Pharmacological symptoms and conditions

I was started on low dose Lisinopril 2.5 mg./day a few weeks ago. My pharmacist told me there are absolutely no side effects except for possibly an ACE inhibitor cough. That immediately made me think this drug was too good to be true. I am very sensitive to medication and have only had the need to take an occasional tylenol or motrin - ever. Usually I thrive on stress and am the type of person to go, go, go all day and once I hit the sofa after supper, I relax. Now I just feel unusually tired and wiped out during the daytime. I started with a headache yesterday that took 2 tylenol to make go away. I am able to get energy bursts, but then the tiredness! I have felt some fluttering of my heart as well. My hands feel unusually cold and achy when I type or hold the steering wheel of my car or a shopping cart. I am usually very focussed, but things are a little fuzzy in that department from time to time over the past few days. My most recent BP was 114/61 - perhaps too low? I see the MD next week for a follow up. If I tell her I'm unusually tired, she will try to put me on thyroid meds (I have been borderline for years). She also said my blood sugar and cholesterol bear watching. You know, I've been healthy for 52 years and all the doctor can say is that now my life is catching up with me. I can't help but think she has some long term pharmacological cocktail planned for me!

I have bipolar, and for a year I was willing to attribute my symptoms to that illness. I started the lisinopril when I moved and made a bunch of life changes, so I didn’t connect the onset of the symptoms with the med. Every night, though, I would get sick around 5 or 6 PM (I took lisinopril in the morning): nausea, headache, body aches, extreme lethargy, shortness of breath, fluttering feeling in my chest. These symptoms were so bad that twice I went to the emergency room. (Unfortunately, I presented as a bipolar patient with anxiety, so my treatment was less than comprehensive.) I swapped out all my bipolar meds to rule out drug interactions, but never touched lisinopril because I thought of it as a “safe drug”. My PCP (who prescribed the lisinopril) referred me to a cardiologist who did a battery of tests. I stopped the 30 day heart monitor after 3 weeks because every time I had cardiac symptoms, I checked out fine. The only option left seemed to be that the symptoms were psychosomatic, which scared me because I had no idea how to tackle that. I finally decided to investigate lisinopril and found this site by accident. It was amazing to read all the posts that were similar to my experiences. The day I discontinued the lisinopril in the morning, that night I did not get sick. I waited until I had been well for a week before concluding that the symptoms were indeed side effects of this med. It’s been a couple of months since I discontinued the lisinopril. And I have not been sick once, though I do struggle regularly with the bipolar. (I do monitor my blood pressure regularly: there’s a reason why everyone tells you to do that!) I feel stupid for not suspecting lisinopril earlier (I’m the kind of person who has a PDR and quizzes doctors on pharmacological modes of action) but I just thought that someone would flag it if there could be a problem.

I think those of us with a chronic illness tend to try to make symptoms fit within the framework of our known disease models. I’m writing a book and would welcome input on any aspect of bipolar or about dealing with chronic illness in general.

This site is a blessing. Congratulations on finding it!