Diovan and blood pressure

I'm a 57-year-old male. I have been on Divovan 160 for about 3 years now. Several months ago I started to have back pain and it has been increasing. The doctor took x-rays and cat scan and the reports said that while I have some disc degeneration in my lower spine, the films are virtually unchanged since they were taken 5 years ago. In other words, I should not have back pain - but I do!
Lately, the pain has gotten worse - so bad that I can hardly get out of bed in the morning. It is located on the left side of my lower back. I also have incredible gas and despite diet and exercise, which is now impossible due to the pain, I could not lose weight no matter how hard I tried.
In the last 6 months I have slowly transformed from feeling pretty good for my age and capable of an hour a day on the treadmill to feeling like a 90-year old man. Today the pain was so bad I had to book off sick from work.
I went to the doctor and told him about all the negative stories on the Internet about Diovan. He looked up in his medical journal and decided to take me off the drug. Instead he prescribed a new drug, Rasilez (aliskiren fumarate).
Last month I tried stopping Diovan for 4 days and experienced a significant reduction in pain. I had to go back on because my pressure shot up again. I hope this new drug works without side effects.
Would appreciate responses from any of you who have had success with drugs alternative to Diovan and also success with natural remedies.
Best wishes to you all.

I was put on Diovan and was okay in the beginning. But then I noticed when I would just get up and walk around my heart would race. The other night I took my blood pressure which was fine, but I knew my heart was racing, it was 105 beats per minute, I felt exhausted, and worn out and plain tired. I need to be on a Beta Blocker so I went back on my Atenolol. I also would be out, if I turned to quickly, my head would take a spin and I would have to grab something to keep from falling down. I'm one of those people out there if there is a side effect to have it will be me. D.S.S.

I´m 55 years old, and been taking Diovan 80 gr for more than three years now. Never had any problem, and my blood pressure is really under control. But lately I´ve been experiencing dizziness.Decided to reduce the doses to half a pill per day, and felt better. Did several tests with a cardiologist, and all seems OK, except that my blood pressure was again a bit high, and he recommended me to continue with the 80 gr doses. The Doctor attributed the dizziness to low mineral water intake. So I am now drinking 2.5 ltr of mineral water a day, but besides going very often to the loo, the dizziness did not disappear. Is it possible the Diovan is the cause.

My blood pressure has not dropped!!!! I am wondering if the fact that I had Roux-en-Y Surgery could be the cause. I know I do not absorb many things and I wonder if this is one of them.

I am an asthmatic and with Diovan, my asthma is worse. I was well controlled on Singulair but now I have to constantly use my rescue inhaler of Albuterol which raises the blood pressure that Diovan supposedly drops. I was a runner but I can not longer run. I can't walk more that one flight of stairs without shortness of breath.

It is now day 8....unfortunately the blood pressure has rocketed up to 150/100 had to go back on the full meds ...........being tired isn't fun but 150/100 isn't safe to walk around with....very hard to sleep with a pressure pounding that high...hopefully the exercise 30 min a day will combat the tired and depression effects...then in a few months ill try again or a different med if necessary.....not looking forward to itching again either !

At the age of 36 this genetic blood pressure problem has become very frustrating ..all tests came back normal ekg, heart scans, kidney scans mri s blood tests so whats left they say Sleep Apnea could be the issue need a sleep test though to see ........have a good one all

You are all completely 100 % right
I have a book here called the high blood pressure hoax
the lady that wrote it is 100 % right in her findings we are all living it !!!!
the list of side effects is overwhelming too many too list
I quit all hypertensive meds yes my blood pressure shot up rebound etc

but I can actually sleep and don't feel depressed and tired anymore

it may not be a good thing but id rather live with no side effects my skin is actually clearing up in 2 days from the itching, the nausea is still coming and going brain fog is clearing up as well as a ton of other horrible side effects for the first time i actually feel good .....in 2 years of taking these horrible drugs ,,,,,yes they are keeping us alive but in the long run they will kill us just as fast as the hypertension !!!!!!!!!! good luck with diet and exercise everyone I am starting it myself this weekend

I've been on Diovan for about 9 months and I have all of the side effects everyone else here has mentioned! Weight gain, bloating, fatigue, mood swings, extreme muscle aches- especially in my lower back and legs, hunger, and more! These Drs. are sooo stupid!!!! They tell us to lose weight and then give all of us medications that cause weight gain. I am also diabetic and my Dr. also has me take Humalog insulin- which also causes weight gain! I would enjoy hearing from everyone who has had side effects from Diovan, and I would like to hear about alternative remedies for hypertension. Good luck and Best Wishes to all of you....Kim Q.

Have been on Diovan for only afew week.Things are already bad can't get up all I want to do is sleep.Taking a shower has become a chore.My blood pressure has dropped but I'm missing out on life .Headaches,dizzy,fatigue,bloating and depressing has taken it over.

I have been on Diovan (320 mgms) for two years. It has reduced my blood pressure moderately but not nearly enough. Then I heard about the benefits of garlic in controling blood pressure. For the past year I have been taking Kyolic garlic powder in capsule form (use the cardiovascular formulation), two capsules with each meal every day. No odor from this formulation and garlic is good for your overall health with no side effects I am aware of. Got my blood pressure down to 111/ 50. Doctors will not recommend garlic because it has not been cleared by the FDA. Also, how can the pharmaceutical companies continue to get rich if we all take garlic?? I bought my Kyolic at Vitamin Cottage but I suppose it is available in other vitamin stores too.

I have been on Diovan, 80 mg. for almost 3 weeks now. I was taken off of lisinopril due to a terrible cough which was getting worse by the day. My cough is almost gone now, but I have been having a real problem with flatulence since I started the Diovan. I also take Lipitor, and I think the combination of the two drugs may be the issue. Back to the doctor, I guess. I would like to be able to go out in public. I've tried Beano to no avail. But on the positive side, my blood pressure is fine now!

After side effects from every blood pressure med I have tried I was thrilled to finally feel good after taking Diovan HCT. Then after two months I could not sleep at night. Cardiologist took me off Diovan but said he had never heard of anyone with that symptom. Well after a week of getting off of it I am able to sleep again. Thanks to this website I found out I was not the only one who had sleep problems even though I felt the doctor thought I was some kind of a nut. It is so good to sleep again.........

I have been taking Diovan for 9 Months and have experienced several side effects that i was not aware of that were caused from Diovan. Number one weight gain 25lbs in 9 months,Lower back pain, dry eyes and some hair loss. I have contacted my doctor today and had blood tests for possible liver damage. I will get the results in two days. I am changing medications. I am looking for a natural way to lower my blood pressure maybe through diet and exercise. I exercise 3 to 4 days a week and i eat healthy but continue to gain 2to3 lbs a month. Who knows the souluion? I just want to be free of medication!!

My Cardiologist put me on Diovan 160mg 2 months ago.I have not noticed a decrease in my blood pressure.It still runs about the same.The only side effect that I have that I have really notice is that my lower back hurts alot.I have tried everything to ease the pain.Sometimes it helps,sometimes it doesn't.Does anyone else have this problem....Lorey

I was taking Diovan 80mg for about 4 months and was told prior to taking it by my physician that it had little to no side affects. I experiencined a great deal of weight gain, fatigue and bloting. I found it almost impossible to loose weight even with everyday running and dieting. In addition, often heart rate surges during sleep, and great swings in mood/depression. It assisted in bringing my blood pressure down significantly but ultimatley stopped working. I am now on Lotrel.

Diovan lowered my blood-pressure,but rapid weight gain,can't sleep at night and hair loss forced me to discontinue the medication.