r/bloodpressure

They are increasingly unstable and hostile.

Has anyone else experienced this directly or indirectly with amlodipine?

Doing a quick search, I found:

"Users on Reddit forums frequently report that amlodipine caused severe mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts. Many individuals describe feeling "like they were dying" or experiencing intense dread, with some noting that symptoms persisted for months even after discontinuing the medication."

I'm guessing those affected by those effects are increasingly difficult to be around?

I can't seem to convince them to stop the amlodipine. They assert they don't care about psychological effects, just getting their BP down. The behavior clearly is worse than it has previously been. I wouldn't say they went from an angel to a demon, but the drug seems to have exacerbated underlying pathology.

I don't know what to do except stay away from them as much as possible. I thought they were doing quite well mentally and psychologically before starting the amlodipine.

Also, their BP went up after starting the amlodipine. Systolic BP, tested at the doc's office, was 160 before starting it and last tested 177 in the same office. Is that very unusual?

42M here. Moderately active. 7-15k steps a day with my dogs. Weight lift 2-3 times a week. 90% mediterranean diet. Pizza slice here and there. Vegetable smoothies almost daily. Hibiscus tea daily. Beetroot powder daily. Drink 100+ ounces of water daily. Drink light beer on weekends (4-8) Don't smoke. High BP does not run in my family. At healthy weight (6'5" tall - 215lbs)

I have always been a bit anxious since I was a child and to this day I wake up anxious. I was told to take my readings in the morning by my doctor when performed at home.

Everytime I go to the doctor in the afternoon my BP readings are around 122/85. All blood work is normal.

When I test at home with my electronic arm monitor I get 140/90 give or take in the mornings.

I am confident I perform the test correctly. Sit for five minutes quietly. Elevate arm to heart level with pillows. Make sure to position cuff correctly and so on.

I went to a cardiologist a year ago because I was concerned. He performed a EKG, stress test and echo and looked at my history. He said "its okay to have high blood pressure readings, but you just do not want high readings all day everyday. Your young, your healthy, go live your life."

I try my hardest to believe him and put my BP monitor away for a long time because I kept getting high readings at home and was freaking out. Health anxiety does run in my family. I recently started taking it again and it still shows around 140/90.

My dad is 79 and walks 2 miles a day and always checks his BP when he gets home and its around 120/80. He eats mostly steaks, butter and rolls and popcorn. Not fair!

Not sure if I should just believe the doctor(s) and live my life or if I should see different doctor(s) or do additional tests?

Thanks for your input.

Jeff

Seattle, WA

I’ve been taking metoprolol and losartan for my blood pressure, and I’ve started noticing some changes in my sexual function. I’m having more difficulty getting or maintaining an erection, and sometimes I feel like I’m having ejaculation symptoms before I’m fully erect. I’ve also noticed that my penis sometimes seems smaller or more contracted than usual.

I’ve also experienced a lower sex drive, and I’m wondering whether these symptoms could be related to my blood pressure medication or another medication I’m taking.

I exercise and work out regularly, so I’m trying to stay as healthy as possible. I would like to understand whether certain blood pressure medications are more likely to cause sexual side effects and whether some people have fewer problems with different medications.

Has anyone else experienced this while taking blood pressure medication?

• What medication were you taking?
• Did it affect your erections, ejaculation, penis size/appearance, or sex drive?
• Did switching to a different medication help?
• Were there any blood pressure medications that caused fewer sexual side effects for you?
• Did your doctor recommend any other treatment that helped?
• How long did it take for your sexual function to improve after changing treatment?

I’m interested in hearing about all types of blood pressure medications and people’s experiences with them, not just one specific medication. I’ll discuss any possible medication changes with my doctor rather than stopping anything on my own.

I recently bought an Omron because my mother in law thought the blood pressure recorded on my iHealth machine was incorrect and overstating her readings. When I first got the Omron, her readings were higher on the iHealth and lower on the Omron. My readings were about the same on both machines. The Omron is apparently the gold standard and is more expensive.

These past 2 weeks have changed for me now. The newer Omron machine reads lower for me than on the iHealth. I have no idea which one to trust. The Omron is newer and I have changed batteries on both devices.

I’m 7 days postpartum and currently taking nifedipine for postpartum high blood pressure.
This morning, after waking up and getting out of bed, my heart rate suddenly went quite high around 150-160 I ended up getting evaluated, and they did an EKG and chest imaging, which were normal. They also found that I have a UTI, and the doctors thought dehydration may have contributed to the high heart rate.
They decreased my nifedipine from 120 mg/day to 30 mg twice a day (60 mg/day).
For those who had postpartum hypertension and were taking nifedipine:
Did you experience an increased heart rate while taking it?
How long did it take for your heart rate to settle down?
How long did you need to stay on nifedipine postpartum?
What BP readings did your doctor want to see before reducing or stopping it?
Did your doctor gradually decrease the dose?
Did your BP eventually return to normal without medication?
I’m trying to understand what the usual timeline looks like because I’m only 7 days postpartum and hoping this is temporary.
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. ❤️

So I a made the post pasted below around 5 weeks ago. Since then I have completely changed my diet. Lots of whole grains, fish, chicken breast, fresh fruits and veggies, and under 1,500 mg of sodium a day. I had a doctors appointment today and as soon as woke up this morning i had anxiety. When I was called to the back they took my blood pressure and my heartrate shot to 117bpm. My resting heartrate is usually in the high 50's or lower 60's .(it is 63 bpm as I'm typing this.) The reading was 167/93. I told them how anxious I was and they kind of brushed it off. After me pushing for another reading she said she would give me a minute to relax. Again on the second reading my heartrate jumped to 103 and the reading was 152/82. She ended up prescribing me losartan 25 mg. I picked up the prescription but I'm going to buy an at home blood pressure cuff to take at home so I can get more accurate reading when I'm not so anxious. Is the right decision? I know 5 weeks of me changing is not going to do much but I expected it to be lower by at least a few points. I was so excited to come here and share my success story but now I just feel defeated instead.

Post from 5 weeks ago

I recently tore my acl a few months ago and I am currently going through PT and starting back at work. I had my 6 week acl checkup last week and my BP was 134/100. The doctor seemed concerned and sent a referral for me. Ever since I’ve been terrified I’m going to have a heart attack or stroke at any minute. Since that day I have cut my sodium intake down to 1500mg or less everyday and have just been eating healthier over all. Please tell me I’m not going to die. Here are all my reading since going to the doctor for my acl.

• 4/29/26: 142/95
• 6/4/26 (multiple): 135/88, 133/77, 129/78, 138/74, 144/85, 128/78, 140/89, 150/91, 151/73
• 6/17/26: 145/89
• 7/15/26 (recent): 142/105, 134/100

What is the point in having a nurse take my blood pressure incorrectly (arm dangling, wrong arm, cuff OVER MY ELBOW) almost every single visit and then treating me like my readings are an issue.

At home and at my other physician my numbers are controlled well. 115/70s through 120s/80s. Higher if I'm stressed or don't wait to sit before taking.

My Primary? Well I'm sitting here now after the tech left worried bc my BP is 160/90 when taken at the elbow/forearm on a loose cuff that was twisted around several times and she was adamant I leave my arm dangling.

Does it really not matter or does it?

Looking for other people’s experience with this. I’m a healthy, 24 year old man, who lifts 3-4 days a week and am extremely strong (1100lb total). However, ever since I was 15 years old, my blood pressure skyrockets when I take it. It sounds weird but as soon as I even see the cuff, my heart starts racing, I get sweaty, and I automatically assume it’s going to be dangerously high. As a result, it usually does end up being high until I take multiple readings. I already talked with my doctor and he said he’s not concerned since I can get readings of 125/80 - 130-85 range but it’s always higher before that. I was at the hospital today for a head injury and when I got there, it was 150/84. A few hours later, I got it taken and it was 186/93 (doctor wasn’t concerned because she said she knew it was just an anxiety response). What can I do about this? I hate having to explain every time I get it taken that it’s not actually that high and the whole process (and topic in general) give me severe anxiety. I had a holter monitor as a teenager which came back normal and I had a cardiac stress test last May which was fine (the cardiologist told me my heart is healthy). I just need someone to talk and relate to about it. I drink moderately (maybe once or twice a month) and smoke cannabis daily albeit less than a gram these days but I find it calms me down. Health anxiety friggin sucks

I went to the GP yesterday after doing a random home bp test and discovering my BP was 180/101. She's given me a BP monitor to take home for the week and I won't be having bloods taken or seeing her for another two weeks. She didn't prescribe me any meds, but told me if I have signs of a heart attack or stroke, to call 999. So I'm sat here waiting for half a month before I can get help with lowering it, waiting for the worst to happen. I don't know how long I've had high BP for or what damage it's caused. Should I be worried over the next two weeks? I'm really conscious now of hearing my heart in my chest and even when my ears pulse or ring or feel my pulse in my neck when I lay on my pillow. I feel like I'm a ticking time bomb.

I've cut out alcohol and am eating very healthily since last week when I found out but I know that alone isn't enough to lower it

Should I be worried?

For context, I am a 27 year old woman, overweight, but working on it with a GLP1. Have lost 20 lbs since May, exercise regularly and eat a generally high protein diet, good sleep, and practice self care to monitor stress.

Went to PCP about 3 weeks ago (who is a NP) and had a reading of 133/85. OK she tells me to monitor it at home and take BP first thing in morning after peeing.

My readings for a week are as follows:

1. 121/78
2. 110/81
3. 115/80
4. 136/84
5. 131/89
6. 111/77
7. 133/87

She advises to cut salt, exercise, eat right, the usual advice, and to keep monitoring. She suggests if things are still high to go on low dose BP medication.

Today, I met with my obesity doctor and told her what my PCP and gave her my numbers. She advised that my PCP is wrong, my BP is fine and that the new standard is that anything under 140 is fine. Google says it's not. IDK what to believe.

my brain unlocked a new fear of blood pressure when i became hyper alert about the question asked by the nurse . she asked if im always taking bp medicines when she saw 130/90 . i was walking alot till the clinic and slept very less since few weeks since kids were unwell. im 30 female with no other health issues other than health anxiety. came home and checked my bp at home monitor, feeling anxious and it turns out 155/98 which again increased anxiety. i get panick attacks and cant sleep properly coz of this, thinking abt docters rushing me to ER if they see me with this high bp

Does anyone get symptoms from high blood pressure?

My head is pounding in heart rythem from sitting to standing with vision changes, ive had a tilt table test but showed no drop or low blood pressure so.im guessing its from the high blood pressure im on meds 16mg candesartan

Are these symptoms normal ? I've mentioned it several times to doctors and get no answer

38/F, 5’2”, 135lbs at the gym several times a week lifting, my blood pressure is at least 140/100 upon waking. By evening I’m usually 160-170/105-115. I feel like crap, I’m always tired. I have just had a visit with a kidney hypertension doctor that suspects some kind of aldosterone issue, as my potassium is low and my aldosterone is high and spironolactone did help but I’m off for family planning reasons.

My primary doctor tried me on labetalol and nifedipine and I had a migraine that made me curl into a ball and my entire body was pulsing. It was an absolute hellish experience. Since then I’m terrified of both medications.

My hypertension doctor prescribed me amlodipine. He put me on 10 but told me to split it in half, I bought a pill splitter and quartered it because, again, terrified of new meds and I’m pretty sure it was the vasodilator that caused my problems. 15 minutes ago I finally decided to try 2.5mg of the amlo with my normal 100mg of metoprolol with fingers crossed. My anxiety is NOT helping 🫠

My questions are

Has anyone been on this combo and had success with little side effects?

Has anyone been healthy overall yet still suffered high blood pressure at a young age? How did you manage? Did you find the root of the issue or just medicate?

Has anyone actually had an aldosterone issue and had it fixed through surgery? I have many tests and scans coming up so this might be something I will be faced with.

So my wife had preeclampsia about 6 months ago, so we purchased a BP monitor. I decided to take mine (obviously stressed out about her), and would get readings 160-170 systolic, with diastolic being 70 or below.

Decided I would wait until life got a little more calm, and if it was still high would go to doctor. Well I was still running high 130s-150s so I went to my PCP. I was super anxious but didn’t think my BP would be super bad, it was 178/96!!

Long story short, I did extensive blood panel and all came back good. And stated losartan 50mg/HCT 12.5. Took 3 weeks of measurements and averaged 130/70 so doc said that’s good for now.

But man, my anxiety about this whole ordeal is still weighing on me. After my 3 week log I stopped taking it, because it was determining my mood for the day. It was a horrible loop. Anyways, life got back to normal and I just took the meds and hoped it was good.

Now, after about 3 months, I decided to check to make sure it was still good. Past 3 days I’ve averaged maybe 138/68. I’ve lost 20 pounds since diagnosis, sleep is good, diet decent, only down to 1 can of Diet Coke a day, up to running 5ks. Wtf man. I feel so defeated and feel like I started the loop all over again.

Any advise? Similar experiences ?

My biggest worry is how bad it spiked at the doctor, that’s terrifying ! Also, both parents have HTN, with my dad being diagnosed in 30s as well. Also still have some weight to lose. But doing well on that part.

Hi, 42M, so I've got my BP down from 170-178 to around 153-155 and that's on an evening. I take medication for it but it's stubborn and not dropping any further. Life is stressful, personal things, a baby who doesn't sleep and bad genetics for BP

Does anyone have the same readings? If so, did you have it for a long time at those numbers? What will my future health be affected like?