Amlodipine

[ritter]

Hi All need to find out what type of BP bills do not affect your kidneys amlodipine do not affect them as far as i know but they change the shape of my legs and body by retaining water i presume feet and legs and on a night my whole body is definitely larger, that is the only side effect i get. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as usual, kind regards to all Anne.PS I hope you are all enjoying the summer and are feeling a lot better,

[Humphrey691]

Hi have IgA Nephropathy as well as a vasculitic condition (likely Behcets). For the BP side of things I take irbesartan which is kidney friendly according to my nephrologist. Hope this helps....

[ritter in reply to Humphrey691]

Thank you so much will ask my GP about that to see if he thinks this will suit me,

I have not heard of IgA what is that? many thanks for you reply,regards Anne

[Celtic PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Humphrey691]

Humphrey, do you have any side effects from Irbesartan?

[Celtic PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Anne, oh how I wish I had the answer to your question. I have just a sole kidney and now with both chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure, I have been on many different BP pills in the last 18 months, but am proving highly sensitive to most of them. I took Amlodipine for a few months but it caused such ankle swelling and inflammation that it resulted in a diagnosis of varicose eczema. Ramipril seems to be the most favoured BP pill for the kidneys by the renal experts, but the first time I tried that some years ago, it was stopped by my GP in the belief that it had caused an allergic reaction (nausea, head pain) - in fact, it turned out to be GCA! To appease my renal consultant, I agreed to try it again several months ago but the nausea returned along with fleeting pain in the temple areas and I came off it after a few weeks. The only pill to date that doesn't appear to be causing any nasty side effects is Losartan Potassium but unfortunately it is failing to reduce my BP. It can also raise creatinine levels but the doctors seem to accept that isn't a problem as long as it doesn't go too high. The renal consultant has just added a small dose of Bisoprolol which he says is kidney-neutral and he wishes the dose to be gradually increased if I tolerate it. So far it isn't having any effect on my BP so will no doubt be increased at my next appointment with my GP....unless the new ankle swelling and inflammation worsens!

The only real advice I can offer is that my pharmacist commented that Losartan Potassium is the BP pill about which he hears the least complaints of side effects, and certainly that has been my experience. Worth trying perhaps, Anne?

[ritter in reply to Celtic]

Hi Celtic, nice to hear from you and thank you so much for advice,

I have heard of Losartan I think it was one of our members a long time back that mentioned it to me,have you heard of IRBESARTAN? got this off one of our members last night and i can not remember who it was but he said he has kidney problems and this one is kidney friendly, You sound like you are still having a bad time of it Celtic it does get me down sometimes,thanks again and i do hope you are feeling better soon and get you bp sorted,lovely to hear from you Anne.

[ritter in reply to ritter]

Humphrey 691,Celtic send him a note and see if he can help re kidney,s its worth a go, thanks again Anne

[Celtic PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to ritter]

Anne, I forgot to add that if anyone offers you Indapamide (a diuretic-type GP pill), I don't recommend it for your kidneys if my experience is anything to go by (but then I'm just an awkward patient!). Within just over 3 weeks of starting it I could hardly put one foot in front of the other. Thanks Heavens for blood test monitoring - it was found that the Indapamide had further reduced my kidney function by 8 points in just 3 weeks, and it had increased creatinine and potassium and made my sodium levels plummet - hence leading me to feeling so poorly. Among all the pills I've tried, I haven't yet tried the Irbesartan that Humphrey has recommended - perhaps next time! I hope you find a medication that suits you, and that at least your PMR is behaving, Anne.

[tina-shelley]

Hello, I take ramipril, began with 2.5 mgs but after 1 month it was upped a further 1.25mgs so all together I'm on 3.75mgs which is a pretty low dose. My nurse says that ramipril is one of the better BP tablets. I've had 2 blood tests girl kidney function and they've birth come back fine. Regards, christina

[ritter]

Thank you Christina, I asked my GP for Ramipril and he give me them but when i Google them they are not brill for kidney,s so i was but off and he but me on 5mg,s so as i say i am looking for a pill that does not affect my kidneys, just trying to look after my body or wots left of it, lol many thanks regards Anne

[Humphrey691]

Hi Celtic,

I was originally on RAMIPRIL but was told that IRBESARTAN was a better fit for Chronic Kidney Disease. I've been on it now for 3 years and it's been superb to date!

Good luck - hope you get fixed up!!!!