Effective BP Meds - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

fjones1 · 03-25-2007, 05:00 PM

Has anyone here had any sustained success with bp medicine? If so, how long did it take to find the right ones? I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 1999. My doctor at the time prescribed Labatalol and Cozar. They both worked really well for years, but within the last year they don't seem to work anymore. The doctor I see now wanted to double the Labatalol, but I was concerned about it. He said he will prescribe another medicine for me, Norvasc. I know there are a lot of medicines for blood pressure, but so far my doctor has only recommended these three. I'm really concerned about taking three medicines now, especially since the first two don't seem to be effective anymore. Thanks for your help.

ms58 · 03-26-2007, 06:34 AM

Are you taking any diuretic at this time? I usually need to add a diuretic to my meds after a while to keep the pressure down, maybe that would help you as well.

fjones1 · 03-26-2007, 07:19 AM

I don't think I'm taking a diuretic right now. What class of drug is Cozaar? What are some of the effective diuretics? I was given something called HCTZ I think, and I had a bad reaction to it so I don't want to try that one again. Should I add a diuretic instead of the Norvasc? Thanks.

ms58 · 03-26-2007, 08:12 AM

[removed] I actually take Lotrel (which is Norvasc and a calcium channel blocker) and had good results with it for about 6 months, I have recently added the diuretic which you had bad results with and it seems to be helping and bringing bp down. Many people I know have had good results with Norvasc, but all the meds are very particular to each person.

Each type of drug works on a different thing and even during different times of the day so all we can do is try new ones if some don't work, try to calm ourselves down (the most difficult thing for us hbp people) and work with our docs till something works for a while.

famnd · 03-26-2007, 11:13 AM

Hi Jones,

I've taken all 3 of the meds you mentioned. I currently take 1800mg Lebetalol & 25mg of HCTZ. It took about 2 yrs for me to go through all the classes of drugs & reach a stable b/p. I also did biofeedback & that b/p reducing machine that is advertized. A stress reduction plan is essential. I, too had a reaction to HCTZ but after analysis (mine) I found that it was probably the yellow dye #6 that had caused the allergic reaction. Saw a allerigist but he didn't think it was worth it to risk a "challenge dose of the med with the dye." My Dr. saw a diuretic was essential plus HCTZ was the drug of choice. So I asked her to order a epi-pen to inject in case of a reaction & then had a compound pharmacist make up HCTZ without the dye. It did the trick & lower my b/p. It's been two yrs now & I haven't had a reaction.

Lebetatlol is a more flexible drug as it is a apha/beta blocker which is better for those of us with high cholesterol plus it is less likely to increase blood sugar. It does have certain restrictions though. You need to take it with about the same amount of food especially each time. The amount of fat is important because it slows digestion so the drug doesn't just all land in the blood stream at the same time. The fat kind of acts like a time release mechanism for the drug. You can take an extra 100mg occasionally when you get stressed out & your b/p goes up (only with an okay from your Dr.) You won't get withdrawal like you might with a plain beta blocker. I didn't get any decrease in b/p with Cozaar only a drug induced Lupus reaction. Lebetalol needs to be titrated (this means to take a little every few days until you find the correct dose for you). Is that how you did it? Fam