Do hypertensive medications seem to help your symptoms?

[araminta]

I was very upset this week to be told I had high blood pressure and needed to start taking a calcium channel blocker.   I start tomorrow - the list of possible side effects sounds horrendous.

However I recently had an awful flare (swollen hand, pain etc) which I'm sure was down to stress and perhaps the stress related hypertension.   So I wondered if maybe anti-hypertensives would make flares less likely, as perhaps there would be less stress on the body?   I don't know - any opinions welcome!

[Scottietottie]

Hi 

I've taken medication for high blood presssure for 3 or 4 years now and have had no side effects.
I take one called Candesarten but am not sure how that would translate over the pond.

It does its job anyway. No more high readings.

Take care - Scottie 

[meirish]

I am on a Beta Blocker and have been on it for at least 20 years----long before I was diagnosed with autoimmune symptoms but at least 20 years after starting autoimmune symptoms that were not diagnosed.

All medications have a very long list of side effects listed and so many of the side effects are the same for many of the drugs. The drug companies have to do in depth drug studies with thousands of people before they get the drug approved. Any hint of a symptom that a person complains of during this drug study has to be reported and the drug company has to list these complaints as "side effects" in their drug information. YOU will often see runny nose or cold symptoms listed and I often wonder how many people are just getting a cold and it gets listed.

I have never heard of an antihypertensive drug helping autoimmune symptoms. There are drugs that are designated for treatment of autoimmune diseases that doctors can order. Methotrexate and Cellcept are 2 of these medications. There have been many more medications developed over the years and some work for some  people but not for others.

A rheumatologist is one doctor who has experience with giving medications for autoimmune disease. If you are having bothersome symptoms you would probably benefit from asking your primary physician for the name of a rheumatologist who could maybe find a medication that might possibly decrease that symptom. Many  primary doctors do not feel comfortable dealing with autoimmune disease medications. Good luck. meirish

[Nomad]

I've taken candesarten as well. Perhaps ten years. No side effects.Don't think it's helped my SS. But very generally speaking one can say it's not good for the body to be with high blood pressure each day so correcting this might bring multiple benefits.

[araminta]

Thank you all very much for your replies.   The med I've been prescribed is Amlodipine (brand name Norvasc).   Yes, it's true that high BP is bad for us, and it needs to be brought down.   I don't appear to have most of the risk factors for high BP, I  suspect that anxiety has caused it, as I'm generally an anxious type

Meirish, you're right that a lot of medications list awful possible side effects!  Even if they only happen to one in a million people.

Although it doesn't sound as if it will have a direct effect on Sjogrens, I guess anything that's good for our general health will help us cope better with that.

Thank you again for all the advice.

[twiggy]

I sure hope things work out with your BP araminta, keep us updated. I have always had the opposite problem of my BP being much too low.

Medication side effects can be concerning for many people these days. It seriously amazes me how many side effects can be mentioned in just one breath during a medication commercial (it usually takes up more time than describing the benefits of the medication itself). From what I have seen over the years, and through my own personal experience, is that it just seems to really come down to each individual. We are each -so- unique in how our bodies will respond... be it medications, food, cleansers, even scents, etc.

I've learned over time that my own body can be very "whiny" about what medications I use. For me; Dicyclomine led to serious liver damage, Cyclobenzaprine led to permanent vision damage, Hydroxychloroquine led to non-stop bouts of shingles... and those were all from just short-term use. However, I also know of many people who use those exact same medications and have never had any issues at all. Some of us are just more sensitive than others.

I will always discuss concerns, history, and options with my doctor when it comes to medications, and I will certainly take what is absolutely needed, but otherwise, for basic symptoms, I tend to go with the lesser of evils... if the medication side effects are worse than my symptoms, it's a big "nope" for me. I've been fortunate enough that my body responds well to natural alternatives (such as Turmeric, Ginger, Salmon Oil, etc). I also tend to do fine with basic OTC meds and even recently discovered, by chance, that good ol' Pepto Bismol will actually stop my IBS-D flares, without side effects. (Wish I knew about it 40 years ago  ).

[meirish]

I just want to add that when a doctor orders blood pressure medication for a patient it is because they feel that person has elevated blood pressures that need to be lowered. Anxiety can cause our blood pressure to rise at times but is not the cause of blood pressure that needs to be treated.

Neglecting to take blood pressure medication is really, really dangerous as it can result in a heart attack or a stroke. Also having chronically untreated blood pressure increases the risk of cardiovascular disease which can also result in the need for some types of heart surgeries or procedures. Chronically elevated blood pressure can also destroy a persons kidneys over the years due to the high pressure of blood in the veins, arteries and capillaries in the kidneys.

I just felt the need to expand upon the blood pressure issues. It would be highly unusual for blood pressure medications or other medications to improve autoimmune diseases. Just taking a blood pressure medication when prescribed can often really help a person feel better. One can have fatigue, headaches, etc from elevated blood pressure that will be relieved when the pressure is lowered. The interesting thing is that most people are not even aware that they were feeling that lousy and were surprise that they lost those feelings when their blood pressure was controlled. Elevated blood pressure is a stressor on ones body and can cause fatigue. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Take care all. meirish

[araminta]

Thank you, Twiggy and meirish.

Twiggy, it sounds like you've had some horrible reactions to medication.   I'm very glad the OTC approach is generally working well for you.

Meirish, thank you for emphasizing how important it is to control high blood pressure.   Yes, maybe (hopefully) in a few weeks time I'll suddenly feel a whole lot better!   

[twiggy]

Yeah, it can be a bummer having so many bad side effects from meds, I pretty much will always get headaches, vertigo, and nausea. The good thing is that most times these meds are more for discomforts than for anything serious, so I'm able to use natural avenues and get by well enough.

araminta, I meant to ask you something.
I noticed back in early June you said that you were diagnosed with hyponatremia. You mentioned that you like salty foods and that you would be increasing the amount. I honestly wouldn't know if that could contribute to the current BP increase you're having, so I was wondering, did your doctor say to avoid the salts for now? Hope you're doing well.

[Linda196]

I've been dealing with this whole bag of worms for way too long, I had a hypertensive stroke in 1995, after years of uncontrolled high BP, despite multiple med attempts. After two weeks in hospital trying different combinations, I started on a betablocker, a diuretic and an ACE inhibitor (all meds I had taken before, individually) and BP dropped to low normal overnight!

Maintained reasonably normal control for more than 10 years, then had to start adjusting meds again. Three years ago my sodium started dropping, and I did the added salt and reduced fluids,but it kept dropping, so I had to stop taking the diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide), which of course threw the BP through the roof again! Good news is, the sodium normalized.

Going over my history ( which predates my current GP by many years) my GP and my cardio suggested a concoction of 3 low dose meds (one of which I had reacted badly to years ago at a higher dose) and a new diuretic. BP is now controlled again, but the med I worried about because of my earlier reaction (amlodipine) is still causing slight swelling of my lower legs and feet so it may have to be changed.

One thing I learned (and impressed my GP with LOL) was that keeping a med diary for all these years was a great idea!

Given the nature of Sjogren's symptoms, the ups and downs, it's hard to say if changes in symptoms went along with whatever BP meds I was taking at the time.

[araminta]

Twiggy - thanks for the comment about salt.   GP didn't say anything about that, and I've only increased my salt intake slightly.   I have a feeling this bigh BP has been going on longer than that.

Linda, I'm sorry to hear about all the problems you've had with medications.   Amlodipine is the med I've just started on - I'm not very happy so far but I've only taken them for three days( 5 mg tablets)  Feeling tired, slightly breathless, lower legs swelling, headaches, flushing, it's great fun.   It seems some of these side effects can wear off after a few days, if not I need to get back to the doctor.   I'm not feeling super optimistic about this med.

[meirish]

I just want to add a few things about hypertension and meds. My husband was diagnosed with hypertension at the age of 38 and was treated for many years with one med. He was hard to treat as he was a type A personality but was fairly quiet at times but became more Hyperactive when he worked....he was a salesman in a position that was high stress and highly competitive.

So over the years his pressures became more difficult to manage and a number of different drugs were used {one at a time} with quite poor outcome. Finally changed doctors and went with a primary family doctor who had a very good reputation with heart patients. His method was to put people on several
BP meds at low doses. Result is less side effects from each drug but several meds together low dose would lower pressures much better. He was on 3, and sometimes 4 different low dose meds at a time for many years. I was amazed that his heart and BP issues were as well controlled as they were for so many years.

We always were aware of the fact that we had to pay attention and notice if there would be something that would arise meaning that one or more of the meds needed a dose adjustment. When you deal with a chronic health issues like this one learns to know their body and recognize when a symptom arises or increases. I have always hoped that more doctors would treat BP this way cause it works well. meirish

[twiggy]

I've been hearing a little about drug-gene testing, called pharmacogenomics (also pharmacogenetics). Looks like it's the study of how each person's unique genetic makeup affects their response to medication. Tests look for changes or variants in genes that may determine whether a medication could be an effective treatment for you, or if you could have side effects to a specific medication. Apparently the idea has been around a long time, but this is still a new field. Hopefully scientists will continue to make advancements with it. I like the idea of 'tailor-made' treatments with medicine, so we can take some of the guesswork out.

[araminta]

Meirish I too have heard that a combination of drugs can work best for hypertension - not overloading the body with just one drug.   It was good that your husband found some effective treatment.   So much is a matter of luck depending which doctor you get to talk to.

Yes Twiggy, a tailor-made solution sounds perfect!

In the meantime I have called my surgery and said I am stopping the Amlodipine, the side effects were awful.   The doctor is supposed to be calling me back tomorrow.

[meirish]

Don't get discouraged as there are so many blood pressure medications that can be used these days. I was taken off of the beta blocker many years ago and put on another medication that did not work as well to bring my pressure down. So I am back on the beta blocker. I am on 2 medications for my blood pressure for several years. The one is in the ARB family and is used to diabetics usually as it helps save the kidneys of diabetics. I have stage 3B kidney disease so my kidneys are not doing as well as they should.

When I feel half way decent I don't feel 80 years old but when I feel lousy, which seems to be more often this past year I am well aware of the fact that my kidneys are getting old also.

Just remember when you are waiting for a new script for you blood pressure to cut down on the salt. That is one of the best things one can do. I am avoiding all the salty cheesy dishes that are out there but I fall off the wagon at times. I really miss a good pizza that is for sure. Take care now. meirish