hi Im new to the board although Iv visited often to read. I have had high BP for 2 years 140/96 I take a duiretic in the mornings and propanalol in the evening, my doc has just put me on lisinopril 5mg. But my BP remains the same occasionally dropping to 130/85. I still wake up in the night with blood rushing through my head and ears and feel dizzy. What else can I do to improve it thanks.

Hi Suzy, :)

I still wake up in the night with blood rushing through my head and ears and feel dizzy

Welcome to this board!

My first thought when reading your post was: how can she sleep?
I (and many others) suffer insomnia, a very common side-effect of beta blockers. Your symptoms at night result from your taking this medication in the evening. One way to avoid having sleeping problems (insomnia, nightmares and the like) is by NOT taking it at night. We had to experiment and fine-tune my medications. It literally took months and months to get a decent blood pressure control on five medications. Which is what you still seem to doing now, looking for the right dosage & combination.

You could try (with your doctor's OK) to take your Amlodipine at night, instead of the beta blocker. Yours is a non-selective, extended release, once-a-day beta blocker, right? It should cover the 24 hour period. I'd take it in the morning and save myself a lot of grief and sleepless nights.
You now have to wait and see if your new medication helps with the blood pressure control. Do not go over the 5mg of Lisinopril! You will NOT be able to live with the side-effects. I managed for 8 months. No more. I am on 5mg now. If you are overweight, try to lose weight. Beta blockers are not weight-loss friendly, though. I have a feeling that Amlodipine is not, either. Make sure you cut out the sodium. A lot of resistant hypertension can be attributed to a high salt consumption. What was your BP originally before the meds?

good luck, :angel:
flowergirl

Hi flowergirl
thanks for replying to me, Im going to ring my doc today and ask him about taking my meds in the morning. My BP before meds was around 190/112 going to 160/103 resting BP so it has improved a lot. sometimes it is normal, when I had a 24hour BP monitor on my doc said that it goes up and down while Im asleep.

I have just returned from the GPs surgery my blood pressure was 143/83 so it appears to be getting better, he has cut the lisinopril down to 2.5mg a day so I will see how I go. Im only about 7lbs overweight so it isnt that which is causing my high blood pressure.He recommended I still take my meds at night.

Susie,

It sounds as your medications are working. You need to reduce your blood pressure further. Even after months of medications, my readings were in 140's on good days. I got the best blood pressure control when I was forced to cut back on Felodipine a couple of months ago. It was making me hugely swollen from feet to chest. To help get rid of the swelling, a second diuretic, Hctz, was prescribed in a very high dose. That and a reduction in the calcium channel blocker dose took care of the swelling and decreased my blood pressure to an all-time record levels. If you are not on it already and your current medications don't reduce your blood pressure to lower than present levels, ask to try the Hctz. It works.

Good luck with your blood pressure control. :) You are doing great already!

P.S. You can't do much about the side-effects - try different meds, if they become unbearable.

flowergirl

Thanks for your help flowergirl, you really are a mine of information. I will come back and let you know the outcome.

Hi just to update anyone who is interested, I have stopped the dueretic and now just take the beta blocker and the Lisinopril
Today my BP was 121/75 so my GP doesnt want to see me for 3 months. Thank you for the help you gave on here I was feeling so awful when I first posted.

Great for you, Susie. You must feel so relieved.

Fam

Congratulations, Susie!

I am so happy for you! It sounds as if you & your doctor have found a perfect combination of medication that keeps your blood pressure at an optimal level. It's great to hear your life is back on track and you don't have to put up with any side effects. :)

flowergirl