Amlodopine - Y or N ?

[TrickyDicky1960]

Firstly - I'm brand new to the forum & looking for advice. I fully realise that this is NOT a medical site, but just looking for general thoughts / comments.

I'm a relatively fit just turned 60 yo. I cycle 5.5m to & from work every day & swim a mile once a week. Diet is pretty good, non-smoker but I do drink more that the recommended guidance. My BP has been averaging 144 / 90 for the last 12 months & my GP has recommended Amlodipine at 5mg daily - primarily due to both my late father (died aged 91 / not heart related) & my 65 yo brother were / are on BP meds. My brother has also had a couple of stents & a double valve replacement over the last 10 years or so. My question is simple - do I really need to start taking these BP meds ?

[Hidden]

Your blood pressure is rather high, and obviously your doctor thinks it better to take the tablets and keep it low. Please visit hbloodpressureuk.org/Support...

There is a telephone help line if you would like to ask for advice.

I have high blood pressure myself, and take 3 different tablets to keep it under control.

[lettingoffsteam]

Well I would advise starting the meds whilst your bp is only slightly high. The alternative is that it could soar up ,which happened to me, and it wasn't pleasant.I'm on amlodipine as it happens and it works well.

[Happyrosie]

What I would do in your circumstances is try to bring your be down by yourself. How? Is your weight ok for your height? If not, lose weight!Anything else wrong with you? E.g. high cholesterol or blood sugar? Get this sorted. Then:

Have your bp checked elsewhere e.g. at your pharmacy. Before you have it done, ensure you have rested for at least ten minutes doing NOTHING else except perhaps reading. No talking. Just before you have the cuff put on, breathe slowly but deeply three times, this takes at least thirty seconds. Get your bp done at least three times when you feel calm. All this can bring your body down to 130 ish, which is fine for your age.

Bear in mind that every patient your doc sees where he or she can get blood pressure lowered means that the practice earns £150 per annum.

[Lifluf]

When you have a hereditary linked high bp, exercise and healthy eating may not be enough. It will certainly be helping but having a bp that is too high is likely to cause you problems later on.

It's depressing to be prescribed a treatment that you'll be on for ever but for ever might be shorter if you don't!

[Matman]

Given your daily exercise / activity, it’s would appear that there is no issue there. I’d guess that your not overweight either, which can be a major factor.

Raised Blood Sugar can also be contributory, so you might wish to consider getting a meter and checking it at the prescribed intervals following food (plenty of info online / YouTube etc on the appropriate protocols).

Have you tested if you can influence your BP by checking it after deliberate relaxation / meditation?

I fully appreciate that many have got a medical / hereditary or age-related disposition to higher BP, but it can be an informative exercise to see if you can effect it with simple relaxation techniques (typically twice daily for 15 / 20 Minutes). After 7 then 14 days of such practice, BP should be checked at 2 and 4 Hours following each relaxation / meditation session.

[Happyrosie]

I said a couple of days ago that a doctor’s practice gets £150 a year for keeping patients’ blood pressure under control. What I should have said that this is not per patient, but £150 if the majority (I think 85%) of patients with hypertension are controlled. And this means controlled either with drugs or controlled by the patient’s lifestyle, as long as it’s continually monitored.

[42boston]

My blood pressure is about the same as yours and my GP recommended Amlodipine which made my made my feet and hands swell up after about 6 weeks. So I am now trying to get my weight down by 10Kg in the hope that this will reduce my BP by 1 point for each Kg and remove the need for medication.

[NorthernDawn]

Hi I’m on Amlodipine this is day 7 ... I seem to have good days then pretty awful ones pulsating through my body and I rarely get a full nights sleep... I was told by someone it could take 2 weeks to get the full effect of of it.. am on 5 mg and no other meds at the minute my readings range from 162/102 when I’m having a bad day to 160/97 on a better one ... still very high but any slight drop is a good sign ... I seem to have a bad day then a couple of good ones I think the dr is going to add something when I see him next which I Hope is tomorrow .... was on Candesartan for 8 years on a very small 4mg seemed to be when they upped it to 8mg my body didn’t like it and I was nauseas all the time since then they’ve tried various things to no avail ... been like this since end of nov im really fed up now

[lettingoffsteam in reply to NorthernDawn]

It certainly sounds like you need a second med.My blood pressure was pure evil when I was diagnosed last year and I came out of hospital on 5mg ramipril and 10mg amlodipine.I felt awful and my ankles and feet ballooned to the point that a small insect bite turned into cellulitis.They decided to switch to 10mg ramipril and 5mg amlodipine, that caused my potassium levels to plummet.By this time I'd lost a couple of stone and my bp was quite low so they tried 5mg of each and bingo that's what I take now plus some propanol for palpitations.I hope you get sorted out.