Hi all, I am a 37 year old female and I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure. At first the GP thought that my suffering with covid was causing my blood pressure to remain high but after a month of consistent high readings, he started me on amlodipine on 15th March 2021. My feet became swollen and I had chest Pains (different from my post covid chest pain). The BP was slow in lowering.
Amlodipine was stopped after a week and I was started on nifedipine. This made me feel very unwell to the point where I was struggling to get out of bed. However, the BP started lowering and readings reduced from the 188/117 and I was getting 146/ 97 and even came to 137/99 . The gp advised that I persist with this medication until 12th April.
Last week Wednesday, I spoke to another gp as I could not bear the side effects of nifedipine. This gp advised that I stop it and take amlodipine then manage the swelling by elevating feet.
Tonight I can't sleep as my left arm feels as though it's stiff or almost getting paralyzed. This feeling started around 10pm in the fingers and has now reached above the elbow (3am) has anyone felt this on amlodipine?
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BeachyGreen
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Hi, I also take amlodipine and have done so for the last 10 months - at 5mg, although I did take 10mg for a little while last year. I did suffer side effects, particularly in the early days, but cannot recall experiencing the arm stiffness that you mention. Have you had a look at the patient information leaflet? You could also try speaking to your GP or pharmacist.
I would say you should have a chat with your pharmacist TODAY and, armed with the information they can give you (they are often more knowledgeable about drugs and their side effects that doctors) go straight back to your GP. This sounds urgent to me.
Hi, I would go see your GP as soon as possible. Have you taken your latest BP reading? The arm stiffness I would say is coming from consistent high blood pressure and the vessels not relaxing. That was the symptom I had occasionally before my BP came under control with meds. It may suggest your current med regime is not lowering sufficiently. You may need to try a different drug. Good luck
It’s sensible to be careful about arm stiffness when connected with BP but you can over think what might just be a stiff arm. If your instincts are saying it’s not right they are worth listening to. I am on Amlodipine and I have had a stiff left arm above the elbow that spread to my lower arm a couple of times. I did watch it for a while and worked out in one case it was due to my laying down position in bed and in another case just a simple muscle strain. Have you tried exercising it, heat/ice, pain/inflammation relief? Trust your instincts and keep cool about it but if you are worried then for sure you must speak to a doctor.
Thank you all for the kind advice, I spoke to my Gp and they advised me to change sleeping positions. She also referred me to a physio to support while i monitor my BP which worsened when I changed from nifedipine to amlodipine.
I have noticed an improvement although the discomfort is still there.
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