October 5th
2007
7:55 AM
Hi, I'm a 51 y/o female nurse that started taking Toprol-XL for high blood pressure. I don't like taking meds because of side effects (other blood pressure meds have caused my hair to fall out, fatigue, depression, etc.) so I started out only taking half of the 50 mg tab. I recently upped it up to the whole tab to get my blood pressure a little lower and immediately started having severe headaches and joint pains. I'm going back down to a half tab and wean myself off this crap. I'm taking Magnesium, potassium, and L-Arginine, which all help relax the blood vessels. I was taking a higher dose of magnesium, which causes some diarrhea, when I decided to lower it and increase the dose of Toprol-XL to see how that worked. I'd rather have the diarrhea from the magnesium! At least then I wasn't crying from depression, having bad headaches and hurting all over! I'm losing weight on Weight Watchers, so hopefully I'll get this blood pressure under control. My blood pressure was pretty well under control with the lower dose of Toprol-XL, higher dose of magnesium, and the L-Arginine and potassium. I'm going back to what was working before. I'm also going to talk to my Health and Wellness doctor about a safer replacement for the Toprol-XL.
-- By sonynobalonee | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me
September 10th
2006
8:09 PM
I've been taking Ace inhibitors for several years. Started with captopril, another whose name I don't remember caused marked depression (the others did not), and finally lisinopril. All caused the cough, which went away after taking it for a few months, and starts up again if I stop taking for a while and then resume. Other symptoms I attribute to ace inhibitors in general are a lack of libido, headaches, dizziness, and dramatic, but gradual, hair loss. (I am female.) At one point either the ordering dr or the pharmacy inadvertently doubled my dose from 10 to 20 mg(and I didn't catch the error for quite some time - weeks or months.) When I finally did catch the error, it explained my increased cough, headaches and dizziness, and severe postural hypotension. (I'm up and down a lot at work, and I felt I would almost black out when changing position.) I'm diabetic, and take it to prevent kidney damage. My blood pressure is borderline, and sometimes higher. Unfortunately, the ace inhibitor at 10 mg doesn't seem to lower my blood pressure enough.
-- By jacqit | Reply | Private Message me
March 19th
2008
8:15 PM
I was taking Captopril and the VA started Lisinopril in it's place last year. Captopril never seemed to bother me but after the change I have shoulder pain and cramps in the muscles all the time. Then I would have the runny nose for a while and sleeplessness. I have been more irritable according to my wife and forgetful about things. Sometimes I would be so dizzy and fall against things. I am going to stop taking it for a few days and see what happens. Zocor messed me up too. Thought I was going to die. Don't know why VA changed me from Captopril to Lisinopril unless it was cheaper.
-- By ronnybuck | Reply | Private Message me