Lisinopril and flu

My experience has been hell. I thought I had the flu. I began feeling nausea and a tickle in my throat at night. I would begin to cough and would get sick. I've had it now every night for 6 weeks and am sick of it. Now it's happening in the daytime. I also was having dizziness upon getting up. No more for me.

I am a 43 yr old female and have recently developed high bp. I have been taking lisinopril 20 mg for about 1 1/2 months. I have not been able to sleep for the past few days, as my heart is racing and I have a constant feeling of anxiety. In addition, I am having trouble swallowing and my throat feels raw. I thought that the fever and aches I had last week were the flu, but after reading other similar stories, I will contact my doctor as soon as the office opens in the morning.

When my bp, which had always been VERY low, rather suddenly skyrocketed at age 48 (possibly as a long-term effect of the preeclampsia I had 23 years ago when pregnant with my daughter), I was put on 10 mg of Lisinopril. I had diarrhea by that evening. The next day, the diarrhea thankfully disappeared, but other flu-like symptoms set in--mostly nausea and muscle weakness/fatigue. The nausea often made it hard to eat, and the muscle weakness was so bad that sometimes I'd have to stop what I was doing---even typing on the computer--and go lie down. Fortunately, these symptoms abated after one week, and I've been fine for the last two weeks. But now, as my bp is still too high, my Lisinopril is being increased to 20 mg, so I fear getting sick again.

About 1 1/2 years ago my allergist recommended I switch BPM from Lisinopril to Atacand because of congestion problems associated with Lisinopril. I made the switch and had no problems with Atacand other than my co-pay was considerably higher. Because of this I asked my family practice MD to switch me back to Lisinopril because I remembered it worked okay. However this time - a couple of days after the first dose of Lisinopril I developed flu-like symptoms (aching, congestion, fatigue). I thought I was coming down with the flu AGAIN. After about three days I started having chest pain, a headache that wouldn't go away, blurred vision, dizziness, shortness of breath, very shaky, weakness, couldn't sleep. I thought I was on the verge of a heart attack at times. The fatigue and weakness worsened. I often felt that I couldn't get off the couch or out of bed. My legs felt like weights. It wasn't until I checked out the side effects on this website and read the comments of other users of the drug that I realized what was most likely happening. Needless to say, I called my doctor and asked to be switched back to Atacand. I'm more than willing to pay the extra $'s to feel better.

taking lisinopril -2 yrs. tues. 6/2/08 - started feeling like the flu. by wed. was so sore in places i had never had muscle and joint pain, all i could do is lay...by wed evening was feeling a little better so, ok it's the flu. took med to go to bed and had one of the most miserable nights ever...what i call severe neck and left arm pain. could not raise or put weight on my rt. hip,leg, knee or foot (those were just the worse spots). by the by been i have been having very poor sleep about 4 months. managed thru thurs, by fri i was convinced it was lyme. saw physician...of course all blood was normal. on sat. 6/7 i kept thinking it was the lisinopril because i would start feeling better (not over the pain, just better) in the evenings and then be right back in severe pain by 2 am.

decomposition of lisinopril in acidic medium so narrow absorption window.

Thanks and blessings to everyone who has posted problems with Lisinopril on this site.

I am a 60 year old Caucasian male who was put on Lisinopril 10 mg by my doctor in conjunction with 54 mg of Concerta for treating me for ADHD. Two years later I finally discovered that the “ADHD” was caused by my progressive glasses being one diopter too strong causing Induced Dyslexia. The real problem was not my ability to mentally focus or “follow a task list.” The real problem was my inability to read what was in front of me, let alone find the list.

I now have a correct progressive glasses prescription and computer glasses for seeing what is on my monitor so that I can think again. I weaned myself off the Concerta and haven’t felt this good in 5 years EXCEPT for when I came down with the flu five months ago (despite taking the flu shot – which we now know only worked 40% of the time). After being ill for six weeks with the flu, however, almost all of the flu symptoms were gone except for the dizziness and fatigue.

I was so dizzy and exhausted that “I felt like I was on some type of drug.” That was when I realized that I WAS taking a prescription drug - Lisinopril.

It was also when I discovered your webpage and the side effects of Lisinopril of dizziness and fatigue.

I stopped taking the Lisinopril and within 36 hours the dizziness and fatigue was gone and I feel great. Mentally I think that I am also much more alert, and think that the Lisinopril also increased the confusion that the Concerta was supposed to help reduce.

Again, THANK YOU.

I've been taking lisinopril for about 4 months for HBP which I have had since I was 18 and I am 40 now. My blood pressure went down immediately--I can never remember the number but before nurses testing my bp would always say I was "a little high" and now they always say "it's normal." When i first started taking it I noticed I felt a little depressed, and I always felt lethargic on lisinopril. I believe that's just normal from taking something which reduces BP. I had bad diarrhea and got pretty sick for a short while a couple weeks ago but there was a flu that was going around. I noticed some dizziness and was pretty out of it, but I have felt those symptoms before I started on lisinopril. I am now worried from reading your complaints about this drug.I ran out of pills a few days ago and I feel much more energetic and with-it now, generally better although now I worry about the long-term effects on my body of my HBP. I currently have a headache and to be honest I still don't feel 100%. While I was on it I noticed some dryness in my belly and my poop seemed weird not normal--I had some bad flatulence and my poop would come out sometimes pretty sparse. I definitely felt different, especially in my digestion and lethargy, but did not have very very bad side effects. Still I'm thinking twice before taking it again. My father had some blindness in one eye that was apparently from long-term HBP, so I am concerned about long term effects of not doing anything about my BP--so I may go back to lisinopril or whatever else my doctor prescribes.

I started taking Lisinpril about three weeks ago. Doctor prescribed 40 mg twice per day. After about a week, I developed a severe case of diarrhea but no other illness. Other than that, I felt good. It almost cleared up in about a week. But soon, it got worse. I was having to go to the bathroom about every 30 minutes. Very, very loose stool and gas. After aboout 2 1/2 weeks, I had to get off the drug after finding this web site and all the side effects. I soon developed severe abdominal cramps n adition to the diarrhea and general flu like symptons. Its been three days after getting off the drug, I'm to sick to go to work today and I have a doctors appt. tomorow morning. I'm a 55 yr.old male with good health except for some elevated high BP. I have not doubt my side effects are caused by the lisinopril. To many of us, this is bad stuff. Its been years since I have been this sick. I plan to let FDA know of my side effects and I would encourage you to do the same. Bad Stuff. glen

I have been in Lisinopril for about a month. I have a dry cough that keeps me awake at night, headache, fatigue and lightheadedness. My doctor refuses to believe the cough is from the Lisinopril. He said I have not taken in long enough for it to be side effects. He keeps increasing the dosage from 5mg then 10 now 30mg my blood pressure continues to climb averaging 150/100 not dropping below 140/90 and spiking to 177/118.My doctor is not concerned and says come back in 2 months. I am calling him tomorrow and if he doesn't change my med. I will stop Lisinopril and find a new doctor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have only been taking 20 mg Lisinopril for about 5 days now. I actually started to notice I was feeling better, my headaches were gone and I could breath better, but about 3 days ago I started to get horrible heartburn, flu symptoms and I haven't been able to get more then an hour or so of sleep before I wake up to shaking and my heart racing.This is the scariest thing,I work overnights and I have serious sleep issues already so I feel like crap.
being that i have only taken this med for 5-6 days does anyone know how long it will take to get out of my system? I was thinking about starting to take them again just to see if it was something else, but after reading these posts I'm not touching that EVER again.

I was put in this med about 6 mos ago in order to protect my Kidney, I had a transplant years ago. My BP was already low in the mid 120s/85-90 and this has dropped it to 120/80.

However on starting this med, I suffered many of the flu-like symptoms to the point where I was out of work for a couple of days. Since then, I have, in retrospect had malaise, depression symptoms, occasional shortness of breath and a general lack of energy.

And last night, the kicker, I was with my new girlfriend for the first time....yep, no work, at all, which led me to checking out the net for symptoms of the meds I was on.

Started taking Lisinopril a few months back and it lowered my B/P way too much. So they half my dose from 20mg to 10mg but put me on cardium twice a day because my pulse was high (up to 170 at one point). I gradually had a B/P that was OK but felt horrible all the time. Blamed it on everything from the weather to the flu. Headaches all day every day for weeks. I have headaches but nothing like this and I was tired all the time and didn't feel like doing anything but laying down and trying to get rid of the headaches. Then the other day I forgot to take my Lisinopril. I felt pretty good that day and my headache was almost all gone! I realized what I had done that night. The next day I took my Lisinopril and back to a bad headache and feeling rough all day. So today I skipped it and again I have felt much better and so far no headache torture. I called my doc who told me to continue my other med and leave the Lisinopril off and watch my B/P. I have also had a rash on the back of my knees for a few weeks and it has started to spread to my arms. I am now wondering if it could also be the med. We'll see! Thank God I just may be normal again in the near future. My kids and I will be LOTS happier!

I had been on Lisinopril for about 5 weeks, first on 40 mg. then I reduced it in half on my own, and have now decided to stop entirely and go back on Avapro. When I started it, I developed flu like symptoms and I thought I was just sick, but my body continued to fill "unwell". I had such terrible vertigo that I fell down 3 times and would get very dizzy when sitting up or bending over. Sometimes, the vertigo comes when I am sitting perfectly still! I became constipated and bloated with bouts of gas, headaches and sore throat in the evenings. My arms and legs were falling asleep during the night, so bad that I had to wake up and massage my hands and move my legs to get them circulating. Also, leg cramps have developed and cramps and shoulder pain that doesn't want to go away.I started to have to urinate all the time, as well! When I went to the doctor's office after being on it for 3 weeks, I complained that I was feeling awful (like I was going to die), depression had set in, I want to sleep all the time and have terrible vertigo, I was told that these were unusual symptoms and to try it for a few more weeks and see if these symptoms subside! Typical!!! It is thru researching blogs like these that I found that my symptoms are not at all unusual, but they are VERY ALARMING! I am a 46 year old woman and am healthy in every way. This medicine makes me feel as if I am being poisoned! I went off of it yesterday and am now doing an herbal cleanse to detox myself. I am also on fish peptides - which lowered my bp substantially in the past, but needed to find a reliable source that keeps it in stock all the time. It is safe and has no side effects.

I am a 45 year old male. My bp at dr's office was 144/90. He prescribed Lisinopril 40 mg once a day and said come back in a month and see how I'm doing. I tried it and immediately experienced dizziness with headache and lack of energy, then later I noticed I was getting winded with little exertion along with fatique. I could hardly climb a flight of stairs with out resting. Also would get out of breath just talking to people. Isn't this a high dose to start with? I stopped after a few days and tried later with same symptoms. I am 5'8 155 pounds in fairly good health except for borderline high bp. Should I keep trying to take this med.....or reduce the dose?

Posted my experience with Lisinopril around March 9, explaining flu symptoms, hacking cough, fever and chills. I stopped taking Lisinopril when I found this site. I have not taken any for a week. The fever and chills are gone, but the coughing has continued - in fact, has worsened. I also have an ear infection now, as well. I daughter wants me to go to the hospital because I coughed all night and no one got any sleep. Can anyone tell me about how long this cough lasts AFTER you quit taking Lisinopril? I feel like it will never go away, and from what I've read so far, antiobiotics are not much help.

Lisinopril helps millions of people with their blood pressure. Just because a medication is not right for YOU does not mean it should be withdrawn. So far, every side effect I've read on here is clearly stated on the Warnings and Side Effects section included with the prescription.

I am not in any way minimizing or mocking the side effects all of you have stated. I had a few myself. It's very upsetting and scary, but again...the vast majority of users do not experience these side effects for long. Lisinopril has worked for me...my dizziness, cough, breathlessness and chest heaviness disappeared after a week or so.

I am not in the pharmaceutical industry (as I'm sure many of you suspect!) and I'm a Nervous Nelly when it comes to taking medication. I was especially worried about this one, but luckily I have had no problems. I hope all of you find the right HBP med that works for you.

I started taking Lisinopril 6 days ago. About 3 days into it, I felt like I was coming down with something like the flu. I had fever, chills, body aches and an overall feeling of just feeling awful! I developed a sore throat and a cough. I did not associate it with Lisinopril until I got online and read that a serious side effect could be fever, chills and flu like symptoms! Today, I can hardly talk, my throat is so sore. Needless to say, I won't be taking any more Lisinopril!

59 year old female, overweight.

My nightmare with 40 mg. Lisinopril started 3 months ago with the dry, hacking cough which got bad enough for me to gag & left me short of breath. I stopped this med completely after reading the horror stories here. Had little effect in lowering blood pressure.

I felt achy all over - thought I had the flu or a nagging cold which wouldn't let go, yet no temperature or other symptoms. Been coughing for 3 months. Some numbness in left hand fingers. Very tired all the time with no desire to do anything.

Depression got much worse, I felt like I was dying or had cancer and just felt like I wanted to end it all to get relief.

Had moving chest pains and some pain in left arm. Bad stomach/intestinal pains with bloating, gas & cramps. Some dizziness & light-headed feelings.

Reading the posts on this forum has been a Godsend; I wish I had found it sooner. My mom just got a prescription for Lisinopril; I told her to not take it - it's poison. Referred her to this page. When I read the same symptoms over & over on these pages, this is a red flag. Only wish the doctors would take heed of this - in fact I plan to tell my doctor tomorrow to come here & read these postings - they are an eye opener and could well save others from the horror of Lisinopril.

I'm planning on weaning myself off all prescription meds and start an herbal/alternative lifestyle. I stopped this stuff cold turkey when I read all the posts here & am feeling somewhat better altho I still have the nagging cough. Truth to tell I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I have been on this horrible drug about 6 months now. At first, no problems. Then about 2 months ago, I developed this itchy feeling in my throat; thought I had a cold coming on. The itchy throat after two months turned into a terrible dry cough so bad you almost gag. I also developed a rash on my throat and itching all over my face mostly, but also down my back. Lastly, I feel really fatigued now and sometimes I have flu like symptoms, that is, achy and feverish with chills. I have been off the Lisinopril now 4 days with no change, but everything I read on these posts indicate that it may take from several days to several months, depending on the individual, to get this junk out of your system. Like many others, I feel this drug should be taken off the market, and yes, it is incredible to me that so many doctors have no clue of its terrible side effects!!

I have been on Lisinopril since the first of November. I had a dry cough at first but nothing really bad. After about three weeks I got a fever and sick for about a day and 1/2. The fever went away but I had shoulder and back pain (between my shoulder blades) The doctor listened to my lungs and told me I had pleurisy!!!! Treated me with antibiotics - got a little better. The soreness still there in my lungs up into my neck - some chest pain. Went to the ER - took chest x-rays.. found everything normal. Still coughing - congested all the time - I am 41 years old and I WAS on 5mg of this drug 1time a day. Not a lot at all but the ER doctor took me off the drug. He said after about three days the drug should be out of my system and then I can evaluate whether it was the lisinopril causing my lung problems. Also I have noticed that I have been having anxiety and worrying about things to excess lately, which is not like me. The anxiety started about a month after starting the drug. Maybe it is from the physical problems that I have been having. I was very healthy before all of this - I am very active and a non-smoker. Since these things starting happening I feel like I have aged 10 years!!! I also have some troubling getting air sometimes - like I feel as if I have to take a deep breath. Anyway - this is the only drug I am on so it only makes sense that it is causing all of this. The first night I stopped taking it I had terrible dreams - anyone else had this after stopping the drug?

I was first diagnosed with hypertension in the late 80's and have been on several different medications to treat it. I think that Lisinopril is the worst that I have been on. I have extreme fatigue and severe dry and burning mouth, sore tongue and difficulty breathing and flu like symptoms. I have anxiety and PTSD so my symptoms have been blamed on that. With all these symptoms,
I sometimes wonder if it would be better off to have the hypertension.
Sometimes my mouth and throat is so dry and sore, I can't eat and I have difficulty breathing which is not addressed with asthma medication. Daytime symptoms are bad at night but when night time comes, it is almost impossible to sleep.
I would be interested if anyone has these symptoms and would like to hear from you.
Jenny

LOW POTASSIUM LEVELS,DIZZINESS,NAUSEA,VOMITING,FEELING FAINT/FAINTING,MUSCLE CRAMPS/SPASMS,FREQUENT URINATION,FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS,TIREDNESS,WEAK,HEART PALPATATIONS; I AM ONLY 30 AND FEEL LIKE A 70 YEAR OLD WOMAN.I HAVE TO HAVE MY POTASSIUM LEVEL CHECKED ALL THE TIME BECAUSE IT KEEPS BOTTOMING OUT AND I WILL PASS OUT AND MY PRESSURE GETS TO LOW.BUT I NEED A BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATION WITH A DIURETIC.WHAT ELSE CAN I USE I ASK YOU?

Oh, sorry I forgot the lack of sex drive, continual nausea, muscle aches like the flu, lithargia, paranoia and the red spots. I am so happy to find this website and to finally know after two weeks of hell that I am not going crazy! Like others, the symptoms came on slowly so I didn't put them together. And some things I thought were just life happening and age. I can't wait to tell my husband that I will be back as soon as this last dose leaves my system! I will not take this again and will research anything further. I had similar side effects to an anit-depressant, Lexapro 3 years ago and have sworn off EVER, NEVER taking another anti-depressant. Oddly though with the side effects of this medication I started thinking I needed an anti-depressant again. May God bless this website and its readers!

I've been off Lisinopril for 2 weeks now. The dizziness, light headedness, and general overall flu like feelings are pretty much gone. I still have a touch of the irregular heatbeat stuff but nothing like it was. The doc is running me through some additional cardiac tests (treadmill, etc.) just to be sure. For the most part, though, I feel like way gobs better. BP really doesn't seem to have changed much but I am on a beta blocker too which helps with BP. Doc isn't thrilled with the "no Lisinopril" order from me. She says it's the best drug for protecting kidneys in diabetics. But, we're going to see how it goes.

I started taking Lisinopril for my bp about 2 1/2 months ago and even though it did lower my bp, I started having strange side-effects. It started out with drowsiness throughout the day, no matter how much sleep I got. And, waking up feeling drowsy even after 8-10 hours of sleep. Then, I started getting strange aches and pains throughout my body, like I was getting over a stomach flu. My asthma also flared up and I started having to use my inhaler for the first time in almost 15 years (usually I just need it after exercise.) The side-effects continued to get worse over the next months with increased fatigue, drowsiness, coughing, anxiety, muscle aches, poor concentration, feeling like my nerves were "shot," headache, weakness, tightness in my lungs, numbness in my hands and feet, and just plain feeling bad.
I made an appointment to see my doctor because I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. It crossed my mind that I might be feeling this way because of the Lisinopril. I stumbled across this website and after reading everyone's testimonials, I decided to stop the Lisinopril. I haven't taken it in 3 1/2 days, and I am already feeling much better. I would rather try a more holistic approach to lowering my bp then taking Lisinopril.
I hope this helps someone else out there who might be going through the same thing.

I had been taking 5mg of Lisinopril for almost 10 years with no noticeable side effects (at least not ones the dr. would consider), I have gained weight and attributed it to age or eating habits, I started snoring and attributed it to weight gain, my stomach feels bloated every night (my wife blames my eating)... In any case, after pharmacy error in Nov. when I took 40 mg instead 5 for one month by mistake, the Dr. brought me down to 20mg instead of the original 5mg since he said 5 might not have been doing anything. After 2 months on 20mg I started with a persistent dry/tickle cough in my throat which I thought was part of the winter flu. I never had any other flu effects, however, now 3 months later there is not a day that goes by without the cough. Finally, a new dr. has taken me off this family of drugs. It has only been a week. Cough persists. When should I expect it to go away, and what can I do to help it along?

To guest 41494:

Yes, I realize that I might sound like a Country-Life salesperson!

But I also like NOW Foods, Solgar, and Solaray.
And please note that I favor very specific supplements, not necessarily everything these makers have.
If I'm looking for a new supplement, yes, I look first to these brands; however, I have found some items from each of them that I also don't like.

So, in direct answer to your question, I'm just a patient with no investment in any of these brands.

I have spent several years comparing various nutrional supplements.

In my lisinopril weakend condition, I can really tell a difference that others who are stronger/healthier may not notice. So I just call it like I see it.

For example, before finding the Country-Life Target Mins zinc, I tried many other zinc formulations, that were either ineffective or irritated my now very sensitive stomach (due to lisinopril).
I specifically remember two of them: I tried a Whole Foods zinc that made me feel sick (kinda flu-like and mild headache) and I could not take it long term.
I also tried a Country-Life Maxi Zinc 100mg that I found very hard on my stomach and also not as effective as their other one.

And, yes I take supplements with breakfast, lunch and dinner, and some in between meals too. Before lisinopril, I used to just take ordinary vitamins with dinner. It is not fun to be in this situation. Thanks lisinopril!

I started on lisinopril june 05 for high blood pressure. also, the water pill. At first diziness and light headedness were experienced. This was not more than a week. Until recently all was well. I caught bronchitis,as diagnosed by my doc, at the beginninin g of the year and have had systems off and on since. I"ve dicontinued the drug recently, but still haven't been able to shed the flu like symptom. The worst part has been a feeling in my throat that is like the inside swelling. Sometimes it was hard to swallow and even restricted normal breathing. I found I was not able to talk continuously for short periods of time just before I quit taking it. I'm looking forward to an end of these symptoms and normality again. It's been 2 days and counting since i discontinued using lisinopril. Any good news from anyone

I have been on a very small (2.5mg) dose of Lisinopril for nearly a year. Until this year, all was well, and I experienced no particular side effects. Then in January I contracted a flu like virus which lasted for about 10 days. About two weeks following recovery, I began to be aware of ringing, hissing and buzzing in my ears - sometimes just one ear, sometimes both. It varies in intensity, but is particularly noticeable, and irritating, at night. The GP informed me I have fluid behind the eardrums and gave me a nose spray to clear it. To date, the nose spray hasn't helped, and I'm wondering if the fluid and resulting tinnitus is in fact nothing to do with the virus, but a side-effect of the lisinopril. Has anyone out there experienced similar problems with this drug?

I have been taking Lisopril 10 mg. for only 4 days. Already I have felt terrible. The first 2 days I had so much fatigue and aching in my body - I felt like I had the flu. I spent almost one whole day in bed. Today I was feeling depressed and like I was menopausal again - with heat sensations. Now I notice a red rash on my chin and chest. I am not taking anymore of this medicine! My question is this......I had previously been taking Mavik 2 mg for almost a year. It too is an ACE inhibitor, but I never noticed any side effects with it. The reason the doctor switched me to Lisinopril is because the cost of Mavik is so expensive...even with insurance. Does anyone know, about Mavik? Also, I have taken Atenolol for many years, and if I have side effects, I'm not aware of them. Will I need to ween myself off of the Ace inhibitors? I'd appreciate your comments.

I have been taking Lisinopril for 7 months. The cough started after 2 weeks, so I went to a doctor thinking I hada strange kind of flu. I sometimes can´t speak after coughing, seems that my vocal chords have an irritation. This doctor prescribed me antibiotics, as it seemed that I was experiencing some kind of pneumonia. I was fine for 2 weeks, but again I began with the dry coughing, specially at night and when running a little. After I visited my Cardiologist, he told me that my cough was a reaction to Lisinopril, so now he has prescribed me another medicine.

I took 10mg of Lisinopril for one year without problems. Then I had a flu with bronchitis. The bronchitis subsided but I frequently felt fatigued and had panic attacks. Also my feet started tingling when walking for more than 5 minutes. I stopped taking Lisinopril 4 weeks ago - the fatigue and panic attacks stopped straight away , the tingling hasn't stopped yet. Funnily enough my blood pressure has stayed down at 120 - 130 as well.

When I first started on 10mg of Lisinoprill, I immediately noticed a weird kind of sore throat. Not like the sore throat you get from a cold or the flu, but rather, the muscles around the adam's apple were sore, and it always hurt to swallow. Also, my BP did not go down very much. And pulse was twice as fast as normal.

So, my dose was doubled. After one day, my throat closed in a violent spasm which scared the hell out of me. After that, my throat really hurt, as though someone had hit me in the throat with a Karate chop. It actually hurts to touch, right below the point of the adam's apple.

And still my BP was dangerously high. I borrowed a Tenormin 100mg and within 30 minutes, my BP and pulse were at texbook normal.

I will never take another lisinopril. I think it is a horrible drug.

Hello, I was placed on Lisinopril in August /05. In October I got what I thought was the flu. Really sick. I had a really bad cough , fever, aches etc. The cough would not go away. Finally In March I decided to go off the Lisinopril to see if that was the culprit. After two weeks I still had the cough and my BP was up. So I started back on the drug. The cough became worse! I decided to try stopping it again. I have now been off of it 9 days, I am still coughing, but I am not going back on the LIsinopril. I am a Gospel singer, and it is really hard to
to sing with this cough . You should try giving a concert with cough drops in your mouth! The cogh is really bad. I cough so hard I almost throw up. Like the cough you get with bad bronchitis, but I does not go away.

I have been taking lisinopril for about two months. Shortly after I started taking it, I noticed a dry, annoying cough. As it was winter time, I didn't worry about it too much. Several people had been sick with coughs and colds. I did notice, however, that it kept getting worse. I mentioned it to the doctor during a routine checkup. She checked my lungs and throat, and said that it was most likely allergies, and that my lungs were clear. I would wake up during the night, coughing so hard I would almost vomit. My throat felt like it had something caught in it, and would occasionally be swollen. Two night ago the symptoms got so bad, I felt like I was suffocating. I also experienced minor joint pains, and thought that was from the flu.

I called the doctor, and they said that these were side effects of lisinopril, and they called in a different prescription for an alternative blood pressure medicine. When I went to the pharmacy to pick up the new medicine, I mentioned to the pharmacist that I was allergic to the lisinopril. She said that the same thing had happened to her, with the coughing, etc.

I would avoid this medication at all costs, or at least stay on top of things with the doctor and report any side effects of the coughing. Don't let them just tell you its allergies ..... it is allergies, but it was the pills that I was allergic to. (As a side note, this is the only medication in 50 years that I have developed a reaction to ...... ).

My doctor put me on Lisinopril/HTCZ at a rate of 1/2 tab a day, I went from good energy to total listlessness and after a week developed a bad deep flu like cough. I'm 59 years old Male and in pretty good health. My blood preasure was 140/90. I took this drug for about 2 weeks and went steadily down hill, I stop taking Lisinopril and slowly(about a month) Regained my energy in one day after being off the stuff. But the cough is very tough to shake, it's been off the stuff for about a month and am just now begining to lose the cough, It usually hits the worst while trying to eat dinner. Also while taking this drug, I would just bend down to pick up something off the floor and would come up panting as if I had run a mile. I was so happy to find this forum, But don't understand why any doctor would continue to precribe this stuff to anybody, My doctor is primarily a baby doctor, Boy do I feel sorry for those women, I'm sure if I said anything to the doctor he would think I'm nuts....

I have been on Lisinopril/HCTZ 20/12.5 twice a day for about three months now. I have been experiencing chest pains, head aches, and fatigue but had not attributed it to this medication, due to the side effects creeping up on me over time, until I read many of the posts on this website. My blood pressure without medication runs around 180/120 at its highest. On lisinopril it runs about 145/80. I am 32 years old and was diagnosed with hypertension when I went in for a reconstruction of a broken nose. The only immediate side effects I noticed was tremors and some muscle weakness.

I was prompted to check side effects for this medicine when my father's doctor recently doubled his dose. He takes Lisinopril as well. (I think he takes 40 mgs per day now along with another bp medication). According to my mother he started the heavier dose yesterday evening and took it again this morning and had to LEAVE WORK due to exhaustion. (He starts work at 8:00 am) He slept out in his car until 1:00 in the afternoon, worked until 4:00 and came home angry, confused, tired, said he felt like he had the flu, couldn't eat and I naturally got worried and decided to check for side effects, and I'm glad I did, man this stuff is bad news!

Has anyone had any good results with natural treatments?

Thanks,

JWC

Depression, fatigue, cough, and loss of appetite. Actually was repulsed by food; could only eat baked potatoes and jello, like when have flu. Anyone else have lost appetite symptom?

I have had flu like symptoms for about three weeks steady now. I have been on lisinopril for about 5 - 6 months. I have no energy and after reading some of the comments, I am definitely going to ask for a different bp medication. I had knee surgery about 3 months ago, and I thought my fatigue was due to that. I think the medication has gradually built up in my system. It ran a bell when someone else said, they felt they were run over by a mack truck.

Well, I found this site just AFTER I started a new med for my BP. Finally figured out the lisinopril was the cause of my horrible cough. I started taking the drug in Nov of 2003. And had a surgury in Dec ....thought the cough was from the tube down my throat. Then it was flu/cold season. The cough steadily got worse, more frequent. My wife overheard someone say their doc was changing their BP meds because of a cough. Well I have been off lisinopril for two weeks and the cough is mild now. However this site brought to light ALL the other symptoms I never realized were from the drug.
Eye twitches,head sweats,vivid dreams.
The lisinopril did control my BP.
Hopefully this new med will work as well.
Lisinopril is just not the right one for me.
Good luck to Everyone!

I had originally started on 10 mg of straight Lisinopril and didn't have to many side effects, however by blood pressure wasn't as low as it should be. At that point my DR put me on 10mg of Lisinopril-HCTZ and I feel like crap. I feel like I have the flu(weak,nausea,headache---no cough yet). ALL OF THE TIME!...Has anyone switched before and noticed a difference like this?...my DR seems to think its all in my head...