Can anyone help me figure out if the new cough I've developed is from the Altace? I don't cough a lot but it's everyday. A slight tickle in my throat and a dry cough maybe 2 or 3 times a day.
I've been on Altace for about 6 or 7 months and previously (20yrs ago) on Vasotec. Could it start after this long?
Any thoughts appreciated. :)
Cass

Cass,

It could take long to develop. The time of the year makes it a guessing game though because it's cold season.
Best you can do is to stop the ACEI for a week and see if it goes away and then comes back when you re-start.

I can tell it from a cold because it reminds me of a thread of BRILLO stuck in bronchial tubes. With all the force of will I can stop the cough for awhile, but the tickle eventually becomes UNBEARABLE and I MUST cough...and that cough doesn't relieve the tickle so I must cough several times once I start. Of course, it is a completely unproductive cough.

Cass,

It could take long to develop. The time of the year makes it a guessing game though because it's cold season.
Best you can do is to stop the ACEI for a week and see if it goes away and then comes back when you re-start.

I can tell it from a cold because it reminds me of a thread of BRILLO stuck in bronchial tubes. With all the force of will I can stop the cough for awhile, but the tickle eventually becomes UNBEARABLE and I MUST cough...and that cough doesn't relieve the tickle so I must cough several times once I start. Of course, it is a completely unproductive cough.
What you describe sounds like what I feel BUT it isn't constant. I sometimes go all day without coughing but when I do I must have a coughdrop to stop. I'm almost sure it isn't a cold, I've noticed this pattern for about a month and a half now.
Thanks for your input.
cass

Sounds like a classic ACE cough to me, except for the time of onset. I had one for maybe a week after I started on lisinopril then it went away never to return.

Cassie,

Mine (with enalapril) wasn't constant either, usually in the evening. Horrible when the timing was truly dreadful. One attack was at the Metropolitan Opera, another at a Broadway show...at those prices people don't wan't someone hacking away behind them. I even tried so hard to avoid the cough that tears would stream down my face until I gave in!
Sometimes it got most annoying just when I was trying to fall asleep.
It never stopped til I discontinued the drug 6 months later.

I too was eating coughdrops to the point of MENTHOL poisoning!:D

I even had a several week bout after stopping then restarting an ARB, Cozaar!

Cassie,

Mine (with enalapril) wasn't constant either, usually in the evening. Horrible when the timing was truly dreadful. One attack was at the Metropolitan Opera, another at a Broadway show...at those prices people don't wan't someone hacking away behind them. I even tried so hard to avoid the cough that tears would stream down my face until I gave in!
Sometimes it got most annoying just when I was trying to fall asleep.
It never stopped til I discontinued the drug 6 months later.

I too was eating coughdrops to the point of MENTHOL poisoning!:D

I even had a several week bout after stopping then restarting an ARB, Cozaar!
So you coughed on an ARB too. I stopped the Altace (ACE) yesterday and started Benicar (ARB) today.
Maybe I should not take either untill I see if that's the reason I'm coughing.
How long would you suggest I wait before I try the ARB?
Thanks,
Cass

Cass,
On the ARB, I am still on the Cozaar and no chough...it was just for a brief period after I had stopped for a month to judge the effects of stopping.
I wouldn't worry about the Benicar unless the cough didn;t go away...give it a week, p[robably less.

I read that 25% of people who cough from an ACEI will also cough, though less, from an ARB.

I'm an ARB cougher, first on Benicar and now on Diovan. I haven't tried any others as I figure they will be the same. Still, the Benicar was a little worse, I believe. The only only left to try would be Cozaar, but it's at the top of my co-pay list for some reason. I'll have to be coughing a little harder to be persuaded to cough up more money for another ARB.

My cough comes and goes; there are good days and there are coughing days. Usually the cough is dry, but sometimes I cough up a little mucus (sorry for the visual). Still, I know it's from the ARB because I had the same problem on the ACEI--only much worse.

Lenin, your statistic on ARB cough is interesting. It's still a bit difficult to get doctors to believe that these drugs cause cough, although fortunately my primary care doctor does. I never get a coughing attack at his office, however!

I saw the doc today for a 2 week follow-up visit. He had results back from my chest X-ray that showed no reason for the cough so he suggested I try an ARB (which I already had done). He said if it's the altace I should stop coughing in 3 days. I don't really believe that because a lot of you have coughed for months after stopping the ACE.
I'll give the Benicar a try and we'll see.
Cass

My cough went away in much less than a week after dicontinuing enalapril and coughing for the last 5 of the 6 monthsd I took it. Three days may indeed be a good ballpark number.

This is an interesting topic as i have been on ramipril now for a month and i have this weird cough. Trouble is i recently had a sore throat, cold and fever etc which took two weeks to get over but that finished 10 days ago. Its a harsh cough very sporadic about 3-4 coughing fits a day and then i cough quite a bit when i first lie down to go to sleep. It always starts off with a tickle to the right of my throat and i have to drink to stop the cough. So i dont know if i have a virus or if its from the BP medicine. I presumed if you had a cough from the BP medicine there would be no itching in the throat just a harsh cough but now im wondering............. I thought i would go to the dr next week and see what she thinks but then im wondering how she could tell?

This is an interesting topic as i have been on ramipril now for a month and i have this weird cough. Trouble is i recently had a sore throat, cold and fever etc which took two weeks to get over but that finished 10 days ago. Its a harsh cough very sporadic about 3-4 coughing fits a day and then i cough quite a bit when i first lie down to go to sleep. It always starts off with a tickle to the right of my throat and i have to drink to stop the cough. So i dont know if i have a virus or if its from the BP medicine. I presumed if you had a cough from the BP medicine there would be no itching in the throat just a harsh cough but now im wondering............. I thought i would go to the dr next week and see what she thinks but then im wondering how she could tell?
I had assumed the same thing so when I first got the cough & slight tickle I blamed it on allergies. About a month later I mentioned it to my doc and he ordered a chest X-ray after listening quite intensely to my lungs. The x-ray was clear so he thought it may be the ACEI. I just find this hard to believe since I have previously (1988-89) been on vasetec and lately (since April 2005) been on Altace and never got the cough. Anyway, I have been off Altace since last Wed and am seening a decrease in my coughing.
I would be interested to find out what your dr has to say on the subject.
Cass

sporti,

Oh yes, the itch is VERY much a part of the ACEI cough scenario. I describe it as originating in the bronchial tubes, sometimes slightly off center to the right, and sometimes to the left. If I make an act of will sufficient to move a mountain I can resist the cough for many minutes...but the tickle eventually becomes unbearable and I MUST cough a few times.

Of course, it may take some time to determine if your cough is from the ACEI or lingering from the cold. It can take weeks for the latter to go away. But the cough from a cold usually doesn't have that originating awful "tickle."

Thanks for your replies. Yes Lenin the itch starts to the right of my throat and i try to stop it but then i have to cough. The cough is giving me a headache and backache as, although sporadic, it is quite violent. This is a real nuisance to say the least as my BP is well under control. I went to my dr this morning she said that the cough is more than likely to be from the BP medicine. She was very thorough and remarked that my throat looked red. I do have a sore throat. She has put me on antibiotics to help get rid of sore throat and wants to see me in two weeks. I guess that means im going to be cough cough over Christmas :eek: as im convinced its the rampiril.

Is there any bp med that does not cause a cough? I have developed the same cough that others are describing and has already tried Altace, Mavik and am now on Atacand. The first two gave me worse coughs, now on Atacand I have an episode or two a day. Also, will one get used to the bp med and stop coughing?

Slow,

You've tried two ACEI'S, Altace and Mavik (trandolopril) that often causes cough and one ARB, Atacand that CAN.
Best you get off bothe those drug classes. You can recognize the ACEI's by ending in ***-pril and the ARB's by ending in ***-sartan.

Try a diuretic and/or a calcium channel blocker or perhaps even a beta blocker (if you're a woman or a priest. :D)

Update-It's been a week off altace and the cough is almost gone but my BP is up. That surprises me because Altace never helped my pressure at all untill I started the Tiazac.

Doc upped the tiazac from 180 to 240 today. So it's wait and see again :confused:

Cass

Just thought i would post an update about the cough i was suffering from. Well after taking the antibiotics and no difference in the cough and then coming off the BP (ramipril) med-3 days later my cough disappeared. Went back on Ramipril and cough returned so im now on Candesartan 2mg as well as the 50mg atenolol. This new BP Med is giving me a strange feeling in my head like someone pulling and letting go of an elastic band! A bit scary - anyone else experienced this feeling. I also feel breathless when im swimming and walking which i dont normally. I have a headache but my dr says i should give it time for my body to get used it. BP is all over the place from 110/65- 140/85. Also having very vivid dreams which i also had on the ramipril. Im in the UK so dont know what candesartan is called in the USA.
Thanks :wave:

Sporti,

Candesartan is called ATACAND in the U.S. It doesn't have many side effects.
Swimming can be tough with atenolol, AND atenolol can readily give vivid dreams.

But then if you just got over a cold, that can make swimming exhausting too.

I take Benicar and have developed a dry night cough. I do not cough during the day. Also nasal congestion and chest tightness. Has anyone else had this from Benicar?

I had a cough on Benicar, especially at night. I switched to Diovan, which has been better. I seemed to cough more at the beginning, so I wonder if I had allergies or some congestion along with the slight dry cough. The slight cough I have now is quite manageable. You might want to stick it out for a while and see if the situation gets better. If it doesn't, you might try Diovan or Cozaar to see if you respond differently. Good luck.