Total confusion with BP meds

[Dryeyes]

Hi, had blood pressure meds for some years, had settled on Candesartan 4mg and Felodipine 5mg for many years, then after some extreme personal situations and equally extreme health issues my BP started getting high.

Doc put me up to 10 mg Felodipine and then increased the Candesartan to 16 mg.

This helped for a time but my lower legs swelled and so Felodipine went to 5 mg.

But BP was no longer controlled.

They tried me on a beta-blocker which made me very ill and is now red flagged.

Then Doxazosin was added in this year.

Result was too low BP and racing heart rate.

Dropped to 2 mg, and things settled a bit but I still saw my BP go too low for me with 97/67.

I recently had a frightful bout of breathlessness and dizziness, saw doc and said it was anxiety but I note Doxazosin can cause this. Also the lower leg swelling is back, with dry mouth and eyes.

I really feel my docs are lost as to what to do and leave it to me to experiment. This is a big threat and risk ti my job so I need it fixing.

Main other possible side effects are, swollen ankles, odd heart rate, doc said I had a dropped beat but it settled, my bp machine always now says arrhythmia. Tingling feet, flutters in throat, fatigue, dry mouth and eyes.

I know I have to take meds but just want it sorted instead of going round and round like this. Which of the three needs swapping out, or do they all. Many thanks

[Kristin1812 Heart Star]

So sorry you are having such a difficult time. I came to realise over time, that sometimes it’s not clear to the doctors, what to do, and there is an element of trial with juggling the drugs etc, and sometimes it can take ages to find a combination that helps you.

Of course our physical state changes too, so it can be a very moving scene.

Do you have a doctor you trust?

It’s taken quite a while to find a drug and fitness and activity and rest regimen that suits me, so I can now function well enough for about 6 hours a day.

Keep posting. Keep reading. Others may have better ideas for you. But do let us know how you get on.

[Dryeyes in reply to Kristin1812]

Thanks, so hard to get to see our doctors due to local overpopulation and cuts backs.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Sometimes it can be extremely difficult to sort out BP medication. Does your local hospital have a Hypertension Service you could be referred to. Sometimes it may entail a short stay in hospital as they stabilise things. They should take urgent referrals if necessary.

[Dryeyes in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks, I'll ask about that.