Thursday saw the delivery of a new Novartis drug: Tekturna (aliskiren). None of us had any idea what it was for, so we looked it up on Facts and Comparisons, and there was next to no information whatsoever, except that it is a “direct renin inhibitor” — whatever that meant.
Now that I’m home on a non-firewalled Internet connection, I can actually get real drug information. (How sad is it that I can’t do this at the pharmacy?) Aliskiren:
Aliskiren is a direct renin inhibitor, decreasing plasma renin activity (PRA) and inhibiting the conversion of angiotensinogen to Ang I. Whether aliskiren affects other RAAS components, e.g., ACE or non-ACE pathways, is not known
I’m sure you could play games targeting specific points and pathways in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system until the cows come home, but how many of them will be meaningful? Medscape has an article comparing, contrasting, and using Diovan and Tekturna in parallel:
Do we need Tekturna? Would not an ARB plus a diuretic do a better job? There are benefits to combining an ACEi with an ARB, that are fairly well understood. Is Tekturna going to create some sort of super trifecta?
I’m thinking not. Combining an ACEi with an ARB does a couple of things. First off, ACE inhibitors only stop the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. Blocking the pathway there does nothing to stop any non-specific binding to the angiotensin II receptor sites. ARBs block much of this non-specific binding because the receptor sites themselves are blocked. However ACEis also block the breakdown of bradkinin (which is broken down by ACE) which leads to greater vasodilation, which is why ACEis and ARBs are usually similar is study results. Bradykinins, of course, are a double-edged sword: they may contribute to vasodilation, but they are also responsible for the dry cough and angioedema associated with ACEis.
I don’t see how aliskiren is going to add to this. Is there component to the RAAS that I’m not thinking of? Is it not better to attack a problem from many different angles instead of hitting the same pathway three different ways?
Good luck Maddy!! I hope the cozaar 100 will work for you!!! I just took my first Tekturna 150HCT and am waiting to see what will happen. I’m not hopeful since nothing else has helped. My question next is—then what???????
HI, I have been on tekturna for 1 1/2 years now ( reduced recently to 150) and it took about 8-10 days before I saw results. No side effects.
Debbie, Im SO glad it worked for you!!!! I didnt have any side effects either, which was wonderful, just didnt bring my bp down.
Judy,
Everyone is different! I bet the tekturna works for you! If this doesnt work, I may have to try two meds, instead of one. But, we have to get our bp under control:)
My doctor just gave me Tekurna today since my hair was severely falling out
by being on Diovan 320mg and Minipress. I must say that after reading all
these posts I am now scared to death to continue taking Tekurna. I, like some
of you, have great sensitivity to meds. On occasion I take a Zanax as I am under a lot of stress (my son on drugs and so on) and I noticed that my BP drops to
a normal reading. Does anyone know if anxiety pills can be taken in place of
BP meds. I am a nervous person by nature so perhaps that is all that I need.
Any thoughts anyone. I am going to ask my dr about this. Also since Tekurna
works directly on one’s kidneys…..can it do damage to kidneys?
Yes, in which case long term BP maintenance should be done with psych meds (or psych meds + light BP meds). Hormones, too, can have a huge effect on BP. (That means birth control pills, too, not just normal hormonal fluctuations.)
Too early to say, yet, but the long-term data for the ACEis and ARBs (that I mentioned in the blog entry on this post) haven’t had any clinically-significant long term renal consequences.
Angie,
Try the tekturna, its ONE medicine that I had NO side effects on, in fact the 4 weeks I took it, I felt great, but did nothing for my bp.
Thanks to Maddy and RJS for your response. I will continue to take it and
hopefully I will see some results. One problem is that I have a BP monitor at
home. When i take my readings at home they are pretty good and of no concern. When I go to the Dr’s office it is ALWAYS high. I have to question the
possibility that my anxiety of being in the DR’s office is what is causing my reading to be so high, or perhaps my monitor (handcuff one) is not correctly
reading my BP. Next time I go to the Dr. I am going to take mine and see how
different the reading is. It would be great if taking Zanax would be helpful as
you RJS mentioned. In any case, I just took another Tekturna pill and so far no
side effects. Thanks for “calming” me down. have a great day!
Angie,
I have a digital moniter, I took mine to my doctor with me to check, but mines always high on either one, lol
However, I do take xanax as needed, so when it gets really high, I take one and yes it does help a little.
And dont be like me, when mine goes high, it scares me, so I take it like every 30 minutes, and my anxiety is horrible, which makes it go that much higher.
Thanks again Maddy. It is such a comfort to have someone to talk to. It reliefs being so frightful and panicked all the time.
My next concern is taking Bactrim DS 800-160 for an ear and sinus infection. I looked it up on the internet because as you know
most dr’s never have the time or bother to inform you well of these meds. The side effects reported are truly scary…..people ending up in the ER and so on. i want to be informed but I must
admit I psych myself out so that I am a nervous wreck. I am going to start by breaking the pill in half to see how I react
to it. Wish me luck!! And thanks again. If anyone has taken
this medication before can you post a comment.
Angie:
Bactrim has been on the market for years!! It’s a sulpha based drug used for infections. It is not an antibiotic. I would NOT worry about taking it!! I’ve taken it many times for different infections over the years and I had no problems whatsoever so I don’t know where you are reading about the side effects. The only thing that may happen is you’ll get a yeast infection! Which is nothing. You have to also remember people sometimes mix drugs without thinking. Perhaps that is why people have ended up in the ER. But keep taking it full strength or else your sinus/ear infection will never go away. It will keep coming back and sinus infections are not cured by antibiotics, but by taking a drug such as Bactrim.
Thanks so much Chloe….I so appreciate your feedback and now feel more
comfortable taking it full strength. I also have to keep in mind that even though it seems like a lot of people’s negative reactions to any drug, it is probably a small percentage in ratio to the thousands of people who don’t. Anyway, I feel so much better now. thanks again.
Angie: If I remember correctly, it is a sulpha drug and there are people that are allergic to sulpha.
Chloe: You are right,. I see now that the people posting on Bactrim that scared me with what I thought were normal side effects were instead people who were
allergic to “sulpha” . thanks for bringing this information to my attention.
I am going to take my first pill now and hopefully will not have any negative
reaction to it. thanks again.
Angie I sure am glad someone brought up the sulfa allergy.
I am alergic to sulfa and came hereto ask you if you can take sufa.
I’m glad someone got a message to you before I got here.
Drs in this area write Rx “take as directed.” I don’t know what their problem is. Fortuantely the pharmacy I use has caught 3 BP meds that either contain something I’m allergic to or that would cause an interaction with another drug I’m taking in the last 6 mo. This is ridiculous. I also go to Drug.com and there you can check for an interaction between drugs you are taking if your pharmacy doesn’t help you.
Best wishes. Sue
Maddie—I feel as if we must be clones:) I, too, take my blood pressure repeatedly when it’s high…and that certainly doesn’t bring it down:( I’ve been on so many different medications with so many different, horrible side effects that I can’t stand it anymore. I’ve now taken my second Tekturna HCT and so far, no positive results:(
Bactrim most certainly IS an antibiotic.
You’re not allergic to sulfur, you are allergic to sulfa, which is shorthand for the sulfonamide moiety, which is found in sulfa-based antibiotics. Don’t worry if there is sulFUR in a particular medication you take, because that it not what you are allergic to.
There are many drugs that also have a sulfonamide group in them, but patients who cannot take Bactrim CAN take these drugs (e.g. furosemide). There is a low rate of cross-sensitivity between the two. It’s good to know and keep a look out for problems, but these other drugs are not absolutely off-limits on pain of death or what have you.
Re:Oct 24 @3:59 pm………..RJS…….Unsure if your comment was to me about a sulfa allergy or why my comment is highlighted above your comment. I didn’t mention sulFER.
I am allergic to Sulfa drugs. I cannot take drugs containing
sulfonamides. Included in these drugs are most diauretice, oral diabetes meds, and some BP meds…..other’s I’m sure. Just have to be careful with meds.
thanks everyone who has posted comments in reference to Bactrim. I went to drug.com and read carefully the drug interaction section. So far after taking
just 1 pill I have not felt any side effects at all. Took my second pill of Tekturna
and I feel OK too. Took my BP a bit ago and it was 127/79 so i am pleased about that.
I appreciate everyones comments as they have been totally educational. I do
agree and know for a fact that pharmacists are great at “eyeing” the dangers of
medication interactions. I guess that is why it is so important to fill all our
prescriptions at only 1 pharmacy.
This is the first time I am taking both medications so hopefully I will be OK
with both. Thanks again.
Bactrim is not like tetrocylin (sp?) or cipro. It’s a different form of an antibiotic and it is also used for different purposes than a more familiar antibiotic. It works differently than the more familiar antibiotics. I used to take Bactrim when I had either a UTI or a sinus infection. And as we all know – antibiotics are never prescribed for just a common cold because it is a different virus than a sinus infection; I can’t remember though the difference on why Bactrim was better for the UTI and sinus infections rather than a more familiar antibiotic.
I’m also fighting hypertension and tried Tekturna with no success at lowering my BP. I did not have side effects. Now I take benazapril, amlodipine, and clonidine before bed (because the BP always seemed higher at night and first thing in the morning). It seems to be doing better with this regimen. Some of you may try this too and get better results. Clonidine works great but will make you sleepy or dizzy if you take it during the day.
I enjoy reading your posts!
Patty
Patty,
I too take clonidine and it does work well on my BP. ( I also take 150 tekturna) I typically spike late afternoon. The clonidine pills made me sleepy at 1st until I adjusted. So they put me on the clonidine patch and gave me the pills as a backup. Now, I only take a pill if I spike and my BP won’t drop with my breathing relaxation techniques. The .2 patch doesn’t make me sleepy. However if I add a pill I do get sleepy but oddly – only sometimes. I do get very dry mouth and very fuzzy thinking however on more than .2 which I dislike.
Also someone mentioned different BP readings at home / doctor’s office. I have an arm and a wrist BP machine. ( work and home) The arm one is very accurate and I did take it in to the doctors to check it against theirs. My wrist one always has a lower reading when I compare the two. So I know to ‘add’ 15-20 points’ to my wrist one now. I am not sure why it is not accurate. They are both OMRONs which the doctor suggested. I also learned not to take my BP.. I used to worry and obsess over my BP making it higher of course. Now, I take it once a day ( afternoon/early eve) at the same time or if I feel odd.
I just took my fifth Tekturna HCT and it’s definitely lowering my BP—which is great! However, I have a bunch of side effects: slight headache, stomach ache, inability to sleep–at least partly caused because I have to urinate all the time so because I’m not sleeping, I’m tired all the time, I have a cough, leaky nose…..I’m sure there are other things. My question is: how much of this do I put up with to keep my BP somewhat lower? Also, what can be done about the fact that probably ALL BP lowering medications cause people to be tired? I can’t imagine being like this forever…I’m an active person and when I go out for a run now, it’s an effort.
Judy
Im glad it has started working for you. Im supposing most of the side effects will go away. Im on my 8th day of cozaar and it has worked very little. Im taking 100mg a day and my pressure is still 160/80, sometimes higher.
Anyone with any suggestions would help? I might could back to the Benicar hczt, it worked , but my pressure was always around 75/60 so I had NO energy at all….
Maddy
Hey All , I hope everyone is doing better!! My doctor has increased my cozaar to 200miligrams a day starting tomorrow. Ive been taking the 100miligrams for 15 days, and my bp is still around 160/88 up and down. by the way, it sucks when you have no insurance these meds are expensive!!!
took diovan, nothing
changed doctors, he started me on benicar , took about a week for it to take effect, but kept my bp perfect for two years. then it started back up again.
put me on benicar hct, it dropped pressure fast, and way to low. so low i was having muscle tremors.
stopped that , and gave me nothing. went 5 weeks with perfect pressure then shot up to 190/110.
started me on Tekturna 150, took 10 days, felt great!!! did nada for pressure.
put me on tekturna hct. swore to me it didnt work the same way the benicar hct did. took it 10 days, worked exactly like the benicar hct, bad headaches, when i stood up, felt faint, but bp was still high
on cozaar now, started at 50, nada, raised it to 100 mil. been on the 100 20 days, little change in pressure.
tomorrow i start cozaar 100 in the morning 100 in afternoon.
damn I feel like a failure!!! doc says its a hereditary thing, runs in my family, which is true. being 59 isnt much fun when you sit around worried how high your dang blood pressure is.
anyone else tried cozaar?
Where is everybody? No comments here for a REALLY long time!!!! What’s going on?
Judy,
I saw that, I checked the other day. Im now on Sular a calcium channel blocker.
Im not sure what it’s going to do. How are you doin with your tekturna??
Has it helped?
Maddy
Hi Maddy–
I’m so glad you answered!! I’m doing okay on the Tekturna HCT but I definitely have many side effects. I’m willing to put up with them for now because my pressure is under control but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to continue. Actually, my pressure is so low at times that I have trouble standing up, etc. And I don’t know if you remember, but I’m a very active person—I run, do Pilates, golf, etc. I have to literally talk myself through exercise now because I’m exhausted all the time…but I know the exercise makes me feel better…. I’ve never taken either a beta blocker or a calcium channel blocker. How are the side effects of those for you?
Hi Everyone, I am on Tekturna and I was really doing well in the beginning. I got off Diovan and Minipress because my hair was falling off like crazy. Now that I have been on Tekturna for almost two months my BP is up again……that would be the upper number. It is between 145-150. I stopped taking my BP reading because I get so nervous and concerned that it just soars higher. I am taking a low dosage of Xanax at night to help me sleep. I know it is foolish not to take
my BP reading but I am hoping that with exercise and eating well I can lower it
on my own. Now I have ear problems with horrible headaches. I thought it was a sinus infection as my whole face aches. I went to a ENT the other day and he
told me that I have TMJ. Has anyone been diagnosed with TMJ???
I had tried so many BP meds and I either had a bad reaction to them or the drugs didn’t help at all.
I have been on Tekturna 300mg for several months along with a
calcium channel blocker. I do feel a bit tired, but that’s a lot better than having a stroke from hbp. Saw my doctor yesterday and my bp was 110/60. I don’t seem to have any other side effects than being a little bit tired. Seems like Tekturna is working well for me. If you are just starting on it, unless you have a bad reaction, I suggest you give it a little time.
I’m not a doctor though….just my opinion.
Hello All
Judy, if the medicine is doing that to you, you can do several things. When you get up, get up slowly and wait a few seconds before you start walking. Also, I dont remember how long you have been on it, but if it’s been over 4 weeks and its still doing this talk to your doctor. He may can lower the dose.
I took benicar hct, and tekturna hct, had the same reaction, only after a few days everytime I stood up, felt like my head was going to explode,, and my bp would soar really high.
So far the beta blocker and calcium channel blocker is working. my pressure today was 125/75. I can live with that, since before it was 184/84.
Angie, it has always been my Upper number that was really high to. Keep your doctor informed. My doctor kept telling me, we have to twick your meds to right ones. I thought I would go crazy till I started this one. This was my 9th bp try. But you have to let your doctor know, leave him a message , if you can’t go in for a visit. They almost always return calls.
Maddy
Thanks Maddy. I was doing some HBP research and I read that Tekturna does
really well when taken with Diovan so I probably need another BP medication to
lower the upper number. I will call my doctor tomorrow and make an appt so
she can evaluate my readings and decide what we should try next. It seems like an ongoing problem. My brother also has HBP , sees the same doctor and has
great readings all the time. But he is not a nervous person like me. I really think that does not help me being so emotionally weak and stressed out all the time.
Nonetheless, thanks so much for your thoughts. Did I understand correctly that you take Benicar with Tekturna? I took Benicar when I lived in LA but I don’t remember why we changed……probably because of my high readings. anway, glad to hear that you are doing better now. Angie
Angie
The medicine I ever took was Benicar, did great for me for almost 3 yrs. Then my systolic began to rise. So doctor changed me to Benicar Hct. I took it 6 months, but my total bp pressure was so low all the time i couldn’t funtion at all. My pressure ran around 74/60 way to low. Plus i was losing way to many electrolites constantly. Im very thin person anyway, and didn’t need to lose anything.
Then came the constant trying of different medications. Tekturna 150mg , took it for 4 weeks, felt great but did nada for my bp. So he gave me Tekturna Hct, blood pressure UP then way Down, Then UP, the down.
Next was cozzar, same thing felt great did nothing for my bp.
Next was diovan 150 took it for 4 weeks, bp never changed.
so Now, im on Sular 8.5 blood pressure yesterday was 125/75 which I can live with. Hope it continues to work.
All these medications have side effects, EVERY single one. Some are slight, some are not so slight, some are down right untolerable. Some go away after a week or two, some get worse.
Im like you Angie, always been hyper type A anxious person. I take my bp once a day, sometimes in the morning , sometimes evening. I know I should be taking it twice a day, but If I start, I will be taking it every 30 seconds all day long. It becomes an obsession for me.
So, its just easier this way. And if my pressure is up when I take it the first time, my anxiety goes through the roof. So, I understand what your saying. By the way, I come from a LONG line of family members with High Bp.
Maddy
Thanks Maddy for responding to my posting. Wow, you certainly have been on
a medication roller coaster. But as someone said meds work differently on each of us so I guess we have to keep trying different ones that will do the job. However it is interesting how a medication could work for a while and then we
are back to dealing with high readings. Yesterday I finally decided to take my BP reading. It was 145/77. I decided to take half a Xanax, waited 15 min and then
took it again. This time it read 120/75. I still think that my daily anxiety has
a lot to do with it. I have a very active “mind” that is constanly worrying about
things and and my troubled family. I never had High BP until my husband passed away and I had to raise my two sons on my own. I am trying not to
worry about the things that I cannot change but that is a challenge in itself.
Thanks so much for taking the time to “chat” with me. I will check in again
after I see my doctor at the end of the week. Have a good and peaceful day.
When I first began taking Tekturna I thought it was a miracle drug because it was the first BP medication that actually lowered my BP. Unfortunately, it only worked for a relatively short while. So, then my doctor put me on Tekturna 150/HCT12.5. At the moment that’s working but I’m expecting that it too will eventually lose it’s effectiveness. I’m very active and this drug exhausts me which is not good. I have to talk myself through every run and exercise session because I’m so exhausted. Plus, I often am extremely light-headed most afternoons. When I go play golf, for instance, I can’t even bend over to take my ball out of the whole when I’m lucky enough to get it in:( I also have abdominal pains, weird taste sensations, headaches, etc. I eat healthy foods all the time, always have. I exercise every day, always have. I don’t want to change medications yet because I like when I take my BP and it’s not too bad….plus, I know what the side effects of this drug are and I’m not interested in finding out what the side effects of something else might be. I take my BP EVERYDAY and would probably take it more often but my husband already thinks I’m obsessive about this so I try not to be too nuts….I sure wish there was a simple answer….
Well, I’ve been taking the new Sular timed release med for two weeks, didnt have a problem till Monday. Woke up thought I had the flu, every muscule in my body was hurting, headache from hell. So, I continued taking it till today, was worse yesterday.
Today, the symptoms of muscular pain are subsiding. Also, this medicine has constipated the hell out of me. So, the last three days Ive had to take a laxative.
Calling my Doctor tomorrow, see what we can do. Anyone know anything about this new form of Sular? It was just released in January 2008.
I can’t take any drugs with HCT in them because I have horrible side effects.
Any suggestions would be wonderful, bout at the end of my rope here:( Maddy
Personally, I think we are all guinia pigs for all these new meds. Iv’e started turning in my symptoms to FDA watch. People do all these reviews on WebMed etc, and never get answers.
So, maybe if we turn all the side effects not listed on the meds, FDA will listen?
Maddy
Hi Maddy,
so sorry to hear of your painful side effects you are enduring. You may be like
me…..I just don’t tolerate meds very well. And being a small person I think
sometimes the dosages are too strong for me. I, too, have had excruciating muscle pain from high BP meds so I know how awful it is. Please keep us posted after you speak to your doctor. Hope you continue to feel better. take care.
I so totally agree with Maddy!! Any drug that’s only been on the “market” for 2-3 years or less is STILL in the experimental stage regardless of any FDA approval. When my doctor put me on Tekturna, my druggist told me that that drug was STILL in the trial stage and there were so many side effects that it should not have even been approved in the first place. I will NOT take a drug regardless how much it is touted as a “wonder drug” or perfect for this or that until I do research on it.
This Sular drug sounds terrible. And I bet it isn’t cheap either!!! I have to start a new diabetes med, Januvia, and I’m kicking and screaming that I have to start taking it because of the side effects, but I told my doctor I’ll give it a try and we’ll see what happens. Any side effects that interupts my life, ie respiratory problems, muscle aches – forget it! It’s not going into my body. I’ll stick to the tried and true meds I’m taking now.
dottie
my husband is type 2 diabetic. He was diagnosed 6 yrs ago. The first line drugs for diabetes have sulfa in them. We didn’t know that and the doctor didn’t tell us that. He is very allergic to sulfa drugs. So he had major reaction..
They put him on a drug called Starlx, brand new. No Sulfa in it at all. He did very well, but didn’t do what the doctor told him, change his diet , exercise. He would try a couple of weeks then go back eating and not exercising.
Last year, he blood sugar was really high, so the doctor added a med to the starlix.
That’s when he decided he needed to do something! So, he checked into nutrisystem advanced for diabetics. He has been on the nutrisystem a year, and he has lost 50pds, he exercises everyday, and his blood sugars run about 85. He is down to One pill a day.
Im very proud of him and he is proud of himself. But, if he gets off the nutrisystem, which I’m sure he will in time,, we now know what he can eat, and what to not eat. I wish you luck on your new medicine to.
I have a doctors appt tomorrow, will check in when I get back.
Maddy
Good luck tomorrow Maddie!!! I sure hope the doctor is able to find something you can tolerate.
Has anyone else noticed that many of us who are having so much trouble finding a drug to control our BP are very similar in body type, activity level, etc.? I definitely think this is something that needs further exploring.
Maddy: I saw my endo doctor a couple of weeks ago and she did rag at me about working out more and losing weight. She said no drug is going to help me more than diet and exercise. I do watch what I eat except for the last 2 days at work here with all the junk food. Today one of our vendors sent over ice cream bars for everyone – Dove Bars, Reese’s bar, Ben & Jerry’s Bar – you get the picture? Well I had 2 little bites of a B&J’s and I could feel my GL’s go up!! One of the other gals here is Type II and on the needle. She couldn’t help herself and had a DOve bar! All she did was adjust her insulin and she was fine, whereas I take pills and couldn’t do that. But I so seldom eat badly anymore. I’m just trying to motivate myself to get back to the gym. I KNOW without a doubt that will make me feel better and lower by BP AND GL’s….but as we know, it’s easier said than done!!
Forgot to add. I too am on BP meds – four of them to be exact. I lost a kidney last year (thanks Tobacco Companies for contibuting to that loss!!) so I have to control my BP religiously. I’m not doing too bad but I also have to be careful because some meds are not good for your kidneys. Even though my one works perfectly, that is my ONLY one so I can’t be messing around too much. I know, again, if I worked out again like I use to – my guess is I can get rid of at least 2 of those meds, maybe even at least one.
Sorry, I’m back again because I just noticed something. The time that our posts are posted, is weird. THe last two I posted, it says “6:29pm” and “6:33pm” respectively. I live in the Pacific time zone in that wonderful snowbound ski resort called Las Vegas where it is now only 2:36pm!! Where, other than in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, could it be after 6:30 in the evening??? Eastern time would only be 5:36pm, Central 4:36pm, mountain 3:36pm. I don’t get it!
Thanks Dottie in regards to the information of BP drugs not being good on ones
kidneys. that is my huge concern taking Tekturna as it works directly in the
kidneys. Since it is relatively a new drug that also concerns me. Has anyone
taking Tekturna been diagnosed with kidney concerns? Should we be having an
urine test while taking this med? Does anyone have feedback? If so, I would
appreciate it. I have noticed a big difference in urine color.
Dottie
Don’t beat yourself up for having an occasional bite of ice cream or chocalate.
Myhusband has horrible knees,, so he just does the treadmill everyday. He is now walking up to 4 miles and day, and his knee’s are actually feeling better.
Doctor said just plain walking is the best exercise you can give yourself…. Maddy
Judy,
Yes, Iv’e noticed that myself, something else Iv’e noticed checking places like WebMD for reviews of bp meds.
Most men do well on all bp meds, women seem to be the ones having the problems with all Bp Meds…
Hey RJS have any suggestions????
Maddy
Angie: When I took Tekturna for those 4 days, I swear I hard pee’d at all!!! I would literally go all day without going and I drink a LOT of water all day long. I also had awful headaches, headaches that I was getting prior to ending up in the ER with a HUGE kidney infection (and subsequently them finding the tumor on my kidney). One of my BP meds I take now is Lisiniprol which is kind to your kidneys. I also take Clonidine, Norvasc and Avalpro. All these drugs STILL don’t get my BP down to what is good which is around 130/80 for having one kidney. I have these very high spikes when I get home at night around 6:00. A couple of times the numbers scared me ie 170/100!! But then a little lwhile later, it would go down to 150/80. I sometimes think it’s my monitor even though I replaced the batteries a couple of weeks ago. My doctors and I cannot figure out why that happens since I take enough damn stuff during the day (I divide everything up all day long with Clonidine being the last since it will put you to sleep standing up). I’m not stressed driving home. I have recently been layed off from my job (I have until the end of January to find another one) but I’m not THAT stressed about it. I just don’t know. Again, though, I keep telling myselfl “get thee to the gym” and see what happens. I KNOW it’ll work because during the summer I was going 4X a week and doing moderate cardio and after 4 weeks of this, ALL my numbers went down – BP, GL’s and even my fat belly!! So that right there is proof positive!!
Dotti, Thanks for all your feedback. Wow between all of us struggling with BP readings and side effects it sure can make one feel helpless and frustrated.
In reference to your high BP readings, they are low compared to mine. I knew
something was wrong as I felt my whole body feel “out of control”. I took my reading and I was so scared as it read 190/99 …….I totally freaked out! I then
took a whole pill of Xanax, waited and then took it again about 1/2 later….it
then read 130/79. Huge difference. Now shamelessly, I rarely take my BP reading. I get so stressed out that it is not worth it. I take it maybe once a week. I, too, though am with constant headaches. Yesterday was not a good day….thought my head was going to explode. I do have an appt next week so
we will see what my doctor suggests. I, too, know that when I was more diligent about walking and eating better my BP reading were better. It is just
too cold these days to be walking……in the 20 to 30″s. Lastly, so sorry that you got layed off. I hope that changes for you soon.
Angie: The headaches may not be from your BP. One of the only symptoms I had before I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes was headaches. That is THE only thing and I was lucky because when I was first diagnosed, my total 2-hr fasting number was only 185, which is very low so I didn’t have it for a long time. I would get headaches in the middle of the night and sometimes wake up with one. Even now, I get that headache in the middle of thenight because my glucose levels go up in the middle of the night, which is normal (and I’ve had a slight headache off and on today thanks to that damn popcorn we’ve been munching all day so I know my GL’s have been too high). That’s just another thing to check off the list – diabetes – when you go to the doctor. I have to test my BP every day becuase of my kidney. I have to monitor it pretty closely.