Lisinopril and persistent cough

My mother took lisinopril and she developed the persistent cough many experience. It was so severe that she went to the ER. While she was there, they told her she had fluid retention in both lungs and didn't link this drug to the fluid retention. Instead, they told her to get a biopsy for the possibility of lung cancer. More money in their pockets for tests and biopsies? Definitely!
I definitely see the link between the drug and the cough and the fluids in her lungs. Now,she's not on that medication but she is still dealing with side effects and I feel that all these medications they tell her to take are just making her worse. Has anyone just stopped all the conventional medications of high blood pressure and perused alternative treatments with success? I'm hopeful to find out what options i have that can cure her situation instead of leaving her at the same hopeless stage of dealing with terrible side effects.

My husband started on Lisinopril - 6/11/08. He also takes Coreg generic. He also takes Crestor. However, before taking Lisinopril, he had a persistent cough dating back to March. He was placed in prednisone for five days - 6/14/08. He has had chest pain, numbing of different sections of his legs, arm numbness. But, today, he threatened to attack me with a remote control and wished a tv to fall on my head.
This is psychotic behavior. Has anyone else experienced violent eposides and incoherant moments?

I am a 49 year old woman in good health. My blood pressure has always been low, but in January it was up a bit, yet still within the normal range. I was seeing a new doctor, who suggested I start Lisinopril just as a precaution to keep it from going higher. I started having side effects right away. Inability to sleep well, bad dreams, achy joints, fatigue, and paranoia, but the worst was the persistent cough, which worsened the longer I was on the medicine. I sincerely thought I was being poisoned, either intentionally or accidentally. Little did I know at the time I was poisoning myself with a medication I did not really need. I called my doctor several times to report the cough, which was keeping me up at nights and was generally bringing my quality of life down to a intolerable level. We changed my allergy medicine several times and he even ordered a chest x-ray to eliminate any really ugly problems like lung cancer, etc. After 5 1/2 months, the doctor says, almost as an afterthought, that perhaps I should quit taking the Lisinopril. I asked why that would have any effect on my coughing and he said it was rare, but it had been known to cause some coughing in a small number of patients. After doing research on this drug, I do not believe these side effects are rare at all, and I can not understand why I had to suffer for so long before my doctor considered the fact it could be medication related. The drug companies responsible for manufacturing this medication, and all similar ones, both formulary and generics, should educate the physicians prescribing them of these detrimental side effects. I have only been off Lisinopril for six days, and the cough has gotten worse, even to the point where my family members sincerely thought they should call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. I realize it can take a number of days to get the drug out of my system, so I am pushing fluids and have myself on a cleansing diet to speed up the process. I am so miserable. I hope I only have a couple more days of this. I really need some sleep to function during the day, and I am just not getting it yet. Any suggestions?

I have read a ton of the posts in this category. I have been taking Lisinopril as an addition to my regular blood pressure medication for approximately 3 years, with absolutely no problems. My 10mg was increased to 20mg a week ago. Still no problems. It has only helped me. If there are any changes, I will definitely post it. I believe that symptoms can arise from reading an article. I actually know a couple people who read things, and suddenly they are convinced they have the problem or disease referenced. I call it an Epidemic of Diagnoses. Always seek a doctors advice before stopping medications. Stopping suddenly on certain drugs, can be more dangerous than taking them.

All you are Hypochondriacs. If one person says this medicine is causing this, then of course; you all have the same problem "some how." Isn't this weird? It is called the "placebo effect." Normally all the people involved in the testing are given "Lisinopril" (or some other drug), then the placebo group is given a vitamin supplement, the group receving the vitamin supplement is being told they are receving "Lisinopril." Mysteriously?, the "placebo group" is all feeling better and their symptoms are gone. This is due to the fact that all these people in the "placebo group" have interacted with eachother and have told eachother "I feel better" than of course everybody feels better. So WEIRD!! So, my point is this forum is all your peoples "placebo group." If you guys never heard of these side effects from this forum you would have never experinced them. Hypochondriacs all of you are. This is a very good medicine that is helping all of you make up for your peoples lack of self-disipline to control your diet or exercise enough to lower your blood pressure naturally. So be thankful. Lets not complain about false side effects because John has them. I wonder what the side-effects of that cheese burger are that caused high blood pressure. It is funny, I don't see a forum for that. So deal with your so called "side-effects" that are associsted with "Lisinopril" or go on a diet people. Get over it!!

I have been on 5 mg of Lisinopril and 10 mg of Lipitor for over a year and just last week I convinced my doctor to take me off Lipitor to see if my symptoms would go away. I am 60 years old, but over the last year progressively feel much older. My legs are constantly hurting, both knees in particular. The pain at night is so bad that I have to get up for hours at a time. I also have a persistent cough which never goes away. I am now considering dumping Lisinopril in the same trash can as Lipitor. My wife is concerned about the future effect on my health but I am at a point where
I'm more concerned with the quality of my life today. My students at the High School I teach at constantly ask me what happened to me to cause
such a change? I am going to find out.

I begun taking Lisinopril about 2 months ago. Was lightheaded at first for about 2 or 3 weeks but that side effect seemed to disappear. My blood pressure has never been better (from 170/105 to 98/65) but just as soon as my lightheadedness went away, I started developing a dry cough. I didn't think much of it at first as I have summer allergies and my husband had just gotten over a cold with a bad cough that lasted almost 4 weeks. I just figured I had caught his cold. But after 4 weeks passed and my cough just kept getting worse instead of better. Just like everyone else on this site, I have a horrible persistent cough that brings me to the point of tears and dry heaves many times during the day and night. I haven't had a good night sleep in I don't know how long and my poor husband suffers right along with me too.

I finally went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and was prescribed an antibotic for what she described as sinusitis. Well, after finishing my 2 weeks supply of antiboitic and Mucinex, my cough is worse than ever. Since my husband and ex-husband are both smokers, I started fearing the thought of lung cancer until I found this site. I was so relieved to find out that what I'm experiencing is like a carbon-copy of so many other unfortunate people on this drug. I called my doctor today and told her the antibiotics did nothing and that I was sure it was the Lisinopril. She advised me to stop taking it immediately and monitor my cough for 2 weeks and then go in to see her. I was relieved but also scared after reading other people who have been off this drug for up to a year and still have a horrible cough. I don't know what I'll do if this doesn't go away! It's having a terrible affect on my sleep and my job as I'm constantly having to put customers on hold while I hack my brains out.

I'll post any updates on my hopeful improvement after going off this horrible stuff!! Good luck and thanks very much to everyone out there who has shared their experiences! It really helps to know that it's not just you who is going through this misery!

I was waking up with numb hands every morning for about two weeks recently; one of my friends said I should get off the Lisonopril. I found this forum and wept for relief when I read through all the postings. I had no idea that so many things I had experienced were from the drug! Sure, it lowered my BP, but I was very tired, persistent cough especially at night, depressed, blurry vision, and many other ailments. I went off the Lisinopril cold turkey the very next day and that was a month ago. I have only had one bad blood pressure headache since then and I have to say, I feel so much better. I still have the drainage and cough, but would rather fight high BP by other means that fight all those other ailments all the time.

I started taking Lisinopril about three months ago. I already have been taking Metroprolol, HCTZ, Paxil and Avandia. The Lisinopril gave me swollen, red, watery eyes; a persistent cough that gets so bad I puke; tightness in the chest and shortness of breath and extreme fatigue. My doctor keeps telling me it's all in my head, but I know it's not, I feel a lot worse than I did so I'm changing doctors. There has to be a better alternative.

In reading through everyone's posts, I feel better about my side effects, but it's really SAD that the doctors all think it's in our heads!

Thank goodness I found this site...I couldn't understand where my persistent cough was coming from till I received a pamphlet from my drug provider and saw coughing from Lisinopril.

I have been taking the pill for five months and over the last two months I started with a slight cough which I thought was an allergy...never had allergies, but thought it was Spring..by now in July I have a choking cough and from the remarks I have read I can relate to the choking tightening feeling in my throat and when I go to talk..my throat closes and it hurts to cough..feels like a bronchitis cough..I never smoked either..
My doctor is on vacation and I have an appt in two weeks..
Does this cough cause further harm to you...Why does it make us cough..It has helped my pressure also I take Hydrochlodrate (probably didn't spell it correctly)...I have to carry water with me even when I go to church..because out of nowwhere I began this choking cough..

Again, great to be able to relate to someone els with same issues..

I experienced a hike in b/p after taking benedryl. I was placed on Lisonpril. After two weeks, I experienced extreme difficulty walking, weakness and fatigue, vertigo, persistent cough, panic attacks and anxiety. My skin felt like I was bathed in menthol or vicks vapor rub. I am not sure if it is the same "tingling" or "burning" that has been reported by others. E/r visits, ekg, cat scans, blood tests came back normal. I received inconsistent medical advice from e/r docs, cardiologist and internist (i.e. stay on the med, but change it, take it only if your b/p is high, get off of it completely- you dont have high b/p and dont need it). I decided to get off of it. Its been three weeks off the Lisinopril. I have improved daily; however, I am not back to normal. Anxiety and "menthol-like" skin sensations still remain. This web site has helped tremendously with jsut knowing that I am not crazy or alone. Thanks.

Thanks for this web site, I have found that the health problems I had were just side effects of the Lisinopril drug I started to treat my blood pressure. I have changed drug now, but it took me 3 to 4 weeks to get rid of the side effects such as persistent cough, and swelling in my throat.
Thanks again for having such web site

I have been on Lisinopril for over 2 weeks now and have had a persistent cough the whole time... I was switched from a Beta-Blocker to this new drug over night. Neither my Doctor or pharmacist said anything about stopping the Beta -Blocker slowly before starting the Lisinopril. I ended up with bp readings of 160/ 100 and a pulse of 100-120. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. The Doctor said nothing to me but, "so you decided to quit cold turkey, lucky you didn't end up in the emergency room with heart problems." I think I was better of with Tenormin. I was only taking 50 mgs per day, I think he could have increased that to twice daily. He says my cough will go away, we'll see.
Thanks for listening...

I had a persistent cough for 4 months!! Just awfuL!

Hi thank goodness i've found this website as i've been on lisiniprol for 4 months now and the side effects are awful, but because i'm taking it to help control of heart failure my DR says I must continue with it.
There are some days I can't move to get out of bed because of pains in my shoulders and down my arms to my finger tips and, because I have arthritis i was thinking it had got worse, but after reading messages here I now believe its a side effect of lisiniprol.
I also have dizzy spells and on one occasion I blacked out but my DR told me to hold on to something when rising to my feet. and keep exertion to a minimum.
I gave up smoking a few months ago and I still have a persistent cough and some days I feel very depressed. I will now go back to her with a print out of this page and see if she is willing to believe these are side effects from the lisiniprol.
As I suffer from low blood pressure normally the lisiniprol now has me down to as low as 85/48 some days and I feel crap anyway I don't think they're for me.

Persistent cough, eyes watering, sinuses affected, and at the end of the coughing, blowing my nose. Very tired at work at about 3:00 p.m. everyday.

I have been taking lisinopril for 2 months. During that time I have developed a persistent cough, have very dry eyes and mouth. I am also excessviely tired. I am going to have my doctor change my medicine soon.

a persistent cough