Has anyone ever had pains in
legs and arms since taking amplodine.
I am probably clutching at straws and not admitting to a poly flare....but it did seem to start around the same time as being prescribed Amplodine and got worse when Doc doubled the dose!
Yes yes and yes. I felt shockimg. arm pain, fatigue......and this was over 12mths before pmr/pred. It on my list of meds I cant take now.
In my book that would enough evidence to say I'd like to try without and see what happens!
drugs.com/sfx/amlodipine-si...
It is so popular in the UK but other countries are a lot less enthusiastic! There are a lot of other options ...
If it increased with an increase in dose it does sound like a reaction to the medication itself.
I'm always surprised when Doctors instantly think it's because the dose isn't high enough and increase it quite often making the situation worse.
It could well be that you needed more time on a minimum dose to see if it was just your body suffering rebound symptoms of pain and discomfort as the medication was starting to do the job it needs to do. With that drug those changes could well cause arm and leg pain.
You may have found that the symptoms would have slowly decreased and you would start feeling the benefits of it over a few weeks on the minimum dose if the GP had given it that chance and shown some patience in their choices.
Of course , you do also need to be careful keeping an eye out for usual PMR symptoms while starting a new drug in case it can start a mini flare as you get used to it , or if it isn't right for you.
Maybe , you could try returning to your original dose and see if it improves over a few weeks but also make an appointment with the GP to discuss it in case it does not improve .
Give yourself extra rest and self care with nutrition and fluids while you are coping with it.
If things aren't improving , or you do feel that Flare symptoms are also growing , you may need a change in medication , Amplodine is the first line choice ( I'm about to start it in a week or two ) but there are other options if it doesn't work for you.
Never been mentioned to me here ...
It's not for my GCA symptoms , they considering adding it in for tachy related chest pain and my circulation , I'm still doing my research before I consider it , as I don't have high BP, in fact it's Low!
I do - or rather did - have BP problems ...
Just added a reply to Forward motion , I can see that there are a lot of questions that they need to answer before I accept this choice , especially as I don't have high BP , surely if Beta blockers made me worse this would too.
Like you say , it must be a UK choice and maybe that's why you were never offered it , and we know that some choices made in other Countries show up by talking on here as not fit for purpose . Why don't people do more research on what options are shown to work better in other countries?
I looked it up and Dr Google only found me this: healthline.com/health/amlod...
I assume this is the med you mean? I was interested to see that it is used for high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, but one of its more serious side effects can be heart attack! Also one of the symptoms of low magnesium in the body is high blood pressure, deficiency highly possible if you take calcium supplements. But don't take magnesium supplements with a blood pressure lowering med as it can cause bp to go too low. One or the other. 
I only mention this because magnesium is one of the nutrients which works to regulate a lot of bodily functions and it is a natural calcium channel blocker.
This is what winds me up about Doctors not really taking notice of Nutrients and their effects on symptoms ,or which meds are better for us with various Health issues. In this instance it's causing me a lot of confusion , I take/ eat increased Magnesium to help reduce the circulation issues and neuropathy. My figures are right in the middle of normal , so I don't take too much , but I have periods of low blood pressure and occasional spikes of highs in the day related to the Tachycardia Syndrome I have.
If the drugs I am to take are meant to reduce BP as well as Heart Rate should I be reducing the Magnesium in any form , or should they take into consideration that I also need the benefit of Magnesium and decide on my doses with that in mind. In reality this is the sort of stuff which is beyond my abilities and is what I should be able to rely on my Doctor's experience for , but they seem to be at a loss too.
It is getting beyond frustrating , I wish they'd just admit they need help too and start communicating with each other rather than me having to act like the , " Middle Man" , at every flipping appointment.
Is this possibly a question a pharmacist would know the answer to, although they, too, are likely to say you should drop extra magnesium and just accept what's in your diet. Perhaps they know if there is a safe maximum amount?
Thing being that the other Cardio and the Rheumatologist recommended increasing the Magnesium , this is when your stuck in one of those moments of conflicting views leaves you at a loss. I have a feeling the Pharmacist will be as undecided as I am . It feels like a chicken or egg situation??!!
It sounds like one of those times when everyone has to step back and ask questions - what are the patient's problems? How are they currently being addressed? Are the current medications having the desired positive effects? Are any of the current medications contributing to the problems? If so, are the benefits still greater than the risks? What will happen if we a) add something and leave everything else the same? b) add something but take out or reduce something else? c) take something away and don't add anything? (The "something" could be supplements or behaviours as well, not necessarily big pharma products, as magnesium, and I assume other things, are having effects on your health and wellbeing.)
It's really complicated and requires a proper conversation amongst your team members, including you as the prime witness.
Wow, if you have a treatment team like you've described you are truly fortunate Heron! In my 30 years of working in health care I heard the term client centered care bandied about in many different forms and with great emphasis however, I never saw it properly put into action, except perhaps in palliative care in one of the organizations I worked in. I've certainly never experienced it personally, nor to I trust any of my practitioners or pharmacists to be really looking at "me". They don't even truly "know" me. I accept the fact that I've become quite the cynic over the years, but I think that works in my favor at the moment..
I don't need a treatment team. Thankfully. I'm lucky to have a GP!
I don't know where there are such teams, but it seems some people really need them.
My daughter in law is currently on waiting lists at least a year long to see an allergist, a neurologist, an ENT specialist. From my reading of forums like this I think she has oral thrush - has been on eight courses of antibiotics since last September - so you'd think even the GP could treat that, to have to wait at least a year for an ENT specialist is unconscionable. They are trying to at least get her in to see a specialist nurse.
I tried amlodipine a year ago for a short while. It caused headache, numb feet, lower back pain and muscle weakness. To make sure it wasn’t PMR/GCA I increased prednisone but symptoms got worse. Symptoms went away when I stopped amlodipine.
I forgot to add heart palpitations.
The more I am hearing about others experience of it In getting more suprised that they are considering it for me , as my main problems are numbness and pain from circulation , palpitations and low blood pressure . So glad someone added a post on it , I can see there are a lot more questions to be answered before they fiddle with my meds again.
Numbness and pain were a side effect for me. I am very resilient with meds usually. I try and get through the bedding in period by resting and dealing with each issue if I can see a difference king term.. Gaba an eg... But I thought I was going to pass out all the time and everything ached and hurt. I only gave it 3 weeks because I thought I was too ill to continue. I stopped for 3 or 4 days and the side effects went so I went back to the Dr's. I know some people on the forum are OK with it but I would be wary about it and it gives me the hebee jeebees. I think amlopidine or whatever it is and alendronic acid are the only 2 drugs that I knew within 2 doses I was struggling. I put up with atorvastatin for 2 years side effects be damned. 😂🤣😂
This is what I don't understand , they were meant to suggesting a Calcium Channel Blocker , not something like this . I now feel like I was not only gaslighted at my last Cardio appointment but he also got his snap decision on his drugs mixed up while he was doing it. Looks like it will be me stuck again at the GP questioning this choice and having more delays while they double check as they never make a decision on their own!! Argh!!!😬😬😬😤
I wouldn't mind but he was wanting to combine it with my current heart med which is also reducing my BP and making my circulation and Raynaud's worse !!!!!
Omg. Please take care. Xx
The link PMRpro gave above includes this (and my link said much the same):
What is amlodipine?
Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker that dilates (widens) blood vessels and improves blood flow.
Amlodipine is used to treat chest pain (angina) and other conditions caused by coronary artery disease.
Amlodipine is also used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering blood pressure may lower your risk of a stroke or heart attack.
Amlodipine is for use in adults and children who are at least 6 years old.
At least it's good to know it is a CCB , I'm still left with my original concern after the appointment that he wanted to combine the two drugs rather than switching one for another as the Ivabradine I'm on is already lowering my BP. I will have to try and thrash it over with the GP as I suspected I think. Thanks for the info , it's been a big help.
Well, good luck! Who would have thought what an education being ill could end up being!
I just don't understand how we can manage to realise that any drugs we are put on may need to be increased or decreased to work alongside the changes in the way steroid dosage affects us but the Doctors don't seem to remember that. Seems like common sense to me.
Swelling of legs and ankles is a known side effect of amlodipine. It was very uncomfortable and my GP took me off it. My daughter in law was also prescribed it for high BP recently she felt really unwell and had aching and swollen limbs, and she was also taken off it, incidentally she is only 46.
I had terrible swelling of my ankles and feet along with other unwanted aches and pains while taking Amlodipine. Needless to say, I no longer take it.
Do you need a replacement for the ranitidine? Here we were offered famotidine - a later H2 antagonist.
I had terrible side effects - swollen and painful legs, felt awful. Stopped taking it and within days felt better. Avoid if possible.
I have the same side effect to Statins 😢 hope you feel better soon.
I had my feet swelling and hands too on that BP med. my PA switched me to Metroporol (sp) but my husband a retired PA said try Verapamil instead and now the swelling is gone and my blood pressure is down.
I have a bottle of Amlodipine given to me a few months back when my blood pressure was becoming difficult to control after switching from Losartan to Candesartan. The main reason for the switch from Losartan was the lack of supply of the drug in Canada.
My blood pressure settled down to the extent that I was able to reduce the amount of candesartan and I therefore didn't need the amlodipine. I monitor my blood pressure at home and adjust my medication up or down as necessary. I do this for two reasons, I suffer "white coat syndrome" big time and am in Panama for six months of the year where it really isn't practical to see a doctor for BP monitoring.
From what I've read here and my own research I likely avoid the use of it in the future.
Yes! X
