Experience of amlodipine please

[Borderterriorist]

I noticed my BP was a high despite being on 10mg of bisoprolol (also on125mcg of digoxin). I'd previously taken perindopril but it gave me a nasty cough so when I was put on 10mg of Bisoprolol rather than the 1.25mg I was taking, I hoped my BP would be low enough without the perindopril but sadly it's not. GP changed me onto 25gm of Losartan and although my BP has come down it's still not to target. I've had regular blood tests and my potassium level has been slowly rising and is now on the cusp of being too high so GP is now suggesting adding 20gm of amlodipine. I take my bisoprolol in two 5mg doses, in the morning I also take digoxin, losartan and edoxoban, evening I have my second dose of bisoprolol with 20mg of avorstatin, I'm thinking of taking the amlodipine in the evening. I'd welcome your thoughts, please. fwiw, it took a few weeks for my body to adjust to the high dose of bisoprolol and the digoxin and I am feeling really well ATM, I had no noticeable side effects from the losartan but clearly I need to protect my kidneys.

[Borderterriorist]

Should have said 5mg of amlodipine not 20!

[MadBunny in reply to Borderterriorist]

Hi.

Good to hear you're feeling well atm.

I was on 20 mg of Amlodipine for many years (can't remember how many - I'd say at least 15 if not more ) It was the first med I was prescribed for high blood pressure and worked well , but then the BP started to creep up again , so they added Ramipril. I always took mine in the morning .

I say 'was ' because the GP took me off it when she increased the Bisoprolol ( for the Afib) Thankfully my BP has remained stable .

I take Bisoprolol, Ramipril and Edoxoban morning, atorvastatin evening.

[mjames1 in reply to MadBunny]

The highest standard daily dose of amlodipine is 10 mg. Very unusual that you would be prescribed 20. I get fairly good blood pressure control with 5 mg.

Jim

[MadBunny in reply to mjames1]

Oops meant 10 ! Getting mixed up with the Atorvastatin Thanks😊

[mjames1 in reply to MadBunny]

Glad to hear that! 20 mg would probably be toxic.

Jim

[MadBunny in reply to mjames1]

😊

[mjames1]

I take 5 mg of amlodipine in the evening. Right now, I'm also on diltiazem so the combination is enough to control my blood pressure.

If I wean off the diltiazem, I will probably add 25mg of losartan and titrate up to 50mg or higher if needed.

Note that periodic blood tests beginning two weeks after starting losartan are recommended. They are important when taking losartan to monitor kidney function, electrolyte levels, and liver health, ensuring safe and effective treatment while avoiding potential complications like hyperkalemia or kidney damage.

Jim

[Borderterriorist in reply to mjames1]

Thanks, GP has been very good at monitoring me via blood tests, hence it was picked up that my K level has increased.

[Happyrosie]

might be as well to chat to a pharmacist about when to take your medication - assuming no help given on the medicine insert. Either your dispensing pharmacist or, preferably, the one employed by your doc’s group of surgeries.

[Borderterriorist]

Thanks, I have a telephone appt with the pharmacist tomorrow afternoon, I'm lucky that we have a really good GP surgery but I just wanted to make sure I knew all the right questions to ask.

[Mentdent]

10mg Amlodopine. The only thing I noticed was some slight swelling of my left ankle and my blood pressure reduced from 180/90 to 120/70. I take 5mg of ramipril and 1.25 mg of bisoprolol as well. The bisoprolol reduces my resting heart rate to low 50s from high 50s. All in all a very satisfactory result. Sometimes it makes it a little difficult to raise my heart rate during exercise.

[GoodTea]

I was on 2.5mg Amlodipine and - because of post-lunch tiredness/fatigue - started to taking it in the pm instead of the am. Shortly after that, I began to get up twice a night to go to the loo. It was as though Amlodipine had a diuretic effect so I switched back to the am routine and now no longer need a loo break twice a night.

My other medications are: pm Atorvastatin 80mg + Ezetimibe 10mg; am Lansoprazole 30mg, Aspirin 75mg and Clopidogrel 75mg.

Fortunately, my post-lunch fatigue was cured when my cardiologist and GP agreed that I could stop taking beta-blockers. I had been on Bisoprolol 2.5mg which was changed to Nebivolol 2.5mg because of adverse side effects. The side effects continued despite the change so my cardiologist thought it reasonable to trial stopping the beta-blockers as long as my BP and heart rate were closely monitored.

After a short-lived rebound effect where my BP and HR went marginally above target, they settled down. Having had lower than average BP and HR for most of my life, Amlodipine at 2.5mg works fine for my system and taking it in the am means I get a good night's sleep too!

Hope that it helps you get your BP to a good level.