Lisinopril

I was recently prescribed this medication. I developed a dry cough, brain fog and advanced dizziness within 2 weeks. I stopped taking it immediately. I have been unable to contact my Dr. but hope to soon.

I also went to askapatient.com to read what others have experienced. Not many had positive results. That makes me reluctant to continue using this drug.

I have been on Lisinopril for 5 weeks and symptoms are not subsiding. I was started on 40mg. but was reduced to 20mg because my bp dropped so low. The first 2 weeks I had flu-like symptoms and this lessened after the dose was reduced, however still have a loss of appetite. Headaches, particularly bad upon waking, leg and muscle cramps during the night, sore throat, nasal drainage, extreme vertigo to the point of falling down, depression, constipation and bloating along with gas, frequent urination, and a general feeling of being unwell. Heart palpitations, extreme tiredness. Should I go on???

I have decided to discontinue this med, and go back to the extremely expensive Avapro, along with fish peptides, which have allowed me to reduce the avapro by half if used in conjunction. Lisinopril seems to feel like a poison, and in my opinion, has not been studied on a large enough group for an extended period of time. I am a 46 year old, otherwise extremely healthy, woman. I have not been ill in 2 years - UNTIL I went on Lisinopril! It might be interesting to note, that I am also allergic to bee stings. This also, has not been studied!

I started experiencing allergic reactions (swollen mouth/tongue) about 3 years ago while taking Lisinopril. I discontinued that and also discontinued grapefruit juice and things seemed to calm down.

I was switched to Diovan for a brief time and did not experience any epidodes, but because of cost was then switched to Losartin 50 mg daily. I also take HCTZ 25 mg daily and Simvastatin 10 mg daily. I have still discontinued the grapefrut juice but now lately have had episodes of extreme tongue or lips/cheeks swelling. Benadryl seems to slowly take it down, but it is very concerning. Any ideas?

My husband has always been healthy, energetic and strong. A few years ago he was told he had high blood pressure. He ended up in the hospital and almost died because of the medication given (I can't remember the name now). He has not taken medication since until he went to the doctor with severe cough. Once again he was given a blood pressure med called Lisinopril/HCTZ along with antibotics. He got over the cough but just is not himself. He complains of weakness and fatigue and sleeps a lot which is so unlike him! I really wonder if taking this medication is safe.

I am a healthy 50 year old female who has taken Lisinopril/HCTZ 20-25mg for about 6 months. My BP was quickly well under control. I have to wonder if some of the people commenting with these problems have a healthy diet, don't smoke, get exercise and maintain a healthy weight. I get somewhat light-headed at times, but no big deal. One glass of wine now makes me tipsy, so I just limit myself to one glass or less, and drink it very slowly. I don't know if the meds have anything to do with the low alcohol tolerance, but that is certainly easy to manage.

I would like your advice on reducing cholesterol other than using than statin drugs, to which I have severe side effects. I have tried them all and have severe muscle soreness and know for a fact that it breaks down muscles. I am trying Metamucil daily in hopes this will help my problem. Lisinopril is my high blood pressure medicine and I am taking 40 mg. twice daily. I get plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and low meat intake. I do aerobic swim classes twice weekly and take supplements. I would appreciate your spin on my problem on reducing cholesterol without poison drugs. Thank you.

My husband began taking only 10mg of this medicine. He immediately started having dizziness, loss of appetite, increased urination and general feeling of weakness and confusion. After a few days even after decreasing dosage he has developed severe cramping diarrhea, severe leg cramps, chills, and mental confusion. He also has no appetite whatsoever. Called doctor and nurse said to decrease dose again but I think it is poisoning his system. This drug needed further testing in my opinion.

I am a sixty year old African American woman I have been taking Lisinopril for about seven years and for about five years I have been suffering with severe leg cramps if I don't drink maybe 80 ounces of water a day and if I don't start early enough in the day the water won't help.

I have had different test and have been told that the water is the best remedy. I know there has to be a better solution. I am 5'7" tall and weigh 175 lbs.I watch what I eat most of the time. I was told If I lose some weight my blood pressure should go down and I may not have to depend on the blood pressure medicine. Is there anyone out there who can give me more advice

I am a 53 year old African American female. When into see my doctor because of shortness of breathe upon climbing steps and tightness in my chest. Had an ECG in the doctor's office and she scheduled a stress the next day. From my resting Echocardiogram the doctor said that I had had ~ 20 -25% reduction in heart function (she called it a silence heart attack). My bp normally runs low and cholesterol level are good.

Then I had a catheter procedure to see if I had any blockages in my heart - no blockages. Since Sept 12, 2008 I was asked to take 5mg of Lisinopril once a day and 3.125mg of carvedilol twice. The doctor said that the combination of these two drugs would help prevent any farther damage to my heart as they look for what cause the attack.

Which they have not found yet. My experiences with these drugs so far have been leg and muscle cramps during the night, some vertigo, I just don't feel right. This is the first time in my life that I had had any type of illness of this nature. I have always been very health I am 5'8", 172.6 lbs. I was 183 on Sept 10th I welcome your comments. Thank you

I have been taking lisinpril for several years but for several months, I have a very dry mouth ; especially at night. Could this be from the lisinopril?I did develop a cough but it seemed to have cleared now.I have sensitivity with my teeth. This dry mouth started on my last prescription--it came from India????? I would appreciate your response.

I am a 30 year old African American Male who has been been taking Lisinopril with Tablup 20/5 for 2 years. Tablup is a diuretic. This medication worked for the first year that I was taking it and then it's effects wore off. I was then prescribed Amlopidine to take in conjunction with Lisinopril. That combo worked for about 3 months and then my BP was back in the 160/90 range.

I'll admit that I don't have the best diet, but I do exercise frequently with cardio and I play tennis.

On the good side, I only experienced one side effect with the Lisinopril and that was sleepiness. But it only lasted for a few weeks.

I have been on Lisinopril 20MG for about two years. I have been back to my doctor 4-5 times complaining about sudden increase in thick clear saliva that while during the day is manageable during the night keeps me or wakes me up from coughing. I find myself clearing my throat continually as well. This has made getting a good night sleep impossible. I have also had period of diarrhea mostly in later morning and afternoon after eating lunch. My doctor keeps on trying me on different allergy medicine and does not think it is the lisinopril. I have never had an allergy in my life! I too think I am being poisoned.

I've been on lisinopril/hctz 20-25 mg. for about 3 yrs. now. I am 55 yrs. old, and have experienced dry mouth, cough, lightheadedness, joint and muscle aches--takes me a while to be able to move after sitting a bit. I am so fatigued and have to push myself to get that walk in. I just want to lie on the sofa and go to sleep when I get home from work. When I first went on this medicine, I experienced numbness and tingling--especially after the doctor added the hctz.

I do not want to feel this way. My doctor tells me not to go off of this medicine. I've changed my diet to fruits and vegetables, walnuts, almonds,high omega 3's, eating coconut oil in place of butter and do not add salt to anything, am walking 2-4 miles four times a week. I truly think I have "white coat syndrome" because it is really high when go to the doctor to get it checked--158/85 when nurse takes it, but when doc comes in, he takes it and it has dropped 30 points. Please, I'm open for any suggestions other than what I'm already doing.

I am a 75 yr old male and have been taking lisinopril for about 7 mths. I started to get a hacking cough excess mucus drainage in chest. Went to ent specialist and their comment was it comes with age. Kept complaining to reg dr given dose of antibiotics and no relief. called dr again give another script of antibiotics. In the meantime my wife was going to a pharmacy related this to pharmacist and he pointed out that this is very common for people taking lisinopril. we relayed info to dr and he said your exactly right and took me off. How did this drug get by the food and drug regulations is beyond me.

I have been taking Linisopril for a few months now and i have noticed in the past couple of weeks some numbness and tingling in my left leg in particular.I noticed someone else experienced the same symptoms. Are they related to the drug?

Same here!! Been sickly ever since taking ANY BP meds, but now that I'm on this it seems I have a whole crop of different problems, such as arm pain, Chest feels tight a lot of times, when entering sleep I wake with my heart feeling as though its quivering, body nervousness, shakes, also I have weakness, and fatigue A LOT, palpitations, dark smelly urine, and some back pain. IS THIS or could this be from this BP Med?, Suspicious ever since changing from quinipril to this lisinopril, even though I feel I had some problems while taking it too. could I have side effects from this med such as these? HELP

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: PLEASE CHECK IN WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN RIGHT AWAY ABOUT THE URINE ISSUE. KIDNEY PROBLEMS ARE A RARE BUT SERIOUS COMPLICATION OF LISINOPRIL.

The article above states: "People with kidney problems must be monitored extremely carefully, as Prinivil can make kidney function worse. Even normal people should have their physician monitor the kidneys periodically."

I am a diabetic and my doctor tells me he has me on lisinopril because my urine tests show an increase in microalbumin and the lisinopril is used to PROTECT the kidneys from further damage. Confusing. Also, since raising my dose from 40mg/day to 60mg I have increased pain, cramps and weakness in my calves.

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: WE TRUST YOUR DOCTOR IS IN FACT MONITORING YOU EXTREMELY CLOSELY. THE DRUG CAN HAVE DIFFERENT EFFECTS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS, WHICH EXPLAINS THE CONFUSION.

I have been on Lisionpril/HCTZ 10/12.5 dose for 2 years with no problems. I also take synthroid for hypothroidism. In October 2008 I had back surgery. About 3 weeks after the surgery I went to my Internist for a routine check of thyroid. My levels were off and he lowered my dosage from 125 to 112.

At about the same time I was experiencing night sweats and hot flashes, cold intolerance (all about 3 weeks after the surgery). When I checked my bp, it was 160/100. When I went to doctor he explained that the thyroid can increase your bp and give the other symptoms; but went ahead and adjusted my Lisinopril to 20/25.

Now that the new dose of Synthroid has been in my system for about 4 weeks, the night sweats have stopped as the hot flashes. My bp stays around 109/70, however, my heart rate when resting remains anywhere from 95 to 110! This is very alarming. When I ask the doctors, they tell me it's part of menopause. I find this odd, because the other symptoms have gone away.

I am in menopause, I had those numbers checked last week. I am wondering why now my heart rate races --- it even keeps me awake. I also have a twitching in my right eye that has been one of the symptoms too. I have been to an endocrinologist who wanted to give me a prescription of Catepres patch to take with the Lisinopril -- said it would bring the heart rate down. I just don't feel right about this. I would some help or advice.

Oh, I HATED this prescription. I coughed night and day for a month, and the nurse said "don't give up yet, there are a lot of allergies this season." This has been over a year ago, and I will never forget the agony. Don't put up with the side effects if you don't have to...tell the doctor you want a change!

After taking daily 20 mg tab of lisinopril for over 6 months I had a severe allergic reaction (angioedema) and was choking to death. An ambulance trip to local emergency room saved me. Two items of note: allergic reaction followed a 40 mg tab of simvastatin. Both meds were discontinued immediately and all ACE inhibitors taken off pharmacist list for me. How is it that lisinopril can be sold in a package without a skull and cross bones image? Where is the FDA?? Peoples Pharmacy book page 303 describes potential fatal side effect of lisinopril. How can a physician not warn of such a "side effect"? Beware of delayed allergic response and dial 911 to stay alive!

I'm a 53 yr. old female and I've been on 5 mg of this drug for a week now. So far I'm experiencing slight head rushes. Nothing else seems to be out of the ordinary. I noticed that most of the people here take 3-4 time the dose I am on. The horror stories here will stay in the back of my mind, but I trust my Doctor and like that I'm not on a high dose.

56 White Male. 260# 5'11'

I have been taking Lisinopril for high blood pressure for several years. It has been excellent in maintaining my blood pressure in combination with HCTZ. The only side effect I have had was the dry cough for a few weeks but that has gone away.

When I stop taking it the blood pressure shoots up in a couple days. That is enough to keep me from stopping.

I was put on 10mg of Lisinopril after going to the doctors for a physical. My blood pressure was high. I took it for 2 days. Both nights I awoke at 3 a.m. with the driest mouth. I also kept pulling up phlegm. The first night I had stomach pain and my blood pressure was so high it woke me up. It also made me tired and the second day my liver area hurt. I went off of it.

I started taking Lisinopril last night before bed. within 1/2 an hour I was shivering with very sweaty feet, tingling throat, the urge to evacuate my bowels and the most weird vivid dreams. Today i have felt sickly, tired and "drunk". I'm concerned to continue with this med. I'm 37 and have "borderline" high BP (150/91). I'm slightly overweight /slightly under active and smoke a little. Could eating less/doing more and quit smoking help rather than this hellish drug for the rest of my life?

Iam a 62 year old male. i have been on Lisonopril now for about 20 years. I started with 5 mg and am now on 60mg, 12.5 hctz and 40 mg of zocor. my cholostorol is under control with low hdl 40; however, my bad ldl is about 100.

I have always had problems with stress, big jobs and consequently problems with my bp. i am an emotional man and stress makes my bp go through the roof. i awake each day with an average bp of 135/87 sometimes a little higher soemtimes lower. generally as the day progresses my bp comes down. Tends to jump all over the place. excersice improves my bp a lot so i do what I can.

My question is, does lisinopril lose its effect after many years. as I stated I take 60 mg and somesdays the zestril has little effect. I am a moderate drinker about three normal glasses of wine daily. I am presently retired. The doctor wants to put me on norvast (calcuim bloker0. I tried it; however, no results. I would appreciate your feedback.

best regards,

Kevin

I have been taking Lisinopril for about 7 years and like some of you, it actually worked and lowered my blood pressure, but then I stated having severe leg cramping. I started drinking quinine drinks and taking potassium pills to try and alleviate my leg cramps, but nothing worked. I went back and forth to my doctor and he did blood work and it came back normal. No doctor could find out what is wrong with me. I recently went to the doctor again, and complained of the severe leg cramps, and now my liver area hurts. Thanks to this and other web sites on this drug, and my wife looking for the causes online, I now know what is causing my problems.

I think everyone should get together and bring a class action lawsuit against the drug manufacturer, because this drug must not have been tested properly. The FDA should also be held accountable for people's suffering from Lisinopril.
My husband is no longer taking this drug as of today, April 2009, and going back to the doctor for more help.

I am a Type II diabetic so I take 20mg lisinopril and Verapamil PM extended release, each one daily. I take the verapamil at bedtime and the Lisinopril in the AM. I have never had problems with the Lisinopril, and it has helped remarkably in assisting me in getting my BP down to where it should be and in helping protect my kidneys.

After having been on the Lisinopril for several months I began having occasional leg cramps at night which could be quite painful. I did two things: I made certain that my potassium intake was adequate by eating high potassium foods and also my MAGNESIUM and CALCIUM levels which I do supplement a bit.

About a month and a half ago I had minor back surgery to alleviate nerve problems that brought on severe sciatica and foot drop in my right leg. My neurosurgeon set up home visits of therapists for rehabilitative exercises that I still do. I have to think that my leg cramping came about due to nerve involvement in my lumbar spine and that the surgery plus the muscle/nerve rehabilitation exercises have completely done away with the cramping.

While I am aware of the possible cramping effect of Lisinopril I do have to wonder if many of the complaints here are due to a lack of regular and serious (especially) lower body exercises by at least some of those persons. The ones that I do are not stressful and can be easily done in one's home twice a day for 15 or so minutes. I would certainly recommend that people with cramping investigate this possibility.

Hi, I am Vasant from Nepal, and I'm 28 yrs. I have been taking lisinopril (5mg) for about 2 years now. I take it in the morning hours, and as I take it I feel very tired and exhausted. Now I'm planning to take it in the evening. I'll see for few weeks and if it continues I'll refer my physician.

I have been taking Lisinopril for 6 months and what I am noticing most is the intolerance to alcohol. I can now only drink one drink before I notice that I feel drunk and definitely feel the effects the next day. We have an active social life and this is killing me. I am considering changing off this onto something else. I should be able to tolerate at least 4-5 drinks which is what I managed prior to being on bp medication.

I too experience many of the same side effects as mentioned above. I went off the lisinopril (weaned off) and my bp went up again. I went back on it. I am concerned too because both times I have taken this drug, my bp comes down but my heart rate goes up. Why?

34 year old male. Slightly overweight, moderately active, 5'10" 200 lbs. BP has always been normal until a few years after divorce I became a heavy drinker and recently have quit. I lost a few pounds and cut back smoking to less than half a pack a day. BP was 160/100 when I was prescribed and started taking lisinopril 25 mg with HCTZ around April 2008.

I felt so washed out, I couldn't keep my eyes open, it was all I could do to make it through a day at work and had to leave several days in a one month period because I felt so ill. At one point my BP dropped to 108/46. I called my Dr and I was advised that I was going to feel this way for a couple of weeks until my body adjusted to having a lower BP, after 1 month and the same results I called back and was told to not take the med and come in for a checkup.

I was re checked for any problems and was given a clear bill of health except for the BP and so the Dr took me off of the HCTZ and lowered the lisinopril to just 10 mg per day. This seemed to help as I wasn't so debilitated or so it seemed. Now after I have been on the 10mg for almost a year I notice I get severe joint pain, fatigue and sleepiness around the 6-7th hour after taking BP med. I looked up lisinopril and discovered that the peak power of lisinopril is 7 hours after you take it. I feel so terrible around lunch time that I don't even want to walk to the soda machine for a drink.

But after I get home and take a cat nap, I wake up around 30 minutes or so later and the bad feelings are gone and I can go about the rest of the evening feeling ok. Is this the lisinopril making me have joint pain and being so worn out in the afternoon/evening?

As stated I have quit drinking (almost 4 months now) I also take propranolol for rapid heart beat, I was also having skipped heartbeats for a long time after I started these meds, but I don't have them as often now. Any advice is welcome. thanks

I have been on Lisinopril for two months. I am a 32 yr old white female who is overweight. I was on a steady decline of losing weight. Went to the doc to get a check up and my BP was 146/90. Doc prescribed me Lisinopril to get it down a tad. Since I take Byetta 10mcg 2 times a day, doc wanted to be careful in what he prescribed me.

Had I known then, what I know now after being on this poison for two months, I would have told him that there is no chance in hell that I would take this. First came the confusion. Imagine looking at something, knowing what it is, but your mind cant force you to remember what it is. I am trapped in my own mind at this point. I forget the time, 2 minutes after I just looked at the clock.

I have the most horrible dry cough. It seems to really flare up when I go to bed. I cant even sleep in the same bed as my husband because the coughing is so violent that it makes me gag. I cant sleep. I am tired. ALL THE TIME. Even though I am overweight I am pretty active. Not anymore. I can barely force myself to take a shower.

My stomach hurts ALL the time. I have had diarrhea for a week and two days. I have cramping in my abdomen that feels like something is trying to get out. My heart races to the point that I thought I was having a heart attack. I can FEEL my heart inside my chest. I have pains in my heart. My mouth is dry all the time. My legs spasm, my elbows hurt and oh yeah, I have lost every ounce of desire to have sex. I have headaches constantly.

I get so lightheaded I can barely stand up without the feeling of almost fainting. I have gained 10 pounds in two months, while still maintaining my previous eating and exercising habits. Before Lisinapoison I was losing weight. My skin itches and it very dry. My skin literally drinks lotion. Skin flakes off my legs like I am shedding. My nose runs constantly. I went to my doc with sinus infections two times. (Doc didnt even put two and two together about this, and just gave me antibiotic) I find out, guess what, another side effect of this medication.

If you are considering taking this drug, imagine nausea to the point of almost vomiting, but it just wont come up. Lets say a gagging feeling in your throat with nothing there. Fever, chills and diarrhea, oh my. My hair is falling out. Yah, one more side effect. I have taken myself off the daily 10mg dose starting today. Tomorrow I call the doc and let him know that this poison should never be prescribed.

I was on lisiniprol for two days felt generally healthy before 20 mg. I have kidney problems and should not have been prescribed in the first place according to this site. I had severe stomach ache for 3 days, fatigue, nausea, headache, shortness of breath, racing heart, severe diarrhea, urine smelled weird, and discontinued as soon as I figured out what was going on after 2 days.

Thought I had food poisoning and realized it was the drug. I think this drug is poison and the side effects were terrible, I still don't feel normal and it's been a couple of days off now and worried it would cause a heart attack instead of prevent one.

I have labile blood pressure that fluctuates often and am also taking potassium to help prevent kidney stones. I have never felt so good in my life on the potassium. Well prior to the lisiniprol which I started taking to improve the blood pressure spikes, but will try to find something natural. I have energy now that I have never had thanks to the potassium. I am 53 and thought I was going to die on this medication. I am really tired again and wonder how long it will take to rid my system.