Sick of the side effects!!!

[2yung2hurt]

Hi everybody, I’m so glad I found this site. Thank you all for your kindness, patience, wisdom and sense of humor. I’m a newbie with lots of questions so please bear with me. I guess the biggest problem I have (and everyone else, it seems like) is how to strike a balance between a good BP reading and little, or no side effects (if that’s possible).
My doctor tells me to exercise and lose weight, but it’s kinda hard when you feel like you’re wearing lead boots, carrying a house on your back, and you were just hit by a train.
I’ve been on all sorts of BP meds. That made me feel like I aged 90 years and my head was being crushed by a steam roller. I finally settled on Diovan 80mg. for the past few years, not feeling like death, but FAR from feeling good. I was also taking Lipitor 10 mg. Which I just stopped a couple of days ago because of some horror stories I’ve read. People saying their leg muscles were cramping and swelling, sometimes with permanent damage? Is Lipitor that bad? Is that why my legs feel like lead? Other side effects I didn’t associate with Lipitor, but have developed – rash on upper arms, extremely dry, itchy patches on knuckles(eczema?).
A few months ago, my BP went back up again. Little by little the doc boosted my meds to: Diovan/Hct. 160/25mg., Clonidine .01mg., Norvasc 5 and then 10mg. Finally, the BP was under control….But the side effects were out of control. Ankles swelled up with rash(Norvasc, but not until I went from 5-10mg.), sexual side effects, mental confusion, extreme sleepiness (Clonidine). I changed doctors and he stopped the Norvasc and the Clonidine, but kept me on Diovan/Hct. 160/25mg. in morning and added Toprol 100mg. at night. Then my neck swelled up, just under my chin, not really a painful thing but, it looks ugly and deformed. I read that someone else had this problem with Diovan so I stopped taking it. Has anyone else had this problem? Is this associated with the Diovan or the Toprol. Doc didn’t think much of it, but it really bothers me. I guess if it don’t go away it’s got to be the Toprol. Currently I am taking Aceon 4mg. morning, and Toprol 100mg. evening. What’s going to happen to me now? Is this a good combination? I just read some bad things about beta-blockers. I also read an ACE and CCB are a good combination. Should I switch to that?
I want to be able to exercise again, lose some weight and keep the BP down. I can live with some minor side effects if I have to: dry skin, rashes, an occasional headache, a little tired now and again, scratchy throat… I can’t live with extreme fatigue, swollen body parts, facial deformities, sexual problems, constant coughing, weezing or feeling like the “Wicked ***** of the West”… AFTER the house fell on her!

[Lenin]

I'm so sorry so feel so bad with these drugs. I'm right there with you on most of them.

Just a couple thoughts:
Of course it's the Toprol 100 mg. that's making you feel like death warmed over. It is notorious for causing fatigue, exhaustion, sexual shutdown.
THe Aceon (perindopril) is an ACE inhibitor...easy to figure with THAT name . It is undoubtedly the cause of your coughing and scratchy throat.
As for the neck swelling I haven't a clue but it sounds a BIT like angioedema which is an allergic reaction to almost ANYTHING but it can be a LOT of things from weight gain to goiter.

I have taken LIPITOR for 8 years and have YET to have any difficulty with it anywhere NEAR approaching the side effects that I've had with even the KINDEST of the BP meds. If you need it, don't give it up because you read stories on the internet which are sometimes from people who haven't even TRIED it! Personally, I think the statins are a class of wonder drugs and I sympathize with anyone who needs blood lipid control but gets pain from the statins.
And of course, if you get pain or liver enzyme irregularities from Lipitor STOP TAKING IT, but don't stop merely because of Intenet chatter.

Have you ever tried JUST a diuretic like hydrochlorothiazide for a reasonable period of time (a month?) I find that as long as I make sure of eating high potassium and supplementing magnesium, the BP resulats are excellent and I feel strong, healthy, cheerful and active...AND UNPUFFY!

[Palamedes]

Originally Posted by 2yung2hurt

I changed doctors and he stopped the Norvasc and the Clonidine, but kept me on Diovan/Hct. 160/25mg. in morning and added Toprol 100mg. at night. Then my neck swelled up, just under my chin, not really a painful thing but, it looks ugly and deformed. I read that someone else had this problem with Diovan so I stopped taking it. Has anyone else had this problem? Is this associated with the Diovan or the Toprol. Doc didn’t think much of it, but it really bothers me. I guess if it don’t go away it’s got to be the Toprol.

Or, the HCTZ. Remember, you were on three drugs.

Originally Posted by 2yung2hurt

Currently I am taking Aceon 4mg. morning, and Toprol 100mg. evening. What’s going to happen to me now? Is this a good combination?

No, it's not normally an optimal combo - unless it is working!

Originally Posted by 2yung2hurt

I just read some bad things about beta-blockers.

I don't like them for BP control. But, they have uses. I think they are important for certain heart conditions and tachycardia. That said, some folks are doing great on them.

Originally Posted by 2yung2hurt

I also read an ACE and CCB are a good combination. Should I switch to that?

Yes, those are complementary drugs. But, you had problems with Norvasc even while you were on a good healthy dose of Diovan HCT. So, I'd expect the same thing with an ACE CCB combo.

Originally Posted by 2yung2hurt

I want to be able to exercise again, lose some weight and keep the BP down. I can live with some minor side effects if I have to: dry skin, rashes, an occasional headache, a little tired now and again, scratchy throat… I can’t live with extreme fatigue, swollen body parts, facial deformities, sexual problems, constant coughing, weezing or feeling like the “Wicked ***** of the West”… AFTER the house fell on her!

You never really mentioned what your BP readings are. Also, I hope you are monitoring your BP at home.

Pal

[mgraylorn]

You might try some other CCB rather than Norvasc and see if you still get the swelling. There is a great deal of difference between the various CCBs. You might try Cardizem for example.

I think there is also some variation with ACEs, so if you tried a different one you might not get the ACE cough.

A lot of people here don't like Toprol, including me. On the other hand, there are people here who have no side effects and it works for them. It really is true that one person's poison may be another person's salvation.

You might also try just a diuretic like Lenin says and see what happens.

If you aren't experiencing difficulties with Lipitor, you shouldn't stop taking it. You might try going off it a while without changing your other meds and see if you feel better.

The trouble with taking so many drugs and changing them all the time in a haphazard way is you can't be sure which ones, or which combination, make you feel bad.

It can be very frustrating to find a combination that works for you. You pretty much have to try lots of things, for several weeks (unless you get severe side effects), and its all a crapshoot what will work for any particular individual. It took me several months and some bad experiences before I found something that worked, and my experiences are not atypical.

So, hang in there! We're here for you!

[2yung2hurt]

Thank you all for your wonderful responses.
It's funny that I have to tell the doctor what drugs to give me. Maybe he should pay me (and you) for doing his job.

I have a 2 week supply of Aceon, and then I go back to see him. We'll see how it goes. If I'm not doing well, I will mention the ACE/CCB combo, and the HCT.

I will probably need a large dose of hydrochlorothiazide alone, if it's taking so many other medications to work. Large doses worry me. That's when the problems multiply.

If I took small doses of ACE/CCB/HCT, wouldn't the diuretic counteract any swelling.

I never mentioned what my readings were because that's another whole "can of worms". It's different every time I take it. It's been fluctuating so much lately because of all the changes in medication. Right now I'm reading 140/100. At home or at the pharmacy machine, it's been 130-140/90-100 since I stopped the Diovan, at the doctors office it was below 120/80 (with the Diovan/Hct 160mg). It's always higher at home though. Maybe it's the kids.... the doctors office is so peaceful...