Heart Meds

[Stevie1960]

Has anyone stopped taking their Ramipril, Bisoprolol, Atorvastatin etc off their own back and did you notice any difference.

[Pkfje9]

I wouldn't stop any drugs without instruction from gp etcIf you are having unpleasant side effects speak to your pharmacist..they are very knowledgeable

Hope you're ok

[SheldonC]

You should always consult your GP or heart team before stopping any meds, if you don’t and you just stop, the system will still show you are on them and if you where admitted they would assume you still take them.

[Hidden]

Dear Stevie1960

This post will be closed down {not by me} because in my opinion its a horrible question.

I presume that whoever the answer is for has had some problems with results of various tests to be placed on this combination of drugs, and now for some reason having taken all that time up has come to a better conclusion to their diagnosis than the professionals and is willing to refuse/ stop the treatment recommended?

At the end of the day it is your/their choice to do with your/their body what you/they want, but why waste the time of professionals to make it? When you/they could have just gone along with your/their life as you /they had before.

And do your/their loved ones have no say?

There are so many people on here that have suffered with illness then operations and all that entails, then suffered with side effects of strong medication to do what?

I will tell you……….live !!!!!!!

I am sorry that you feel that you had to post such a question and if the answer is for you then I say to you, please get some help in understanding how this medication helps the situation that you have been diagnosed with.

You have been deemed to be important enough to be given a chance on a better quality of life,

please grab it with both hands.

You are not alone { or whoever this is for } we are here to help, Why? Because you are really really important, I promise you.

[Stevie1960 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Blue1958Thanks for the swift reply, the question was in fact about myself and my quality of life that has gone down hill over the past 5-6 years, Cardiac Arrest in 2013, stents fitted for Angina pain, no problems with chest pain since, but many other issues after years of taking the meds.

[SheldonC in reply to Stevie1960]

I can understand exactly what you mean.

Remember that taking meds is your choice, if you don’t want to take them, then discuss with your GP and TELL them your decision.

I was told a while ago that meds are supposed to make us feel better, not worse!

[Hidden in reply to SheldonC]

Hi SheldonC,

It is important to remember that HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between community members and their doctors. Please avoid advising others to make changes to their medication, without them speaking to a health professional first.

Many thanks

[SheldonC in reply to Hidden]

I actually posted that they MUST discuss with their GP!!!!!!!!!

[SheldonC in reply to SheldonC]

“You should always consult your GP or heart team before stopping any meds,”

[Hidden in reply to Stevie1960]

Then this must be addressed by your medical team, there are so many versions of the medication that you are on that others maybe better for you, but you must ask the questions to the right dept.

I can tell by your wording that sadly {and maybe slowly} you have seemed to have lost your spark for life, due to side effects of the medication, then there is help to get that back and the start of that journey is your Drs

Ask the questions that you need answers for then decide for yourself if this is really the path you want to go down.

We all have bad days but when those start turning into weeks/months/years help is needed.

I wish I could do more for you and it seems not enough to say that you are in my thoughts, but you are

Take care

[Stevie1960 in reply to Hidden]

Hi, thanks very much for the support, I will go to the GP first.

[Qualipop in reply to Stevie1960]

Don't put up with the side effects or long term effects that are making you miserable. There are ALWAYS alternatives. I was shocked you could even suggest taking them but then I realised where you we re coming from. However some of the effects have to be worth putting up with. As an example, besides my heart problems, I have lived with chronic excruciating pain for 30 years. I was put on opiates; the only thing that relieves the ain and even then only by about 5 0%. I am still in very bad pain. After all that time the long term effects are now hitting me; slow digestive transit; my bowel has slowed right down and I suffer chronic constipation which is also painful and makes me feel sick. The alternative is to stop taking the opiate but the amount of pain I would be in would be utterly unbearable. I would have NO quality of life. SO I put up with the side effects. Talk to your gP about which are essential , which might be reduced or which could be changed. You should be having an annual meds review where you could discuss these problems.

[Hidden]

Hello

Others have said already and I 100% agree you should never stop any meds without consulting your Doctor first this could be very dangerous

I would not even think about doing it without asking

If you are not suiting them then please do not just stop taking them but speak with your Doctor

Hope you get it all sorted out x

[Griff-64]

Interesting question, and the concensus seems to be "not without consulting your GP", however, I was fairly recently given a couple of new meds by my Dr, and over a period of time became more and more unwell.One of the meds was amlodipine, to be taken in conjunction with the ramipril I've been on for years. The other was for my waterworks, the Dr advised me to keep an eye on my BP, as that one may also have an effect on it.

Well, sure enough, BP that is usually 145/100+ first thing was dropping to (at its lowest) 84/40. Naturally, I decided to stop both new meds without consultation, as the previous one I had to wait over 5 weeks for it. However, nothing much changed, so I looked again at my other meds and the only thing I could think was that the pharmacist had advised me to take both isosorbide 60mg together, instead of one twice a day.

So I went back to how it originally was, the low BP stopped, feeling like a zombie stopped and I went back to how I had been before.

If I'd done all this by consulting with my Dr, it could have taken months to sort out.

I'd never advise anyone to do this of course, it could be dangerous, but so can taking the advice of a pharmacist who just wrote instructions on the packaging of the meds. And as I've since heard, has had many complaints about his poor service.

[Stevie1960 in reply to Griff-64]

Hi, I was on Amlodipine for years but had them changed as my legs were swelling a lot and purple in colour and stinging and then itching, this is still happening along with the dry cough, shivering and temperature, I'm also under the Lymphedema nurses for my legs but am not convinced it is that, need to try and get some closure on this as didn't have these issues before going on the meds.

[Griff-64 in reply to Stevie1960]

I must admit, I get blotchy legs, itching, dry cough and I'm always cold, but I put some of that down to other things like diabetes etc. I get pins and needles in my extremities too, and a numbness in my feet.

[SheldonC in reply to Griff-64]

Like I said earlier, if you don’t notify anyone that you have stopped a prescription med, then if you where admitted the assumption is that you are taking the meds as prescribed.

[Griff-64 in reply to SheldonC]

Yes, I am aware of that.

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to SheldonC]

I don't feel that such an assumption is made by the medical staff.

I am always asked which medication I am taking when I am admitted or at any consultation.

I also give the staff a printed list of my present medications.

I take a supply of my own medication with me, which I self administer.

All approved by the hospital and staff.

[SheldonC in reply to Milkfairy]

So you get blue lighted in and are unconscious ………….

[Qualipop]

NO way. I would NEVER stop any drugs without gP or cardiologist permission. We are taking hem for multiple reasons that we may not understand but the doctors do. Many, like statins have other benefits than just reducing cholesterol. After my HA I had several tablets stopped and many more changed but always on my GP's advice. A couple of seeks ago I forgot to take my aspirin so when I spoke to GP I asked how much it mattered and how safe it would be if I forgot a couple of days. He went bananas, insisting 1 day only never leave it longer.