Post: #1

I am taking a couple of things for hypertension. I have a long history of reacting badly to most drugs, so these problems aren't exactly a surprise to me.

After experiencing problems with amlodipine, I went and looked up the side effects. They include weakness and lightheadedness. Both are symptoms I am seeing. The muscle weakness is a weird one, besides really reducing my bench press by a lot, it also screws up my balance, probably by making my stabilizer muscles weaker. Add to that the fact that I get really lightheaded when exercising and it's not hypotension.

After talking to the doctor, the dosage is down to the minimum and another blood pressure drug at a low dose has been added. The weakness isn't as bad now, my balance is okay and I don't get lightheaded as quickly, but the problems aren't completely gone. I'm also seeing really slow recovery. After a hard workout, I spend the next two days really fatigued. Very little or no muscle soreness, just really tired. This is a problem. I'll talk to my doctor at my next appointment, but I think it's a bit beyond her expertise.

Any ideas what to do about the fatigue? It seems to be limiting the effectiveness of my workouts.

Post: #2

What's your weight? Smoke? I also take BP meds. I tried Norvasc (amlodipine) a few years ago. I quickly stopped when I realized that it made me horribly depressed/anxious/brimming with rage. Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker and they officially swear up and down that it doesn't have this effect on mood. But I went from normal to feeling this within a week of starting it. I understand why they push it. The shit works, and it works fast. But I'm a pretty even keeled guy and that shit had me on the verge of explosive rage, so I stopped taking it.

What's your BP? I take Losartan/HCTZ 50/12.5 Other than profuse sweating at the drop of a hat, and sometimes a little difficult to get it up, I don't have much trouble with it.

Have you had any fainting? You can recognize this if you stand up quickly and your eyes go black and then instantly turn back on. Lasts under a second.

Post: #3

I'm 190 lbs, which is 5 less than my normal weight. I'm hitting the gym in an effort to put weight on. Current body fat measures at 22%, I'm targeting 15-18%. I don't smoke, never have.

Losartan completely wrecked my sleep. Terrible nightmares. Lots of anxiety. Had to quit it, was missing too much work.

No fainting. The lightheadedness is not hypotension. I also wrecked my ankles last week by walking too much on really irregular hard surfaces and I had a lot of swelling. I think the amlodipine may have contributed to the swelling as well.

The amlodipine also causes a hot flash 4-6 hours after I take it, that's why I switched to taking it in the morning.

My biggest concern is the fatigue, I really need to do something about it.

Post: #4

What is your BP? If you’ve got swelling, you should probably be on hctz. How do you know it’s not caused by hypotension? Is it low blood sugar. How old are you?

Post: #5

The swelling was caused by too much walking on Ukraine sidewalks and streets. The amlodipine may have made the swelling worse. My ankles are back to their normal size now that I haven't been walking miles per day.
The lightheadedness isn't hypotension, I know what that feels like. I also know what low blood sugar feels like. It's something else.
Last time my blood pressure was checked, it was 138/100. And I'm 61.

Post: #6

You may have symptoms of venous insufficiency. I am about your age and know exactly what you're describing.
I have taken L-citrulline and grape seed extract daily for over 5 years and no longer have issues.
Either of them or both combined increase nitric oxide to relax your blood vessels, and GSE reduces inflammation. It should help with you BP, too.
You can do some research, and I will post some links when I get to a computer.
I did my research because I did not want to take drugs, and I feel 30 years younger. My doctor is now a reluctant believer.
Both are safe, citrulline is basically watermelon extract, and GSE is....grape seeds.

Post: #7

I'm on beta blockers right now and I'm having many of the same symptoms. It has wrecked my ability to work out in any way. To counteract the low energy, my doctor told me to take high dosages of CoQ10 and Ginko. The only problem is that this "stack" increases my heart rate too much. So, I'm still looking for something to fix the energy issue.

When they put me on the blockers, they told me the side effects would reduce to next to nothing in a week or two. I don't nearly pass out when I stand up any more. But, I'm still totally lethargic.

I'll be watching this thread for more suggestions.

Post: #8

(09-05-2018 12:34 AM)chicane Wrote:  I am taking a couple of things for hypertension. I have a long history of reacting badly to most drugs, so these problems aren't exactly a surprise to me.

After experiencing problems with amlodipine, I went and looked up the side effects. They include weakness and lightheadedness. Both are symptoms I am seeing. The muscle weakness is a weird one, besides really reducing my bench press by a lot, it also screws up my balance, probably by making my stabilizer muscles weaker. Add to that the fact that I get really lightheaded when exercising and it's not hypotension.

After talking to the doctor, the dosage is down to the minimum and another blood pressure drug at a low dose has been added. The weakness isn't as bad now, my balance is okay and I don't get lightheaded as quickly, but the problems aren't completely gone. I'm also seeing really slow recovery. After a hard workout, I spend the next two days really fatigued. Very little or no muscle soreness, just really tired. This is a problem. I'll talk to my doctor at my next appointment, but I think it's a bit beyond her expertise.

Any ideas what to do about the fatigue? It seems to be limiting the effectiveness of my workouts.

I'm on Amlodipine too. It does knock you out, but I have insomnia so I use it a couple of hours before bedtime as sort of sleeping pill. If I took it during the day I would have the same issues as you. You mention hot flashes 4-6 hours late preventing you from doing this. I don't quite get it, how do you even know if you're asleep? Are they sufficient to wake you up?

Post: #9

(09-05-2018 03:01 PM)Tiger Man Wrote:  I'm on beta blockers right now and I'm having many of the same symptoms. It has wrecked my ability to work out in any way. To counteract the low energy, my doctor told me to take high dosages of CoQ10 and Ginko. The only problem is that this "stack" increases my heart rate too much. So, I'm still looking for something to fix the energy issue.

When they put me on the blockers, they told me the side effects would reduce to next to nothing in a week or two. I don't nearly pass out when I stand up any more. But, I'm still totally lethargic.

I'll be watching this thread for more suggestions.

I've tried a few beta blockers. They make me really groggy and unable to think. They also drop my heart rate below 40 in the middle of the night. And that's on low doses. They are just a little too effective.

Post: #10

(09-05-2018 03:08 PM)DarkTriad Wrote:  I'm on Amlodipine too. It does knock you out, but I have insomnia so I use it a couple of hours before bedtime as sort of sleeping pill. If I took it during the day I would have the same issues as you. You mention hot flashes 4-6 hours late preventing you from doing this. I don't quite get it, how do you even know if you're asleep? Are they sufficient to wake you up?

Interesting. Amlodipine doesn't knock me out. The hot flashes are waking up in a puddle of sweat and being unable to get cool enough to go back to sleep. During the daytime, it's just "wow, I'm sweating a lot".

I'm taking 1mg Doxazosin in the evenings. At 2mg, my dreams are full of oversaturated colors like in a Bollywood musical and are so loud I wake up at least 5 times per night. At 1mg they are just a little more intense and are frankly kind of entertaining.

Post: #11

(09-05-2018 11:22 AM)chicane Wrote:  The swelling was caused by too much walking on Ukraine sidewalks and streets. The amlodipine may have made the swelling worse. My ankles are back to their normal size now that I haven't been walking miles per day.
The lightheadedness isn't hypotension, I know what that feels like. I also know what low blood sugar feels like. It's something else.
Last time my blood pressure was checked, it was 138/100. And I'm 61.

Why would your feet swell when walking? We're made to be able to walk all day, maybe your shoes are not perfect for you?

I like Reebok Zigz, I can walk 5 to 10 miles a day on them with no issues, while other shoes start bothering me after a bit. The Nike ones with the air on the bottom are nice too, but they go flat sometimes.

I'm not a fan of drugs unless you've already cut processed foods, sugars, and supplements of all kinds.

The West is too at ease with drugs and supplements in my view. There's a place for them, but I feel we reach for them too quickly. Not saying that's what you're doing, just generally as a society.

Post: #12

(09-05-2018 04:09 PM)Spaniard88 Wrote:  

(09-05-2018 11:22 AM)chicane Wrote:  The swelling was caused by too much walking on Ukraine sidewalks and streets. The amlodipine may have made the swelling worse. My ankles are back to their normal size now that I haven't been walking miles per day.
The lightheadedness isn't hypotension, I know what that feels like. I also know what low blood sugar feels like. It's something else.
Last time my blood pressure was checked, it was 138/100. And I'm 61.

Why would your feet swell when walking? We're made to be able to walk all day, maybe your shoes are not perfect for you?

I like Reebok Zigz, I can walk 5 to 10 miles a day on them with no issues, while other shoes start bothering me after a bit. The Nike ones with the air on the bottom are nice too, but they go flat sometimes.

I'm not a fan of drugs unless you've already cut processed foods, sugars, and supplements of all kinds.

The West is too at ease with drugs and supplements in my view. There's a place for them, but I feel we reach for them too quickly. Not saying that's what you're doing, just generally as a society.

It's not my feet, it's my ankles that are swelling. There was a fair amount of pain in my ankles and my Achilles tendons were seriously inflamed. The shoes I'm wearing are just Topsiders, comfortable but not intended for lots of walking. Add to that the pavement in Ukraine is very irregular and there was a lot of unusual (for me) stress on my feet and ankles.