Bad Side Effects Of Hctz After 8 Years...
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Hello! I started HCTZ around 02/98, didn't notice any problems until about 4-5 years ago when I could not longer stand at my stove for even 5 minutes to cook a meal, felt like my calves were going to burst because they were so tight. I have always drank plenty of water since my early 20's (I'm now 53), was never informed my sodium and potassium were to be monitored closely while on this drug, and never warned about staying out of the sun for any length of time. After being denied to stop taking this drug by my physician, I stopped it in 08/16 and couldn't believe what pain I was actually in while on that dreadful medication.

As it stands, the past 4 years proved NOT to be helpful with BP as it was always stroke level for years (160-180 over 105-118 consistently) and as a result I am now blind in my left eye. My doctor knows all this info, as she was the one who urged me to go to the ER last 07/2016 and said over and over she knows it's my BP causing my blindness. I have been researching for months on the hazards of HBP and why my doctor would let this go knowing full well what my consequences would be.

I'm at a loss as to why Atenolol is my perfect drug now (my physician told me several times there's nothing else for me to take and to keep taking HCTZ), my BP has never been 112/80 in years and it has never spiked to what HCTZ kept it at for years. And just as an honorable mention, I never got one reading for my sodium or potassium in those 8 years and am wondering what the adverse effects of that are, as I was literally eating banana cream pie and those original sundae cones with choc on top and nuts and I'm not a sweet eater, but then it hit me after all my research that those 2 items were to be monitored closely so I'm sure it was a depletion of those 2 things. My question for all of you who have a chance to read this is....have you dealt with the nearly debilitating issues such as I in regards to taking HCTZ and if so was there any resolution for you? I'm devastated that a medicine can actually have the opposite effect on your body if taken too long (maybe). I'm just glad to be off it and know there actually IS another drug I can take to tame this all-too-common problem! TY!

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11

good luck finding a doctor...... they just want patients that want question them...... i'm having the same problem...........

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10

Anil, I worked for and with doctors for 51+ years as a medical trascriptionist and very, very few actually listen. Most of them do not respect a patient's knowledge or ability to do research, they just want a patient to follow orders despite all the articles telling patients they must be proactive regarding their own health care. The one primary care physician I had who worked with me and listened to me has, unfortunately, retired. My pulmonologist/critical care physician is terrific, works with me and listens to me, but he can't be my primary as he's a specialist. I'm still trying to find a PCP and out of three that I had high hopes for after having read their philosophy of care, one just pushed prescription meds and didn't even bother to do any testing - just assumed that because of my age and family history that I needed statins, antihypertensives, and Metformin. The second one (this one holistic) immediately insisted I take a combination of supplements for the leg pain and as preventives against the common illnesses of old age, telling me that over-the-counter meds were extremely dangerous and, when I refused, told me she couldn't do anything for me. The third (this one a D.O.) focused on my weight (there's weight gain from Spiriva - if you're interested there's a forum here about that) and kept telling me that that's why my legs hurt, I was overweight, and also wanted to put me on the medications that so many 75-year-old people are on despite the fact that my cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar are all within normal range ( my pulmonologist, in his critical care capacity, has those tests performed). Believe me, if you're knowledgeable and proactive, it's very difficult to find a doctor who won't resent you. I'm still looking!

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9

Judith, it's really a serious matter that your Dr is not listening you and showing attitude. Firstly you should go another Dr who may discuss with your problems and try to resolve it. Today's the Doctors r lossing their respect everywhere in the world. Less they know more attitude they show. Hope a good physician will solve your proble. Don't hesitate to discuss why u feel that certain medicines would be beneficial for u. God bless u

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8

Dear suzie, u should not avoid essential hypertension as it may cause lots of damage. Any HBP medicine is prescribed by evaluating a number of body parameters. For example if u r young and pulse rates are high like 80 to 90 pulses per minute, beta 1 receptor blockers will be the drug of choice and say if your pulse rate is slow, say 60-70, telmisartan would be a drug of choice as it controls high bp and increases the pulse rates. Even an ace inhibitor would help in the 2nd case. Don't hesitate to discuss the matter with your physician in length and always take the opinion of at least two. This will help u a lot. Without ref. of a physician don't take any medicine, but don't avoid hbp. Thanks.

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7

I was on this medication for two months and have only been off for a few days. During those two months I felt bad the whole time with aching muscles... felt just like I had the flu it hurt to even move and pain in my legs so bad it woke me up at night. My doctor took me off of it and gave me a script for another kind (which I haven't started taking yet) and the pain lifted immediately. I've been reading up on the side effects of the new medicine (Diltiazem) and I hate that I have to take it and I've been putting off starting. I'm going to look into natural ways to lower blood pressure.

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6

In the event an Illness or Drug is continuing to worsen simply Find Another Dr. along with what Another Dr. or Drug perhaps it might help resolve the issue . In my over 40 years of dealing with multiple Illness's in many cases what matters the most on their behalf is my Carrier along with co-payment .
In some office's it's analogous to that of a 7-11 .

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5

I take an over-the-counter water pill when my feet get puffy but that doesn't happen very often as I drink more water than I used to drink and very seldom use salt. I found the more water I drink the more water goes out. I don't urinate more often than I used to but when I do it's a really copious amount and almost clear. I guess the old family physician who used to come to the house when I was a child (I'm now 75) was correct when he said that very often that which causes a problem can also often cure the problem. I've always remembered that and actually use it non-medically - when I want to remove nail polish but didn't have enough remover to finish the job I'd just add more polish and wipe it off wet; it would take the old polish with it. It's not an exact correlation but it's close enough. Anyway, I don't remember what Dr. Ross was talking about but it seems to work with the water intake which is resulting in more water output.

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4

Male, age 78, 220 pounds. Been on HCTZ 25mg for almost 20 years...no problems. Previously on Atenolol, now on Sotalol....still no problems. Good luck

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3

i was on HTCZ for several years. I didn't feel grear but didn't attribute it to the HTCZ until I got really ill and was sent to the ER. They found that my sodium was dangerously low and potassium was a bit low but didn't even mention that it could be the HTCZ. I followed up with my PCP who stopped the HCTZ and monitored my sodium and potassium. Both returned to normal I felt so much better and we discovered that it was doing nothing for my BP. I was taking lisinopril as well. Recently my cardiologist convinced me to try a low dose of HTCZ and she would monitor my sosium and potassium carefully. Within three days, all the old symptoms returned and she told me to stop it immediately and to neer take it again. Following an ablation for A-Fib I was put on a beta blocker (metoprolol) which has been controlling my BP as well. It causes a bit of fatigue but is cetainly tolerable.

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2

Have you tried adding Mullein leaves and switching to a loop diuretic? If you have to be onna diuretic make it a loop diuretic or take a water pill a few times a week as needed..not everyday.

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1

About three years ago I started to have leg pain for no discernible reason. My doctor kept telling me it was a back problem and sent me for a CT scan, then an MRI, but they showed no problem with my back except some stenosis (I'm 75 years old so that was kind of expected). My legs were so painful that I couldn't get through a day without some sort of pain medication but refused prescription pain meds. Aleve really didn't help. The only thing that did was a combination of two extra-strength aspirin and two extra-strength Tylenol every 10-12 hours. I was only on two prescription medications, Spiriva for my emphysema and HCTZ because I had water retention for some reason although my blood pressure was always within normal parameters. After scrutinizing my lifestyle and finding no reason for the leg pain, I decided to check to see if it might be a side effect of either of my prescription meds. Sure enough - on one site I found that some of the side effects of HCTZ were muscle pain, leg cramps, generalized myalgia. I brought the list in to show my doctor, she got angry and told me that maybe she wasn't the doctor for me if I was going to question her orders. I agreed, and that was it. I stopped the HCTZ on my own but it took two years for the pain to go away completely. I'm still looking for a primary MD - one who will listen!

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