Does anyone here take Prinivil for high BP?

[Stinky The Clown]

My doc put me on a 20mg/day dose - supposedly the lowest - until I drop twenty or it otherwise becomes clear my high BP (140-150/85-95) is chronic.

Since the first dose, I've had some pretty bad headaches. They're less today, three days into taking this med.

Do any of you take this med? Have any of you who do experienced headaches?

I checked for known side effects, and sure enough, headaches are listed. I'm wondering if this the kind of thing that will go away with tolerance or if I need to get a different med.

[NMDemDist2]

1. dear Stinky, did you try garlic tablets first?

as for the meds, I'll ask my stepmom the nurse what she knows about it this weekend when I talk to her

hope you're feeling better real soon (you've had a rough couple days haven't you?)

:hug:

PS and maybe limit your time in GDPol, that place would send anybody's BP sky high :hide:

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Ooooooops! Number 4, below, was for you!

:hi:

[babylonsister]

2. I take lisnopril, 20 mg. I get an occasional headache, pop an

aspirin or two, and am good to go, but this isn't a daily occurrence.

I hope you get it figured out.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I have to go back for a follow-up BP check in a week and a half ....

I'll ask then about the headaches. What i had today wasn't anywhere near the bad one yesterday and the day before.

Hopefully its just a matter of building up tolerance.

I usually **never** get headaches.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. Garlic tabs?

I eat so much now in the natural state, why would I need tabs?

Don't tell Sparkly, but I put it on corn flakes and as a topping on ice cream. :)

[NMDemDist2]

7. you'd have to eat about a dozen garlic rosettes (dunno what it's called)

to get the same amount as a couple tabs of garlic pills

i know you love garlic, but if you ate that much "au natural" your neighbor three doors down would be calling the EPA for odor control

http://www.chattem.com/qna/garl.asp

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Damn .... I wonder if *that* was who those guys in tyvek suits were

last week! They had these black vans and funny looking meters ..........

[Lugnut]

15. Same here

I take 40 mg once a day.

[mike_c]

6. sorry to hear that....

I take metoprolol for high BP, and your post inspired me to look up the list of possible side effects. I wish I hadn't.... On the other hand, my BP was 120/70 at my last check, so at least it's working, and I haven't noticed any side effects at all. Hope you feel better soon!

[grasswire]

9. H2S....did you consider phoning the MD's nurse to ask about this?

I would give the nurse a call and describe what's going on. Or consult with your pharmacist. If there's nothing to worry about, they oughta be able to tell you so to ease your mind. Obviously, worrying about it and/or experiencing the headaches will not help get the BP under control.

I hope things improve soon.

[babylonsister]

10. This might make you feel better if you're elderly, which I'm sure

you're not!


Blood pressure drugs may slash Alzheimer's risk

14 March 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Roxanne Khamsi

Elderly patients taking certain drugs to lower their blood pressure appear to have a markedly reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report. Results from their short-term study suggest that some of these medications could slash this risk by up to 70%.

Previous research has shown that high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can increase a person’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors commonly prescribe patients medications such as diuretics, which cause the kidneys to excrete water and salt, to lower blood pressure. Beta-blockers, which slow the heart rate and widen blood vessels, also work against hypertension.

Potassium levels

Overall, antihypertensive drugs appeared to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 40%. But the figure jumped even higher – to 70% – when they looked at a specific class of diuretics that have the desired effect on the kidney while maintaining higher bodily levels of the nutrient potassium.

“We would not want people to interpret these findings as a recommendation to go out and start taking antihypertensive drugs,” Zandi says, adding that further studies are necessary to back up the results.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn8844.html

Edit to add this! but I recommend you check out the health group, here.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=222

Tomato extract lowers blood pressure

A double-blind study published in the January 2006 issue of the American Heart Journal found that a high antioxidant tomato extract given to patients with hypertension lowered blood pressure when given over a two month period.

Researchers at Soroka University Medical Center in Israel recruited thirty-one men and women aged 30 to 70 with grade 1 hypertension. Without knowing whether they were receiving tomato extract or a placebo, participants were given a placebo for four weeks followed by one 250 milligram capsule of Lyc-O-Mato tomato extract for eight weeks, then the placebo for another four weeks. No other supplements were allowed during the course of the study. The subjects' systolic blood pressure declined from an average of 144 to 134 mm Hg, and diastolic was reduced from a mean 87.4 to 83.4 mm Hg during the eight week period of treatment with tomato extract. Lipid peroxidation products decreased after treatment with tomato extract as well.

The authors observe that reducing blood pressure from the grade 1 hypertension range to high normal, and maintaining it there, could help prevent the progression of hypertension and postpone the need for medication. They recommend larger trials for longer periods to help define tomato extract's role as an antihypertensive agent. http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2006_01.htm#telb


Volume 151, Issue 1, Pages 100.e6-100.e1 (January 2006)
Natural antioxidants from tomato extract reduce blood pressure in patients with grade-1 hypertension: A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study
Abstract with links to full text and PDF: http://www.ahjonline.com/article/PIIS000287030500503X/a...

[Stinky The Clown]

12. Interesting read and intersting links

Thanks!

My father's sister had Alzheimers. Apart from her, none on either side of my family. Is it in any way hereditary?

[Warpy]

11. Prinivil is one of the good drugs

The class is an ACE inhibitor (translation available upon request), a me-too drug developed to compete with the original breakthrough drug developed via a NIH grant but that turned out to be far superior to the original drug and with fewer side effects.

Give it a couple of weeks. What you're experiencing is opened up arteries in your head, possibly the first time they've been wide open in ages. You should acclimate to the drug. If you find you absolutely can't stand it, there are other meds available, although all have side effects. If the headaches don't start to diminish in severity within a few days, call your doctor and discuss the alternatives, whether temporaty pain control or an alternate med.

In the meatime, an acetominphen tab is usually the best for these headaches, just don't stay on a constant dose or you'll risk rebound rather than acclimating. Also don't use NSAIDs like Motrin or Aleve, they can decrease the drug's blood pressure lowering effects.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. Thanks Warpy

As I said, the headache today was very much reduced from what it was on Wednesday. In fact, right now, after taking tonight's dose, its hardly noticeable. There, to be sure, but not really a bother. The trend is right, so I'm going to wait and see where this goes. Right now, I'm hopeful.

[NMDemDist2]

14. I'm glad to hear that Mike

we love ya here yanno??

:loveya:

[grasswire]

17. this is an interesting comment

I know that taking ibuprofen can work against the cardiac benefit of taking aspirin therapy. But you're saying that taking an NSAID also negates the anti-hypertension med?

[NMDemDist2]

16. I talked to my nurse

and she says if it doesn't clear up in a couple weeks, let your doctor know