date: 3/1/03

Hi Everyone..

I am a 30 year old male and I just started taking Altace 2.5mg.

I have always had minor HBP of around 140-85, with spurts during the day of 150-90. I have been constantly successful in controlling my BP with exercise, proper diet, and a personal BP machine. (6'2" @ 209 lbs)

I recently started suffering from tremendous anxiety due to my sister (only 27) being put in the hospital for serious heart problems. She is now barely alive and waiting on a heart donor at Duke in NC. I believe that being so close to her as a kid has caused these, always minor, BP symptoms to increase recently. I am also taking Zoloft 50mg daily for the anxiety problem.

Presently, when I take a BP reading at night, I lie in bed and rest for about 15 minutes. I usually get around 133/82 at 65-BPM or lower, depending on my state of mind. Lowest has been 124/74 with a resting pulse of 61.

To help in relieving any Altace side-effects, I try eating something in the morning like some "Total" cereal. Then I have a snack at about 10am. I usually start feeling better at around noon which lasts me till the next day (assuming I can workout).

I take Altace/Zoloft at 4pm and have a regular dinner at around 6pm. I have found the having a light-controlled workout at home (8pm) helps to relieve most morning symptoms I sometimes have. I've been on Altace/Zoloft for the last 30 days or so.

These side-effect are: dizziness, constantly tired, lightheaded, ringing in the ears, numbness in the face-head, minor swollen calves and ankles, sexual decrease, and occasional chest pains.

I hope my HBP and anxiety are related to these family issues and hope they go away soon. Hopefully that will allow me to get off all these meds and get back to a normal lifestyle.

Sorry for the long message, I felt the need to rant since I fee like crap this morning and I feel the pain of all these other people suffering from these awful side-effects.

Thanks, Fabian.


[This message has been edited by flamaest (edited 03-18-2003).]

Updated..


Finally stopped the Altace, is DIOVAN better?

Date: 3/18/03

Hi All,

Finally stopped taking the crazy Altace 2.5mg (3 weeks) after talking to my doctor. Geez, I felt great the very next day.

Question: My doctor started me on Maxzide-HCT 75/50 and i had one pill this morning. Oh My LORD, I feel really bad.. dizzy, fatigue, faintish. seem like this is the freaking highest dosage for this drug.. WTF???

Also, How bad is it to take the generic form of this med..? is the maxzide that much better?

Is this better then Diovan hct???? Should I continue to push for Diovan hct?

HELP!!!

F.

I have been taking altace since last thursday, with no side effects. I am also on Diovan hct. I noticed being a little tired the first 3 days, but now I am feeling ok. I hope that it stays this way! lol

I'm so sorry to hear about your sister...you must be in a chronic state of anxiety right now.
BP meds are a pain. They all have their own side effects and everyone reacts differently to all of them. Some people are lucky and do well with the very first med they are prescribed. Most of us have had to experiment quite a bit before we find one whose side effects don't trash us!
Altace made me feel lousy and produced a terrible cough.Like you I felt like my old self almost immediately after I got off it.
Dyazide (same as Maxide)...(diuretics) was the worst for me. Screwed up my electrolytes (potassium especially) and I experienced horrendous weakness, fatigue, dehydration, thirst, dizziness.
Now I'm on Diovan. Not Diovan HCT (which has a diuretic in it). It is an angiotensin 11 receptor blocker and is known to be a drug with WAY fewer side effects than the above.But again, if one can tolerate diuretics, like Maxide, studies show they are a great boon to medicine for the control of hypertension, and are often the first drug of choice.
That said however, if Maxide is making you feel lousy, ask your doctor if diuretics are necessary for you at ALL. And ask if regular Diovan ((NOT Diovan HCT) would be a sensible choice.
Have patience. There's a lot of trial and error with these meds. Bottom line is that no one drug is "better" than another, It depends on the individual, their general health, their metabolism, the degree of hypertension, a million variables.
Have a talk with your doctor. Diovan may be the answer. (WITHOUT the ADDED diurectic).
Let us know what happens.


[This message has been edited by zuzu8 (edited 03-19-2003).]

Hi All,

Finnally got Diovan 80mg (non-HCT)in my system about 16 hours ago.

Although I feel a slight dizzyness (VERY SLIGHT) but no other side effects so far. I think it may be the Altace going away still.. we'll see..

Much better than Altace.. that is a bad bad drug..

When do you take your diovan..? PM, AM..?
F.

Wow u sound so much like me with your BP..Mine too was 145/85 and then 150/90..I am taking diovan hct after being treated with so many diff drugs that caused many side effects. I love the diovan so far..My bp is averaging daily 120/75 and no side effects that i can c..good luck with ur sis, Lisa

[This message has been edited by Moxie75 (edited 03-20-2003).]

HI- Good, so now you're trying Diovan 80mg (which is the lowest dose available). Give the Altace a chance to work its way out of your system. Diovan has fewer side effects than most of the other BP meds. Quite amazing. Hopefully the low dose will give you adequate BP control.
I take 180mg a day, and I personally take it in the A.M. because my A.M. schedule is always the same (i.e. I wake up at same hour every day) so it's easy not to "forget".
My evenings are incredibly erratic, I work nutsy hours, and often find myself working until 2 A.M. etc. So if I made my pill-taking in the evening I KNOW I'd forget to take it, all busy etc in the throes of work. Some people recommend, if you have a REGULAR SCHEDULE taking it at night because BP tends to be at its highest in the morning...so when you get up in the morning, having taken the pill the previous EVENING, you've got the most concentrated amount of the drug in your system
in those first few AM hours. Most doctors don't seem to care much. The most important thing is CONSISTENCY, and that AM or PM you take it regularly and at approx. the same time each day.
Let us know how it goes...I presume your doc wants you to come back in about a week for a monitoring?

Hi All.. hi Moxie75..

Yes moxie, I have been reading all of your posts and also noted how similar our situation has been.. after so many people tried diovan with good results, I told my doctor to give it to me and I feel so much better..

Not that the Altace didn't work for my BP.. it did.. but the side effects were horrendous.. My BP has been consistently at 11pm (same time each day) low 120's / mid 70's with Altace or Diovan.

I hope I can maintain this so as to come off the drugs in about half a year or so..

It's the second day, and again.. with few to no side effects.. just very light dizziness from time to time.. I suspect it's my body adjusting to the meds..

Fabian.

Forgot to mention.. one other side effect of Altace was accelerated heart rate.. i was idle at 110 and could easily hit 180 by walking to the restroom..

thank god it was the drug. i was so scared..

F.

Hi All,

So far it's been about a week on the diovan.. things are very good.. low BP 129/70 and no side effects..

started back on my home gym.. slowly but surely.. i think i will get to my previous active lifestyle..

QUESTION: this is minor but I have been noticing that my urine seems more yellowish recently.. it's usually almost clear so I thought this was worth mentioning..

Should I be concerned..?

F.

Hi...More yellowish urine sounds like it's a little too concentrated and you may not be drinking enough water. Doesn't sound like cause for concern. Increase water intake for a few days and see if there's a difference.Long live Diovan....!
zuzu
P.S. Keep us up to date...we're SO all in this together!

Hi Everyone,
I can't believe I am saying this. We got a call on Sat at 3am about Duke having found a donor for my sister's heart transplant. She is now lucid and with a healthy heart beating smoothly inside her. Boy, we live in freaking incredible times..

She is scheduled to being physical therapy in one week and removed from ICU to a regular room. Although she has a long way to go, the first few days are the most crucial and things look good.

About my BP, the urine problem is gone.. all light yellow now..

some BP info: regular: 134/73

Today at work with stress, 120/70

Thanks,
Fabian.

UOTE]
Fabian-
The transplant news is unbelievably fantastic! I hope these first few crucial days are going well...This is GREAT NEWS.
And you sound great too.........let us know how things are if you get a chance, and as always, know that we're here if you need us.
zuzu xxxxx

Hi All,
Still on Diovan with a resting BP of low 130's / high 70's .

Finally had my stress test today. Second one in 3 years so I knew the whole procedure.

My readings were starting at 130 HR with BP of 140/80
(white coat maybe)

During the hardest part of the test.. about 30 mins into the test. HR climbed to 198 and BP was between:

190/70
209/60

at one point the nurse said it spiked to 240/60 but I think she read it wrong.. keep in mind you are moving around ALOT during a stress test while the nurse is trying to read a little pressure gauge and listen CAREFULLY for your HR.

I know these numbers sound high but keep in mind where I was physically. I was running at a 20% incline for 30 mins, at 3.8 MPH . Without an incline this is cake, but add the incline and it's a whole other ball game.

So, to all the experts here.. Is it normal for BP to increase during extreme stress..?

I just got home and did a resting BP check.. STABLE 135/83 @ 89 BPM.

The cardiologist wants to put me on Beta Blockers (TOPROL-XL 25mg w/ the diovan) which I hear has AWFUL side effects, the whole reason I went away from Altace.. Please help.. is my BP ok..?

I hate these stupid drugs.. Help Moxie.. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif

Thanks,
Fabian