Lisinopril Severe Abdominal Cramps, Auto Immune Disorder, Intestinal Inflammation, Gall Bladder, Test Ct
Posted over a year ago
Oh My Gosh - as I sit here with abdominal cramps typing my experience - I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I started taking Lisinopril in late April 2008. On May 2 I had severe abdominal cramps and massive vomiting for 8 hours. Finally got ... more »
Oh My Gosh - as I sit here with abdominal cramps typing my experience - I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I started taking Lisinopril in late April 2008. On May 2 I had severe abdominal cramps and massive vomiting for 8 hours. Finally got myself to ER after I sent my family on to our vacation (I joined 2 days later). The ER attributed it to food poisoning. Lo and behold, I had another "attack" on May 9th. Back to ER I went (my husband witnessed my attack and insisted I go). They took X-rays and MRI - found intestinal inflammation but didn't know why. My internest send me to gastro dr. Third attack hit on June 5th and gastro doctor sent me to major hospital ER. They, too, did MRI & blood work. Looked at gall bladder, pancreas, stomach, intestines, etc. They found intestinal inflammation. Gastro Dr. took more blood and did more test (CT, MRI, Colonoscopy, Endoscopy). He couldn't find anything so he sent me to rheumatologist. She did add'l blood work and genetic testing. She though I had an auto-immune disorder - like Mediterranean Familial Fever! Please...! But all her tests came back negative. She too had no answers, only treatment for symptoms - Colchicine and Prednisone. Yuk. After having my 8th debilitating attack yesterday (since May), I've had enough. I went to the Web and found this wonderful site - along with some others with helpful info. I don't have confirmation that the lisinopril is causing this - but it sure sounds like it. I am a 49 yr old female and I've had no "life changing" events in my life (except for this nastiness) and have been on no other meds. I find it interesting that out of all the doctors I've seen - and all knew of the lisinopril - that none suspected this as a side effect.
Floxintoxin - Now you know. I'm sorry to say but my mother has been going through the same terrible attacks. There is a name for this called angioedema (although layman's terms would be internal hives). You're far from alone. She was on it for 3 months with attacks every 3 weeks, then they kicked up a notch and went every 2 weeks even after she stopped taking it. Read up and there on a UK medical site it says these attacks can be recurrant for months even after Lisinopril. Here's what works. The herb Marshmallow will keep your system calm with no side effects, but it's merely masking the attacks. You can have your thyroid tested, but I wouldn't bother. Odds are it will come back high TSH reading with the T3 and T4 normal. Lisinopril takes your immune system out of whack. Iodine is the answer, although you won't find anyone who will tell you and the doctor's will tell you it's from the ark and dangerous. It's a coverup to a simple solution. Search google for "the history of iodine" and you'll see what I mean. We ordered iodoral and within 3 days (one pill a day), you'd be surprised to know how normal she feels. There's a simple, cheap test to find out if you're iodine deficient. Just buy a bottle of "tincture of iodine" from your local Walgreens, paint a 2x2 patch on your arm and if it vanishes in under 24 hours you're deficient, if it's gone in under 10 then you're severely deficient (hers was gone in 4 hours). It only costs $3.50 to find out and no doctor will tell you this.
Pastrouhal - Thank you for your reply. Thought I was going insane with this problem. It's comforting to know others have had these same symptoms/attacks, although I woulnd't wish this on anyone. My thyroid tests were all normal. I am going to do the iodine test. I've had enough blood work done that one would think this would have showed up. Is your mother still on lisinopril?
Simlin - Hi, I'm the Mom my daughter was talking about and I've just been getting over the 6th attack since starting the drug 4 months ago and taking myself off it about 5 weeks ago. The sad part is this was the second attack since stopping the drug and as my daughter has stated "It's the gift that keeps on giving". I'm on no drugs right now and I'm scared of all of them after the terrible draining experience and I'm doing what I can naturaly and my blood pressure is satisfactory to me but tends to begin rising whan an attack is eminent. That's not surprising either. I didn't realize what was happening to me because I was taking care of my daughter during a very bad reaction to ciprofloxin and it was her that found this site. You can look up hers under that drug.
We have researched the stomach side affect to death and only found information on overseas sites. This drug is cheap and they hand it out to anyone without monitoring but in the UK (I was born in England 61 years ago) they take it quite seriously and do monitor. I did what all women do, I decided that although I had never had stomach problems in my life, it must be the way I was dealing with stress. Now I know that was poppycock. It was on the fourth bout where it lasted much longer and I was ready to go to the emergency room, but didn't have insurance and couldn't afford it, my daughter, barely back on her feet began researching and was horrified. She also found out about marshmallow root and drove thirty miles to get me some, even though she had major problems walking. It took two days and I began to feel relief, and after a few days I thought I was cured. Then it hit again and I took it for two weeks and I thought I was cured. Then last week it came back and not just the stomach part, I began coughing and couldn't stop and that went so well with agonizing stomach pain. Now I intend to stay on marshmallow much longer then slowly wean one a day and watch for reactions. Each bout makes me worse off and I have always been so well, this is hell for me. I also still have the bladder infection I went to the doc first about and she decided as my BP was up I needed this drug. I am worrying about what to take to clear it up as they gave me nitrofuration and it knocked me out for a week with more terrible side affects. I believe I am now in a dangerous position as my immune system is low and any drug may cause me complications. I keep a blog http://tuscanadesign.spaces.live.com if this site will let you see this address and I wrote more there. I may be going back to England to stay with my sister shortly to get better medical treatment and the answer I want (hope for) as it would cost a fortune here and they only want to throw you another round of prescription drugs without supervision. I have National Health insurance over there because I paid in seven years before I married. (I was married 34 years before he died) Here I'm too young for Medicare and not indigent so I'm out of luck unless I add to my credit card debt and go bancrupt. They don't even give you BP drugs in the UK unless you've been monitored 3 times and they feel you really do need them. Don't believe all the bad things you hear about National Health over there as although it's not perfect like anything else at least they have it. Anyway, it looks like there is no cure for angiodema and I tried Benadryl for the bad coughing fit to no avail. You either get through it or die. Hope this is good info for you.
Bigmamaixix - I wish I had seen this sight sooner. I started on Lisinopril last January 2008. 2 days after I had 'labor' like pains and called the doctor to see if it could be lisinopril. He said "not likely" and said to call him if it happened again. It did - in mid February I had my appendix out when they couldn't find anything else wrong despite every test under the sun EXCEPT inflammation around the ileum. Had 25 'attacks', was referred and seen by 10 doctors (yes - 10) including an immunologist who did genetic testing. All tests (repeated twice) came back negative. They took me off the lisinopril after 4 attacks 4 weeks in a row in order to test (a 2nd time) for Hereditary Angioedema. I had to wait 2 weeks off all meds before testing and then wait 2 weeks more for results. I've stayed off Lisinopril (switched to a Diltriazem) in the meantime. Low and behold - tests came back negative and, so far, NO MORE ATTACKS! Vomiting, diarrhea, 8 hours of dibilitating pain, 30 days of missed work, 25 'attacks', 2 facial swellings, and 1 laryngeal swelling later and - guess what - it was the Lisinopril! The very thing I asked after the first episode and asked about with every single doctor. I have lost a lot of faith in the medical profession in the midwest!
Pastrouhal - At the time of my original posting on Oct 13, 2008, after my 8th "attack" of violent vomiting, cramping, diarrhea for eight hours, I decided to take myself off of Lisinopril (after seeing all the side effects posted on this site). I called my internest to let him know of my decision. Went back to see him for a checkup. BP was good (even after being off the drug for 10 days), and I had lost about 20 pounds during the ordeal anyway. I started eating healthier (more fruits & veggies) and have also been trying to walk more. BP is still good. What's remarkable is 1) I have had no attacks since being off lisinopril (3 mos now), 2) my doctor (who is quite experienced and well-known in the medical community) said he had never heard of these side effects and that as long as he's been prescribing lisinopril that he has had no patients with these side effects. I told him to use me as a medical case study! and 3) that there is not more information about these horrible side effects from the manufacturer and/or doctors.
Karin3ha - I just experienced the same side effect. Took 1/2 of a 20mg Lisinopril and within 3 hours had severe stomach cramping, followed by intense vomiting and diahrrea. I was sore for 4 days after this and felt like I had ben kicked in the stomach. I have NEVER had stomach craImping that severe and it began from my stomach to my intestines. Mysoreness prevented me from wearing jeans or any tight clothes. I did not go to the ER...I am NEVER taking this medicine again.
Starlady02 - Hi I have an experience proof positive. I am taking 5mg of Lisinopril for only 5 days!!
Fifth day i am at the doctors for what felt like a heart attack. Severe stomach distress
no vomiting but diarrhea. Like everyone here Felt like I was kicked in the stomach.
They did chest xray, Heart stress test,EKG, all fine. The doc told me it was intestinal
but when i told him it must be the Lisinopril he said no way and told me to keep taking it
In 6 days i missed taking 2 doses thoses two days i had no stomach problems the other
4 days i was bloated and in extreme stomach distress. I take no other meds so what else
could it be. I will not be taking anymore myself. Thanks for all the posts.
Jhunt - I took Lisinopril for 3 weeks hoping the side effects would fade, but they just seemed to get worse. In addition to the digestive problems, I was having anxiety attacks and shortness of breath. The only thing my Dr. told me was to watch out for a tickle at the back of my throat. I've never felt this bad in my life. I've been off of the meds for almost three days and the symptoms have faded, but I'm still feeling anxious and my stomach bothers me sometimes. I'm hoping after a week or two I'll be alright. Symptoms I experienced: dizziness, fatigue, depression, anxiety attacks, diarrhea, weight loss, lack of appetite, weakness, trouble sleeping, muscle twitching
All I can say is beware of this medicine.
Yama - Wow. This sounds like me. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I started Lisinopril Sep 6 and by Sept 8 3am I had to go to the ER with horrible abdominal pain, unable to eat, unable to lie down on either side, a horrible pain across my upper abdomen and extreme diarrhea. After several tests they noticed fluid around my spleen. I told them about the lisinopril being new when I first came in but they said it wasn't that. After 3 days of being in the hospital and not seeing any more fluid around my spleen (which I wasn't allowed to take any meds in there so I was no longer getting the lisinopril poisoing) I felt great and they let me go home 3 days later. They told me to resume taking it though and by that following Sunday night I was back in the ER after a full day of extreme pain and unable to eat assuming my spleen had started "bleeding" again. Same thing, sevearl docs came in, said I had inflammation in small bowel after CT scans but couldn't figure out why. Sent me home as I felt good after a few days. I then resumed it a few days later and within a week had my 3rd attack but stopped going to the ER since they didn't nothing for me. I called my doc and they had me do stool samples that came back negative. They sent me to a GI doc who ordered an MRI and they found nothing. Had my 4th attack earlier this week, unable to eat, digestive trouble, a feeling of seizing up with my stomach, diarrhea, belching, etc. Called the docs again and they didn't do anything for me and then I started to worry that I might have ovarian cancer with a family history so I went to my GYN. I told him about the symptoms and they are doing the tests to be sure, but he thought it probably wasn't my ovaries. I told him that I felt like I was in labor. At the end of the visit I told him about the lisinopril being started only 2 days before the first attack he immediately said that would be his number one suspicion of my problem. I went off of it 2 days ago and feel good and eating again. Small meals though since my stomach has shrank and I lost 10 lbs since this started 7 weeks ago. Although I am a little anxious that it will start again since my symptoms have been about once a week, and then feeling good for 3 or 4 days and then it comes back, I am hoping that it is the lisinopril and after hearing all of your helpful stories I am very hopeful that this is the answer to all of my pain and that I won't have to continue to undergo these painful attacks. Thank you so much for your input. Symptoms: bloating, gas, extreme pain across upper abdomen, tightness, feeling like I was kicked, feeling like I was in labor, no appetite, extreme diarrhea, indigestion. By the way, another search found something that linked lisinopril with spleen infarction, which seems to coincide with the spleen finding on the first CT scan. All of the docs also new I just started on lisinopril but didn't think it was related to that. They should all be aware if someone just starts a new med you start looking there! It would have been much easier to ask me to hold off on it for a few weeks to see if the symptoms resolved instead of spending thousands of dollars and hours on expensive scans and tests that went no where.
Yama - In additon to the above, I do still have a swollen scalloped tongue, which indicates spleen deficiency. Not sure how long that takes to go away, but everything else is fine now.
London21 - I was in the emergency room 5 times and spent 3 days in the hospital for intestinal inflammation. It was so inflamed that no food or liquid could pass. I have had at least 16 attacks similar to what everyone is describing. The pain is so intense that I am unable to bend over or walk or ride in a car without experiencing severe pain for days afterwards. I believe this drug should be taken off of the market. Does anyone know if a class action lawsuit has been started? I have lost 12 pounds and have not been able to eat anything solid for 6 months now. I missed a month and a half of work and almost dropped out of the Nursing program that I am in. I stopped lisinopril 2 weeks ago and have not thrown up or had any attacks since that time. I encourage everyone to report their symptoms to the FDA. Something needs to be done so that others do not have to suffer.
Yama - London21, I know how you feel. I would guarantee it was the lisinopril, your symptoms were identical to mine, I was on it for 7 weeks with all the symptoms, lost 13 lbs in 7 weeks, and when I went off of it I no longer had the problem, and that was back in Oct, so I have been doing great since then and of course no more attacks. But I did find out that as a result of the damage to my stomach from the lisiniopril I now have a precancerous condition called intestinal metaplasia, so I have to be careful of what I eat and how much I eat. I agree this medication should be removed from the market, it is horrible! I think it raised my blood pressure from all the stress it caused me and my family. I wish you the best in your recovery.
Ohiomomof3 - Everyone - THANK. YOU for posting about your awful experiences with lisinopril. I only had one incident like these, but fear I would have had multiple attacks and hospitalizations if not for the comments here. My symptoms of cramping, diarrhea and vomiting started after only taking this drug for 2 days. The docs found fluid in the abdominal cavity (which made me fear cancer!) and elevated white blood count. They gave me the lisinopril once in the hospital. After reading the comments here and discussing repeatedly with docs, they agreed I should stop the lisinopril. 24 hours after the last dose, no more elevated white count or fluid in the abdominal cavity! It's been a week now since that last dose and I feel back to normal. This was my first experience with blood pressure meds. I am working hard on a low sodium diet, exercise & weight loss (could really do to lose 40 lbs anyway) ... I am determined to try to avoid any more meds if possible. Genetics might win, but we'll see. Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences, and I hope everyone is doing well!
Yama - So glad you were able to catch this early Ohio Mom. It was an aweful 7 weeks of my life that I also thought I must have some sort of late stage cancer that they couldn't find. All the tests they made me undergo, all the work I had missed, wedding I had also missed, and stress and suffering, all because of this evil medication. I was healthy prior to that, just had elevated BP due to stress. At one point they had prepped me for blood transfusions as they were going to have me undergo surgery since I had fluid around my spleen that they assumed it was bleeding. That was pretty scary and that of course wouldn't have done anything to help me but would have definitely made things much worse. Doctors need to be aware of this!
Chadd - There are thousands of posts here from innocent and trusting patients who have suffered serious damage from this drug. But most doctors just seem to dismiss all of the obvious evidence and still refuse to acknowledge that lisinopril causes these side effects. It's as if they have blinders on and don't want to see the truth. Of course, if patients were really told the truth, they would never even take the drug. And the FDA is practically 'owned' by Big Pharma, so it is doubtful the drug will ever be banned regardless of how much damage it inflicts on unsuspecting patients. Lisinopril and other blood pressure medications are dangerous and totally unnecessary. Several studies have proven that supplemental vitamin C will lower high blood pressure safely and naturally with no side effects. It was effective even at a relatively small dose of only 500 mg per day, much less than the 2 or 3 grams per day recommended by Dr. Linus Pauling for preventing cardiovascular disease. Of course, organized medicine and Big Pharma aren't interested in vitamin C at all because it is cheap, unpatentable, and a huge financial threat to their high-profit pharmaceutical drugs. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient vitally important for cardiovascular health. I would urge you to read two very informative articles at the website cqs.com. Just do a google search for cqs.com to get to the website, then click on the article Natural Cardiovascular Disease Therapy to read it, then click on Natural Statin Injury Therapy to read it. Another factor to be aware of is that lisinopril depletes the body of the essential mineral zinc, and a zinc deficiency can cause a host of other problems, including hair loss, skin disorders, loss of appetite, sleep and mood disturbances, joint pain, and even tinnitus. Zinc is also critically important for a healthy immune system. Many other blood pressure drugs such as HCTZ are also known to deplete the body of the essential mineral magnesium, and this can cause even more problems. For information on other drugs and the essential nutrients they deplete, just do a google search for 'drug induced nutrient depletion'.
Jonpop - I was on Lisinopril for 2 years, initially 5 mg then 10 mg. I have experienced the same serious off and on stomach symptoms such as severe upper abdomen pain radiating into the chest, distended stomach, tenderness, severe stomach gurgling, stomach pressure, pressure on my diaphragm that was pressing on my heart causing irregular heart beats. At first symptoms on 5 mg were 1 to 4 hours several times per month, then with the increase to 10 mg the symptoms worsened occurring more frequently and lasted 6 to 12 hours. Symptoms were more frequent at night and were more severe laying down preventing sleep, had to stand to get relief. After numerous tests upper GI, Lower GI, CT scans, air contrast enemas, barium drinks, doctors visits, General Internist, Cardiologist, Neurologists, Gastroenterologist, and ER visits I asked the Gastroenterologist could my medication have anything to do with this, told him I was on lisinopril and he was excited and surprised to hear this and told me I may have diagnosed my problem that in rare cases lisonpril causes symptoms exactly that i was experiencing he told me to stop taking it and see my cardiologist who put me on the lisinopril who I also complained to frequently about these symptoms. It has been 1 week off the lisinopril and so far so good.
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