Lisinopril and muscle weakness

I forgot to mention the incessant tingling in my arms and hands and periodic numbness/tingling in my face.....but the muscle weakness and anxiety are thee worst side affects. I also just started having a cough out of no where. I am stopping this med, at 26 years old I should be able to bring down my HBP with diet, exercise, and weight loss.

I have been on Lisinopril Hctz for 7 years and have started getting numb feet and hands. Also, muscle weakness...I feel like I have 50 pound weights attached to my legs and have trouble walking. Nerve conduction tests are fine, also, blood work came back normal. Next step is the neurologist a month from now but I am going to stop taking the Lisinopril and see what happens.

I have to agree with the July 11th comments. This medication should not be on the market. I was on Toprol XL for years and experienced side effects from that. Then my doctor recently changed my medication and put me on Lisinopril. Within days I started to experience dizziness, fatigue, muscle weakness, insomnia, racing heart ( these attacks would last for 30-45 minutes following muscle weakness ), weight gain, and oh my goodness the COUGH. That would start shortly after laying down and I would go on coughing for 2 hours. Between the cough and the insomnia what was the point of sleeping. I have been to the doctor twice complaining of the symptoms and they look at me like I am nuts. The worst part is the racing heart episodes which make me feel like I am having a heart attack. The amazing thing is, after all the tests that have been performed since I started this medication, I am a very healthy person. So why is it the doctors I have seen,who have run all these tests, at the cost of my medical insurance, never thought that maybe it is the side effects of this medication. WHY don't doctors listen more and WHY don't they take the time to inform themselves of these medications before prescribing them. They need to LISTEN more to their patients, after all
we know our bodies better than they do. My blood pressure is 104-63 with a heart rate of 110. I am 53 yrs old and my blood pressure should be between 129-142. Don't you think there should be a red flag some where?
This is where my trust factor is zero. I think the more medication doctors can prescribe the sicker it makes us. I can't speak for all doctors but I have seen 4 doctors and not one of them seemed to be looking out for my best interest. DON'T START THIS MEDICATION. Apparently there have not been enough case studies on Lisinopril. Oh by the way did you know that taking this medication increases your chance of a stroke by 60%. One more side effect. Thank you for this web site.

July 8, 2009
I took Lisinopril for 2 months and began noticing soreness and stiffness cramping in my legs. Joint pain and general muscle weakness. Biggest indicator was my inability to ride road bikes (bicycle) nearly as much as normal. I did not have the muscle strength or stamina to ride like before. On one ride I had such sever cramping I had to get pick up, first time in 18 yrs of bicycling. It also states to not use sodium or potassium supplement while on this medicine, which I was doing for cramping. Also because I was borderline hypertension I did not notice any decrease in BP while on this. I have stopped taking this medicine. nn

I have been on lisinopril for over 3 years - 5 mg/day. I am a 52 year old female in great shape and exercise daily. For over a year now I have had muscle aches, muscle weakness, heart palpitations, foggy brain feeling, insomnia, fatigue, some tingling in extremities. I also sometimes get these spells where all these symptoms come on at once. It's very strange. Been to numerous doctors including, PCP, 2 neurologists and a rheumatologist and after many tests they all come up with nothing. After reading posts at this site I think it may be the Lisinopril and with my PCP's permission stopped taking it 11 days ago. My blood pressure is fine - I am monitoring it daily. My symptoms still remain. Does anyone know how long these symptoms may continue? I am grateful for any additional information you could provide.

My worst side effects were hand, rib, back, shoulder and arm cramps as well as front of the thigh cramps. The hand and thigh cramps were the most frequent. I am hoping the muscle weakness I have had is a side effect and will improve as time passes since taking my last dose. I have only been off of Lisinopril for 2 weeks. The cramps have mostly stopped and they were daily. I have also experienced weight gain which may have been a side effect. I will see as time passes.

I am a 56 year old woman who has been taking lisinopril for over 5 years! I have been taken by ambulance to the er and have fainted several times. Also experienced hives for months at a time and severe muscle weakness. The pins and needles feelings i could live with until it felt like someone was sticking me with a knife! I visited a heart dr. last week and he told me to immediately get off this medicine. I will go back and see him tomorrow and will be switched to a new medicine. I wish I had found this forum sooner. By ginao

Hi I am 45 an been taking 5mg Lisinopril daily for the last 5 years, I am also a very active racing cyclist. Over the last 12 months I have seen my performances drop by 50% and I am so tired all the time, I also feel short of breath, been to docs he ran all the normal tests, nothing showed up, also,I now get terrible headache above my right eye whenever try any exercise. Watch out for grapefruit, it must react with the meds, my throat swelled up almost closed, horrible experience, I now ger blurred vision and muscle weakness. Not on, I have taken myself off the meds to see if things get back to normal, I will be able to monitor the situation based on my cycling performance results and will report back.

I took Diovan HCT for years without any side effects. We must do mail order with our health insurance and the providers website said that Lisinopril was an alternative to the Diovan that was available as a generic and therefore a lower cost. I spoke with my Dr. about it and she advised me of the "cough" and said it wasn't exactly the same but since I wanted to save as much money on scripts as I could I tried the Lisinopril. I took it for a couple of months and noticed being more fatigued and weak. Finally I got to the point where I was feeling like I was hungover 24x7 and started looking to see if there was any side effects from this different med I was taking and saw all the symptoms I was having from fatigue to palpitations to nausea to muscle weakness and cough. I went back to the Dr. and got back on Diovan and everything is much better now. My wife was on this medicine too for a while and she noticed the same thing but didn't put it together with the medicine. There should be some kind of advisory with this stuff or it should be taken off the market.

I have been on lisinopril on and off for over 2years or better.I started with 20 mg.then i cut that down to 10 mg. then to 5 mg, still feel bad,that includes 6 mg.hctz.many side effects,muscle weakness,neck pain,cramps in legs mainly,and just feeling like your about half sick all the time, have to force myself to move because of feeling tired and aching all over, if i work in my garden i have to sit and rest every 5 minutes because the muscles in my back start hurting and get weak,blurred vision, itching ,bad dreams,irritable( my poor wife) etc. Also take metoprolol 150mg. per day and have for a lot of years which also has side effects.Tried taking hypavera which is a natural herb mix after 2 days bp went up to 204/94 so stopped that fast so be careful on mixing certain vitamins and herbs with prescription drugs.

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.

decomposition of lisinopril in acidic medium so narrow absorption window.

I am hoping that this will help at least one person, to get off of lisinopril
There is a big difference between "side effects" and actual symtoms that are happening to most of us that take lisinopril.
Side effects usually occur shortly after taking a certain medication.
i took lisinopril for 2 years and gradually all the symptoms escallated and continued to get worse over time. i tought i was dying, i did so many test to find out what was wrong with me, cost a fortune, eventually i realised that all of these things were being caused by lisinopril.
I had shortness of breath,muscle weakness, joint pain, after every meal i was so bloated and a very heavy feeling at night , i could hardly turn in my bed because of being so weak and felling heavy, and the worse was this lump in my throat that got worse every day until i could not swallow or even breath i decided to do MRI ,found nothing , i ran out of lisinopril medication and this immediately got better, i have stopped taking for 1 month and i feel a lot better but still trying to recover from these "side Effects"

I had been on lisinopril for 3 yrs until a couple of weeks ago. I was taking 10mg in addition to 25mg atenolol(which I have been on for 10yrs). Although I did not notice any serious side effects when I first started on it, it ended up seriously affecting my quality of life. My energy level, which has always been very high, was gradually reduced over the course of the last 3 yrs to a level so low that it was exhausting just to get through the day. I had undergone extensive lab workups to try to figure out what was wrong. I would also have episodes of severe muscle weakness and aches that kept me confined to bed. I was tested for every disease known to man. All came back negative. On top of this, for the first time in my life, I was becoming very depressed and unable to cope with the least little thing to the point where my family became concerned. I also suffered several serious anaphylactic allergic reactions involving serious stomach pains, plummeting blood pressure, pounding heart rate, faintness, swelling of my extremities and shock. I was referred to a specialist and after 4 wks of bloodwork and skin testing, I was incredibly allergic to NOTHING. But I have to carry an epi pen at all times since I don't know when or why a reaction will reoccur. All of this time, I never ever suspected lisinopril as a problem. It was not until one day I was particularly tired and lightheaded and found out that my BP and pulse were way too low (90/50), so I did not take my lisinopril that night (or since then) but only my atenolol. The next day I felt better and within a couple of days incredibly better. My doc has agreed that lisinopril is a problem for me and increased my dose of atenolol to 50mg, which takes care of my BP just fine. Now my energy is returning, my depression has lifted, and I can actually look forward to each day instead of just trying to get through it. I feel like my spark for life is coming back. Like others, I was in a downward spiral and wondered if this is what happens when you turn 50 and if I would ever feel good again. I knew nothing of this website during all of this and wish I had found it long ago. Maybe, just maybe, I would not feel like I missed the last 3yrs of my life.

I am so glad to see all these postings about Lisinopril! At least I now know that I'm not alone...and maybe I'm not crazy! My hair is falling out by handfuls every time I shampoo it. I thought it was my scalp psoriasis causing it, but now I know what it is! I even wonder now if the Lisinopril has brought on the scalp psoriasis! The weakness in my neck is driving me crazy along with just a general feeling of all-over muscle weakness. Feels like I can't hold my head up all the time! I can't get enough sleep, and feel tired all of the time. My vision is blurry, and I do have some tingling in my arms and fingers. My concentration is shot, so is my memory! I'm quitting this stuff and going to try the diet/exercise routine and see if that does the trick. Never had high blood pressure until I gained this extra 30 lbs. so maybe losing it will put me back where I need to be. Oh! did I mention that just the thought of sex is more than I can take, let alone trying it!

Has anyone on Lisinopril experienced upper GI problems such as Achalasia, trouble eating, reflux, or getting food 'stuck' in the esophagus?
My wife has lost 50 lbs in a year due to inability to eat from what was initially diagnosed as Achalasia (rare disease that affects the operation of the muscles in the esophagus and/or lower esophageal sphincter at the top of the stomach). However, Botox injections in the LES provided little relief which is not typical for Achalasia patients. She tests negative for Barrett's Syndrome and any form of Connective Tissue Disease (or arthritis).
My MD recently put me on Lisinopril (another horror story); while I was researching the drug, I noticed that it could cause muscle weakness. My wife backtracked the date that she was put on Lisinopril and it coincided with the onset of her GI problems. While monitoring her BP several times a day, she has cut back to 1/2 dose and has shown a marked improvement in the last 10 days. (It is too early to say with certainty that Lisinopril is causing the GI problems.)
Has anyone experienced similar problems?

Been taking 10 mg of Lisinopril for about 3 months now for BP that was 160/70...Last reading was 130/70...BUT for the last 5 weeks I have experienced stomach upset followed by an Upper Respiratory Infection whcih took 4 weeks to resolve followed by muscle weakness in my arms and legs followed by urinary issues (too much urination, too little, urine color change, etc. Before these episodes I had not even had a clod in years...Any connection to Lisinopril???

Within 2 days of beginning Lisinopril for an "elevated blood pressure event", I bagan to experience labored breathing, like I had just walked up 10 flights of stairs. And that was at rest! I had some anxiety and was generally lethargic. I also began experiencing severe cramps in my legs, feet, and toes. My arches would cramp so bad I coulld hardly stand it. I thought this might be related to the diuretic in the medication. I also experienced muscle weakness. I called my doctor who told me to take half a pill each day. The effects were basically the same at half the dosage! The breathing still labored, less cramping, but same feeling of tiredness and lethargy. I quit taking it, made some lifestyle changes (less sodium laced foods, more exercise) to bring down the pressure.

Started taking lisinopril in June/05. Didn't realize it until a few days ago, but I have been experiencing unsual joint pain and muscle weakness for about 3-4 months now. I just happened to read the patient advisory leaflet that came with my mail order prescription and I noticed that I should call my doctor as soon as possible if i was feeling unusual joint pain. Lately I have been waking up to severe joint pain in almost every joint in my body, fingers, toes, tops of feet, ankle, knees, elbows, shoulders, and muscle pain in the forearms and calves. I feel as if I am 75 years old. I can't hardly get out of bed I am so stiff. Since I coudlnt get in to see my doctor until early March I decided to take myself off the medication. I am also taking ziac for high blood pressure. It can't be very good for my body to continue to suffer from so much joint pain. Anyone else have similar symptoms?

Has anyone noticed extreme muscle weakness or muscle cramping on lisinopril?

I had HBP of 200 / 114 when discovered - very high, along with chest pain. On Lisinopril for 5 years, 10 mg. daily. After 3 years I started to experience muscle cramping in legs and arms, and after 2 years the symptoms were extremely debilitating. I went off Lisinopril as it was the only medication I was taking, other than occasional aspirin. About 3 weeks after stopping Lisinopril the cramping is nearly gone.

I also did experience sleep disruption and the extra mucus production people have mentioned here.

Wondering if anyone else experienced extreme muscle weakness, muscle cramping, and joint pain, as well, on this drug?

Thanks for any info!

I am still recovering from numerous side effects from this lisinopril.

The most lasting effect is occasional shortness of breath, and aches & pains in the chest and abdomin. I have recently discovered that iron helps with this a lot.

As a recap, I've found over time that vit-C w/ bioflavinoids (twisting sensation in stomach), calicum (tight band around the chest, aching feet), vit-E (pains in chest) and iron (shortness of breath and muscle weakness/pain in abdomin) to be helpful in combating the side effects from this drug.

If you're having some of these problems, check to make sure you're getting enough of these nutrients.

Also remember: don't swallow that stuff it makes you cough up, that irritates the throat and stomach (lump in throat).

As always, best of luck to all!

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