Lisinopril and lack of sleep

I am a 40 year old female and both my husband and I are taking Lisinopril 40 mg. I have mild tingling in my arms at night, however the tingling/ burning sensation is so great in my husband's arms that he can't sleep at night. His rest is continually interrupted by this uncomfortable sensation. I have noticed a host of things like tiredness, an occasional dry cough, feelings of depression, rapid heart beat, and lack of energy in myself. My husband has experienced all of the above and muscle pain and irritability. I thought his irritability was being caused by lack of sleep, but I have learned from this website that it may be yet another side effect of the medication. We both have to get off this. Thanks for all of your helpful comments.

Hi,

My husband is 41 years old, and he has been on Lisinopril 20 mg for about 6 months. He is experiencing dizziness, numbness on his feet due to that he is unable to walk at times. He also has chest pain in the morning, which wakes him up and lack of sleep at times and memory loss. Since he has been taking this medication he is experiences extreme tiredness. The worst of all is the palpitations. The doctors are unable to find anything wrong with him. He had Cardiac Catheterization, and stress test and all come back normal. We do not know what do at this time.

Regards,

I have been taking Lisinopril/HCTZ now for approximately one month. Since then I have had several side effects very similar to those I have read on this website. Thank goodness my husband decided to check this drug out because I have not been myself lately.

First of all, I have been experiencing sporadic leg pain with the sensation of getting cramps on my left calf that have kept me up at night. I have not been able to get a good night's sleep because of it. This started about 1 1/2 weeks ago. I didn't understand why my leg was bothering me so much until I finally went to the doctor and he told me it was a side effect from the Lisinopril/HCTZ drug I was taking. He told me that the drug was a diuretic that acts like a water pill. It makes the kidneys work harder to get rid of the excess water in our body. When that happens, we lose minerals that cause the leg cramping. He suggested that I buy over the counter vitamins that had a lot of calcium and magnesium in it, as well as increase my levels of potassium. So, any of you that are having this problem, it is a side effect of this pill.

Other side effects that I have experienced are: stomach bloating and gas. Yesterday, my stomach bloated up so much I looked like I was six months pregnant carrying triplets! I have never looked this way before and it really depressed me. I looked absolutely awful! Furthermore, I noticed I am beginning to gain weight and inches. Although I am overweight, I was not putting on any weight or inches at all. I have been maintaining my same weight or less for years. Yet, since I have been on the drug for about one month, I have noticed the weight gain and my clothes are fitting tighter all over.

Finally, I have been more irritable and feel run down. Probably from the lack of sleep from the leg pain at night; but also from the hot flashes I have been experiencing within the last week or so. Although I am 50 years old, I have not experienced any hot flashes until now. They are so bad, I feel like I'm burning up inside. I have to open up the window or turn on the fan at night although it is cold in the room. This is also a new symptom I have never had before.

After reading other people's side effects on this website, I am convinced that I am going to stop this drug cold turkey. I was fine before and why try and fix something that doesn't need fixing? Doctors tell me that it is a preventative measure to getting a stroke or heart attack. I believe many doctors scare us into believing that we can die someday if we don't take it and that is pretty scary. But check things out first.

Thank God my husband did some research on this drug and found this website. It convinced me that I wasn't alone and this drug is really bad for you. I plan to go back to normal and watch my weight, eat healthy, exercise, and monitor my blood pressure instead. Not to mention, my blood pressure is only borderline from being normal. So, why risk it?

Martha G.

I must have an angel watching over me, because for the life of me I do not know how I came across this website. I have been taking lisinopril 20mg with HCTZ12.5 for about 2 years. I have felt like I was going to have a heart attach, the bloating is driving me nuts, tired because lack of sleep and some times just plain can't sleep at night, leg cramps and now my vision seems to be getting worse. I have had all the symptoms at one time or another. I am going to be 57 years old in October and I am about 30-35 over weight. But I do walk and ride my bike and do other exercises. We just did a very small job landscaping and I could hardly walk or lift my arms for about 4 days. Muscles were so sore. And I didn't do that much to have that my muscles ache that badly. On both sides of my ankles are like little fat pockets, the doctor said it was not water retention, I now have swelling under my eyes. ??? Thank you to everyone for being posting. I need to talk to my doctor and get off this stuff. I recently forgot to take my medication on a 3 day vacation and when I got home I feeling pretty darn good, as soon as I started taking the meds for 2 or so days I was back to feeling that yuky feeling

Thank God for googling. I'm not alone. It's great if Lisinopril is working for you, but as I can read by the posts I'm not nuts. The cough, oh the cough. Worse is when it comes and I'm at church. My wife and I are cantors and nothings worse when I would get that dry "got a feather in my throat" cough. Like everyone else my BP was riding above normal 150/90-95 and the Lisinopril brought it down to 115/70, but I quit a week ago and feel like normalcy is coming back into my life. BTW I was on 10mg dose for a little over a year and was just dumb to think that a BP med could cause all the side effects that I was experiencing: cough, mucus, numb extremities (mostly sleeping at night but enough to wake me up hence poor sleep), fatigue. Has anyone felt moody? I think this drug has made me very moody but that can probably be attributed to the lack of sleep. I hope the dark circles around my eyes disipate now that I'm sleeping better. Good luck to all!

My main problem with Lisinopril is the coughing. Coughing, coughing. coughing. I will be fine for 2 to 3 hours and then start with this awful cough. People will actually turn away from me if I am out shopping and a cough begins. I presume they believe it is contagious. Sometimes I end up vomiting and I cannot catch my breath. Coughing at night is really a problem because of lack of sleep. Doctors believe my cough is due to allergies because I have post nasal drip. However, none of the medications they have given me stop the coughing. I never had this problem until I began taking Lisinopril. Lisinopril is my first Blood Pressure medication.

Horrible dry, hacking cough day and night. Started within 3 days of starting the medication. Extreme exhaustion (possibly due to lack of sleep from all the coughing). By early afternoon, all I want to do is lie down and sleep. Of course, I can't because I start coughing. Pain in my upper back and arms, some pain in my legs as well. Sometimes dizziness and a feeling of being light-headed also. At times, I feel very near collapse. After six weeks, on this medication I have been taken off it and put on Norvasc. I started taking it this morning. I'm hoping the side effects of the Lisinopril will soon subside. I'm 65 and feel 85. I felt good before starting Lisinopril.

Wrote previously about my miserable side effects from Lisinopril. Did have the cough which I hope will eventually go away. I finally went to a cardiologist after months of many side effects, the worse being lack of sleep, waking up every hour or two and not being able to get back easily. The gagging has stopped and dizzyness and heatburn has subsided. I swear I have had every symptom others had with the exception of joint pains. Been off the pill only a few days and already I am sleeping so much better without waking up every hour or two and without the heart palipations that went with it. I cant believe how good I feel. Havent noticed the heartburn since then either. Wish I had figured out what was wrong with me sooner. Even the doctor and pharmacist didnt realize my problems until I got on this site. I just know the doctor was beginning to think I was a hypocondriac and I know they dont appreciate us checking on what they are prescribing but I had to research this and you have no idea how I bless this site and the people sharing their side effects. After two trips to ER you would think someone would catch on but all side effects are not listed. I feel like a new person and just poured my Lisinopril down the toilet where it belongs.

I have been taking Lisinopril for abut 8 months plus 2 other blood pressure medications. The side effects I felt were not the ones I saw on the list I received. It was not until I read side effects others had did I realize what my problem was. I have had the dry cough so have to carry water or cough drops with me at all times. Never before did I have heartburn but it is frequent now and my medicine cabinet now carries Alka Seltzer and Pepto Bismol plus antacid pills which I carry with me at all times. I see my blood pressure went down but like others my heart rate has gone up to the point where I went to Emergency Room in hospital thinking I had a heart attack. I had the worse sore throat I have ever had which was short lived. I was diagnosed with bronchitis which I doubted as I had no fever. Right afterwards I was diagnosed with a virus as I had no appetite and was so lethargic. This lasted 3 weeks and still happens now and then. I get dizzy and then sick to my stomach. The worse thing is lack of sleep. After I read others had the problem I was so relieved to know that it indeed was Lisinopril. I would go to bed and had a hard time getting to sleep only to wake up again after only 1 or 2 hours of sleep. Getting back to sleep was also hard. For 2-1.2 months I have had miserable nights, waking up about 4 times and having a hard time getting back to sleep. Tried everything imaginable to get some sleep and wandered around the house alot. Decided to cut the pill in half and see what happened. The last two nights I only woke up twice instead of 4 times so that proves it was Lisinopril. Knew I should not quit it cold turkey. Have an appoint with a cardiologist in 2 days as I hope he knows more about side effects than my doctor. I had my house tested for mold and even thought my water may be contaminated. Now I see so many others had the same problems as me. Thank goodness for this website.
I am sick of being sick and know now what the problems have been all along. Another thing, I was diagnosed with Diabetes which also surprised me and I see others also had that problem. What a nasty drug........

I have sat here for almost 2 hours reading about all the horrible side effects from Lisinopril, much of the time with tears rolling down my cheeks. I am a 47-year old woman who was prescribed this drug about 5 months ago. My Dr. told me that the most common side effect was a dry cough. Shortly after, I did develop a cough, but was certain it was due to allergies (although my friends with allergies weren't coughing their lungs out). Like another person in this forum, I began obsessing about what could be causing the cough. I changed my sheets more often, began vacuuming more. I even considered purchasing a Sharper Image Ionic Breeze air purifier. I also tend to be a worrier, and over the past couple of weeks, I have thought of my dad, who died of lung cancer 2 years ago. Could I have it too, even though I never smoked? I have also noticed a feeling of significant sadness. I attributed that to grieving my youngest son getting ready to go off to college. Now I'm not so sure. I seem to cry at the drop of a hat.

I am so grateful I searched the web for "Lisinopril and coughing". Your comments have helped me to feel a little less anxious about the really scary thoughts I've been having, and have encouraged me to call my Dr. and have my meds changed. I have to admit that the drug did lower my blood pressure, but it's not worth it! I'm exhausted by lack of sleep! I also plan on buying my own bp monitor, because when I go to the Dr.'s, I always have "white coat" syndrome, and my bp reads high. After I sit for a minute, and my exam is done, they take it again, and it has lowered.

Good luck to all of you, and again, thanks for all your wisdom!

I wish I would have found this site last year when I started taking lisinopril. The doc persribed 20mgs. My insurance changed in January So I couldn't take it for a while but then started again in April but only off and on. Here's what I experience:
1. Awake three or four times in the night
2. Low sex drive with erectile disfunction
3. slight cough and clearing
4. Low energy at night
5. Heart pounding at night at times
6. Waking up in a cold sweat at times.
After reading this board I've thrown it away and decided to talk to a nutritionist to help my blood presure. Does anyone know if these side effects ever go away? I exercise and watch my diet. Though most of the symtoms with me are minor, the lack of sleep and low sex drive are primary concerns.

neck ache for 6 weeks but it has now passed; felt peculiar, then nauseous, then almost fainted and had blurred vision in a church service; wake up up to 5 times a night although I slept well before going on the medication; chronic constipation; face tingles and often by the evening my lips are swollen; heartburn at night a few times which is unusual; asthma much worse but not a real problem; a cough which drives my husband mad but is productiive not dry and probably due to the asthma; tiredness due to lack of sleep. The one plus effect is that I am not depressed and don't lack concentration as I did with bendrafluazide. The doctor puts all the side effects down to my age and is pleased because my BP is now normal!