the first medication that I reduced then came off of was Amaryl for diabetes. That took only 2 months to reduce (20 lb. weight loss) and a little daily walking--a whole 15 min each day! A month later, I was off of Amaryl completely, right around when I hit 190 lbs. I was still overweight, but that change was enough to control the sugars and put them in the levels where it should be. The next one was Ziac, which contained the diuretic. That took about 40 lbs of weight loss before that one was removed. The next was a reduction in Tricor dosage at the same time and 2 months later--no more Tricor. My triglycerides plummeted as I continued losing weight and especially when I increased my exercise to slow jogs and increasingly faster runs. My blood pressures continued to drop as I kept the routine and lost weight. By the time I hit 165 lbs, I had blood pressure readings in 90/50 range and my heart rate was in the mid 30s resting. So, Toprol (beta blocker) was removed and my blood pressure didn't change much. Over the next two months, my final med, an ace inhibitor called Altace was reduced then removed. By April 2003, one year after the heart attack, my weight was 155 lbs (72 lb loss), my diabetes was no longer detectable, hypertension gone, and lipid profile looking the best it had ever been.

Roxx, my allergic reactions symptoms were closing of throat, itching, hives and shortness of breathe. it was so bad my lips were swollen and my eyes itched as well. when i was taken to the er, they gave me some shots and took me off the lisinopril.

I did my own test with the diuretci. It definitely caused me to get another disease that i never had before. Im now battling high cholesterol.

Hi, Roxx! As it happens, Lisinopril was one of the meds my Dr tried when he was trying to save me money. It didn't make me dizzy or anything but after a week or so, I just felt myself getting more and more irritable when I'm usually very calm, patient, easy going. By the third week, I blew my stack at somebody at work who had just done a very minor thing which I should have settled by just calmly asking her not to do it again in the future. Shocked everybody, including myself!!!! I felt terrible about it. So I called the doc and got back on Univasc - calmed down right away. Maybe that was an unusual reaction, but I just thought it was worth mentioning. So, you might watch to see if your mother seems nervous or anything, ask her how she if feeling, or if anything seems to be getting on her nerves.