Lisinopril and lungs

Started Lisinopril on April 7, by June 28, could not get a deep breath when I needed it, like when you yawn....went to a pulmonary doc and he took me off the lisinopril that my primary dr. had given me because he said it had ace inhibitors in it and was interfering with an enzyme in my throat. He said would take about six weeks for this to get out of my system, I only have 6 days left, does anyone know how long it takes to get out of your system.

j.

After finding this website weeks ago and stopping my Lisinopril I am still suffering some pretty major stomach issues but at least I feel like my mind isn't as scattered as it was and a lot of the other symptoms seem to be subsiding. I still take a look at this website 2-3 times a week and I am amazed that almost everyday someone is posting how sick this drug has made them. I really feel bad for people who don't have the access to this website and are stuck with the debilitating side effects and don't have anywhere to turn. Why oh why is this poison still being given out without warning!! Thank you to EVERYONE who took the time to put their horrible stories on here to save someone else misery!! I could not believe the people close to me who are also on this after I realized what it was doing to me. Most of the people are on it for HBP but there are also lots of people on it for diabetes and my grandmother was on it for fluid on her lungs. She is now being weaned off of it.

I was on 10mg of Lisinopril for 6 weeks (switched from Azor). After the first 3 days, I was having trouble swallowing . . . this went away 2 days later. Then, I was having trouble breathing, sinus problems, dizziness and constant FATIGUE during the course of the 6 weeks. I am a very active, energetic, 30 year old male. I'm not overweight, and play basketball 2 or 3 days a week. I really think I have White Coat Syndrome (170/110 at dr's office - 130/75 at home), but better safe than sorry.I could not even run for more than 5 minutes straight without feeling like I might pass out. I would have to say during those 6 weeks, I was functioning about 50% of normal, at best. I tried to stick it out to see if the side effects would go away; they only seemed to get worse over time. My Doctor said it was the "summer fever" and allergies. I felt it was the medication, especially after reading these posts, so I switched doctors. My new doctor took me off of this medication. He said Lisinopril can has been known to effect your lungs and cause breathing problems. He is located in the same practice as my previous doctor. Why she didn't inform me of any side effects, I'm not sure (thanks for nothing). All of my terrible symptoms were gone within a week. I am now taking Bystolic (5 weeks), and feel normal again. My father has been on 30mg of Lisinopril for 12 years, and never had any problems. I believe everyone reacts to medications differently. I am now on my 3rd medication in 7 months, and think I have found the one that works best. I guess I'm just one of those people that has trouble adjusting to medication. Good luck to those of you that have not found the right medication yet.

HELLO EVERYONE....IM SITTING AT WORK AND JUST DECIDED TO RESEARCH THIS DRUG LISINOPRIL...BECAUSE I AM REALLY BORED....WHEN I GOOGLED THE NAME I CAME ACROSS THIS SITE.....OMYGOSH...I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY...I HAVE BEEN TAKING Lisinopril FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS NOW....I ALWAYS READ THE INSERTS THAT COME WITH THE MEDICATION BUT I NEVER SEEN THE SIDE EFFECTS THAT WE ARE HAVING ON THE INSERT...I SING IN THE CHURCH CHOIR AN I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY MY VOICE WOULD BE SO HORRIBLE AND MESSED UP..I AM SO HAPPY I GOOGLED THIS DRUG...DOSE ANYONE KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES BEFORE YOUR BODY GOES BACK TO NORMAL AFTER STOPPING THE DRUG....

I think some of the severe symptoms reported here are just that.. severe, and as advised on the drug information insert they can happen, and should be reported to your doctor. We are led to believe our doctors will stop the meds and try something else. If they are not willing to do that, or try to convince us it's all in our heads then... we should stop the meds ourselves and find another dr. These side effects are real, and scary. I've stopped cholesterol meds for that reason. I don't need a dr. to tell me to stop... I know my body, and how I feel and know when something isn't right.

I've been on Lisinopril for two weeks now. I was initially on the diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide, but had so much arrhythmia that I thought my heart would jump out of my throat. The dr. discontinued that after less than a week, and put me on Lisinopril. I am a bit dizzy sometimes, and do have a mild cough, but I had the cough before the meds so I can't really blame it on that. However, for all those with the problem of coughing and headaches... I read at drugs.com that you should take this medication with a full glass of water, and drink lots of water throughout the day. This tip was not in the drug handout and I thought that odd. Something so easy, and yet left out. Luckily, I drink water at my desk all day at work. This weekend while home I didn't drink water and had a horrible headache the entire time. I never connected it until I read that you should drink lots of water. Back to work today and drinking water and my headache is gone. It's worth a try, it might help. My husband is on Lisinopril/HCTZ combo, has been for at least 3-4 years with no adverse side effects.

We are all different, medication effects all of us in different ways. I hope I never experience the kinds of side effects I'm reading about here. If so, I'll be off the drug in short order. My dr. told me there are loads of other medications we can try. While there are side effects to everything we take, mild is ok but no one should put up with life altering and/or life threatening side effects like what I am reading here.

Lisinopril robs the body of Zinc. I have been viciously researching this med and I found that a lot of symptoms posted here are zinc deficiency symptoms. Maybe a zinc supplement will help especially with the hair loss.
Signs of Zinc Deficiency
• behavioral and sleep disturbances

• dandruff

• delay in wound healing

• diarrhea

• different kinds of skin lesions such as eczema, psoriasis and acne

• growth retardation

• hair loss

• hang nails

• hyperactivity

• increased allergic sensitivity

• inflammation of your nail cuticles

• inflammatory bowel disease

• loss of appetite

• loss of senses of taste or smell

• loss of sex drive

• mild anemia

• pre-eclampsia (toxaemia) in pregnancy and post-natal depression

• pre-menstrual syndrome, disturbance in your menstrual cycle

• reduced fertility

• skin dryness and rashes

• white spots on fingernails, transverse lines and poor nail growth

I have been taking HCTZ for 8 years due to having problems with swelling after having my first child. A good while later, I was diagnosed with pre-hypertension but having irregular heartbeats. My cardiologist added Lisinopril.

I had the same problem with cough and feeling like something was stuck in my throat. I went to an ENT and they could find nothing wrong - but I've been taking major amounts of Musenix for years to help clear my lungs. The feeling that my throat was scratched or something stuck in it have never gone away. Why didn't any of my doctors put two-and-two together???

It just clicked in my head recently that I had also started to have hair loss around that same time I started taking HCTZ. I had a lot of hair so it wasn't that much of a concern for years but is now more of an issue. I spoke to my internist 2 weeks ago and she thought it may be the HCTZ. She said to stop taking it that night. I questioned if I should taper it off and she said no reason to wait. (No mention of the Lisinopril and hair loss).

Two days later, I could hear a crackling sound in my chest/lungs when I opened my mouth. I called the doctor and her assitant said to let me know if it didn't get any better. Two nights later, I was extremely restless and coughing. I couldn't get a breath. Lots of crackling noise - fluid in my lungs. I had to stand up and work hard to get deep breaths - all night. Around 4 am, I decided I better take the HCTZ or I was going to die - so I did and the fluid started to leave my lungs and I was better by noon the following day.

I want to get off both of these medicines asap - I don't want to wind up a bald, dead 41 year old women leaving behind two young children and a husband.

Anyone else have similar issue when stopping HCTZ? What results have you had with resolution to hair loss after getting off the medicine?

Oh, also have had a headache going on 10 days for the first time in my life. I think it was from quitting the HCTZ "Cold Turkey".

I have been on Lisinopril for many years, and always had a small cough.
This summer the cough and clearing of the throat became worse. I mentioned this to my chiropractor and he said my body has built up a resistance to this drug and greatly affecting my throat to the point where I may not be able to breathe. There have been many times, this summer, when I couldn't seem to get enough air, like I couldn't breathe deeply enough to fill my lungs. Then at times it would feel like a feather was in my throat and I would have a terrible coughing spell. I have sensed that my memory has been effected and I have had more periods of depression.
This is not the medicine for me.

Well, my first posting didn't take for some reason. I have been taking L. for about 5 weeks. I had thought that I had developed a full allergy and had begun suffering from early menopause until I read these other entries. The hacking gagging cough and clear mucus from lungs?throat . The fatigue is constant and the depression is to tears about twice a week for no known reason. I didn't have these symptoms when I was on Benicar. Guess what I'm switching back to.?!!

I have been on 10 mg Lisinopril for 5 weeks. I wake up in the morning with tight joints and sore muscles. My heart races. I feel light headed at times. I have asthma and worst symptom is it is causing me to stay up all night because I suffocate and cough badly if I lie down. I can hear myself wheeze during the day and night and feel like there is fluid around my heart or lungs. My hands and legs feel swollen. My stomach feels raw and I have no desire to eat red meat it just doesn't taste the same. My taste buds have totally changed as any food or drinks doesn't tastes "good" anymore. I'm also on Lopressor for HTN. I am going to stop taking the Lisinopril as I can not deal with the suffocating and wheezing. I get that more than the "cough" the doctor warned me about.

I am a 56 year old woman and my doctor started me on 10 mg Lisinopril in March. Within 24 hours of starting it I developed a very annoying cough. At my next doctors visit she told me my bp was not down enough and wanted to increase the dosage. When I asked her if the cough could be from the Lisinopril she gave me some samples of Benecar HCT. The only problem I had with that was muscle weakness and some palpitations that went away after a few days. When I got the prescription filled I found that my insurance didn't cover it and it was quite expensive so I called my doctor back and she wanted me to try the Lisinopril again at 20mg and see what happened. That very same night the cough came back with a vengeance, along with dizziness. I decided to try to tough it out but after ten days now the cough is so bad it's unbearable. It keeps me up at night and I cough till I gag and cry. On several occasions I have coughed until I vomited. I couldn't take it any more and stopped taking it two days ago. I called my doctor today and she told me to stop taking it and now we're going to try Norvasc.

I am a 62 yo female who was prescribed Lisinopril in February. Within a week I had such a continuous horrible dry, hacking cough that I trouble communicating with others. This cough was particularly bad during the night. I have had to live with water and cough drops as my constant companions. I can honestly say that I have only slept through the night once from February until last night. My PCP finally decided that I did not have a sinus infection and that a codeine based cough medicine was not the answer and switched me from Lisinopril to Avapro on Monday, June, 2nd. According to my PCP it could take up to a week for the cough to go away.

After I had a heart attack 3 years ago I had stents inserted I was put on Atenol, butemide, lisinopril, amoplodine, spirolactate and metroformin for my diabetes. Since taking these tablets I have suffered from some horrible side effects my weight has increased I cannot stand for long I get so out of breath I can only walk about 8 steps before I feel like I am going to colapse and my breathing gets really bad. I also suffer now from Lymphodema which is caused by excess water being made by the tablets lisinopril and the amoplodine my legs from the knees down to my toes are so swollen even though I take water tablets my legs feel like leads weights I have now become virtually house bound because I can hardly walk to get out of my house II get so out of breath now. I also cough up a lot of mucus all night which is clear and frofey my GP asked if I had ever suffered from asthma I said I have never had asthma in my life before, christmas I felt so bad my husband called a local GP in and he said that I had fluid on my lungs and an Xray revealed that I had fluid around my heart also I am convinced that these tablets were the cause of this I have to sleep sitting up I can't lay down now. I saw my GP and told her that I had read about the side effects of these drugs on the internet and I was sure these were causing my condition I asked if I could come off lisinopril, amoplodine and spirolactate and since I have come off these tablets although all my symptons have not completely disappeared yet I do feel a lot better this was five weeks ago that I stopped taking them. I asked my GP if there were any other tablets that I could take that were more suitable. I have suffered pain in my back in the kidney area as well and my potassium levels were very high. I have had diabetes for 52 years and my old GP told me that I would not live to see 40 years, the way that I was feeling I thought my god my times up.

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

I was prescribed Lisinopril for pre-hypertension at 10 mg a day. I've only taken it for 2 days and have felt so sluggish and tired but revved up on the inside at the same time. Had a headache too last night and blurry vision. It does work in lowering the BP though. Last night I felt as if I couldn't take deep breaths to relax myself and then I started having shaking chills and tingling in the hands and feet. Thought I was having a panic attack so I took my clonazepam. Then I felt like I'd have to throw up or go to the bathroom to get relief. The clonazepam kicked in after about an hour and knocked me out, but I still woke up a few hours later still feeling extremely anxious even though the clonazepam was still in my system (I take it twice a day for panic attacks) along with Lexapro for depression/generalized anxiety. I'm refusing to take any more of this drug. I will lose weight and exercise and eat healthy just to avoid this drug.

I have had a cough now for almost 6 weeks. Not just a cough, but a COUGH that feels like my lungs are going to be expelled. It is an awful tickly throat cough, a gagging cough, the worst cough I have ever had. After all sorts of antibiotics, allergy testings, chest exrays, inhalers, and after reading these posts, I finally figured out it was probably the lisinopril. A doctor wanted to put me on steroids, but I said to forget it. I am tired of pills. I have also quit the antibiotics, as I feel they have not helped. I have had other bothersome conditions that could be attributed to this also: nasal congestion, throat clearing, hoarse voice, breathless, anxiety. As of today, no more lisinopril ( my doctor now agrees). I will be in Hawaii the next 10 days, so I hope the coughing stops soon. I hate it!!

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.

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.

How long does the fatigue and weakness last after switching off Lisinopril. My dad was on it less then a month and he started suffereing from extreme fatigue and lightheadedness. He's been off it now for a week or two and still seems to be suffering from these side effects. They've switched him to a different low blood pressure med now.

I have just called my dr. for an appt. I was not researching Lisinopril I was looking for info to email someone - happened to spot the first post...I nearly fell over! I now know I am not losing my mind, because that's how I've been feeling - the cough, the weary feeling, palps, my anxiety increase, etc. etc. Low readings that I'm wondering if I'm still alive, and this head detached from my body,, feeling, sort of walking like a well in control drunk, if that makes sense to anyone, a feeling like "iI'm gonna have a stroke" feeling in my head...it feels "tights". I started this med. last year, and feel this has been a gradual on-coming train! I have anxiety, and try to keep it under control myself, since I took prosac for about a week, talk about looney - look up another charming side affect - akethesia - nasty. For one poster who said we're all overweight nuts, I am 103lbs, I do a mile every evening, and eat very healthy, thank you.

Feeling like one is not all here, and, shortness of breath are a symptoms of thyroid system problems caused by lisinopril that I have had, along with weight gain, favoring sweet sugary foods (I've traditionally a meat eater, no dessert, no sugar, few starches).

The most likely action seems to be that the lisinopril creates a chemical toxicity that overdrives the immune system, which then runs the body low on or out of zinc and selenium. (Of course then there is the more direct lung dammage that lisinopril causes too.)

I have found the following helpful: Zinc, selenium, L-Cysteine, tyrosine, iodine, boron, and other trace minerals help and nourish the thyroid system. Manganese and molybdebum help the lungs function better (they are used in asthma treatment). Iron, copper, and chromium sometimes also helps the lungs work better. Sulfur (MSM), L-cysteine, and silcia (found in horsetail form or oceanic form) nourish the lungs as they are found in high concentration in the lungs. Calcium and magnesium, vit-e, vit-c, vit-b are also helpful. Since I'm in the hbp camp, I also try to get plenty of magnesium, which relaxes muscles including arteries, and potassium, which helps transport other nutrients into the cells.

I developed shortness of breath after using lisinopril for 3 months. I quit lisinipril because of all of the other side effects it gave me (stomach pains, the hit by a truck feeling).

For me the cough didn't get serious until near the end when I quit because of the other problems. After I quit the cough kept getting worse as did the bouts of shortness of breath.

It took me a long long time to figure out what was happening, which as near as I can tell goes something like this: the cough irritates the lungs and causes direct damage. However, as the immune system kicks into overdrive trying to clear the lisinopril and associated toxins out of the lungs, liver & rest of the body, it uses up zinc and selenium reserves.

When the body runs low on selenium (from the immune system using it up) then it can no longer effectively clear the lungs, causing more lung damage. But even more is happening, since selenium is also used by other systems, and they begin to suffer too. One such system is the joint protection mechanism. Another is the thyroid system, both in the thyroid itself as well as the thyroid receptors in the various organs all over the body.

The thyroid receptor problems cause weight gain, energy problems, etc... Combine the thyriod system having problems with the lung damage and that resulted in my shortness of breath.

To combat this problem long term I found zinc & selenium helpful. In the short term I also used tyrosine & iodine & boron & cal/mag as needed to help stimulate the thyroid along with the zinc & selenium.

I also found that the traditional asthma support to be quit helpful in the short term, which are molybdenum and manganese.

I'd prefer to get my nutrition from food, but minerals are hard to absorb in the quantities needed after such a brutal, toxic chemical assault on the body, so I choose supplementation to help me.

Best of luck to all.

tommy,
My experiences taking lisinopril convince me that my immune system was hurt by the drug. In trying to clear out the cough, my immune system used up my body's stores of zinc and selenium, which weakend my immune system, let the cough get worse, and also caused other problems since zinc and selenium are used for other functions too (like thyroid system) and those then suffer too.

For your dad, you might consider getting off the lisinopril, and, taking extra zinc, selenium, vit-c, vit-e, vit-b, and, bioflavinoids and betaglucan. I personally have found zinc & selenium very helpful with clearing up my lungs - these minerals are key to the functioning of the immune system. Also vit-c and vit-e are good for healing. Bioflavinoids are good for certain kinds of sores. And betaglucan stimulates the immune system. (If you beef up with these minerals for an extended time, you might also consider beefing up all the other ones too somewhat to avoid imbalances.) These things helped me a lot, I hope something in the list helps your dad.

This medicine can cause weight gain, energy and stamina problems, shortness of breath, etc...

It does this, I believe, mostly by interfering with thyroid function due to selenium and cysteine depletion.

Selenium (and zinc too) is depleted as the immune system uses these minerals to detoxify from the lisinopril and its associated chemicals and toxins.

Cysteine is depleted because it is used in repairing the lungs from the damage caused by lisinopril with the cough side-effect.

With selenium and cysteine depleted, the body runs low on selenocysteine, which is necessary for thyroid hormone reception and response all through out the body.

Also with selenium depletion, the thyroid has more difficulty making the thyroid hormone.

I HAVE CURRENTLY STARTED TAKING LISINOPRIL ON NOV 3 2006 AND SUFFERED FROM THIS MEDICATION SLEEPLESS NIGHTS VOMITING UP LOTS OF PHELGM SEVERAL TIMES A DAY. THE INTENTION OF THIS DRUG WAS TO STRENGTHEN MY HEART MUSCLE. BUT ALL IT DONE WAS MADE MY HEART AND AND LUNGS SORE. SHORTNESS OF BREATH HIGH AND LOW BLOOD PRESSURE. HEAVY SWEATING AROUND MY THROAT ALSO A CONSTANT TICKLE AND COUGH. HEART RATE GOT UP TO 180 FOR A HOUR. VERY WEAK TO WHERE I HAD TO LAY IN BED 14-18 HOURS A DAY. AND ON DEC 2 2006 I CALLED MY DOCTOR AND EXPRESSED MY SIDE EFFECT AND WAS TAKING OFF. AND NOW IM UP AND WALKING WITH NO COUGH OR VOMITING OR ANY OF THE OTHER SIDE EFFECTS THAT I MENTION. ITS NOT FOR ME SORRY THANKS BUT NO THANKS.

Changed from Atenolol to Lisinoprol because of the new guidelines about beta blockers versus ACE inhibitors. Within 24 hours I was dizzy, weak, pains in my abdomen, tight chest, heart pounding, breathless, could not run for the bus. I persevered and took 3 doses (5 mgs each) but eventually felt so bad I stopped and after 24 hours went back on Atenolo. Within 1 hour I was much improved. In spite of the guidelines and the long term dangers of beta blockers, I feel I have no choice but to stick with them as my quality of life on Lininopril was unacceptable.

My story started back on July 28 2006, went to work and experienced an afib attack. went to the Doctor on the 31st. ekg was normal but my blood pressure was high 162/100 so the Doctor put me on 10mg of Lisinopril, felt bad during the week, thought it was just getting adjusted to a new med. Went back work had very bad shortness of breath, chest pains, and lightheadedness. now It has been 2.5 months of being out of work from these problems and in bed 95% of the day, not being able to do any activity without severe shortness of breath and now over $20,000 in test on the heart and lungs( which was normal) doctors said its probably anxiety( its not) so after my heart cath I stopped taking the lisinopril and with in a few days I was a different person, up doing well, my color is back. I feel so much better even returning to work this week. my bp is normal too. Not one Doctor ever even considered lisinopril as the problem. my trust in most doctors have been shaken to say the least.

My doctors checked when complaining about abdominal ache and found out that my lipaze and amylaze were elevated.I made some research and found out that Lisinopril can cause the elevations.I read it somewhere but forgot.Anyone with this problem?I have GERD and took almost half a dozen different meds. at different times.I still have the problem.Could the abdominal ache be from Lisinopril 40mg once a day for over 4years now.My doctor also told me that I have tiny noddules about 2mm on my left lung.I really don't know where this one came from.I never smoked my entire life never exposed to any kind of infections.The only thing that I can tell is that my mantox on my arm for TB test with positive.A lot my country folks have those problems on their arms but no noddules on their lungs.Please,help if anyone has any feedbacks or experience on GERD.I have tried other suppliments like Digestinol which is made of Aloe Vera plant.It didn't work for me or maybe I quit too early because of some stomach discomfort.THANK YOU!

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 ...... ).

Regarding athletic ability:
If this medicine works for you that's great! If you get the side effects though, you'll be on the bench for a very long time. There are reports of joggers and people who suffer athletic debilitation from this drug. I was an otherwise healthy jogger for 15 years except for hbp, now have much trouble due to stamina/energy and breathing related problems. On the good side, the arm and leg muscles seem to be fine.

Regarding fatigue and malaise:
I took the lisinopril for 3 months and suffered for over a year from what can be described as abnormal fatigue and malaise, plus the cough. I recovered to a point, but every time I'd try to start jogging again, I'd have some kind of relapse. Lots of pain in the lungs, shortness of breath, pain in the liver, headaches, flu-like symptoms, feeling off or not altogether here. It wasn't until I found zinc that I recoverery restarted. Zinc, zinc, zinc, a bit of manganse, and vitamin-B. Tried several zincs, and found I like Country Life "Target Mins" Zinc 50mg; I take about 1 a day, though split it to spread it out. I take a 1/4 tablet whenever I feel shortness of breath or pain in my lungs, quite helpful. Note the UL (upper limit recommendations) for zinc is about 40mg/day though I think this applies more to people who are not suffering from mineral depletion. (Note that zinc depletion is a know problem with the general ACE class of drugs.)

Regarding staying on this drug:
Be very wary, as sometimes the symptoms and side effects can take a long time to show up. Many people who had no problems for a long while (years even) seem to report problems after a change in brand, especially to generic, or a change in dosage, either up or down! If you get the symptoms reported here, they will persist for a very long time even if you quit. Further, your doctors will try to convince you that 1) there is really nothing wrong with you, 2) it couldn't possibly be the lisinopril, and 3) if you continue to complain it must be psychological (and so you need more drugs, not less!)

Also please note that on this website there are over 40 pages of complaints about this drug. There ought to be a FAQ (frequently asked questions) or summary. It can be a bear to read through all of them, but until the website improves folks wanting more info should page through them...

The only side effect that doctors officially recognize is the cough. Some doctors will try to convince you that you can live with the cough, which is such bad advice.

The cough is a sign that your body is not happy with the med. It took me about 2 weeks to get the cough. It is the first symtom I had. I wish I'd stopped right away when I got it, but it was so mild at first and the doctors convinced me I could live with it. Once I had the cough, it very slowly kept getting worse over a period of the next 2 weeks, though I would have still considered it liveable. But then other side effects that the doctors don't acknowledge started happening. Eventually it was these other side effects that made me stop taking the drug. But the cough was the first symptom that my body didn't like this med.

Since it's the only one the doctors know about, it's the one to complain about. So if you get the cough: start complaining about the cough right away - immediately, the first day you get it. Tell them that you associate the cough with taking the drug. If they don't switch you off right away and it gets any worse at all, complain that the cough is getting worse and worse and tell them you can't live with the lisinopril, and tell them before it harms your lungs and energy levels, or you develop other symptoms.

I have learned that it is up to the patient to complain about drug side effects. The doctors will never diagnose it on their own. They must be trained to consider new conditions as new conditions, and never as side effects. It is important to them to never put it in the patient's head that a symptom is or could be a drug side effect. They don't want to mess with patients who are actually taking a drug and getting some benefit from it. Compliance (getting the patient to take a drug every time, on time) is a big problem. And, of course, experimenting by taking a patient off a drug might make them question the drug. So they would rather experiment by adding more drugs than to put the idea in your head that it might be a side effect of one you're alread taking.

Therefore you, the patient, must make the association yourself, and complain about the drug's side effects. And you have to complain about a side effect they already know of, or they will flatly reject the idea that the drug is doing any harm. Even when you do they will try to get you to live with it. Once they have you living with it, they not follow up with you to see if it gets any worse, and, you'll probably also be less likely to complain about it again if it does. This is a bad situation. And maybe you can live with it at first, but the first side effect appearing is a bad sign and if, after complaining, you agreed to live with it, if it gets any worse at all you need to bring it back to their attention, quickly, and let them know things have changed and it's time to stop living with the side effect.

I am so glad to have found this site! I have been having persistant fatigue, chest discomfort, pain radiating from my shoulders down to my arms, a feeling of weakness, lightheadedness, muscle aches, cough, a feeling of lung congestion, you know, like you've been swimming a long time and your lungs are soggy! I take 10mg of Lisinopril and demadex to control high bp. I'm calling my dr. tomorrow and talk about alternatives! Thank you so much!

Its been a year since I stopped taking the lisinopril, which I took for thee months. Though there is improvment every few months, I still cough like a smoker. My lungs frequently ache; my chest is often sore - this was the worst about 9 months after quitting. The cough got worse for a while after I quit the lisinopril, for about 4 months, before it started getting better. Also, by inadvertently swallowing that sticky stuff that's being coughed up all the time, it caused severe irritation of the throat and stomach.

The cough wasn't really that bad (yet) while I was still on the "med", and I stopped taking it because the other side effects were mounting. My doctor told me these other side effects were all psychological, and prescribed paxil for them. I tried it for 2 days and realized that it wasn't for me. As I got worse and worse, I finally figured out it was the lisinopril and quit on my own.

I too had severe, and continue to have some lingering problems with the lack of stamina. I find that a steady supply of calcium seem to help with this. Also occasionally some iron, and a good B-vitamin.

I feel for this community. As always, best of luck to all!

If you're like me then the lump in the throat isn't reflux.

I discovered that the lump comes from swallowing that stuff that is coming up from the lungs.

The ACE inhibitor class of medications is well know for the side effect of a "mild" cough. This cough is dry or non-productive, meaning that the volume is low and there is no colored flem coming up. Because of this the doctors consider this to be a mild cough. However, there is a very sticky substance that the body is trying to evacuate, and if you swallow it, it will irritate your throat and stomach. Of course, it is already irritating your lungs.

To test for this you can do the following: When you wake up in the morning, clear your throat and spit out every bit you can. Do this procedure before each meal or eating something. If at any time during the day you find that you have to cough or ahem to clear your throat, do not swallow and spit instead. For me I noticed a dramatic improvement in about 4 days. Still, it's not a cure.

After about two months of following this procedure, I relaxed and stopped spitting as much. I had no problems for a while, but then suddenly, my lump was back. It seems that the body goes thru waves of trying to expel this stuff. So when it does that, I go back to the spitting procedure and that helps.

I've been off the medication for close to 7 months now. You can read my 3 month report below, user guest00222.

I've found that Vitamin C with bioflavonoids helps the twisting sensation in the stomach as one person described it. I think that this might also help those with hair issues (hair falling out, dryness).

I've found that calcium helps with shortness of breath felt low in the chest. Because of this medication, my stomach is really tender and sensitive and I've had to seek out supplements that are very gentle. I've found that calcium citrate w/ magnesium helped me quite a bit (from twin lab).

I have frequent aching and soreness in the chest and bronchial tubes, and have found that Vitamin E helps with this. At first, it made me tired, but that went away after a few days, and it helps enough that it's worth it.

I'm currently experimenting with mushrooms as they are reported to have benefits for deep breathing, which is my main on going issue. So far they are helping, but I'm having a bit of increased irritation in the stomach, so I have to find a brand that is gentler.

Note that with starting these supplements, sometimes they help the lungs be more productive for a week or so, so remember not to swallow what's coming up.

I thought my problems with these side effects would be gone by now, but some of them linger on. I'm starting to consider legal action. If the drug itself is not the problem, then maybe the generic has some vile impurity in it. This just isn't right.

And the doctors are very unhelpful. They prefer to suspect you rather than the drugs: they are advocates for the drug industry instead of for their patients.

I hope some of this help. Good luck to all, and please post any progress, especially with natural supplements.

I have been taking lisinipril for almost a year now. I have persistant tightness in my chest from time to time (like heartburn) and have a shortness of breath. Sometimes feels like a pressure on my lungs and dizzy too. If any one has this and has stopped taking lisinipril, then feels better Please let me know so I can save money by not going to a CARDIOLOGIST for the chest pain

Cough at night and tightness of lungs otherwise OK. Blood presure still not under control yet.

persistent dry cough accompanied with itchy burning feelingin lungs; some dizziness for the first hour or two after taking.