Hello,

I wonder what arthritic side effects the antihypertensives may cause. Something is going on in one of my knees. I thought it could be unresolved water deposits from my edemas, as I seem to have them in my feet. There's tightness and unexplained pressure when I move a certain way. I can not only feel the resistance, but actually hear it when it happens. It feels like something won't give when it should. It's been like this for several weeks now. Beth mentioned arthritic effects of BP meds in her reply to one of the posts today. I had no idea this was possible and it really scared me. I also remember Fam's knees and wrists got damaged from some of the drugs. Whatever I have does not hurt (so far).
How would one know if it is arthritis? Would it hurt terribly?

thank you,
flowergirl

Very interesting because I've had problems with the hips, knees and wrists. Lately it's also been a little in my ankles. I'm only 35...

Flowergirl,

I have to go so I'll be brief. I experienced acute pain in back and shoulders and achy hips on hctz, body stiffness on lisinopril (difficult getting up from a chair or out of a car for an example), pain in my pinkies on amlodipine, achy hips on benicar/hctz (I suspect the hctz here, not the benicar), and pain in my bones on the side I would lie on when taking Atenolol. I am currently med free and I am currently pain free and my movement is normal....what I find interesting, is that the drugs imobilized me so much I couldn't move enough to "injure" myself, but this summer I've been bouncing around like an acrobat and no pain! It's got to be the meds. I'm lucky my pains went away but I would never tell anyone they will go away, given Famnd's situation.

Am going away for a couple of weeks. Will check with you when I return.
Hope you're doing well.

Bethsheba

I also experienced ankle pain but I'm not sure which med it was...I might have it in my notes.

Bethsheba

Another one with pain in my hip. I think it might be the Cardizem ( calcium channel blocker) but I also take Micaris and Atenolol.
Can move one leg up and down but any side movement and I scream in pain.
Getting in and out of the car is hard as I have to lift my leg in.
Doc says it is inflamed but cant give me any medication due to blood pressure.:(
It started afew weeks after I took ccb's.

cebo, :)

Thanks for sharing that. I get the hip thing on and off, too. It was worse when I first started the BP meds. Like yourself, am on calcium channel blockers, as well as the beta blockers, ACE Inhibitors, potassium-sparing Spironolactone and the Hctz for blood pressure, and a few others. I've had all the side effects and then some. The more meds one has to take, the more interactions, the stronger the side effects. My concern is the long-term use and damage from all these drugs. We were discussing this at work today with a co-worker who's experiencing some unpleasant side effects with her two BP meds. She is afraid of what they might do to her over an extended period of time. On the other hand, she does not want to find herself in my shoes some day, either. It's a trade-off. There are no easy solutions. One of my drug books lists, among many other things, all the positive actions of the drugs on the left, as well as all the negative effects of their long-term use on the right. One can easily compare & weigh the good, the bad & the ugly. It's a 2006 edition, and, for me, due to its subject matter not very enjoyable to read. Pretty scary stuff.
I hope your pain goes away. Try reducing the inflammation through natural means. There are foods and supplements that help. Heating pads and warm baths give some relief. It would be best if you could, with your doctor's guidance, discontinue your CCB and try an ACE Inhibitor instead. Your pain would probably go away and you'd still have good BP control.

flowergirl

Hi fowergirl,:D
Thanks for the advise, I will be seeing another doctor on Friday and yes I want to get off these horrid ccb's. I had a very bad reaction to ACE and took myself off it (felt like I was going mad). The problem is that my I also suffer Panic attacks and sometimes my blood pressure will go into the 210/130 without a panic attack (god only knows what it gets to when I do have one.)
No medication can help me with my spikes, and I am now on a disability pension.
So my fear is am I having a stroke/heart attack or just a panic attack? Doctor said symtoms can be the same.:(

Sorry but I don't know your history, will do some reading :) .

Panic attacks don't help one's blood pressure. Sorry to hear about your problems and blood pressure spikes. I get them, too, and have no idea why. I now have good blood pressure control, but they happen anyway. I don't know what triggers them. I have a feeling it's not anything I could control, anyway. I wish we didn't have to worry about getting the strokes and heart attacks. These worries only add to our stress levels and anxiety.

take care and try not to worry too much.

FG

FG,

Sorry to hear about your knee. I've never had much pain in my knees-just when I walk. At first I had a lot of pain while walking until the swelling went down. I don't usually get pain while at rest. The main problem is the feeling that my bones are moving around without support.

Knee exercises, heat, & rest help. Always put legs up when possible with stools etc. The elastic bandages really help support the knee but they must be taken off every 2-3
hrs to prevent blood clots. I saw a Ortho twice & had X-rays & a MRI. No diagnosis other than osteoarthritis at the last appointment-but I don't have the typical symptoms.

Dr. D. says to use heat three times a day (I still haven't gotten a schedule to do this more than once a day in the tub. Walk around slowly first thing in the AM to increase the fluid circulation in the knee-arthritis patients usually have stiff knees in the AM which I don't.

Since you have only one knee involved it is less likely directly related to your meds unless that knee had problems before & is more sensitive.

One thing I have learned recently is that swelling causes damage to the ligaments which I think happened to my knees among other damage. Didn't your swelling go down rather quickly when you used HCTZ? My swelling went on for months as I couldn't take prednisone or HCTZ at the time. Fam