I'm new and at age 50 been diagnosed with high blood pressure and been prescribed ramipril 2.5mg. The first few weeks were ok but this week I've been feeling awful. Coughed and was sick on Monday. My throat has been sore and feels like it is tighter than normal, feel tired achy and has made my asthma worse. I assume these are some of the side effects of ramipril.
I'm seeing the nurse on Monday for blood tests, but I really won't to stop it. I have now cut right down on salt as well as eating healthier and have started running and have lost quite a bit of weight already since being diagnosed with high blood pressure was a turning point for me. I haven't been able to exercise all week as my body feels inflamed. I'm utterly fed up and have been off work with these side effects. Surely if I can bring my bp down with lifestyle changes I don't have to take this meditation?
What do others think? X
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dhalia_black
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Are you on any other medications? Talk it through with your nurse who may decide it needs reviewing with your GP. I am familiar with the *pril family (ACE inhibitors) causing a fairly persistent cough but not all the other symptoms. Could you have picked up a virus?
Hi my gp changed my Ramipril last week after taking them for about three months I had bad cough with a tickle which made me heave Not nice for a lady really and embarrassed when out I also in the last week had what i described as a blotchy feeling itch which he said could also be ripril Now on losartan I was on 10mg ramipril but had to work up from 2.5mg originally
I have taken Ramppril sins my heart attack in February. I have a awful cogh and I feeling tired ....I'm on a lot of hearth medication and I hope my consultant will reduce some of it. J 🍉
My GP has had me off for a week now and although the dry throat is improving I still feel tired all the time. I may be 74 but till now been doing my own very large garden. However I still feel like curling up and going to sleep. See my GP on Monday again.
My husband suggested it may be a virus, so I'll wait till Monday when I see the nurse. I didn't have any side effects till last week though so a virus could be a posibility.
Ramipril has the known side-effect of a dry , irritating cough in some people, though most take it with no problems. It's hard to know whether your symptoms are a viral illness or ramipril side-effects, but there are a lot of possible drugs for hypertension. Congratulations for the important lifestyle changes, but if they aren't sufficient then you can work with your doctor to find a hypertension drug that works for you. I've ended up with candesartan, which is known to have a good side-effect profile.
The bottom line is good BP control one way or the other!
I also began on Ramapril but got terrible itchy rashes on my arms which I thought was a side effect. Turned out to be eczema?? Still the cardiologist changed my meds to Amlopidine and doubled the dose. Eczema got bad after starting tablets though. Coincidence? GP believes it is.
Could be the same for you with picking up a virus maybe?
One note on the exercise and healthy lifestyle. Ive done the same since diagnosis and feel much better but don’t underestimate what the tablets do. I accidentally ran out for around 5 days last month and thought “it’s ok I’ve lost a stone and am exercising, feeling good, BP is normal, a few days won’t matter”. I started getting dizzy again after only a couple of days and my BP had shot back up. Best to not stop taking them.
I was prescribed Ramipril after my heart attack in February. I also got a really bad cold as soon as I left hospital. The heart nurse recognised the coughing as a side effect of Ramipril straight away and changed me over to Losartan shortly afterwards. No problems since then. Talk to your heart nurse.
Ramipril played havoc with my potassium levels . Two weeks after starting it I did blood test as per GPs instruction and was feeling rough. after blood test I was feeling so bad I stopped taking them. A few days later my GP called and said come back in ASAP , stop taking Ramipril immediately. I told him I had already . Am now on amlotropine and all good. There are alternatives to feeling miserable on drugs.
Hi - I'm 56 and was saddened 5 days ago to be told by my GP that my BP was a little higher than they'd like...so here's some Ramipril...see how you go. (2.5gm). (I'd been to GP as optician found a 'bleed' on back of my eye...). Well, I've always been so PROUD of my good health and enjoyed my hobbies which 'caused' good health - hill walking, bit of tennis, yoga, pilates etc and am devastated to be told that 160/101 'needs' treatment. I lasted 5 days on Ramipril before throwing in towel and begging for something 'kinder'! - I took them at 7.30am and by 8.30am I was 99% zombie-fied, then totally aggressive, then zombie etc etc - I didn't know who I was, where I was or why I was! Yep the BP came down to 122/67 (fabulous), but the side effects were GRIM. I now waiting for these to leave my system, before I try Amlodipine (my GP assures me that if this doesn't work...there are "loads" of others to trial...) - yuck, what a prospect, my clean-living, drug-free, healthy, joyful life style is now over by look of it...very upset indeed :(. Very upset.
Yip, I went to the optician for a routine eye test and she found a blood vessel had a tiny bleed at the back of one of my eyes. I was advised to go to my GP and have my BP checked - well after loads of blood tests, ECG, heart scan, it turns out I've had a few years of living with uncontrolled high blood pressure and one side of my heart working harder than the other. I'm 57 and male with no heart or BP history - so I too was shocked. I'm also a fitness class instructor and thought I was doing everything healthy - hmmmpfff. I started out with monthly increasing doses of Ramipril but the cough and cold symptoms were too much to cope with. I'm now on an equivalent dose of Candestartan and I think my GP and I have found the right dose - BP is pretty stable at 125/80 just now which is a vast improvement. I've also been on a steady dose of 5mg of Amlodipine from the start. I had to curtail all fitness activity for a couple of months but am now allowed back to teaching my classes although I now need to look at my lifestyle all over - work/life balance, routine activities, diet, exercise, etc - I've put on weight and i'm not happy with that But the good news is that my BP is under control and I should have fended off any serious risk of stroke and heart attack - I'm extremely thankful to my optician and to the care from my GP and the extended NHS in Scotland.
I started on ramipril and went all through to my full dose level coughing all the time with the tickley throat, runny nose til I could not take it any more! Now on candesartan instead, no cough, no problem!! Phew! Just a week or so feeling weird getting used to new drug..
I just had my ramipril stopped because of side effects. For the past month I haven't been able to function for 5 hours after taking it but it's taken all this time to work out which tablet was causing me awful chest pain and dreadful weakness. I haven't even been able to go into the kitchen to make a drink yet after about 5 hours it all wore off. First day without it today and I've felt fantastic. Now having problems with the beta blocker which is making me so breathless and I'm having hallucinations so what they can give me for BP now I don't know. There must be a balance between side effects and heart problems. There's no point continuing if you can't function and the tablets make you worse. There is a warning on them about making asthma worse so you must see your GP as soon as you can.
After a year of feeling unwell, similar symptoms to you I was referred to chest clinic and after all tests the outcome was to stop ramipril. Symptoms disappeared after 8 weeks. Now on my records I am allergic to ramipril. Hope this helpful
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But the good news is that my BP is under control and I should have fended off any serious risk of stroke and heart attack - I'm extremely thankful to my optician and to the care from my GP and the extended NHS in Scotland. 
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