I am so disappointed. My bp has been down and I was so glad. I had an appointment and when I got there my bp was176/74. I told the doctor that it had been down until I came in to his office. He said even though it had been down it seemed that when I am under any kind of stress my bp has tendancy to elevate significantly. He went on to explain that this could put me at a higher chance for a stroke. I expressed my concerns about all the side effects I had experienced with all the other bp meds. He continued to express his concerns and suggested that I try with another beta-blocker, Coreg. I have a lot of reservations about this since I have had all the problems with the other meds. The lisinopril controlled my bp very well but I had a continual cough for three months. Toporal Xl caused extreme fatigue as did Atenolol. Cardizem caused swelling and fatigue . I have gained about 25 lbs. since starting these meds with a lot of it being fat around my middle, and the list goes on.

Has anyone had experience with Coreg? If you coughed with one Ace inhibitor will you cough with all? Are there any other options besides the ones I have been offered? I

I am really scared of the meds but I don't want to risk a stroke or heart attack either. I am to the point of tears when I think of all this. Please help if you can.

Thanks
Liz

Hello,

I really know how you feel because I had problems with most High bp medications except Cardiazim which doesn't cause any side effects to me. I have tried Beta-Blockers (Zebeta 5 mg) for 3.5 years and it caused Depression and impaired concentration, then I have tried ACEs and ARBs which caused me to feel so tired, dizzy and the biggest problem is that I was feeling so weird, so I had to stop it then I have tried Norvasc and it didn't do anything to my blood pressure at all. Now I'm on cardiazim which is the best for me although my blood pressure is not 120/80 but it's the best medication and I can't take something else.

Have you tried ARBs? what about diuretics? if you cough on ACEs there's a big chance that you will not cough on ARBs. I think that you should discuss this with your doctor.

Just don't worry and you will find some solution for this problem. I was very sad too that I can't find a good medication with no side effects so I kept trying all of them until I have found Cardiazim.
Good luck,
Michael

Michael,
Thanks for your reply. I know I'm going to sound really dumb, but what are ARB's? Can you name some for me.

I am currently on a diet to lose some weight because I know that that will help tremedously. I just feel their has to be a better way.

My bp seems to stay pretty normal until I visit the doctor or eat certain foods. I feel that part of my problem this last visit was I had eaten take-out during a family visit. I was also worried that my bp would be up and sure enough it was. My bp is usually in below the 140/80 range. When it falls into the the 120/74 range I tend to get headaches. I think that is pretty strange, but oh well, I am a pretty strange person anyway :D

Liz

Hello Liz,

ARBs are another group of High BP meds like Cozaar, Atacand, Benicar and Diovan. Drs put patients on ACEs first then if they cough then ARBs are the next step so discuss this with your doctor.

I have a problem with both ACEs and ARBs and it's not cough, when I use any drug of those classes I become so tired that I couldn't do anything at all so I don't use them. But many people are doing just great with those drugs so we are all different.

So tell me something, with supplements you can achieve BP readings like 120/74 ?
Thanks,
Michael

I have been able to get my bp lower using these supplements than I have with the prescribed bp meds. I do have spikes at times and this seems to be relevant to the foods I eat or even if I do my walking program. It seems that my bp stays down if stay away from fast food and walk everyday on my treadmill or outside. I haven't been able to wald due to pushing myself to far and getting the worst case of shin splints I have ever had. My tendon in my ankle became inflamed and I could barely walk.

I have used Altace, Lisinopril, Diovan hct, Diovan, Toporal XL, Cardizem, Atenolol, and some more that at this time I can't recall. The only one that brought my bp down below 140/84 was the Altace. The cough was horrible. Diovan hct dropped my potassium and put me in the hospital. Regular Diovan made me so tired that it was hard to function and barely dropped my bp, so did Toporal. Cardizem caused a lot of swelling in my feet and hands and body aches. Atenolol wiped me out.

Right now I am still not giving up on the magnesuim and calcium as well as the multivitamin I take. I am watching everything I eat. It seems that my bp tends to rise in the evening so I am experimenting with spacing the supplements out to see if this helps. I'll let you know.

Liz