my mom has hbp... and miserable, help!

[freesia79]

My mom has been on hbp medication for about 5 years now. She has a light case of asthma and generally weak respiratory system. She had been on Dichlozid and Norvasc but had to stop because it made her cough like crazy. Now she is on Atenolol and has gained a lot of weight. She exercises everyday and eats right, but she feels tired all the time and is beginning to feel depressed because of her weight gain & everyone's comment on the fact. The doctor seems to think that weight gain and fatigue don't matter as long as the med lowers the bp. Has anyone tried a med that doesn't cause cough and weight gain? I'd appreciate any comment. By the way, my mom is 52, 5'1" and now 135-140lbs. Thanks!

[SamQKitty]

Norvasc is a calcium channel blocker, which doesn't usually cause a cough. The other med she was taking may have been an ace inhibitor, and they definitely cause the cough.

Atenelol is, I believe, a beta blocker. I've not heard of anyone gaining weight from a beta blocker, but who knows? Perhaps her doctor could reduce the amount of the Atenelol and add back the Norvasc...the combination may do the trick.

How high was your mother's BP without meds? And what is it typically on meds?

[freesia79]

Her bp w/o med was on avg 170/102. Right now, it's 130/92. What do you think about Monopril? I heard that it's beta blocker as well with fewer side effects. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[sportmom]

Monopril is another ACE inhibitor - those are the ones that cause cough, probably not a good choice for your mom if she had cough before.

[freesia79]

Thanks everyone for the reply. Yeah, I just read the article on webmd and it says it's ACE and causes cough How about Cozaar? Has anyone tried this? Were the side effects serious?
Thanks!