Guest guest Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 Hi, I'm very new to the group, although I used to be active years ago when Russ owned it (whatever happened to him)? I just started on 10 mg of Lisinopril. My blood pressure didn't register very high, but I'd wake up in the middle of the night from my heart pounding. Now after only a few days it doesn't, but I do have some muscle cramps. I'm not so concerned about dealing with muscle cramps and such symptoms so long as they're tolerable. I'm looking information on the ratio of serious symptoms (like death, organ failure, etc.) and if I should have any real concerns about the muscle cramps. Does anyone know where/how I can find this information? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 Hi , A warm welcome to you! I am glad you found your way to us. Pierre already answered your questions, but I wanted to welcome you and also let you know about our sister site www.igan.ca that Pierre also put up. There is lots of information there too. Welcome again. In a message dated 10/17/2004 6:55:33 AM Pacific Daylight Time, sanspaugh@... writes: > Hi, > > I'm very new to the group, although I used to be active years ago > when Russ owned it (whatever happened to him)? > > I just started on 10 mg of Lisinopril. My blood pressure didn't > register very high, but I'd wake up in the middle of the night from > my heart pounding. Now after only a few days it doesn't, but I do > have some muscle cramps. > > I'm not so concerned about dealing with muscle cramps and such > symptoms so long as they're tolerable. I'm looking information on > the ratio of serious symptoms (like death, organ failure, etc.) and > if I should have any real concerns about the muscle cramps. Does > anyone know where/how I can find this information? > > Thanks, > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 Hi Welcome to the group. You can get the complete product monograph as it's called for lisinopril at: http://www.merckfrosst.ca/e/products/monographs/PRINIVIL_900-a_2_04-E.pdf It's a pdf type file, so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read it, which most people already have on their computer. Even if you don't, it's a free download, and your computer will probably ask if you want to download it. There's a breakdown by % of all the effects that were reported as part of the drug's clinical trial. Lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor, of course, as is commonly prescribed to people with glomerular kidney diseases for renal protection. Nephrologists (and for that matter, family doctors too) have tons of experience with these drugs, and among them, lisinopril is a very common one with a long, safe history of use. It's one of the earliest ACE inhibitors, so you're not dealing with the hazards of a new drug. I've been on many different BP meds over the past decade and a half, including ACE inhibitors. My personal experience is that, it's not uncommon for your heart to beat faster at first. The drug lowers your blood pressure, and beating faster is how the heart responds until your body settles down with the drug. Now, there are some possible side effects, as with any drug. One of them is an increase in the level of potassium in your blood. For the vast majority of people, this would be very minor and of no consequence, but just in case, if you feel you need to, because of any strange effects, do contact your doctor. Whatever you do, don't use any potassium-based salt substitutes, as these can be dangerous. Cramps could possibly be caused changes in your blood electrolytes (sodium and potassium are electrolytes). With someone like you whose BP is not elevated to begin with, there's always an off-chance the drug could be lowering your BP too much, but that's unlikely as long as you don't feel like you will faint when you stand up. It's hard to say, because only you know how bad those muscles cramps are, but if they persist, I would certainly give the doctor a call. It's hard to say with electrolytes. Too much or too little sodium or potassium can pretty much cause the same symptoms. Are you drinking enough? Sometimes, starting a BP meds like that can cause you to dehydrate a little. Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask. There's almost always someone who can help here. Pierre P.S. This group has never been associated with Russ . That was a previous group. ACE Inhibitors > > > Hi, > > I'm very new to the group, although I used to be active years ago > when Russ owned it (whatever happened to him)? > > I just started on 10 mg of Lisinopril. My blood pressure didn't > register very high, but I'd wake up in the middle of the night from > my heart pounding. Now after only a few days it doesn't, but I do > have some muscle cramps. > > I'm not so concerned about dealing with muscle cramps and such > symptoms so long as they're tolerable. I'm looking information on > the ratio of serious symptoms (like death, organ failure, etc.) and > if I should have any real concerns about the muscle cramps. Does > anyone know where/how I can find this information? > > Thanks, > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 Thanks! I wasn't clear, my heart was pounding at night before the medicine and now it's not. > Hi > > Welcome to the group. > > You can get the complete product monograph as it's called for lisinopril at: > http://www.merckfrosst.ca/e/products/monographs/PRINIVIL_900- a_2_04-E.pdf > > It's a pdf type file, so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read > it, which most people already have on their computer. Even if you don't, > it's a free download, and your computer will probably ask if you want to > download it. > > There's a breakdown by % of all the effects that were reported as part of > the drug's clinical trial. > > Lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor, of course, as is commonly prescribed to > people with glomerular kidney diseases for renal protection. Nephrologists > (and for that matter, family doctors too) have tons of experience with these > drugs, and among them, lisinopril is a very common one with a long, safe > history of use. It's one of the earliest ACE inhibitors, so you're not > dealing with the hazards of a new drug. > > I've been on many different BP meds over the past decade and a half, > including ACE inhibitors. My personal experience is that, it's not uncommon > for your heart to beat faster at first. The drug lowers your blood pressure, > and beating faster is how the heart responds until your body settles down > with the drug. Now, there are some possible side effects, as with any drug. > One of them is an increase in the level of potassium in your blood. For the > vast majority of people, this would be very minor and of no consequence, but > just in case, if you feel you need to, because of any strange effects, do > contact your doctor. Whatever you do, don't use any potassium- based salt > substitutes, as these can be dangerous. Cramps could possibly be caused > changes in your blood electrolytes (sodium and potassium are electrolytes). > With someone like you whose BP is not elevated to begin with, there's always > an off-chance the drug could be lowering your BP too much, but that's > unlikely as long as you don't feel like you will faint when you stand up. > It's hard to say, because only you know how bad those muscles cramps are, > but if they persist, I would certainly give the doctor a call. It's hard to > say with electrolytes. Too much or too little sodium or potassium can pretty > much cause the same symptoms. Are you drinking enough? Sometimes, starting a > BP meds like that can cause you to dehydrate a little. > > Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask. There's almost always someone who can > help here. > > Pierre > P.S. This group has never been associated with Russ . That was a > previous group. > > > ACE Inhibitors > > > > > > > > Hi, > > > > I'm very new to the group, although I used to be active years ago > > when Russ owned it (whatever happened to him)? > > > > I just started on 10 mg of Lisinopril. My blood pressure didn't > > register very high, but I'd wake up in the middle of the night from > > my heart pounding. Now after only a few days it doesn't, but I do > > have some muscle cramps. > > > > I'm not so concerned about dealing with muscle cramps and such > > symptoms so long as they're tolerable. I'm looking information on > > the ratio of serious symptoms (like death, organ failure, etc.) and > > if I should have any real concerns about the muscle cramps. Does > > anyone know where/how I can find this information? > > > > Thanks, > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 Sorry I misunderstood that, . It's possible that high or low blood pressure would cause heart pounding, but I think it's safe to say that most high blood pressure causes no symptoms at all that the person who has it can detect. I don't know specifically why your heart was pounding when you didn't have high blood pressure, but just having chronic renal insufficiency can sometimes make the heart a little jumpy like that. Pierre Re: ACE Inhibitors > > > Thanks! I wasn't clear, my heart was pounding at night before the > medicine and now it's not. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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