Ugly problems symptoms and conditions

I am a 49 year old woman in good health. My blood pressure has always been low, but in January it was up a bit, yet still within the normal range. I was seeing a new doctor, who suggested I start Lisinopril just as a precaution to keep it from going higher. I started having side effects right away. Inability to sleep well, bad dreams, achy joints, fatigue, and paranoia, but the worst was the persistent cough, which worsened the longer I was on the medicine. I sincerely thought I was being poisoned, either intentionally or accidentally. Little did I know at the time I was poisoning myself with a medication I did not really need. I called my doctor several times to report the cough, which was keeping me up at nights and was generally bringing my quality of life down to a intolerable level. We changed my allergy medicine several times and he even ordered a chest x-ray to eliminate any really ugly problems like lung cancer, etc. After 5 1/2 months, the doctor says, almost as an afterthought, that perhaps I should quit taking the Lisinopril. I asked why that would have any effect on my coughing and he said it was rare, but it had been known to cause some coughing in a small number of patients. After doing research on this drug, I do not believe these side effects are rare at all, and I can not understand why I had to suffer for so long before my doctor considered the fact it could be medication related. The drug companies responsible for manufacturing this medication, and all similar ones, both formulary and generics, should educate the physicians prescribing them of these detrimental side effects. I have only been off Lisinopril for six days, and the cough has gotten worse, even to the point where my family members sincerely thought they should call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. I realize it can take a number of days to get the drug out of my system, so I am pushing fluids and have myself on a cleansing diet to speed up the process. I am so miserable. I hope I only have a couple more days of this. I really need some sleep to function during the day, and I am just not getting it yet. Any suggestions?