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Q. I've had a terrible cough--so violent I've wet and sometimes even soiled myself. For the past several weeks I've been vomiting from coughing so hard.
I take lisinopril and amlodipine for high blood pressure. I suspect that one of them is the cause of my horrid cough. Is this possible?
A. The most common and bothersome side effect of popular blood pressure drugs like benazepril, captopril, enalapril, fosinopril, lisinopril and ramipril is an uncontrollable cough. Many readers have reported throwing up because of this side effect. Patients should always be alerted to this potential adverse reaction.
We are sending you our Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment with a discussion of the pros and cons of a range of medications and many non-drug alternatives. Although amlodipine is unlikely to cause cough, it can lead to swollen ankles because of fluid retention. Other side effects may include headache, dizziness, nausea and fatigue.
We discuss this problem and others that arise in the treatment of blood pressure in our new book, Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.
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SOME medicines for HBP and CHOLESTEROL, diabetes... have this side effect. Maybe they can change it to another medication that doesn't have this side effect, you can also try to take some cough suppression candy or gum.
Wow, I have these same reactions & responses and use lisinopril. Thank you so much for this valuable info.
I had more of a nagging dry cough from Lisinipril. I switched to the generic of Cozar - Losartan - and the cough went away immediately. I don't have insurance and couldn't afford Cozar but at Costco pharmacy they cost about $10 a month.
I would bet on the amlodipine--ask your doctor to change your meds---there are a ton of HPB meds out there.
I worked with my PCP & Cardiologist and we came up with a mixture of pills that keeps my BP in check--we had to some experimenting to get there.
When Lisinopril was prescribed for me, the accompanying printed info, supplied by the pharmacy, clearly listed the possibility of a cough as a side effect of the prescription. Isn't it mandatory for this info to accompany a prescription? And, if so--why don't people read it??
It is the Lisinopril!! Get your doctor to give you a BP med that is a different class of drug.
I have coughed severely for a year due to reflux. Endless doctors, trying every med from A-Z, I finally took things into my own hands. Stopping one med at a time until I realized it was the Niacin (500-1,000 mgs per day for high cholesterol) that was causing the gurgling of diluted acid coming up into my esophagus causing both the most intense nose dripping and coughing, 24/7.
I was blowing my nose all day long and gagging at the same time. Very difficult trying to work or even talk, but mostly never sleeping. Two endoscopies, dozens of different meds, three doctors later..... I am fine, just shy of having the Adult pH Impedance test done which would have determined whether or not to have surgery to tighten up the esophagus, and, being told it probably wouldn't work. I fully believe that everything you take into your stomach can be blamed for almost all ailments! So it wasn't my HBP Med after all. Nor the Cholesterol med - it took me to take charge of my own body.... I am not coughing or blowing my nose any more.
Oh, what a relief to learn that other's are also experiencing the same loss of bladder control & constant weezing which I've been having. I've also been taking one 20 Mg tablet daily of Lisinoptil, which has effected me in the same manner menioned here, on this site, since taking this medication. Rest assured, I'm definitely going to bring this to my primary physician's immediate attention.
Grace
The description of your cough sounds to me like the Lisinopril is the culprit. A cough is a common side effect of this medication. My doctor had warned me of the possibility when he prescribed it. Sure enough, a cough developed within a few weeks, rapidly progressing from a merely irritating, frequent cough several times a day to nearly uncontrollable jags of coughing which left me breathless and nauseated. Needless to say, I requested and received a different medication. Am am now on atenolol and the cough is completely gone.
??pertussis??
As pih above, I'm wondering about ruling out whooping cough (pertussis). I just got my vaccine against it because of a supposed outbreak of it in my area. The supplied literature talked about the tremendous coughs caused by whooping cough.
I am a nurse. Both my mother and I had chronic coughs while on lisinopril. One pf the pulmonary doctors at work said lisinopril can cause bronchospasms. It took 3 weeks for the cough to go away after switching meds.