Amlodipine and light headedness

[trebor5558]

I have been prescribed 5mg Amlodipine and after a couple of days I became extemely light headed.....to the point when I had to stop taking it. More or less as soon as I stopped my light headedness went away. I am in my contact with my doctora about it as this is the second time she's tried it out on me....and this is the second time I've had this reaction..............Anyone had similar experience?

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Sounds like it could be hypotension. Have you got your own BP meter to take a reading to check when it occurs? I had occasional bouts of this with Diltiazem which is another CCI (calcium channel inhibitor). Speak to your GP and see if he is willing for you to try a half tablet.

[trebor5558 in reply to MichaelJH]

Hi MichaelJH

What I am doing is creating a chart of a weeks readings and then going to see her.....and,as you say, she might halve the dose and I try that......I'll keep you posted!

[Bingo88]

Hello trebor5558. Yes Amlodipine did not agree with me. Gave me leg ulcers. Ended up at hospital being treated for cellulitis Ask them to change your meds. Good luck. BRIAN

[Hidden in reply to Bingo88]

I’ve been on Amlodipine for years and had Cellulitis 5 times now. The last time was so bad I ended up having surgery to relieve the pressure in my leg as the swelling and ulceration was so bad it was affecting the blood flow to my foot. The surgeon stopped the Amlodipine but the cardiologist put me back on it as I have such bad CAD

[Bingo88 in reply to Hidden]

There must be another type of tablet to do the job and cut out the risk factors BRIAN

[Hidden in reply to Bingo88]

I think it’s a common side effect of all calcium channel inhibitors.

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Bingo88]

CCIs are known for causing odema and if untreated this may result in cellulitis. I had quite severe odema with Amlodipine but not Diltiazem, another CCI. Always worth asking if you can change!

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to MichaelJH]

See my comment above.

[Auiron]

I was put on Amlodipine 5mg back in 1995 as it is OK for an Asthmatic and 15 years later, additionally, Bendrofflumethiazide 2.5mg. Amlodipine builds up in the body gradually and can be dangerous if taken inadvertently. Keep it locked away.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-k...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/168...

hindawi.com/journals/cric/2...

Amlodipine Oral Tablet Side Affects: healthline.com/health/amlod...

I was given no advice at all when it was prescribed and none since. You can take liquid Amlodipine.

The NHS say the following and I do not remember any Doctor or Nurse Practitioner ever mentioning it: "Do not eat or drink lots of grapefruit or grapefruit juice while you're taking this medicine. Grapefruit can increase the concentration of amlodipine in your body and worsen side effects."

[Hidden]

Hi I am on the same medication as you for high blood pressure and have had no problems . I was warned that I might have swollen ankles but they never happened so all good . I take it at night so that may help the light headedness. I was also prescribed atorvastatin for high cholesterol but have since stopped as I have IBS and that made the stomach cramps a lot worse . Dr said it was a personal choice but after trying a couple of time’s I gave up . Hope this helps

[PecanSandie]

I take 10MG of amlodipine for HBP (in the morning). The only reaction I had from it was occasionally fat ankles. But I think that side effect has gone away now. The drug that made me light headed was Metoprolol, so now I take that in the evening before bed.

[trebor5558]

thanks for this Sandie