Stopping Lisinopril (Page 2) (Top voted first)

I have been taking 10 mg/day of Lisinopril for 3 months and have developed a tightening in the chest and flu like symptoms. Within the past 3 weeks I have felt progressively worse and would like to stop. Is it ok to just quit or must I wean myself off?

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Hi All,

I have been having many side effects from lisinopril. I have been on it for about four months. This past weekend, I just decided to stop it, I think it was causing more problems than fixing them. I didn't take it on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday. Called my doctor on Monday and got in to see her. Told her I quit the lisinopril as I was having side effects, she checked my blood pressure and it was 124/78. She said it was fine for me to quit it. So for all of you worrying about stopping cold turkey, it must be okay since my doctor was fine with what I did. I do have one thing to add and that was that I have just lost 25 pounds, so I think maybe that is why she was okay with it. She wants me to monitor it at home and wants to see me back in a week, so I am sure she is concerned about bp going back up, but as to the way I quit, she was okay with that.

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I certainly don't work for a drug company. Your observation that different people react differently, is certainly true. Snake venom is interesting and plausible reasoning. I received unbranded pills so I don't know who the supplier was, but a brief history of the medication I read, indicates that the company of origin were the objects of legal actions, and may have had something to do with lisinopril being supplied as a generic, or by more than one drug company. Now that I'm off it, I still have some concern for the people who accept prescriptions from doctors and nurse practitioners who can't believe it can be a problem. My own reaction to it is so unquestionable I can't understand why the FDA doesn't give it a black box label.

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Our doctor and pharmacist said it was okay to stop taking Lisinopril cold turkey. Although, it may not be a bad idea to switch over to the herb Hawthorn which acts as a natural ace inhibitor.

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I have been on lisinopril 20 mg for over 15 years and recently found my blood pressure at 105/60. So I just stopped taking the drug and now, two weeks later,
my blood pressure is 151/80. I am going to get back on the drug right away. Guess I made mistake stopping it without talking to a doctor.

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I'm 53 and on a 5 mg dose, for about 3 years. I developed a cough, no other symptoms of a cold. My doc was on vaca so I saw her back up dr. He asked about the Lisinopril, as did the nurse. I had lost 30 lbs n my BP has been fine for a year. I decided to take myself off w/o contacting the dr. I pretty much never get head aches, now I'm getting pains in my head, I was experiencing dizziness and coordination issues. Those have passed but occation head pain continues. Still haven't told my dr. Guess I should huh?

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Hi, I ended up with the same symptoms that you have and more (of course I took it longer). As soon as i quit taking it within two days I felt a 1000% better no joke. There are other blood pressure pills without pril on the end ask you doctor for one of those. I still have the side effects, but they are mild. So it takes time to get over those. Good Luck and i hope you feel better.

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If you have bilateral stenosis if the kidney don't take Lisinopril. It might make you get kidney failure.

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Started 3rd bp med lisinopril abt 5 yrs ago. Readings have been 130 something over 70 something. Now all of a sudden they are 105/57 and 119/63, for the last 2 wks. Have been drowsy, unsteady legs and a stiffness in my neck. Can I wean myself off lisinopril? Do have dr appt in a week.

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Is it ok to take lisinopril and niacin at the same time?

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Try taking Diovan. It's much better than lisonipril. Lisonipril is made out of pit viper venom.

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Hi Jo, I just old stopped taking it, no more strange aches and pains. There are other blood pressure medicines out there without snake venom in them. Ask for one of those.
I'm going to use a Chinese cure HAWTHORN, do a search on the net for it and see if you like it. Believe it or not doctors get paid by some companies to push their drug, and that really is a fact! From the research I've done any blood pressure medicine with PRIL on the end of it, is made from snake venom. Brown viper venom from Brazil for this one. From what I found the sides effects can start right away or months down the road like happened to me. My newest side effect before I stopped was I would break out in a cold sweat for no reason. All that crap is gone now, I just hope my eye gets back to normal, one day vision was great I woke the next day and couldn't see. Yak at me all you want OK, and take care.

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Thanks Michael. I have decided to taper off and try to get BP under control with diet and herbs. I'm tired of feeling tired and achy, and hope once off this, I will gain my health. Hope you're doing well too. Jo

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I have been on Lisinopril for 9 years. No problems, but in the past few weeks was getting very tired, pains in my back, being sick, sweats and dizzy spells. Thought I was going mad. Went to doctor's who said it might be anxiety issues, but would do some blood tests just to be careful. Results of blood test meant ending up in a ambulance, taken to hospital and put on a drip. The Lisinopril was causing my kidneys to fail. They thought I would end up on dialysis, luckily did not happen, but still having problems breathing.

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High just stop I did and now I feel good. Had a lisinopril cough for a few months after I quit, but it has finally gone away. There are other blood pressure pills that aren't as terrible as lisinopril is. Snake venom, I wish I had known before I started taking it, I would have said NOPE!

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My doctor let me just quit. I have been on it for about 4 months. She asked me to keep track of my blood pressure and go in to see her in a week.

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Hello, well I stopped taking it months ago, the tiredness went away quickly. The cough last a long time, but gets less and less. Now I just cough a little like once a day, and some days not at all. I read an article on the Lisinopril cough, a doctor wrote an article about it. Basically there is a little irritant left in our lungs that takes time to get rid of. And he said not to worry as soon as the irritant is gone the cough will stop. I hope that helped you.

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Same pill, same company, same code on the pill. In the two posts I've read it almost sounds like you are working for a drug company Oliver. Through the research I've done and it's been extensive, the culprit is the snake venom, synthesized or not. Inactive ingredients usually don't cause problems or problems this severe. The bottom line is that Lisinopril DOES made people sick, it doesn't matter who makes it. The main ingredient is the same. And because people are different and doses are different people that react to the drug do it differently name brand or not.

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Of course one can google "lisinopril black box warning" and the wealth of information is more than I can digest easily, let alone use intelligently. Looking at contraindications or cautions, one can apply lab tests, or problems particular to the state of my own age, health problems, etc, etc. The only Black box warning I saw was for fetal related. Other information in the search results would be of interest to anyone, but it's still a matter of interpretation, and a good doctor is the best help one can get. On my level, all I can do is know when I get a reaction, and document it for, when and if, I am fortunate enough to find and afford competent medical help.

About the snake venom, it is most likely chemically similar to bee venom and I can attest to the effect of that, having been a bee keeper. I still recall my reaction to multiple bee stings. As the season continued each year, my tolerance to stings increased. but I can imagine snake venom can cause extreme hypotension varying from person to person. (And who knows what else)

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My reaction to lisinopril is a paradox. I know that my reaction to lisinopril was not a case of misplaced cause, but the snake venom, either real or synthetic, leaves me up in the air, as to the medical mechanics involved. As a practicing bee keeper I knew that the venom of bees is much like other venoms mother nature bestows on her children as a defense in this turbulent world. The venom CAUSES LOW blood pressure. That is most probably the reason the originator of lisinopril chose snake venom for medication to lower blood pressure. But my reaction had the rapid rising of blood pressure as the most alarming of all the other symptoms. And so my personal paradox.
When I kept bees (over 100 colonies) it was not too unusual for folks with bad arthritis to come to me to get live bees for sting therapy. I've long been retired, and don't keep up with events in that world, but there was a doctor who kept snoopy type dogs who are prone to arthritis. She adapted the sting therapy to relieve their pain and according to her, the dogs welcomed the daily stings because it worked.
Still, some people are very allergic to a bee sting even to the possibility of death. The question is does lisinopril's snake oil account for reactions. I think yes, of course.
So much for my personal observations but When you say, "The bottom line is that Lisinopril DOES made people sick, it doesn't matter who makes it. The main ingredient is the same. And because people are different and doses are different people that react to the drug do it differently name brand or not."
I certainly agree with you.

btw: I do not subscribe to the overmedication so popular now. Looking (on line) at the dosage and types of medication doctors and nurse practitioners so casually hand out, makes me shudder.

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Thank you to everyone for sharing their lisinopril stories. I feel so stupid. I have taken this drug for years with no apparent side-effects. However, for the past year I have been experiencing odd, seemingly unrelated symptoms-headaches, blurred vision, tinnitus, tingling/burning lips and tongue and swelling lips and tongue. My, soon-to-be-former, doctor just recently agreed to refer me to an allergist. (Why didn't HE suspect the lisinopril?) This is after I requested blood work to see if I might have Lyme disease. (Western blot came back negative but I have yet to rule out Lyme and have a Lyme md appt in Sept.) I am so angry at myself for not even suspecting the lisinopril. As of today I have taken my last dose of this poison.

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