Common Side Effects of Blood Pressure Medication

Blood pressure, if it is terribly high, can cause severe damage to your body. But it is also true that the typical OTC medications come with certain side effects. Some drugs can affect major functions of your body and this can result in side effects.

Drugs lowering your blood pressure are however proven to be effective. There are clear benefits of using them. And the benefits far outweigh the risks of side effects. A great majority of people taking these drugs have not had any problems at all.

Some drugs can decrease the supply of essential minerals to the body especially potassium. There are some symptoms associated with this deficiency like weakness and leg cramps.

At times, you will feel tired as a side effect of the medication. Consuming foods rich in potassium might also help prevent potassium deficiency. To prevent potassium deficiency, you can take a liquid supplement.

Still, it is good to ask for the doctor’s approval first. Diuretics like amiloride (Midamar) and spironolactone (Aldactone) or even triamterene (Dyrenium) usually are known as "potassium sparing" agents. They won’t cause potassium deficiency.

These side effects occur when you use medications like diuretis, along with other ones like Aldactazide, Dyazide, Maxzide and Moduretic. Some people end up suffering from gout when they are following prolonged diuretics treatment.

Such side effects aren't common, however. They could be managed with additional treatment. Gout is due to the hyperurecemia, which is caused by diuretics.

In people who are diabetic, diuretic drugs might increase the level of blood sugar. Then again, a change in drug, diet or insulin intake can get this corrected in most cases. The doctor can alter the treatment. In the majority of cases, the rise in your blood sugar level will be insignificant.

Insomnia might be caused by beta-blockers. Good examples are Acebutolol, atenolol, metoprolol, Mepressor, nadolol, pindolol, propranolol and timolol. These drugs may also cause cold hands / feet, tiredness and even depression.

These could be coupled with problems like slowed down heartbeat and asthma symptoms. Sometimes patients become impotent as well.

When you’re diabetic and taking insulin, make sure that you are extra cautious about this. The same goes for ACE inhibitors.

These drugs, such as captopril, enalapril, lisinopril, might cause skin rash and loss of taste. You may also end up with dehydration, hacking cough and rarely with kidney damages.

Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers are the drugs that might cause dizziness occasionally. On the other hand, calcium channel blockers like Diltiazem, nicardipine, Nifedipine and verapamil, might cause palpitations, swollen ankles and edema.

These can be coupled with constipation, headache and dizziness. The bottom line is that side effects could differ from one patient to another.

Let us now take a good look at alpha blockers. These drugs might cause way too fast heart rate and dizziness. Sometimes, the level of blood pressure can drop much more than you can imagine.

This can happen as you stand up. This is called postural hypotension. When alpha and beta blockers are combined, people might experience a dramatic fall in their blood pressure as they stand up or start walking.

You also need to know the side effects of central agonists, such as alpha methyldopa, might produce a drop in your blood pressure as you remain in an upright position (standing / walking).

Moreover, this might make you to feel weak and you can faint when the medication has gone too far with lowering your blood pressure. Such drugs might also cause sleepiness or lethargy.

These can be coupled with dryness in the mouth and fever or even anemia. Some male patients end up experiencing sexual and reproductive problems.

Clonidine, guanabenz or guanfacine might produce harsh dryness in the mouth. This can be coupled with constipation and drowsiness. When you are taking any of these drugs, you should not quit suddenly, as the blood pressure might end up rising too fast to alarmingly high levels.

And there are different types of side effects people experience with peripheral adrenergic inhibitors. The most common ones are stuffy nose, diarrhea and heartburn.

These aren't too severe. Likewise, there are is no treatment required whatsoever.

When side effects remain for a long time, the doctor might need to change your drug dosage. Any other medication could be recommended.

Warren Tattersall has been a full time nutritional consultant for over a decade and works with people all over the world to help them improve their health, increase their personal energy levels and to use supplements to assist with diet related health issues.

To have a free personal consultation with him to learn how incorporating nutritional supplements may improve your health concerns just visit “The Health Success Site” and download the free health report available there, or email warren@TheHealthSuccessSite.com to request a personal one-on-one consultation by email or phone.

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