Amlodopine! The Gp go to for cheap BP meds ......then go to Hospital... A cautionary tale

[Ianp66]

Well interesting few weeks is the understatement of the year.....

Hospital twice and 5 weeks of hell ensued after a simple check up lead to a BP med I didn't need .

All started with a health check at the surgery for my type 2 diet controlled type 2 diabetes in March , well under 45 Hbc1, told "perfect", nurse happy commenting the the 5 mile walks, cycling doing there thing. All quite happy, and so it should have ended, then it all began as she had seen my "high" BP in check and reported to gp ......

Called by gp the next day, my BP the nurse had checked the day before he said was "a little higher than they liked" at 137/82, I then commented that I had called in after busy morning with my walk 20 mins before, also being in very early at work and my BP in surgery was was always a tad high, white coat syndrome one of my flaws , his reply that he'd like me to take this med he was prescribing "Amlodipine", something that "works well and is well tolerated", dismissed my comments objections with "it's a heart attack waiting to happen" ...

Move two weeks on had noticed my walking wasn't as good as previously expected, and I was tired, lethargic. Called the gp, got a call back as they wouldn't give me a physical appointment, "didn't I know covid was still a risk" another doctor called, never the same one, said it was likely my BP high, said to double the dose of amlodipine to 10mg, without seeing me, without any checks, objections again overruled and told it was for my health risks .

Then the fun starts, a week later suffering swollen ankles, legs,hands, off stabbing pains in hands, blood visibly pooling on legs and knees , feet, vivid nightmares like never had in my life, terrifyingly real , pains in back, chest, aches everywhere.

Called again said I felt like I had flu or something, was struggling to breath, told to get covid test, even though I had both phizer jabs in Jan and March, asked could it be the new med, dismissed as "never had it caused such things" . This went on for two weeks, called and said I was feeling ok for a couple of days then totally wiped out the next.

Over the next two weeks prescribed Eurythmycin one week nothing changed, called again, prescribed prednisolone 40mg, for chest infection as he Cound hear me short of breath, then spent one week totally off it on the steroids,felt worse than ever, not once seeing a gp all done via phone despite my constant protests.

Called Friday the week after stopping steroids as felt odd palpitations, and weird thumping of the heart, feeling strange and breathless at times , insisted I was seen by a gp, which I did after not taking no to the annoyance of the gp I got to see , but basically got told it's "anxiety" and I've been ill and "at my age" 55! " it takes longer to get over stuff". Sent on my way again "to rest" .

Sunday night walked upstairs, breathing heavy as I had been, passed out on the landing, came to, heart racing, thumping, out of rhythm, pains in chest, thought, this is a heart attack, and ambulance was called. Into hospital, pulse at 125bpm and palpitations present.

There until 6am next day , released home told to stop amlodipine after a discussion with their cardiac guy, who had seen this before with amlodipine, contact gp and arrange trace later that week see if it settled and any changes go to A@E.

Felt up and down that week slightly better one day not the next. Thursday woke early 3am after another broken sleep, didn't feel good, got up, dizzy, heart feeling odd, pains in chest and back. Off to hospital this time the one my EP is at, admitted with palpitations and high rate of 105bpm lying down. Rushed in A@E by main desk, hooked up to various stuff and tested, sugar at 22!! never before been that high, they said with steroids and all the other crap it had sent it skyward,given stuff to get it down quick, kept me overnight and monitored in high dependency, troponin slightly raised so caution the being the word they said. Given light sedative to sleep as exhausted with weeks of no sleep . Spent the night sleeping off and on. In the morning they said palpitations were there but subsiding, said rebound off amlodipine stopping cold maybe causing half of my issues, and my BP was actually low overnight 111/61, so no wonder I had been feeling faint and passing out on the amlodopine BP med as my BP was going low even though it was its 5 day half life span it was bottomed out , which they should of known at the other hospital and my gps should have spotted had they bothered checking I've the month they jacked the dose up, again they did nothing when told how I was feeling . Told it had a half life of 5 days which was that Friday, so things should improve, but couldnt say for sure if it caused any damage, but added it can take 12-14 days rather than the official 11.5days for amlodopine to leave your system.

Spent another week in hell, up and down, breathless one day OK the next, but each day getting better thank god .

My EP saw me urgent last week, heart rate still at 95bpm but steady with the odd palp, he said if it doesn't subside then we get you in and see what move is next , but was pretty certain it was amlodipine and it would subside off the data from the overnight in hospital , furious at the lack of care, follow ups . I'm back in two weeks with his hospital team and halter for 72 booked via them thankfully not my gp who I'm now going to circumvent, see what it brings .

Thank god as he said from last weekend I've just picked up daily, now resting rate at 59-66bpm is restored as usual, did a 2 mile walk fine yesterday, not my usual pace or mileage, but I've been hammered by this debacle, and have got back to normal over the past few days, more relaxed, feeling "normal" , as it turns out, this drug causes "anxiety", "palpitations", "irregular heartbeat" and host of other lovely things, the list really is endless......

Now in discussion with practice manager, and wanting answers, and recourse, hell and back just to fit the new "120/70" ideal numbers... they say is the perfect figure for me , well! It isn't, not for me and I suspect not other 6ft 3inch lumps. To put someone on a BP med, not check them, then increase dosage without seeing them, listening to how they feel or are experiencing odd things , then not listening to alarm bells being raised with severe life threatening reactions, then blaming "anxiety" on genuine symptoms of a bad reaction, a reaction to a drug which quite frankly should be banned! now looks reckless to say the least.

I believe in being my own judge of how I feel, and now even more so now don't trust the Gps of this world. My father had a mini stroke 4 years ago "missed" by the gp as he just presumed he "was getting old and forgetful", his severe dementure later blamed on the initial stroke, I have totally lost faith in any doctor apart from a specialist, and even then now question anything and everything they say or do .

Thankfully I'm resilient, I dread to think what the outcome may have been for someone infirm or who had no support or confidence , luckily, I've got some true friends on here who know who they are ♥️, and got me through this ordeal, as well as family and friends at home.

Hoping the tests all come back OK and it doesn't cause any long term problems or reoccurring issues. After the last two years being afib free after my ablation all drama free, a Gp who thinks he's god then throws a spanner in just to fit government guidelines! Won't take anything in future unless I'm happy to........

[Padayn01]

What the **** mate I hated that drug Amlodopine I was on it when I ended up in A&E in 2018 the cardiologist took me off it straight away and in early 2020 the GP Gave me a 24 hr holter monitor to check my BP when the results came in she said your BP border line and threw me amlodipone I told her to shove it and I will just eat right and exercise to get it down I just take peronprill now, awful mate what you went through

[Ianp66 in reply to Padayn01]

Honestly Pad, I heard so many horror stories since, it's deadly.

[Nora-B in reply to Padayn01]

Dreadful drug Padayn01. Wish I had never taken it..Took myself off it. Just wished I.had not waited so long..Some effects are lasting or seem to hang about in the system.

[RoyM]

You have certainly had an interesting few weeks....but just like you I don't trust GP's at all not one jot and avoid going. My GP'S answer when you contact them is go and see the chemist!!!! It once was a profession that was held in high regard....not anymore has far as I am concerned anyway. Good luck I hope your recovery continues.

[Ianp66 in reply to RoyM]

Thanks Roy, going OK now thankfully and getting stamina back steadily.

[Nora-B in reply to RoyM]

I am with you Roy. I find doctors often don't take people seriously when they suspect it is their medication that is is making them feel ill. I am now on Losartan, following a few months on Ramapril. Both say to avoid certain food but these are often basic daily foods that I like and can naturally lower BP. ( food high in potassium)When I questioned this both GP and pharmacist more or less looked at me as though I was overeacting so I have no idea what to be about. Does little to calm anxiety. So one viscious circle.

[CDreamer]

A very sorry tale. I am lucky in that I feel very supported by my GP practice but they also in return recognise that I am the expert on me and value my questioning of their reasoning AND my right to refuse a treatment.

I do hope that you put all that happened in writing to the practice manager - they cannot ignore a letter but can a verbal conversation.

Hope you are soon back to normal.

This BP thingy is getting out of hand, especially for men. I am very happy with a BP of 100/70 but my husband is near passing out at that level - is on a BP cocktail - including Amlopodine - but only on tiny doses of 3 BP meds but thankfully doesn’t go low very often.

[Ianp66 in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks CD, ridiculous all this latest "target" BP stuff, and the amount of drugs thrown around with a five minute consultation is beyond the pale.

[Auriculaire in reply to CDreamer]

It's like cholesterol levels - one size fits all and constant reductions so as to get more people on meds and profiting you know who. Luckily our GP does not subscribe to that. My BP is always between 130 and 140 over 70/80 when he takes it on my 6 monthly visits. But when I am in hospital and they take it several times a day when I am more relaxed it is always 110/120 over 70. I regard this as a better measure than that taken at the GPs as I always feel a bit stressed when I go.

[Ianp66 in reply to Auriculaire]

Absolutely, i agree Aur, I got the same cholesterol talk, nothing wrong with it, but advised its now the thing to do, declined and won't after reading what it's done to some. I was the same overnight on the monitor my BP was low if anything, they see a five minute snapshot at the surgery, and make rash decisions based on that limited time in my experience. Shocking state the NHS is in now, I heard on hospital two paramedics talking about a new fastrack route to become a gp, only got bits of it but the 40-50k Salary was the main crux of the conversation, it's not going to get better with no long term experience as a GP, just posts filled by young blood, no experience and a book full of drugs to throw about.

[Peony4575 in reply to Ianp66]

As long as they teach them to write a referral letter Ian

[Ianp66 in reply to Peony4575]

Exactly, all we need 👌

[Pita]

Oh my, what a terrible time you had, so pleased you are on the road to recovery. I also took this drug about 5 years ago, and boy did I feel ill, I stopped it after 3 weeks. I now refuse any medication for high blood pressure.

[Ianp66 in reply to Pita]

Shocking, yet they blatantly deny Amlodipine had such severe impact, had so many "oh your just worrying" it makes you wonder why they push so much when clearly it affects many very badly.

[Nora-B in reply to Pita]

Well done you Pita. I do not tolerate meds well. I take it you are following the.natural route to control blood pressure...Are you following any special diet?

[cuore]

I share your views about GPs. My GP got me to the AF persistent stage in one year without sending me to an EP. Likewise he doubled my dose of Amlodipine by which I was going down your path except after the second day, without asking him, I went back to the regular dose of 5mg. Plus he kept me on Hydrochlorothiazide for 11 years with recent reports saying they can cause basal cell carcinoma if taken for more than three years. I did get it at the tip of my nose with a chunk having to be taken out and now with a huge scar at the side of my nose and between my eyes. This GP retired. Right now I prefer to be without a GP and merely go to a clinic where I have been getting better care. I am done with GPs unless I encounter an exceptional one which is unlikely.

[Ianp66 in reply to cuore]

That's awful, I've read so many horror stories since, I can't understand why it doesn't carry a bigger warning, or isn't used anymore.

[wilsond]

Oh my good God.It beggars belief to read this tale of incompetence and arrogance on the GP practice.

We have had similar misdiagnoses but not on this scale.

You must be so angry .

I'm glad you seem to be picking up well but it could have easily been a bad outcome.

Glad you are already taking this up with the practice manager.

At least you have firm evidence from your A and E visit and EP that it was amplodipine .

Phew...😠😠😠

Plus your BP wasn't particularly high anyway!!!!

Hope you continue to recover well.

Best wishes xx

[Ianp66 in reply to wilsond]

Thanks Wilson, fuming isn't close, worked so hard to lose weight and get fit with diet etc, be afib free and then to have this it was scary and I'm lucky it didn't end up with a heart attack.It wasn't was it, EP isn't worried by it, as he said no need for such drastic measures.

Getting access to my records then once over this properly then I won't leave it at just a complaint, it was like a bad nightmare, literally.

[Peony4575 in reply to Ianp66]

A truly horrific tale and am full of admiration for how you coped with those awful symptoms . So lucky you found support from the hospital as you could well have died if you had remained under the “watchful eye”🤣🤣 of your GPS telephone/video link . Hope you have yellow carded your experience to help build a body of evidence against the drug and take the complaint against your GP forward. Giving meds on the basis of one BP reading ????? Not so long ago an acceptable systolic BP was 100 plus your age , then 140/90 would have triggered advice to modify to lifestyle in the first instance . Of course CV outcomes have improved as a result of better treatment but there is a lot of collateral damage being done to patients . Choleresterol used to be 5:3 then it went to 4:2 and it seems like some medics want to eradicate it altogether ! It does serve some useful functions .

I think I would have PTSD after your experiences Ian . Keep getting better !!

[Carew in reply to Peony4575]

Choleresterol! Huh.

Mine is never high. Last it was measured, I was borderline hypocholesterolemic.

I eat too much - including plenty of fats. But my lipids are fine. Which seems to suggest that my genetic makeup tends to low cholesterol. And blanket dietary advice simply doesn't apply to everyone. (There might be a hundred other reasons for me to follow one diet rather than another. But high cholesterol ain't one of them.)

Never mind that I was strongly encouraged to take statins a few years ago! Just as standard treatment for Afib. I, of course, refused.

[Peony4575 in reply to Carew]

Exactly ! There is individual variation in how bodies process and make cholesterol . One size does not fit all . A friend of mine has just had an awful experience developed type 1 diabetes as a result of the chemo for her breast cancer . Was an emergency admission to hospital after her GP failed to diagnose it over the telephone and things got bad. Went into practice for her first appointment with practice nurse over how to manage her insulin etc . Practice nurse said her total cholesterol was 4.3 and suggested she take a statin . Her poor body has just been ravaged by all sorts just adapting to insulin and they suggest adding a statin to the mix when she has no cardiac problems at all . Box ticking has triumphed over common sense . Fortunately my friend has common sense in abundance and declined the statin

[Auriculaire in reply to Peony4575]

Statins put blood sugar up especially in women. It's madness!

[Peony4575 in reply to Auriculaire]

It’s alarming the number of heart meds that do and predispose you to diabetes. They think they are solving one problem and create another !

[Ianp66 in reply to Peony4575]

Don't know about coped, it's been like a living nightmare, hopefully worst behind me now. It is just a game of numbers to them, no thought for the fallout or repercussions of the potency of these vile drugs.As you know the stuff they put me through has been horrendous , thankfully had some great people around me help pull my head up on dark moments, nurse Cratchet hasn't a got a look in 🙃😂, how you've coped I don't know X

[Peony4575 in reply to Ianp66]

Lol I ve got PTSD never mind you x

[Ianp66 in reply to Peony4575]

#pairofcranks 😂X

[wilsond in reply to Ianp66]

Good for you go for it indeed.Wishing you all the best.This was incompetent and disgraceful xx

[Carew]

In my personal experience, many medical staff don't even follow basic advice regarding taking blood pressure.

Like, no speaking to patient, nor patient speaking, during the measuring.

Like, at least sometimes, swapping arms. Many GP rooms are set up assuming always one arm. Maybe if you see a different GP, they switch arm!

And white coat hypertension is common. Don't do yourself down by calling it a flaw! There are plenty of medical people available to do us all down! (As well as many who are excellent.)

[Ianp66 in reply to Carew]

Your right, condescending and usually abrupt is the description of the nurse and other staff at my current practice. Finding a good one now is nigh on impossible, as good friend said to me lately, bypass and just use for referrrals, it's all most of the GPS are fit for now.

[BobD Volunteer]

Ian I am sure that you are not alone in being poorly serviced by GPs. I know that before moving to Devon I spent ten years in Essex with a GP who diagnosed my AF as digestive problems. Fortunately not all GPs are so cavalier and irresponsible and my current practise knowing my history usually ask me what I want them to do for me! I have also had conversations with her about statins and discussed their QOF requirements for prescription of these horrid drugs and she is quite relaxed about it saying that I am old enough to make my own mind up and anyway she had the conversation with me so gets the points even if I dont take them.

Regarding these ridiculous BP targets, when I was a lad 100+your age over 90 was OK. Then they moved it down to max 150/85, then 140/80 then 135/75 etc etc my average is around 128/75 and she is quite happy with that after I deleted one of my BP meds around three years ago .

Bottom line is we should all be experts on ourselves and be proactive in our own treatments.

[Ianp66 in reply to BobD]

It's a lottery Bob, yes the same my BP had been the same for years, just now it seems the goalposts have moved, rather take my chances than listen to new "guidelines" with a one size fits all ideology. They don't see it listen enough to make judgements now, its like your running down the clock the minute the door shuts, totally agree, got to do your own research and make your own choices and not just go with whatever is dished out.My EP said he was considering putting me back on Bisoprolol as my heart rate was up at 105 sitting, two weeks on, and its settled on its own, when he said it he saw my face and said well we can wait see if it lowers once you've had another week without amlodipine, it's back to its normal 60-70 range, and even after exertion drops nicely now, thankfully he's one that listens and doesn't just blunder on.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Ianp66]

See my reply to CDs post.

[Peony4575 in reply to Ianp66]

Lol. Bisoprolol . After you had such a lovely time on it last time😂😂 insult to injury . Could have finished you off altogether !

[Ianp66 in reply to Peony4575]

I know 😂, I was like rightttttt, then I reminded him of the history, ah yes, we can forget about that then 🙃X

[Mrsvemb]

Unbelievable that medication was issued on the strength of one BP reading. At the very least they should have put you on a 24 hour ambulatory monitor, then take the average. I too have white coat syndrome and my GP always accepts my home readings. You have certainly been through the mill, this definitely needs escalating before this idiot GP kills someone.

Pleased that you seem to be ok now.

[Ianp66 in reply to Mrsvemb]

I agree, if I hadn't been able to articulate what had been happening it could of been a lot worse, I just thought someone unable to do so may have not been so lucky, just waiting for my records now then looking at options, but as I said to practice manager yesterday, apologies aren't enough this time .

[Mrsvemb]

Good for you, let us know how you get on

[shorttail]

What a dreadful ordeal. I hope you are soon back to your normal self. I too was on Amlodopine and had many of the problems you mention and stopped taking it. At one time BP dropped 77/55. Problem is I have high BP so need some help. I am on Felodopine now, same symptoms but much milder. Fatigue is a real problem.

[Ianp66 in reply to shorttail]

It's awful isn't it, especially if you don't need it. Those symptoms are savage, I hope it lessens for you.

[Tako2009]

Oh my! My GP recently added Amlodipine to my meds - only took it - eventually - with reluctance. This post explains a lot for me so thank you for posting your experience. It seems the only doctor we can trust is our EP’s!! I shall be speaking to mine soon. Wishing you all the best with your test results.

[Ianp66 in reply to Tako2009]

It's horrendous, nightmares, strange stabbing pains, chest pain, back pain, hip pain, honestly the list is endless and just builds the longer your on it, or did for me anyway , it took 2 weeks to feel OK again it sits in your system a minimum of 12 days.

[belindalore]

Omg. That Dr who did that to you should have his license revoked. I'm in the USA and same thing has happened to me. Cardio Dr prescribed me medicine with no questions to how I might tolerate it or anything. Had I continued per his instructions I would be a goner. Same with my primary Dr. Changed cardio Dr (new one so so) and seeing a new primary Dr in June. So tired of us not being listened to and just having pills thrown at us without us being allowed to be involved in our care anymore. No wonder people don't go to the Dr anymore. They are killing us!Glad you are feeling so much better.

[Bee-Honest]

What a terrible ordeal you've had. Agree about GPs, not really interested. I too keep my own notes and believe everyone must take ownership of their care, don't rely on your GPs, they change frequently too. Keep well and keep up the exercise.

[Ianp66 in reply to Bee-Honest]

Thank you, I agree, if we don't watch our medication then it can have a bad outcome if you go off random gps ideas .

[jeanjeannie50]

Sorry to hear all you've been through Ian. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if we'd all be better without any meds! It's good to hear that you're taking your horrible experience further, it's only by people doing so, that there is a chance of medical treatment improving.

Fight the good fight!

Hope you're feeling better now.

Jean

[Ianp66 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thanks Jean, feeling much better thank you.

[Auriculaire]

That's a horrific story. Especially dosages being increased without examination. It's like they are throwing basic training out the window in order to comply with this new " normal " of telephone appointments that is coming down from on high. There was a terrible story in the Telegraph recently of a woman who was constantly fobbed off with telephone appointments and told she had arthritis. She had had breast cancer some years ago and only when she turned up begging for pain killers because she could not walk was she examined , sent for an MRI and it was discovered she had cancer in her spine and hip. Too advanced for any treatment and she died. If she had been seen straight away and not fobbed off for months because of "covid restrictions " she could have had successful treatment.

Hope your improvement continues. My husband has been first on amlodipine alone then on a combo with Valsartan for many years with no apparent side effects. One size fits all medicine is a disaster.

[Hidden in reply to Auriculaire]

Hi Auriculaire,

Your phrase "to comply with this new " normal " of telephone appointments that is coming down from on high" has now started me off.

I find myself agreeing with you .... down here in my area of Cornwall (the pointy bit) I am finding increasingly that the NHS is using 'CoVid' as a necessary excuse TO NOT .... I repeat, TO NOT carry out many of more basic medical functions that the NHS has as a fundamental duty to carry out, has in its charter in fact !

CoVid is now becoming a cop out ! And if we are all not bloody careful this trend will become the NEW NHS.

If you take a broad look at society in this CoVid era, be it individuals, retailing, manufacturing, government, hospitality ... you will see changes, albeit small, in the way business is being done .... the old adage ......... "Necessity is the mother of invention" ... comes to mind. Some areas will embrace it and some won't. Those that don't or won't will perish.

Mercifully, my AF is now well controlled, after 11 years now, I know how it started, I know what triggers it, I have tech devices to help me monitor things ( including my own INR testing device for my warfarin intake ) and I know when to thump the table. I have diabetes in the family which killed my Dad eventually, and my diet recognizes this, and again I have my own tech which enables me to monitor blood sugar on my own. My GP has and continues to keep supporting me in my fight with controlling osteoarthritic pain.

The only time I see my GP now is for my annual bus drivers licence renewal medical. So my relationship is such that if I telephone her she knows if I ring then I am 'not crying wolf', she always rings back and listens to what I say and what I am asking for and does what she can to help out.

But Hey Ho !! aren't I the lucky one, being able to manage my own affairs and having a supportive GP ( and a medical practice management team too for that matter). So many, just so many, aren't in this fortunate situation. At last Mrs CarnEuny is about to transfer from her existing useless and incompetent practice to my existing one, and has requested my GP.

There is a generation thing at play here too ..... I feel so sorry for many of my bus passengers who, are at the low end of the socioeconomic scale, haven't got computers or can't afford technology, are lacking in family support ... totally adrift and who are of that kind of patient ( as my parents were) who worship the ground the GP walks on and would blindly submit to anything they suggested and never argue with their GP at all.

Sorry, didn't mean to be this long ..., got a bit carried away Auri 🙂🙂

John

[Auriculaire in reply to Hidden]

When listening to the complaints of family and friends who live in the UK about how difficult it is to get appointments we are very thankful to be living in a country of hypochondriacs where such attempts to cut basic access to a doctor would have people out rioting in the streets. My sister lives in Huddersfield. For years now getting a GP appointment has been difficult but in the end she could get to actually see somebody face to face. My ex GP in Brum ( now retired) who is a personal friend complains in her emails that her doctor's surgery is locked and getting telephone consultations is very difficult. Friends who live in the north East seem to be getting service as usual. I suspect the surgeries that were already pretty poor are taking advantage of Matt Hancock's preference for "telemedicine"and practically shutting up shop. Now with covid on the wane according to the figures they should be opening up again. My mum was like your parents and she had shit service from her surgery for years including on her death bed.

[Ianp66 in reply to Auriculaire]

Thank you, it is dangerous how drugs are just given out, more so when you complain of breathing problems etc and get told you just have maybe a cold or flu, and then it's anxiety.That woman being fobbed off is exactly what my gp has done and suspect many others reading answers to this thread.

I'm getting much better as days go by just see how it goes.

[Auriculaire in reply to Ianp66]

When I first went into hospital with afib I was put on Bisoprolol and the nurse came along with a preventative asthma inhaler as it was on my prescription list. So they knew that Bisoprolol exacerbated asthma bjt still put me on it! They told me I had got afib because my TSH was too low and I was overmedicated for my thyroid. So why bother with a drug that was going to make my asthma worse? Why not wait for the lowered thyroid meds to modify my TSH? I hardly had any trouble with the asthma and only used the preventative spray in autumn as I am allergic to molds and you get a lot of mold spores from fallen leaves. I explained all this and flatly refused to use the spray. Luckily my own cardiologist said I could come off Bisoprolol . He has a very off putting manner but I have stayed with him because he is not a pill pusher.

[JaneFinn]

Shocking shocking shocking 😣

Feel for you so much - this kind of ‘care’ is unacceptable. Hoping this surgery takes serious note, and that it’s onwards and upwards from here for you.

Jx

[Tickerprobs]

Hey Ian...Sounds like you’ve really gone through the mill. Hope you’re totally well soon. You’ve set ME off thinking now, about my meds, AMLODOPINE being one of them. Coincidentally I decided to reduce my intake from 10mg to 2.5mg, just in recent weeks, because of fluid retention in lower legs. Another factor being that I’ve developed, what looks like hives, above the knees and below, which developed three weeks after my first jab. Have had horrendous itchiness and stinging since then. My condition has got me totally confused. Best wishes to you matey.

[Ianp66 in reply to Tickerprobs]

Thanks mate, sounds awful that, the amlodopine didn't agree with me even a t low doses, but according to this that should know, it couldnt be that! Then after two weeks I get none of the symptoms, just a little exhausted off it all, but getting there, take care mate.

[john-boy-92]

On 5mg amlodipine with a rise in blood pressure although my BMI is 24 and my aggregate distance on an indoor rowing machine is over 2000 kilometers. A GP via the telephone doubled the dose to 10mg: swollen feet, ankles, feeling tired for six weeks. My GP rang and said go back to 5mg: feet and legs now normal and feeling better.

[Ianp66 in reply to john-boy-92]

I was put back on 5mg and it still had the effects above and even hospitalised me, if you you Google amlodipine and read some of the horror stories, it can happen after 6 months a year or whenever, it doesn't discriminate age or time period , I'd rather play roulette with high BP than that drug, for most it just creeps up then hits, the longer your on it the more it damages.

[Trapes]

My brother was put on it after his stroke, caused his lower legs to ballon so much that he could barely walk.

[RoyM]

I couldn't agree more with all the comments about GP surgeries and the Drs that "work" in them, absolutely awful service in my experience. But, I have to say the complete incompetence is not limited to them I'm afraid the NHS is not devoid of its own incompetent Drs. I am being monitored for a dilated Aorta at a very famous Heart hospital. On a recent visit I was seen by a Dr that checked by BP at 160/84 and immediately prescribed a cocktail of BP reducing drugs. He based this need on one BP reading taken at a time I was extremely anxious due to the hospital visit. Needless to say I refused and then he tried but failed to lecture me on the need for me to accept he was the expert and knew best. Yea right. I eventually walked out of the consultation, complained to the Drs senior and yes the complaint was upheld. Our NHS is not good all the time but the blame can't be laid at the Corvid door it had problems long before Corvid raised its ugly head. I use our GP practice for referrals and prescription writing not really fit for much else.