Hydrochlorothiazide symptoms and conditions

I have been on Lisinopril 20 mg for the past 9 years. I can't believe I have taken it for such a long time. I noticed some strange chest sensations 2 years after taking it but pushed through it. Then I developed breast cancer and went through the chemo and radiation while continuing to take it. In the last 2 years and more recently in the last 3 months, I felt so many skipped beats that I had to check it out and I also have had significant hair thinning. I had a holter monitor, resting EKG, lots of bloodwork and was told that everything was normal. Normal???? Then why was I feeling so rotten and scared every time my chest decided to heave or get funny sensations in my throat. Doctors do not want to hear these types of complaints especially when you think it is related to a medication that they ordered.
So I decided to try an alternative approach. I have been taking fish oil, coenzyme 10, cholesterol nutritional supplement, Vit C, Vit E. I started these about a month ago while still taking Lisinopril. I finally stopped the Lisinopril yesterday so I'll see if I have any improvement of my symptoms.I also went to a website that showed 1% of people can have skipped heartbeats while on Lisinopril Here is the URL
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Hope this helps many of you who have similar episodes. MHS

I have taken hydrochlorothiazide for years and was told it was safe and worked well with blood pressure meds. I noticed that my weight gain would be 4 pounds on and off for no apparent reason. I also noticed my breasts felt like it did when I was nursing my babies when the milk came in. While on this med my potassium was off so I was on 3 fat potassium pills a day. Then I became light headed and became depressed and my mind was really awful. I knew I didn't have Alzheimer but knew something was wrong. Doctors thought I was a hypochondriac I am sure. I saw in Best Pills Worst Pills that you can have mental confusion as a side effect. I found out that when I went off of the pill for even a day the mental problems were gone and when I went back on the problems came back. After ingesting too much salt at a meal I ended up in ER. Doctor on call told me to quit my waterpill and also the potassium supplement, Since that time my weight has not fluated one ounce, my breasts no longer hurt and the mental chaos is gone. Such a relief to not have to worry where my potassium level was and never thought I would feel good mentally again as I was talking suicide. Meds they prescribe can kill us and we have to research all side effects ourselves it seems.

Hello
I am 57 years old and my BP has been trying to rise for the last 2 or 3 years. Without meds it is about 145/93. I started taking lisinopril 20mg, and it helped but didn't remedy the problem. My doctor added doxazosin mesylate 4mg and raised my lisinopril to 40mg. It was better but he also added hydrochlorothiazide 12.5mg. My pressure is down to 118/68 most of the time now., but my hair has really started to fall out in the last month or so. It was thinning due to age anyway, but this has really kicked it into high gear. I jog and try to eat low fat diet, otherwise healthy. Any suggestions as to what the culprit is? and what to do about it?
Thanks

I have been on lisinopril for a few months now, as of this past Monday I stopped taking it. I am 55 years old, blood pressure was not going down extremely fast just being on Hydrochlorothiazide, but not over the border line either. Doctor suggested Lisinopril to lower my blood pressure lower in addition to the other.

I immediately developed the cough. I have also since been to the doctor for what I thought were symptoms leading up to a heart attack or stroke. Nausea, rapid heart beat, lots of anxiety feelings, even when trying to sleep, light headed, a sudden feeling of just going to fall. They have completed an EKG and a treadmill stress test, nothing showed anything abnormal.

I am convinced it is the Lisinopril. Also, when I questioned my Doctor a while back that my blood pressure was now very low, like 107/71 on some days, he did not seem to concerned, he suggested I take one or the other every other day, so much for follow up on the patient. Did not even bother to check to see if it made a difference.

I agree with the other people, Doctors do not seem to take you serious when trying to describe your symptoms especially if you are a smoker. I know smoking is bad, but if I were not a smoker would I be treated a whole lot different. I just know that I want to see the difference being off of Lisinopril then I will approach my Doctor.

Hello everyone. I too am experiencing the same problems described here from Lisinopril. On January 1st of this year, ( 2009 ) I was taken to the hospital emergency room and admitted into the hospital under the assumption that I was having congestive heart failure. After a barrage of tests it was determined that I have diabetes and I was already taking hydrochlorothiazide ( 50 mgs ) for water retention. I was prescribed Lisinopril ( 10 mgs ) and told to cut my hydrochlorothiazide in half. Everything was fine for about a month and then it started...
I had noticed on the bottle of Lisinopril that the one side effect in some patients was a dry cough but disregarded it since it didn't seem to be affecting me. After being on Lisinopril for a month, I began having this awful dusty feeling in my throat. It actually feels like someone has a bellows filled with dust which they've placed in my mouth and released a spray of dust which caused me to have this feeling of needing to cough almost to the point of choking. I don't have this cough all day long. It only happens intermittently throughout the day. Sometimes when I am standing or sitting but mostly when I am laying down in bed. I've also noticed that it seems to have somewhat of a consistent schedule. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I would take the pill every morning around the same time. However, I've stopped taking it about a week and a half ago and still seem to have somewhat of a pattern of when the coughs occur. Strange.
Another thing I noticed is that I've seemed to have an excessive amount of saliva which would also cause me to choke at times. Have any of you experienced excessive saliva with this medication?
I've been trying to lose weight without success and I'm wondering if Lisinopril has something to do with that as well. After reading all of these comments on this forum, I am wondering if doctors as well as The American Medical Association should take a closer look as to whether the side effects of this medication out weigh the benefits and/or what this medicine is supposed to be helping the patient with. So far I see no positive effects from this medication.

Hi I'm 36, with high blood pressure. I have been on 25mg/day hydrochlorothiazide since July 08. I went in for normal 3month check up and Dr tells me that my bottom number is to high, so she gives me yet another pill to take(yep you guessed it) Lisinopril. I filled the RX in the morning, by lunch time, I felt sick to my stomach, dizzy, everything hurt. I thought I had gotten the flu. This was just 2 days before my daughter and my mothers birthday.(both the same day) We had big plans after all you only turn 18 once. I put a smile on and went to the party, but it was living hell. My Fiance' noticed that I didn't start feeling bad until after I had taken that new pill. I only took 1 a day for 3 days and it took me over a month to feel half way normal again.

I am male and 46 y.o. I've been on this for 6 weeks and I have gained 6 pounds. I've been eating the same things and going to the gym like I always do. I have also noticed that I can't do the same workout intensity as before. I wear a heart rate monitor and so I can tell that it takes less effort now to get my heart rate to a higher level than before. In short, I can only do about 80-90 percent of my previous intensity. My clothes don't feel tighter but I think it must be fluid gains even though I am on Hydrochlorothiazide as well. I'm concerned I'm going to keep gaining weight. I already have weight issues to begin with and had been keeping my weight steady for 2 years after losing 35 lbs. Has anyone here found an alternative to Lisinopril that treats their bp without the weight gain issues?

i am 30 yrs old and started taking lisinopril 20 mg along with 25 mg of hydrochlorothiazide about 6 weeks ago and then lisinopril was raised to 40 mg and i dont know whats worse the high blood pressure or the side affects that im getting,tired all the time,that damn cough,shortness of breathe,diarrhea,and nausea and a racing pulse that when i was watching tv went up to 135 and my insides just started to shake.im starting to get a little scared with my high pulse .if anyone else has the high pulse due to lisinopril p;ease let me know,thank you

Took this medication with hydrochlorothiazide due to high blood pressure. Two weeks ago I took a nap Friday evening after school (I teach school from 8 to 4:30), and woke up with half my face and tongue swollen. I thought it must have been a food allergy.
This Friday, while at the gym, my tongue started swelling on one side. By the time I got home, my neck was swelling on that side. I called the doctor and got a dose pack of prednisone and went and picked it up. I took the first 6 pills at 8:30. 2 hours later the other side of my tongue was 3-4 inches thick and my neck was swelling to the point it was equal to or outside my head. I took another 4 pills and a benadryl.
I almost went to the hospital, but held out because of the out of pocket expense with my insurance. Finally, about 2 the swelling of my tongue subsided. I tried to lie down around 4 a.m., but couldn't breath due to swelling in throat. Had to sit up all night.
Now, Sunday afternoon, I still have some swelling in my throat. I was never warned that such side effects were possible. I wonder how many people have been effected and if the FDA has any idea of the numbers.
swelling of tongue,
swelling of neck,
trouble breathing,
trouble swallowing.
I had been on this medicine for 3 months. I'll never take another blood pressure medicine. And, I have to find a new doctor that I trust.

I have been on Lisinopril& Hydrochlorothiazide 10mg/12.5 for several years at lease 6-7, I am always tired, no energy, thought it might be my heart just had it checked out everything OK. Now I'm starting to believe its this blood pressure meds. Could somebody give me a answer. Thanks

Within one hour after my first dose of Lisinopril I was having severe sinus congestion and mild dizziness. Since this seemed like a rather mild problem I naively continued to take my 10 mg dose every day. At first my blood pressure did drop a little, but within two weeks it had begun to climb back to the 150/90 range that I was having when it was prescribed. In addition I soon began to experience intermittent diarrhea, headache, vague moving pains in my abdomen, itching which interferred with my sleep, leg cramps, heart pain, anxiety and continuing increase in blood pressure. After calling my doctor's office and explaining all this to the nurse I received a return call telling me I was to DOUBLE my dose and assuring me that I had not been on the drug long enough for it to take effect. Especially concerning to me was the statement that the heart pain was because of my high blood pressure and that doubling the dose would resolve this. Foolishly, I did in fact double the dose for a week. During that time all of my symptoms worsened until I awoke one night with severe chest pain. My husband took my blood pressure and it was 220/120...............this as I was lying prone in bed after having just awakened from two hours sleep. At this point I was certain that my problem was more the drug than the original elevated blood pressure. I quit taking the drug immediately and within two days I was feeling better and my blood pressure was down the the original elevated level. I have now changed doctors, however I have little hope that the change will help as he has put me on a different medication ( which makes my ankles swell) and tells me that if the swelling continues he will put me on lisinopril with hydrochlorothiazide..............he does not believe that any of the symptoms I was having were related to that drug.

I am on the lisinopril and hydrochlorothiazide combined pill. I take two a day, which is 40 mg of lisinopril and 50 mg of hydrochlorothiazide. I have been on the medication for about a year, but about a month ago I started experiencing horrible nausea and a bad taste in my mouth. I also had very bad dizzy spells, to the point I nearly fell down several times. I went to my medical practitioner, who is an FNMP, and she said I had ear wax and that was what was causing the problems. Cleaned out my ears, pronounced me well and sent me home. I don't think she really listened to me, because I work in the medical field and never in my life had I heard of ear wax causing vertigo, dizziness, and profound nausea. Maybe an ear disorder. At any rate, I stopped the medicine and all the symptoms disappeared within a few days. I went to see my neurologist yesterday and my BP was 162./102. I told him about the problem with my BP medication and he told me to go home and immediately take the medication and call the doctor Monday to get the medicine changed. So I went home, took only one pill, and the symptoms immediately returned. I will just have to die of a stroke between now and Monday because I am never taking this medication again. Why don't medical practitioners listen?

I am so thankful for this site. I thought maybe it was just me. For one, I am allergic to Sulfa. My doctor knows this, as does my pharmacy. Still, they give me Lisinopril with Hydrochlorothiazide which you should NOT take if you have a sulfa allergy. From day one, I started with anxiety, agitation, nausea and what felt like a racing heart - though my pulse was normal. Day three I called the doctor and they said this was normal as my body "adjusted" to the medication. It has been over two weeks and the same thing keeps happening. I tried taking the meds at night to hopefully sleep through the side effects but no - it just kept me awake. I put another call in today and have yet to receive a return call from my doctor. I hope the doctor calls me and NOT the front desk girl because I have a lot of questions and concerns. Other symptoms I have been experiencing since I started Lisinopril are sever muscle cramping last for over 24 hours, dizziness, heavy chest/racing heart beat, restlessness and less frequent urination. For a 37 yo female who has to "potty" constantly, even throughout the night, going once in an 8+ hour period is not normal! The worst side effect though is definitely the anger and agitation. I feel like I am going to burst out of my skin or die banging my head against the wall. Last night I tossed and turned for 2 hours in agitation. I thought I would surely have a heart attack from the stress. Oh yeah my BP has NOT dropped at all (tho it fluctuates on or off the meds) on the 20 mg dose. Go figure.

went to doctor for headache, he put me on bp meds (Lisinopril/Hydrochlorothiazide- 20 / 12.5) & happy pill (Paxil - 20mg) , a headache pill i only took a few times , cuz headache was going away, i thought due to lower bp ,within 1 weeks time , the next wk-end , i passed out while talking , (no warning)everybody said resembled stroke, went back to doctor , he suggested i have test done , i refused till it happens again, he put me on chol meds.(simvastatin 40mg) due to hereditary factor , went 3 more weeks , passed out at work (fainted), had numbness in both lower arms & both lower legs , took me to hospital, did cat scan, said shows sign of stroke ????? , went back to doctor, he doesn't want me to do anything until i see a neuro & do a MRI. I have an appt next mon , ** I was tired b4 i ever went to doctor, & did seem to get better, but now extremely tired after episode, I Do have heart palps, sweat perfusly, had a couple of stabbing pains, have dry coughed a couple times, but pretty sure have had at times b4? ,ok, all i know is, b4 i went to doctor , i was fine except for a headache !!!??? now hit the dirt 2 times with in a month , woke up this morning w/ a thought - i don't care what the doctor says , i'm getting off these meds & go back to over the counter plain ole asprin !I (especially after reading this ( a BIG Thank You to my neice for website) I will go to neuro dr on mon, for MRI, which all these appts are costly ! thanks yall !

Just converted from Quinapril to Lisinopril two days ago and all remains well. Was on Quinapril and Metoprolol Succinate ER for two years with no side effects - must be the Hydrochlorothiazide keeping down the build up of negative by-products in the system.

The "P" pill is *very* important when using these drugs!

Been on Metoprolol Succinaate ER 50mg now for two years and have experienced absolutely no side effects what-so-ever. Did experience some minor vertigo from the Quinapril 10mg but cut it to 5mg and all has been just fine.

Just switched from the Quinaril to Lisinopril (highly recommend it) at 5mg and combined with the Metoprolol its keeping the BP where a 20 year old would be jealous.

I think the key to side effects is the 25mg Hydrochlorothiazide tab to keep the system flushed out and eliminate any unwanted build ups of things that cause the side effects.

Great combination and, excellent doctor's at Pima Heart in Tucson Az!

I think some of the severe symptoms reported here are just that.. severe, and as advised on the drug information insert they can happen, and should be reported to your doctor. We are led to believe our doctors will stop the meds and try something else. If they are not willing to do that, or try to convince us it's all in our heads then... we should stop the meds ourselves and find another dr. These side effects are real, and scary. I've stopped cholesterol meds for that reason. I don't need a dr. to tell me to stop... I know my body, and how I feel and know when something isn't right.

I've been on Lisinopril for two weeks now. I was initially on the diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide, but had so much arrhythmia that I thought my heart would jump out of my throat. The dr. discontinued that after less than a week, and put me on Lisinopril. I am a bit dizzy sometimes, and do have a mild cough, but I had the cough before the meds so I can't really blame it on that. However, for all those with the problem of coughing and headaches... I read at drugs.com that you should take this medication with a full glass of water, and drink lots of water throughout the day. This tip was not in the drug handout and I thought that odd. Something so easy, and yet left out. Luckily, I drink water at my desk all day at work. This weekend while home I didn't drink water and had a horrible headache the entire time. I never connected it until I read that you should drink lots of water. Back to work today and drinking water and my headache is gone. It's worth a try, it might help. My husband is on Lisinopril/HCTZ combo, has been for at least 3-4 years with no adverse side effects.

We are all different, medication effects all of us in different ways. I hope I never experience the kinds of side effects I'm reading about here. If so, I'll be off the drug in short order. My dr. told me there are loads of other medications we can try. While there are side effects to everything we take, mild is ok but no one should put up with life altering and/or life threatening side effects like what I am reading here.

I have been taking 20mg of Lisinopril and 5mg of Felodipine for about a year now, and I am experiencing excruciating joint pain. The back of my knees ache even while sitting and the bottom of my right foot keeps me from walking freely because it hurts so much. My wrists and fingers hurt too. I am overweight, so I just figured it was due to excess weight, but reading these posts made me realize that this is not normal. I am in pain all day long. I feel like I'm going crazy because I can't just get up and go- I struggle to do anything. I did not want to see my doctor because I've switched medicines before- used to take 50mg of atenolol but fatigue was horrible, so doc gave me hydrochlorothiazide and it gave me a terrible rash on my face. I thought I was done switching meds- does anyone know what is a good bp medicine? I'm tired of being tired and in pain.

Have any females suffered from decreased sexual desire with this med? I have had the cough, weakness, dizziness, sore throat, runny nose, numbness and tingling in my hands, weakness in lifting with my arms, coughing, and catch my breath a lot. I thought it was just "getting used to the med". I am convinced this is a dangerous med, I am off it for good.

Ive been taking Atenolol 100mg for years but it wasn't enough so my doc added Lisinopril /Hydrochlorothiazide 10/12.5mg......great at controlling my bp but the side effects aren't so grand. Recurring cough that sometimes triggers the gag reflex, especially late at night while lying down attempting to sleep. Also my libido has been cut in half. Time to go back to the doc.

I am taking a few meds and im having trouble distinguishing which side effect goes with what lol ..i.e. paxil for anxiety panic attacks and depression topamax and HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE for borderline blood pressure ,well i have experienced tingling in the hands and the feet ..lack of appt,i wouldn't say my desire for sex is gone but im experiencing vaginal dryness itching and numbness like a tingling feeling as well as problems climaxing sorry tmi lol ... thought it was a yeast infection but its kinda different? any girls ever exp that before while on paxil ? would love any feedback on tihs been on paxil now 2 and half weeks take it in the morning because it was keeping me wide awake at night insomnia lol doctor told me to take it at bedtime i tried for a week and i was wired so the pharmacist told me to take it in the morn said it causes insomnia also when i first started taking it made me feel really jittery for the first few hrs then i would get a real mellow feeling lol so i guess i was getting my high then my low i dunno but now it has even out and i feel great oh ya btw the other day i was watching a sad movie and i wanted to cry felt the need to cry but the tears wouldn't come out lol i was laughing i said damn paxil hahahhaha but hey rather be non emotional than emotional wreck lol ...so far so good exept for the vaginal thing its driving me crazy any suggestions that may have worked for you ? thanks .....

hi started my topamax 25 mg at bedtime i take it for migranes been top for 3 weeks now i have noticed side effects however iam taking other meds and im having trouble distinguishing which side effect goes with what lol ..e.g.. paxil for anxiety , panic attacks and HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE for borderline blood pressure , i have experienced the tingling in the hands and the feet ..lack of appt,i wouldn't say my desire for sex is gone but im experiencing vaginal dryness and itching and numbness as well as problems climaxing sorry tmi lol ... thought it was a yeast infection but its kinda different? any girls ever exp that before while on top? im getting scared now reading the post about loss of hair im already very thin and have little hair as it is any help or suggestions would be great thx ...

I have read everyone's symptoms that have written their concerns on this website and I want to recommend that you contact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website at: www.fda.gov and it will give you all the information you need on the side effects of this drug.

Believe me, many of the symptoms you have all described are on their list under the section that I browsed through when I looked up Lisinopril/HCTZ or ZESTORETIC (the generic kind of this drug).

This what I found:

ADVERSE REACTIONS

ZESTORETIC has been evaluated for safety in 930 patients including 100 patients treated for 50 weeks or more.

In clinical trials with ZESTORETIC no adverse experiences peculiar to this combination drug have been observed. Adverse experiences that have occurred have been limited to those that have been previously reported with lisinopril or hydrochlorothiazide.

The most frequent clinical adverse experiences in controlled trials (including open label extensions) with any combination of lisinopril and hydrochlorothiazide were: dizziness (7.5%), headache (5.2%), cough (3.9%), fatigue (3.7%) and orthostatic effects (3.2%) all of which were more common than in placebo-treated patients. Generally, adverse experiences were mild and transient in nature, but see WARNINGS regarding angioedema and excessive hypotension or syncope. Discontinuation of therapy due to adverse effects was required in 4.4% of patients principally because of dizziness, cough, fatigue and muscle cramps.

Adverse experiences occurring in greater than one percent of patients treated with lisinopril plus hydrochlorothiazide in controlled clinical trials are shown below.

Table Percent of Patients in Controlled Studies

(For a more detailed breakdown of this chart, pls. check the fda website)

Incidence (discontinuation)

Dizziness 7.5
Headache 5.2
Cough 3.9
Fatigue 3.7
Orthostatic Effects 3.2
Diarrhea 2.5
Nausea 2.2
Upper Respiratory Infection 2.2
Muscle Cramps 2.0
Asthenia 1.8
Paresthesia 1.5
Hypotension 1.4
Vomiting 1.4
Dyspepsia 1.3
Rash 1.2
Impotence 1.2

Clinical adverse experiences occurring in 0.3% to 1.0% of patients in controlled trials and rarer, serious, possibly drug-related events reported in marketing experience are listed below:

Body as a Whole: Chest pain, abdominal pain, syncope, chest discomfort, fever, trauma, virus infection. Cardiovascular: Palpitation, orthostatic hypotension. Digestive: Gastrointestinal cramps, dry mouth, constipation, heartburn. Musculoskeletal: Back pain, shoulder pain, knee pain, back strain, myalgia, foot pain. Nervous/Psychiatric: Decreased libido, vertigo,
depression, somnolence. Respiratory: Common cold, nasal congestion, influenza, bronchitis, pharyngeal pain, dyspnea, pulmonary congestion, chronic sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, pharyngeal discomfort. Skin: Flushing, pruritus, skin inflammation, diaphoresis, cutaneous pseudolymphoma. Special Senses: Blurred vision, tinnitus, otalgia. Urogenital: Urinary tract infection.

Angioedema: Angioedema of the face, extremities, lips, tongue, glottis and/or larynx has been reported rarely. (See WARNINGS.)
In rare cases, intestinal angioedema has been reported in post marketing experience.

Hypotension: In clinical trials, adverse effects relating to hypotension occurred as follows: hypotension (1.4%), orthostatic hypotension (0.5%), other orthostatic effects (3.2%). In addition syncope occurred in 0.8% of patients. (See WARNINGS.)

Cough: See PRECAUTIONS - Cough.

I found this website to be helpful information in trying to find out more about the side effects I have been experiencing after taking this drug. I also wrote in to the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration with my concerns to see what we can do to get it off the market or have it improved.

There is alot more information about the drug and its generic brand as well, but I thought this was important to put on this website. Hope this helps!

Martha

Was put on Toprol XL while in the hospital. Taking 50 mg along with 50 mg of Vasotec. Discontinued the Vasotec because of cough. Put on Cozaar. Dr also prescribed hydrochlorothiazide which I decided not to take. For a month I was lethargic, no appetite or thirst, worsened sleep problems, and MAJOR depression. Started to research and decided it was the Toprol. On Wednesday I cut the dosage in half, by Saturday I started feeling more like my old self. By the following Wednesday I was back to normal as far as I could tell. Cut the dosage in half again and a week later, stopped Toprol all together. Best decision I ever made!!!!!