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As someone who's probably looking at high blood pressure medications in the near future, how well do these really work at lowering blood pressure? Does it take a while before any results are seen?
As someone who's probably looking at high blood pressure medications in the near future, how well do these really work at lowering blood pressure? Does it take a while before any results are seen?
I got a prescription for my 60th birthday. I knew it had been creeping up for awhile. Doc put me on Lisinopril, one of the more common ACE inhibitor class of BP meds. It worked just fine but some people develop a nasty side effect - a persistent dry cough. It happened to me and so she switched me to Valsartan, another very common drug. I have had no side effects and my BP has been controlled very well. The results were pretty much immediate, but I will say that I had a tiny bit of dizziness when I first started them that went away pretty quickly.
Be sure to read up on possible side effects and discuss with your doctor if you are having any. A coworker had that dry hacking cough, which was really annoying in an open cube area, and I went and asked her if she was on BP meds and she said yes. I told her to check with her doctor and sure enough when they switched her meds the coughing stopped. The doctors don’t always tell you all the possible side effects because not everyone gets them but you should be aware of them.
As someone who's probably looking at high blood pressure medications in the near future, how well do these really work at lowering blood pressure? Does it take a while before any results are seen?
Lisinopril works very well for me...no side effects that I notice.
I use Lisinopril and Metaprolol (that's for the cardiac thing). I saw almost immediate change. I was on blood pressure meds several years prior to my cardiac adventure (which was caused by a totally blocked coronary artery).
Now I will tell you that you're going to have people pop on here shortly who will tell you that high blood pressure is a conspiracy and you're being conned by Big Pharma. They'll also tell you that you will get the same results by doing bee pollen enemas and using poultices of rat **** and acorns.
Lisonopril also made me cough, plenty of other medications can replace it, if you get any side effects. I think the meds will bring the bp down, fairly fast, within a day.
I got a prescription for my 60th birthday. I knew it had been creeping up for awhile. Doc put me on Lisinopril, one of the more common ACE inhibitor class of BP meds. It worked just fine but some people develop a nasty side effect - a persistent dry cough. It happened to me and so she switched me to Valsartan, another very common drug. I have had no side effects and my BP has been controlled very well. The results were pretty much immediate, but I will say that I had a tiny bit of dizziness when I first started them that went away pretty quickly.
Be sure to read up on possible side effects and discuss with your doctor if you are having any. A coworker had that dry hacking cough, which was really annoying in an open cube area, and I went and asked her if she was on BP meds and she said yes. I told her to check with her doctor and sure enough when they switched her meds the coughing stopped. The doctors don’t always tell you all the possible side effects because not everyone gets them but you should be aware of them.
good advise. I think I know which one it was cause what i am on has the cough side effect. I have been lucky, no problems but I am also on a low dosage. Of course it goes without saying, make sure you also watch your salt intake. I watch it very carefully. Every grain that goes in my mouth I watch and that is a lot.
There is a **Valsartan recall**
contact your physician....
see thread re Valsartan recall.
A temporary recall that doesn't affect every valsartan-containing drug, or even valsartan from every manufacturer. Still, there are alternative drugs in the same class (ARB's or angiotensin II receptor blockers) as valsartan, such as losartin, which is what I take for blood pressure. There are other drugs as well, and in your shoes I'd probably ask the doctor for an alternative if he/she prescribed valsartan right now just so you don't get mired up in that current recall mess-you might not but who knows?. I take 100 mg losartan daily (there are lower doses of this drug as well), it does pretty well to control my blood pressure and I don't notice any side effects. Some drugs will give you side effects (listed in the package insert, as well as all over the internet sites about these drugs), but most often these go away after the first few weeks with continued use.
If your doctor thinks you need medication to control blood pressure, the first blood pressure medication prescribed may be a diuretic (such as hydrochlorothiazide, or HCTZ), often this is used in combination with other drugs to control blood pressure.
The blood-pressure lowering effects of different medications varies with each patient, sometimes you'll see a difference in a few days, sometimes it takes the addition of a second (or more) drugs and/or adjustment of doses to see a blood pressure lowering effect, it really is individual with each patient. Your doctor will have you monitor your blood pressure at home, once you 've started the drugs, and you'll report those readings to the doc. You will likely return to the office to have your pressures checked there (at least this is what they used to do), and your medications will be adjusted if necessary based on those readings, as well as you tolerance to the prescribed medications.
Your doc will (or perhaps he/she already has) discussed with you healthy life style measures (such as diet, exercise, enough rest, etc) to help lower your blood pressure. These are essential even when taking blood pressure medication, and with any luck at all it's possible to lower the amount of medication you need to keep those numbers in the acceptable ranges-something to work towards, anyway.
Also just wanted to mention that there are quite a few inexpensive generic blood pressure medications out there that work effectively to reduce blood pressure, so you don't have to spend a fortune on them even if you don't have prescription drug insurance coverage. Some of the grocery stores around here (in our neck of the woods its the Publix and Winn Dixie) offer Lisinopril prescriptions for free, and a number of the other generic blood pressure meds are covered in the range of $4 per month or $10 for a 90 day supply at places like Walmart, that's with no insurance.
Lisonopril also made me cough, plenty of other medications can replace it, if you get any side effects. I think the meds will bring the bp down, fairly fast, within a day.
I know a lot of people who are on or were on Lisonopril that have had problems. I do not.
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