How to avoid the swellng due to amelodipin?

Question

Iahve been taking the amelodipin for the last few years but my feel swell some times till I stop the medicine for some time. Kindly let me know how to avoid the side effect.

Answer 1

this is a known side effect, you can firstly consider to switch to another medicine, try leg elevation, tight stockings, good luck

Answer 2

You could ask your doctor about Lasix to help with this. If you would prefer to switch from Amlodipine, there is another drug you could try. Here is a 2000 study done on Atacand:

NEW YORK, NY -- May 19, 2000 -- The angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) Atacand® (candesartan cilexetil) demonstrated similar efficacy in lowering blood pressure with significantly less swelling in patients' feet and ankles compared to the most prescribed antihypertensive medication, the calcium channel blocker Norvasc® (amlodipine, Pfizer), according to findings from the CASTLE (Candesartan Amlodipine Study of TolerabiLity and Efficacy) Study. Investigators presented their research during the Fifteenth Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.

In the eight-week, double-blind, parallel study, 251 adult patients (45 percent female, 16 percent black) with mild hypertension (90 to 99 mmHg diastolic blood pressure) were randomized to receive either once-daily candesartan cilexetil 16 mg, or amlodipine 5 mg. At the end of four weeks, the dosages of both drugs were doubled. The primary efficacy endpoint was reduction in diastolic blood pressure at the drugs' lowest blood levels for the day (24 hours +/- three hours). At the end of eight weeks, comparable (p>0.05) blood pressure control was seen with the two drugs, with candesartan and amlodipine lowering blood pressure by a mean 15.2/10.2 mmHg and 15.4/11.3 mmHg, respectively. Overall, blood pressure was controlled in 79 percent of the candesartan patients and 87 percent of the amlodipine patients.

In CASTLE, 3.3 percent of the candesartan patients discontinued participation versus 9.4 percent of the amlodipine patients. Peripheral edema, the primary pre-specified tolerability endpoint (fluid accumulation marked by skin staying pitted if gently pressed for five seconds) was significantly more common (p<0.005) in the amlodipine patients (22.1 percent) versus the candesartan patients (8.9 percent), with more patients rated moderate or severe with the former drug than the latter.

"Studies like this are useful for the practicing doctor because they highlight what a doctor should expect to see when using a drug," said Myron H. Weinberger, M.D., professor of medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine and a CASTLE Study investigator. "If our patients can achieve effective blood pressure control with a lower incidence of side effects such as the foot and ankle swelling observed in this study with amlodipine, it's important for us to know," continued Dr. Weinberger.