Hi There I am brand new. As an introduction I thought I would relate a tale that started a year ago, to help other people in a similar situation. A year ago, I realised I was very depressed. I put it down to stress of the continuing pandemic and the fact it was winter. I know I suffer from winter depression. My depression was confounded when my legs stared hurting on my daily walks, and I started needing to pee too frequently day and night. I manged to get a doctor’s appointment. You must be persistent where I live. I was sent to a vascular clinic where I remember with a smile the nurse in a broad local accent said "Ooo Darling you have a lovely pulse" (in the foot). The pain subsequently went away, and I was discharged. The urinary consultant discharged me with advice to wear compression stockings and elevate my legs in the evening. The problem went away. I have been on Felodipine for high blood pressure for 5 years at no time was it mentioned as a possible contributor by the numerous medical professionals I saw. Both problems reoccurred at various times since then. Two weeks ago, I started to feel a pain in the left side of my chest and could feel; my pulse all over the top half of my body. It was extremely alarming. Again, I manged to get a doctor’s appointment and was told to stop everything and go to A&E immediately. Even more alarming my blood pressure was through the roof. I was taken straight in and plugged into an ECG, given a chest x-ray and bloods taken. I was discharged after 7 hours with little explanation. I had seen 10 different people, and no one mentioned Felodipine, and I kick myself for not thinking of it myself. Two days later I received a letter that purported to outline what had happened and what was said. It bore no relation to my experience. One thing was I was due to have a 24-hour blood pressure monitor. The Hospital told me the GP would do that bit the GP on the other hand said it would be the hospital. I had rung the doctor and got an appointment to point out the inconsistencies in the letter because I thought she would get a copy too. Her solution was for me to do a 7-day blood pressure chart. She rang the following week to get the result. My Blood pressure was very high. She doubled my Felodipine dose. The result was my legs ached so much I could barely walk my pulse was a stable average 80 bpm, but I was visibly shaking. I got very cold for no reason; I never usually feel cold. My gums stated bleeding. I would break out in uncontrollable yawning at random times and would fall asleep sometimes without realising and then could not sleep at night. I stopped taking the pills without consulting the doctor by this time my faith in the medical profession was shaken. I should add to others don’t do this unless you know what you are doing. You should always consult a doctor when changing anything. I stayed off the pills for three days the symptoms subsided. I took the pills again and they came back. Then I rang the Doctor. It was a completely different experience. He talked to me like an equal completely agreed I had done the right thing to stop the pills and start them again to prove it. My BP is still moderately high at an average of 150/90 so he has prescribed Slozem. Does anyone have experience of Slozem I am naturally wary. I am four days off Felodipine as I write. I feel wonderful, the depression has lifted, chest pain is gone, I can't feel my pulse, peeing is back to normal. I am just off for a long walk in the sunshine.
An Introduction and a salutary tale a... - British Heart Fou...
An Introduction and a salutary tale about Felodipine
Hello Lovewalking18, gosh, what a salutary tale. Thank you fir sharing your story, and also well done you for persevering. There is a lesson for us all, in your situation. I am still, after four months bypass x 4, struggling to get the balance of my medication correct. I am on the phone to the pharmacist and the GP to try and get the balance right, far to regularly really. It is hard work, but your situation shows we can get sorted and also no one knows our bodies better than ourselves. I wish you continued walking in the sunshine, and a continued recovery. Thank you again, for sharing and take care. Judi
Thanks Judy, I hope you get sorted too. I particularly like this comment "no one knows our bodies better than ourselves." I hate it when doctors argue with me and I often say that.
Your story has made me think again about the Amlodipine I've been taking for just over 3 weeks. I was given Sertraline just before I started the Amlodipine because of low mood, no surprises there considering the last year especially.
I had a hard time with the Sertraline so the Dr prescribed Fluoxetine.
That made a big difference as I seem to be OK with them, but I'm finding it hard to sleep and have gone from a single visit to the bathroom at night to anything up to 5 times a night since starting Amlodipine. I'm convinced it's because of them.
I think it's worth having a day or so off them to see if things improve.
Hi Griff, The half life of Amlodipine is 30 to 50 hours so it will take ten days to clear your system. I would imagine you will be monitoring your blood pressure while you are off. I upped my monitoring just for a while.
That's interesting and thank you.Yes, I've been monitoring 3 times a day for well over a month because its not been very stable lately on the ramipril.
Amlodipine definately made a difference and the Dr was happy with the result and wanted me to keep the record going for a while longer, but the sleep interruptions are wearing me out.
I know how you feel. I was peeing 4 times a night and more when my pills were doubled. I am sure not getting enough sleep makes the blood pressure go up. I am also due for a CTCA it might be interesting.
Blimey you are a little judgemental! It doesn't make sense to you because your intelligence is obviously limited. You obviously did not understand that it was Felodipine that caused my issues and the Doctor agreed with me. You may not mean to be rude but you are very rude. I didn't expect to be attacked so vehemently on my first day on here! In fact I didn't expect to get attacked at all this is not Facebook! I hope you are not representative of others on here. You have no idea about my smoking history and my several attempts to give up. You have no idea of my personal circumstances and the event that happened that caused me to take it up again. I don't intend to go into it here. As it is no doctor in this area offers smoking cessation and the most effective means of giving up which I have used before Champix has been withdrawn from distribution because it has been found to contain carcinogens. As for Colloidal Silver who said anything about swallowing it. I would not swallow anything that turns my skin blue. I said I make it. Its effective for topical wounds on the cat who gets into lots of scrapes. You will be reported and I hope they throw you out.
I was just thinking you may have a very healthy lifestyle but you must be harbouring a lot of negative emotion to have a go at a complete stranger like you have. You might even be a bigot too. I suspect you are a very angry man and that is the seat of your heart problems. Now get out of my life and stay out.
Hi there, I'm sorry to hear of your issues with Felodipine. My first reaction was to wonder why you suffered for so long. I've never been prescribed that particular medication, but had similar issues with Amlodipine. Thankfully my GP was very willing to change my medication when I told him of the issues I was having.
My health issues started with high blood pressure and initially I was prescribed various kinds of medication, all of which made me unwell. My GP at that time told me to persevere, but that was difficult as I was self-employed and the medication was preventing me from working because I felt so bad. I just had to stop taking the medication. The complete lack of help from the GP resulted in me changing to another practice, after which things were totally different. I found that I could discuss my problems with the new GP and he treated me as another human being. Since then I have had the confidence to be pro-active in respect of my health with all healthcare professionals and generally this has been well received.
I hope that the Slozem (Diltiazem) continues to suit you. I was on it for 6 weeks after my bypass op to prevent arterial spasms and had no issues at all.
Kind regards,
Gerald
Hi Gerald, thank you for your reply its nice to know there are nice people on here too. I was trolled on my first day and have considered leaving already. Like you I tried various blood pressure medications in the past all of which made me ill or made me pee excessively. Then I was put on Felodipine it worked and there were no side effects. That was five years ago. When the symptoms started a year ago I just didn't connect them with Felodipine because they had been working so well, I realise now I should have done. A series of difficult things happened back then and so I put the symptoms down to stress. I am a lot wiser now! My doctors surgery is huge they have 30,000 patients. They have hoovered up all the small doctors in the area. There is one other practice which is equally big so its not a choice to move doctors. We have to ring exactly at 8am and even then it is possible to be 80th in the queue which is very stressful. Sometimes all the appointments have gone and even if you get one its pot luck which doctor you get. All of them are telephone appointments which is not ideal. Some will talk down to you usually the younger ones and some you can have a conversation with. It was the latter kind of doctor that changed me to Slozem! I took the first one today after a few days of letting the Felodipine out of my system. Fingers crossed. Because of this lack of easy access to doctors and while I get my life in order to enable me to give up smoking again I have also been proactive in all aspects of my health particularly regarding nutrition, I am very interested in things that are population deficient particularly magnesium, I do breathing exercises and try and walk 5 miles a day. I don't drink alcohol or pop and limit my caffeine intake to before 8am. Otherwise I drink Magnesium Bicarbonate in plain water. Its very sad that all of my friends are much less healthy than I am and cannot keep up with the walking. Go well my friend. Mark
Hi Mark,
Great to receive your reply. The tirade that you received was entirely unforgiveable and rather embarassing as the majority on here are really helpful.
Like you, I walk more or less every day, but commitments to family which requires travel does impinge on that. Some days I spend more time in the car than out of it. To catch up, if the weather is pleasant, I go on a walk binge, with 17 miles non-stop being my record to date. Surprisingly without any after effects. My preference is for hill walking, mainly up in Scotland when I can get there. I try to get some decent hills climbed, usually with11kg on my back, as I like to pursue my interest in amateur radio from the summits. All good fun!
I've only tried Magnesium in tablet form with a meal. It didn't seem to do much to be honest. Neither did Co-Q10. I was considering trying Turmeric to help my ageing joints, but it seems to be the supplement of the moment and generally unavailable in any decent strength.
The three things I've learnt in life are, keep as fit and well as you can, be pro-active with regards to your health and above all, stay positive. I hope that you can give up the smoking. I tried a packet of 10 when I was 17 years old, doing swaps with friends to try other brands.... hated every one! Thank goodness!
Keep well,
Gerald
Hi Gerald, I wish I lived up there I would be up in the hills with you! I live in the Midlands. I tend to walk locally so I don't have to use the car, Climate Emergency and all that. I have been the opposite of you in many ways walking 20 miles across London's green spaces and canals, sadly I no longer have the friend I used to walk with. When I was a boy my fathers uncle was a radio boffin. You could hear his house humming when you approached. His garden was like a mini Rugby Radio station. He built me a short wave radio receiver and instructed me to clip the Ariel lead onto a sanded bit of the guttering around the house! It was metal in those days. I used to listen to radio broadcasts and ham radio from all over the world. I wish I still had it. It depends what Magnesium you take. I make Magnesium Bicarbonate by reacting Magnesium Hydroxide with carbonated water its very bio available. Or I take Magnesium Glycinate at bedtime its good for sleep. The Magnesium you buy in Sainsburys is Magnesium Oxide which is next to useless. Which kind was yours? I have just bought some Capsicum cream for my knees and shoulders. Its the downside of having an extremely active life. I spent a year working in a woodland coppicing by hand and throwing bits of tree about I slightly regret being so macho now. As for the Troll I realise there must be something going on with him to cause him to be so horrible. Or he is a sociopath/psychopath who lacks empathy in which case there is no hope. Apparently others have had a similar problem. I may reach out to him with empathy and compassion and see what happens! Thank You it is nice not to talk about heart problems all the time. 
Hi Mark,
I too live in the Midlands. so Scotland is a long trek for me as well. I used to walk with a friend, but unfortunately he has been diagnosed with liver cancer, so we will not be going out for a while. His op will probably be in a month or so. I prefer to go with someone for security. You have to be very careful when you're on a remote hill on your own... at least I carry radio kit... plus two phones on different networks and suitable emergency provision including a bothy bag!
The Magnesium that I had was just standard tablets, I think from the well known chemist. Nothing against them, I just didn't feel any different, so I stopped taking them. Looking back, I strangely benefitted from having a heart attack as stenting the artery improved my metabolic rate... I took off one stone in weight in the first week... and it has stayed off. I have far more energy now than I did before the event. The bypass op was more a long term investment in my health, not of necessity.
Walking has actually kept my knees in quite reasonable condition as it keeps the muscles in trim, but I am starting to get a little arthritis now, so it's time to act. I need to keep the aging process at bay!
Best regards,
Gerald
Hi Mark,My husband had exactly the same problem with Felodepine, which made it difficult for him to walk with pain in his ankles (and knees to some extent). He did as you have done, stopped taking it for 2 days and the pain disappeared. He began taking it again and the pain returned. He knew then that Felodepine didn’t suit him.
He told his GP who told him to stop taking it. His GP put him on Perindopril 8mg, plus Bendroflumethiazid 2.5mg. He has found that it suits him better although he does have to get up twice a night to pee. He says it works the best of all the ones he’s tried and he’s tried quite a few over the years. His blood pressure is very similar to yours from what you wrote originally (that’s after taking the tablets). He can’t get it any lower however many tablets he tries. We’re all different and have to understand that.
He smokes a small thin cigar once a day with a pint of Stout or Porter, eats a very healthy diet with lots of veg but he doesn’t do a lot of walking like yourself, which he knows he should. He’s 72 years old.
I hope you quickly find the medicine which suits you best.
Take care and best wishes, T57
I've no problems with Cardioplen (Felodipine) but was recently given Rampiril 2.5 to help with control and to protect the kidneys (I'm a very long term Type 1 diabetic). I can't say I've had any issues with either drug.Wishing you all the best. xxxx
Hi Mark. I take Slozem( Diltiazem) as a rate control medicine and it works well for me. I did try Bisoprolol initially and that made me feel awful, fatigued and heavy legged. Think it's a case of finding what suits you. Hope this is the right drug for you.Regards Sue.
Thanks Sue Its reassuring to find others who have no problems.
I have been on Diltizem modified release tablets for 10 years. I am on 240mgs twice a day.
Common side effects are swollen ankles and constipation.
I only get swollen ankles in the really hot weather.
My daily prunes manages the constipation.
I am now off for my daily walk. 🚶♀️
Now I always find a walk dislodges any blockages I may have, the trouble is when I am only half way through!! 😂😂😜
This is the reason for my daily walk😊
Lovely!
I love seeing all the dogs when I am out walking. They try and lick my legs which leads to a bit of a dance.
It's the shorts!
Hi Outoftheblues,I am just an outsider reading the comments between you and Lovewalking18.
This person has come on to this site to point out a problem they are having with a certain drug as well as asking if anyone else has suffered side effects due to it.
Therefore I don’t think it’s the right thing to do for anyone to be so judgmental about another persons smoking habits on here. It is not for others to judge. We do not know what issues he may be having emotionally, or how hard he has tried to quit, how many he smokes a day, where he smokes, be it out doors or just for a recreational purpose when having a drink.
Smoking in moderation can actually have benefits of calming one’s nerves, which in turn can lower blood pressure. I would never think of telling someone who smoked that they must quit. If he only smokes a few it may be beneficial. Not all smokers kill themselves by smoking.
Only statistics tell us that smoking is harmful, though we surmise it is not a particularly healthy thing to participate in in the long term, but it does not kill everyone or give everyone lung cancer or COPD. Only doctors tell us this because they are/were educated by “the book of statistics” and statistics doesn’t fit all. My surgeon even told me this…”forget statistics for that’s all they are and we are all different”.
Please give Lovewalking18 a chance. Sometimes it’s better to hold one’s own council than attacking other people who we don’t know or their life circumstances.
Kindness can have real benefits.
Just my thoughts…T57
Thank You Tempo its good to have the support. I am feeling so much better about this platform today than I was yesterday. Lets all send love to outoftheblue because he is obviously suffering unless of course he is a sociopath!
Interesting, I have just sent off my DNA sample to get a health report!
I apologise for the insults! Its not really me I am really a compassionate and peace loving person. It was the shock of your assault, if someone jumps you from behind physically it triggers the fight response. My reaction was the verbal equivalent. I am interested to know why you go for people like that, others have reported similar interventions. You may not be a sociopath but you certainly display a lack of empathy and its not the way to win friends! Maybe you have something difficult going on in your life and I wish you well! What is the OP by the way?
Thank you for that! I understand where you are coming from a little bit more now. Lets call it quits. We could still have a friendly debate next Friday if it helps you to run faster How far do you run? It might have helped me too. I walked five miles quite fast this morning, wearing shorts when it is so cold also helps. You have to trust me, I know how bad smoking is I grew up in a house with three adults smoking senior service unfiltered but none of them died from it so I don't have your experience it hasn't bolstered my resolve to give up like your experience has coloured you against smoking. I have not smoked all my life and I only smoke roll ups, slightly less chemicals. I know I know there is no excuse! Of the 48 years from age 18 I have smoked for 27 years OTA. I know my pattern I smoke when something tragic happens. I am more psychologically addicted . The last time I gave up was with Champix which makes it easy for psychological addiction but it is now unavailable. I am hoping it will become available soon. One of my Doctors is on it. NRT does not work for me at all. My mum was psychologically addicted. She once climbed out of a Hospital window onto a flat roof in the winter having stolen cigarettes and a lighter. She had a broken neck at the time. She smoked four cigarettes before they found her. I am not that bad but it illustrates the difficulty. I will give up again and stay given up I am actively working to make my life more serene and I know spring is a good time for me. Maybe more kicks up the backside like yours is also what I need but gentle ones. It is an odd position to be in, not wanting to qualify for the club but it should help me. Regards Mark
Hi Lovewalking18,
It can be very hard to give up smoking so I can appreciate your difficulty. It’s very addictive! Smoking affects everyone differently. We are all different even though we look similar! Our bodies respond differently to drugs, smoking, foods, etc., so it’s not a matter of ‘one fits all’.
My father smoked until he was 97 years old and he didn’t pass away from anything related to smoking, he passed away from old age pneumonia. He had a triple heart bypass at age 69, smoked less afterwards but still continued smoking.
My friends father smoked ‘roll your owns’ heavily all his life and he was also a miner, yet he lived until 93 years old and died with dementia.
So now you can see that some people can smoke and not be harmed and others are affected so one cannot say that smoking harms everyone of us. We all have different genes. We can look at our parents and get a measure because we share their genes… Not that I am suggesting you continue, far from it because it’s obviously much healthier not to which I’m sure you’ll agree with.
But I do get annoyed when people suggest that we will ALL be harmed by certain drugs, substances, foods, smoking, drinking, etc,. because this is not simply the case. Statistically yes, some things appear harmful, but remember statistics are made to fit the agenda of the person who created the study! We only have to look at the statistics we were fed during Covid by Whitty, et al. They changed them around to suit there own agenda half way through the summer of 2020 so nothing after that time could be matched to anything before then. Then they changed them again reporting Covid deaths within 28 days of catching Covid. The whole lot was so unrelated it didn’t make any sense to the first set of statistics hence nonsense!
I smoked most of my adult life and wondered how I would ever be able to stop. I loved a smoke with a drink. Then, almost 2 years ago I just quit cold turkey. I told myself I will not have a smoke today and I kept to it. One day at a time is best. It only bothered me for a few days, (if that), and I found something to take my mind of it. After a few days I never missed it. I was truly amazed at how easy it was to give up. Looking back I wonder why I ever smoked but I believe it was a habit with my hands!
There is a great group of people on the give up smoking board here who will give you support should you need it. Don’t be afraid to ask.
Good luck with it. If I can do it you certainly can.
Best wishes, T57
Hi lovewalking another salutary tale about felodipine,I had a total thyroidectomy in March 2020 and they put me on Levothyroxine but it didn’t take away the symptoms of hypothyroidism so I have always put my symptoms down to the thyroid medication.
They put me on one blood pressure tablet that I didn’t get on well with and then they tried me on amlodipine and that didn’t suit so then in November 2020 I landed up on felodipine 2.5mg.
In February this year I was given my prescription of felodipine (Teva) and thats when the real trouble started but I never gave the BP medication a thought, I had really bad pins and needles in my limbs I was itching all over I was lightheaded and my legs felt like jelly, My BP was up in the rafters, I spoke to the doctors who told me to take BP readings for a week and drop them in to the surgery.
After the readings were reviewed I was told to double the dose, because I felt so poorly I could not get to the chemists for the new 5mg prescription so I just took two 2.5mg, that made me even worse but I finished the Teva box.
I had another box of tablets and started taking them and the symptoms reduced slightly.
Although they were all still there I got to thinking maybe it’s the BP medication and not the thyroxine
I eventually got to the chemists and spoke to the pharmacist who asked me about it all and he said it possibly could be the felodipine and I should ask the doctors to change it.
I have eventually got to speak to a doctor to get them changed and the advice was stop taking them take BP for a couple of weeks twice a day and take the readings to the surgery, if BP goes over 150/100 contact the surgery (if you can get through), book in for some blood tests and bring in a urine sample.
The doctor was quite dismissive and said because I’d been on it since Nov 2020 it was hardly likely to be the felodipine
I despair
Hello, I have been on Felodipine since last September at 2.5 mg. My legs hurt all the time now but especially after walking the golf course. After reviewing lots of user reviews for drugs I am convinced it is the Felodipine causing my problems. I was on almodipine before and that made my ankles swell. These two drugs are in the same class of drugs. I see my Dr. next Wednesday and I will tell him I want off of this drug.
cramp or aching legs
Last week was challenging - chest pain and visit to A&E
Out of breath while walking
Blood pressure puzzle
