Blood pressure meds causing fatigue

[Steve78]

I have htn and I’m on irbesartan 300 mg.
If I check my bp when my kids are home it’s 154/90 so I take 150 mg during day but I notice an hour or two I’m extremely fatigued. I’ve been on it over a year but someone mentioned the other day that their bp med caused fatigue. I started to take note and noticed it each time I took it…

Which other med would work but not cause this? Hard to function if I just want to sleep all day. I’m thinking a calcium channel blocker, verapamil vs diltiazem

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Many medications that treat high blood pressure cause fatigue. I have tried a few and I can confirm this.

Currently I am taking a calcium channel blocker (amlodipine or Norvasc). It does not seem to affect me as much.

You also have to be aware of the fact that some HTN meds can cause sexual dysfunction:

What high blood pressure meds are the most erection friendly?

My doctor keeps telling me my blood pressure is borderline high or a bit high side he first asked me to try and reduce my salt intake now talking about maybe putting me on some meds I've never taken any blood pressure meds before and really don't know much about the different drugs they...

www.excelmale.com

 

[MDavidW76]

Many medications that treat high blood pressure cause fatigue. I have tried a few and I can confirm this.

Currently I am taking a calcium channel blocker (amlodipine or Norvasc). It does not seem to affect me as much.

You also have to be aware of the fact that some HTN meds can cause sexual dysfunction:

What high blood pressure meds are the most erection friendly?

My doctor keeps telling me my blood pressure is borderline high or a bit high side he first asked me to try and reduce my salt intake now talking about maybe putting me on some meds I've never taken any blood pressure meds before and really don't know much about the different drugs they...

www.excelmale.com

My PCP has me in Verapamil and I want to get off of it as it has several sides that I’m not doing well with, one of which is particularly concerning as I have shared that I have a pituitary tumor and in rare cases Verapamil may exacerbate elevated prolactin.

Also, I was looking up the difference between Norvasc and Losartan

Different effect of losartan and amlodipine on penile structures in male spontaneously hypertensive rats - PubMed

Although losartan and amlodipine achieved similar blood pressure control, losartan but not amlodipine showed a significant protective role against structural changes in the vessels and cavernous spaces of the erectile tissue caused by arterial hypertension.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Biobro]

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/l-type-calcium-channel-blockers-may-contribute-heart-failure/

”Researches found that L-type calcium channel blockers may cause the same type of vascular damage they are intended to prevent.”



UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — L-type calcium channel blockers (LCCBs) — the most widely used drugs for treating hypertension — may harm the heart as much as help it, according to a new study.

The research team, led by Penn State, found that in rats and human cells in vitro, LCCBs cause changes in blood vessels — known as vascular remodeling — that reduce blood flow and increase pressure. Examining epidemiological data, the team also found that LCCBs are associated with a greater risk for heart failure. The findings suggest that care should be taken when prescribing these drugs to patients, particularly older adults and those with advanced hypertension.

“In the United States, nearly half of all adults — or just over a hundred million — have hypertension, and its prevalence is increasing; worldwide, the condition is expected to affect 1.56 billion people by 2025,” said Mohamed Trebak, professor of cellular and molecular physiology, Penn State. “L-type calcium channel blockers are one of the most widely prescribed drugs to treat hypertension, yet we have found that these drugs may cause the same type of damage they are intended to prevent.”

Trebak explained that vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) make up the walls of blood vessels, where they help the vessels to control blood flow by contracting and relaxing. This activity is regulated by the concentration of calcium within the cells. VSMCs contain numerous calcium-permeable channels to control this calcium concentration. Under conditions of hypertension, these channels allow too much calcium to enter VSMCs, which triggers the cells to undergo physiological changes, known as “remodeling,” and to divide and proliferate. These remodeled, proliferative cells cause blood vessel walls to thicken and stiffen and blood pressure to rise.

“L-type calcium channel blockers were created to prevent this from happening,” said Trebak. “Yet, we found that these drugs also simultaneously cause remodeling and proliferation of VSMCs through another mechanism.”

To investigate the specific mechanisms by which LCCBs affect VSMCs, Trebak and his colleagues used optical, electrophysiological and molecular tools to examine smooth muscle cells in vitro and in rats.

The team found that calcium entry into VSMCs is mediated by stromal-interacting molecule (STIM) proteins activating ORAI calcium channels and that chronic exposure to LCCBs causes these STIM proteins to become overactive, which triggers VSMCs to proliferate. Their results appeared on July 8 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Additionally, the researchers examined epidemiological data from the Penn State clinical database and found that incidences of heart failure were significantly higher in hypertensive patients treated with LCCBs than in hypertensive patients treated with other types of hypertension medications.

“Treatment with LCCBs is clinically associated with elevated incidence of heart failure, which prompts a careful examination of the use of LCCBs during chronic hypertension where vascular remodeling is evident,” said Trebak. “Extra care should be taken when hypertensive patients present with COVID-19, as LCCBs may exacerbate their vascular damage.

Other Penn State College of Medicine authors on the paper include Martin Johnson, graduate student; Xuexin Zhang, research associate; Ping Xin, laboratory manager; Scott Emrich, graduate student; Ryan Yoast, graduate student; Robert Nwokonko, graduate student; Donald Gill, professor and chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology; Wei Li, assistant professor of pediatrics; Nadine Hempel, associate professor of pharmacology. Other authors include Aparna Gudlur and Patrick Hogan, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, and Raphael Courjaret and Khaled Machaca, Cornell University in Qatar and Qatar Foundation.

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, The National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Qatar National Research Fund and the Qatar Foundation supported this research.

 

[Zooka15]

Telmisartan for me does does not cause fatigue, also has a 24 hour half life. No need for twice a day dosing.

 

[Dicky]

There are scads of BP meds out there. You are on an angiotensin receptor blocker - ARB. Just try another ARB. Telmisartan, Losartan, etc. If those give you problems you can try an ACE inhibitor, which works through a different mechanism.

Good luck. I tried 8 different kinds of BP meds. They all gave me wicked diarrhea.

 

[Thegoalie39]

Many medications that treat high blood pressure cause fatigue. I have tried a few and I can confirm this.

Currently I am taking a calcium channel blocker (amlodipine or Norvasc). It does not seem to affect me as much.

You also have to be aware of the fact that some HTN meds can cause sexual dysfunction:

What high blood pressure meds are the most erection friendly?

My doctor keeps telling me my blood pressure is borderline high or a bit high side he first asked me to try and reduce my salt intake now talking about maybe putting me on some meds I've never taken any blood pressure meds before and really don't know much about the different drugs they...

www.excelmale.com

What's your experience with that calcium channel blocker I'm looking to try it

 

[Nelson Vergel]

What's your experience with that calcium channel blocker I'm looking to try it

Still on it. Also take amiloride on and off (potassium sparing diuretic) if I screw up my diet or have more than one alcoholic drink. Both factors increase water retention.