I posted in the acceptable threads but no response yet. Just wonder how good/bad this med is.

I have no experience with benicar, but a lot of people who post here like it.

Kaco-
I just saw your post on the other thread.

Are you taking straight Benicar? or Benicar HCT. The latter is a combo med containing olmesartan medoxomil (that's the generic name for Benicar) and HCT (hydrochlorothiazide) which is a diuretic.

Benicar is known as an angiotensin 2 receptor blocker (we call them ARBs) and the ARBS are very effective for many people, plus, unlike a lot of other blood pressure meds, they are virtually free of side effects.

If you are taking a combo version w/ the diuretic, diuretics are the mainstay of blood pressure control/treatment and should enhance the action of the Benicar for even better results if straight Benicar doesn't get your #s down enough.

Good luck!
Let us know how you fare.

zuzu xx

The label only says:Benicar Olmesartan Medoxomil, no HCT. I know that I am very tired. I am happy about the no side effects part.

Went back to Dr. today. No change in BP with 20mg of Benicar, so the nurse upped the dose to 40 mg per day. I am alergic to Sulfa so this must be the reason for the straight Benicar 40mg, and not the HCT. :)

In the other thread you posted in, did you say you were seeing the doctor every other day?

It takes a while for benicar to kick in...a minimum of a week usually, sometimes longer. So I hope he doesn't go nuts and keep adding drugs without waiting a bit. When do you see him next?

What were your #s at the doc's office today?

I have been on Benicar for over a year. It took about 2 months to bring my pressure down. I too started with HCT and Lotension. Made my pressure go up with terrible headaches and heart paps. due to the sulfa. My pressure was running at the doctor's office 145-150 /80 whenI first started with 20mg benicar but upped to 40. The last several months my pressure has been running in 90's/ upper 50 and 60s. I just cut the dosage in half and it is running in 105-115/68-70 for past month.
It is a very good medication with no side effects. I am hoping to get off them completely. Might want to add-doctor at first wanted to add another medication along with Benicar-Coreg when she upped my dosage to 40mg. I said no-bought a home monitor and took my readings at home. They were running way lower than at the office. Might want to invest in a monitor before adding additional meds.
Good Luck!

When I saw the Dr. he said he wanted to see me every other day for a few weeks as he was concerned. I though it was about time I saw only one Dr. But today was no different from any other time I went to American Health Network who our Insurance makes us go to. I will probably wind up seeing someone different each time I go there. The Nurse who took my BP, I had never seen before. The new Nurse said my BP was 167/90. This was good, but there was no record still of any of the Dr.'s notes from my first visit. They send everything out to be typed up and it sometimes takes a week or so to get it back. She asked what I was taking and brought in two sample boxes for me to choose from, I pointed out the 20 mg box. Yet when I left the office there were 4 sample boxes of 40 mg. Benicar. I suppose she checked with the Dr. before giving me the meds. She also told me not to come in every other day as nothing would likely change that fast and asked me to come back in two weeks. I will buy my own BP moniter and check it daily at home. This is another example of how I went so long with HBP and none of then ever offered to do anything about it. What are the consequences of taking the 40 mg, verses the 20 mg, if the 20mg would have done the job just as well? Assuming she mistakingly gave me the wrong doseage.

Whew!...I'm glad you're not traipsing in there every other day (it's enough to give you high blood pressure!!LOL).

How long were you on the 20mg dose? If your BP was 167/90 after at least a week, that's still too high and you'll probably do much better with the 40mg.

20 mg is a very low dose and often isn't enough for most folks to get good BP control. Try the 40mg and let's see what your #s are when you go back to the doctor in 2 weeks.

Yes, a home BP monitor is a great idea. Get yourself an automatic-inflate digital arm-cuff one. OMRON, LUMISCOPE, RELiON (it's an Omron made by Walmart) and LIFESOURCE are the best and easy to use.

Readings taken at home away from a clinical setting are the most reliable indicators of what your true resting BP is.

zuzu xx