Blood Pressure Meds

[OnMyWay]

Dave's topic about red wine reminded me to ask about blood pressure meds.  I know some of you take them.  Have you found any you like?  I know there are many and they work differently for different people, but never hurts to hear some reviews!

I just started taking some 3-4 weeks ago.  I took a mild diuretic way back in the early 2000's, prescribed from a young doc in Florida who seemed to be very aggressive with prescribing meds of all sorts.  I only saw him a few times and I stopped taking the med because it made me very queasy.  My blood pressure was not bad back then and I exercised a lot more than I do now.

For the last few years, my doc here said I was borderline hypertensive and didn't want me to take meds yet.  I scheduled a full physical 3 weeks ago because the BP was elevated again, usually 150-160 over 90-100.  My dad had strokes in his early 60's and my oldest sister died of a massive stroke at 62.  So high BP is a bit scary for me.

3-4 weeks ago the doc gave me a combi med for 2 weeks, then had me switch to a simple diuretic.  When I went back in to discuss my full physical, last week, my BP was still up.  So he gave me another med, Amlife.  Boom, the first morning I took it, BP was very good within an hour.  I have a bit of queasy "empty stomach" feeling but nothing too bad.

I have been monitoring my BP very often while I start this med.  At first, it seemed to wear off in the morning before I took another pill, but after a few days, that seems to be not as much.  I assume my body is building up some that tide me over for the whole 24 hours now.

Any good or bad experiences with Amlife?  The original is made by Unilab.  I'm taking a generic made in India.

https://www.unilab.com.ph/products/amlife/

BTW, all the other important stuff on my physical was good:  ekg, prostate, blood sugar, etc.

[Happyhorn52]

I take Carvedilol for high blood pressure and have been on it for 10+ years along with some other medications. Biggest problem is that these medications are more expensive in the Philippines so budget accordingly. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

I believe the most often prescribed blood pressure medications are (ACE) inhibitors. These would be brand names like

I was on an ACE inhibitor for a couple of years and they really work but in some people they build up and eventually stimulate severe allergic reactions. I was one of those unfortunates who had to switch from ACE inhibitors due to that.  The anaphylaxis it caused was freakin' scary and I did not want to have that happen again.

So the doc switched me to Losartan which is an ARB and is perfect for me.  If I had to pick a flaw I would say the Losartan is not as aggressive at getting the BP down as the ACE inhibitors but it does work well for me (that and a bottle of wine LOL).

EDIT:  I see your Amlife is just Losartan with an added ingredient so I would say its great.  If you ever need to cut the cost you can just get Losartan 50 mg or 100 mg at Generika Drugstore.  My doc wants me to take 50 mg twice a day but I usually only take it once a day.  I don't like to take too many meds if I can help it.

Here is a list of the types of med that are prescribed for BP.  Each of us is likely to find one that works best for our individual circumstances.

Edited April 16, 2018 by Dave Hounddriver

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I believe the most often prescribed blood pressure medications are (ACE) inhibitors. These would be brand names like

I was on an ACE inhibitor for a couple of years and they really work but in some people they build up and eventually stimulate severe allergic reactions. I was one of those unfortunates who had to switch from ACE inhibitors due to that.  The anaphylaxis it caused was freakin' scary and I did not want to have that happen again.

So the doc switched me to Losartan which is an ARB and is perfect for me.  If I had to pick a flaw I would say the Losartan is not as aggressive at getting the BP down as the ACE inhibitors but it does work well for me (that and a bottle of wine LOL).

EDIT:  I see your Amlife is just Losartan with an added ingredient so I would say its great.  If you ever need to cut the cost you can just get Losartan 50 mg or 100 mg at Generika Drugstore.  My doc wants me to take 50 mg twice a day but I usually only take it once a day.  I don't like to take too many meds if I can help it.

Here is a list of the types of med that are prescribed for BP.  Each of us is likely to find one that works best for our individual circumstances.

Yes, the Amlife is Losartan potassium Amlodipine besilate.  As you said, the Losartan is an ARB.  The Amlodipine is a Calcium Channel Blocker.  He has me on 100 / 10 once in the morning.  I see that they also make it in 50 / 10 and 50 / 5.  I was thinking 50 / 5 twice a day might work for me.  I took the 100/10 this morning  about 0745, and my BP at 1350 was 115/75.  Now at 1705 it is 126 / 78.  It will keep rising until tomorrow morning.

If you don't mind me asking, how much is the Losartan 50 at Generika?  The generic Amlife I got from my doc directly was quite expensive at p35 each.  I don't have to buy it there.  Usually his prices are competitive so I got the first batch there.

[sonjack2847]

9 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

If you don't mind me asking, how much is the Losartan 50 at Generika?  The generic Amlife I got from my doc directly was quite expensive at p35 each.  I don't have to buy it there.  Usually his prices are competitive so I got the first batch there.

I pay under 5 pesos per tablet at Generika for the 50 and they work for me. I am not sure if they are 50/10 or 5 I will check next time I buy.

[Dr. Shiva]

I do use Candesartan from Sandoz. Good alternative if you have issues with ACE- blockers. Me had to change from ACE-blockers due severe cough caused by them.

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, Dr. Shiva said:

I do use Candesartan from Sandoz. Good alternative if you have issues with ACE- blockers. Me had to change from ACE-blockers due severe cough caused by them.

I don't have a cough but I have had a bit of stuffy nose that might be from the med.

[sonjack2847]

11 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I don't have a cough but I have had a bit of stuffy nose that might be from the med.

Maybe you have hayfever,causes me no end of sneezing and stuffy noses.

[Dave Hounddriver]

20 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Now at 1705 it is 126 / 78.  It will keep rising until tomorrow morning.

For comparison, I got up this morning at 8 am with BP at 130/90.  That is normal for me.  So I take 50 mg Losartan,  have 2 cups of coffee, breakfast, do a bit of work around the house and sit down at 2 PM to check BP again (I don't normally check in the afternoon but I was curious).  BP at 2 PM is 107/71.  I'm pleased, but I know it will be back up to 130/90 by bedtime. If I take another 50 mg at supper time I get a restless sleep so I put up with a bit of elevated BP so that I can have a good sleep.  Just thought I'd give you something to compare with.  I cannot say if my results are good, bad, typical or abnormal but they are what they are.

The other day my BP went abnormally high for me, like 140/100 and I tried the "bottle of wine" trick.  Shocked me that it actually worked.

Edited April 17, 2018 by Dave Hounddriver

[OnMyWay]

33 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

For comparison, I got up this morning at 8 am with BP at 130/90.  That is normal for me.  So I take 50 mg Losartan,  have 2 cups of coffee, breakfast, do a bit of work around the house and sit down at 2 PM to check BP again (I don't normally check in the afternoon but I was curious).  BP at 2 PM is 107/71.  I'm pleased, but I know it will be back up to 130/90 by bedtime. If I take another 50 mg at supper time I get a restless sleep so I put up with a bit of elevated BP so that I can have a good sleep.  Just thought I'd give you something to compare with.  I cannot say if my results are good, bad, typical or abnormal but they are what they are.

The other day my BP went abnormally high for me, like 140/100 and I tried the "bottle of wine" trick.  Shocked me that it actually worked.

Yes, that is a similar cycle that I have , except I am taking a stronger does that lasts through the evening.  I was 138/87 at 0750, then took the med.  Strangely, today, I was then 142/79 at 0955.  Usually I am lower with a hour after taking the med.  Now at 1405 I am 123/78 and 109/73.  See next.

Why two above at 1405?  I took it twice and the second was much lower.  I use an Omron digital BP monitor in the mode where it takes the BP three times in succession, then displays the average of the 3.  I've noticed that the first of the 3 is almost always higher than the second 3 readings.  I can't see the individual readings, but I watch the digital readout climb with the cuff pressure increasing, and if it goes up to 190-200 before releasing, I know the reading will be high.  So on my first 3 reading measurement, I watched go like 190, 170, 170 and ended up with the 123/78.  So I did it again and watched it go to 160-170 3 times in a row, ending up with 109/73.

Do you experience higher readings the first time you take your BP, if you take it more than once?