i have high blood pressure and i am on 5 miligrams of norvasc___?

Question

these pills sometimes make me a little loopy and a few months ago,my gp wanted to raise the dose to 7 miligrams.i tried this and i felt as if i had taken lsd i was so woozy! I keep on telling the doctor that its the fear of a doctor that elevates my pressure and when i take the higher dose of norvasc it gets me so unnerved that i cannot take it and i want to stay on my regular 5 miligram doseage,and yet he s insisting that i do as he says.what should i do? to be honest with you,i take the 5 miligrams and the heck with what he says!

Answer 1

You have the most common complaint of every pt. Some doctors if not most have poor bedside manners. They think and act like God. Most of their knowledge is obtained from medical books esp the young ones. We, as nurses are more familiar and senstitive to individual idiosyncracies and drug reactions as we deal with the pt on a 24 /7 basis.


Who would be the best indicator of how you feel except you, ....the pt.? After all, it's your body. So you certainly have the right to make the final decision about your medical care and generally, your total health. From the way it sound, your GP doesn't sound like the right Dr for you. It might behoove you to choose another Dr who could gain your trust;(" fear of doctors elevates your bld pressure" ) as well as be sympathetic as to exactly how you feel. Doctors generally tend to overprescribe; as this is such a litiginous country. Besides, they are known to get kickbacks or perks from Pharmaceutical companies.


While some drugs work for certain people; others might experience more mild side effects such as dizziness, lightheadedness or sleepiness . or drowsiness. . The reason why he wanted to increase your dosage might be due to the fact that you remain hypertensive. Uncontrolled high blood pressure makes you a candidate or increases your risk for strokes and eventually heart diseases as well as heart failure.


The drug Norvasc (amlodipine),is a calcium- channel blocker. It's highly recommended from all recent materials I read. I'm also hypertensive and I'm on Lisonopril.

As much as I experience no side effects, my sister( she's also on Lisonopril and Zocor for her high cholesterol.) complains of lower back pains most likely from her kidneys. I used to be on Vasotec. I'm also on a diuretic. Studies prove that diuretics ( water pills) like Hydrochlorthiazide which is a potassium-sparing diuretic potentiates the action of the blood pressure meds. But to play safe, I'm also on potassium chloride (KCL) 20 MEQ.


You might have to experiment with many different classes of meds before hitting on one that doesn't trash you with side effects. or effectively control your blood pressure.


So now you're on Norvasc which is a calcium channel blocker. It's not only prescribed for hypertension but also for angina...


Are you on meds solely for HBP or do you also have other heart/health issues for which your doctor felt Norvasc would be appropriate?


My son-in- law went through exactly the same route. He felt like he was running out of options. Beta blockers caused him intolerable fatigue.

Diuretics might trash potassium and electolytes, causing profound weakness ...in spite of it being a potassium-sparing one, and in spite of extra potassium .supplements! In spite of a potassium rich diet!

ACE inhibitors gives him "the cough".and allergies.

Finally got onto one of the ARBs (angiotensin2 receptor blockers........ DIOVAN.

To date, he has experienced NO side effects.
Benicar is the newest entry in this class and also has a lot of fans.



The ARBs are relatively "new" in the hypertension marketplace but seem to have less side effects in general than many others.


However, everyone is so different, and one man's meat is another's poison, as they say....


Here's some info on BP meds by class: http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=HQ00900

You must remember though, that to control your blood pressure effectively, you must adhere to a low salt diet, actually, only 2Gms. and exercise. you must keep your weight under control.


The following foods are found to be good in controlling blood pressure; apricots, avocados, bananas, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, water chestnuts, figs, GARLIC, lemons, limes, watermelons. and mushrooms.

Answer 2

3 years ago, I was diagnosed - hypertension with a reading of 160/100. I used to feel dizzy a lot, my legs had awful cramps, and levels were very low in my potassium, causing my fingers and toes to always cramp together. One day I started to feel really faint while I was driving with my daughter in the back seat and I passed out, hitting 3 cars and ending up in a ditch. That moment,I knew I had to do something because my meds weren't working. I heard about this diet from a friend and thought I'd give it a shot. The results have been remarkable. In just 21 days, I honestly can't remember feeling this good, my blood pressure went from 175/110 to 125/70.

Answer 3

You need to get a home blood pressure cuff and keep a blood pressure log. You also need to get a new doctor. For him to ignore side effects and not change your medication is stupid. There are so many blood pressure medicines out there it's not funny. Surely he could find one that would work find.
Do your blood pressure log for a month on the 5 mg norvasc. Find a new doctor and take them the log. We expect people's blood pressure to go up in the doctor's office, but you will have more credibility if you go in with the log.

Answer 4

High blood pressure can itself cause impotence, as can amlodipine (Norvasc). I don't think either reduce sexual drive.

Answer 5

my mother was on BP meds for yrs and yrs, whenever they changed her dose, even a weensy bit, it threw her for a loop also..... but do it anyway, you will adjust to it in time.....