Hydrochlorothiazide for High Blood Pressure User Reviews (Page 4)

• JaiDa...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 6, 2017

"I have been taking this medicine for a while, but my BP never or hardly ever gets down to 120/80. I changed my diet, so I'm going to do yoga then see if this helps, I lost 10 pounds already at 220/5'4 so a way to go. I don't want to take meds because I have many side effects that I don't like the sweats the aching pains in my joints, thirst it's really annoying. Is there any meds that don't have as many side effects for hypertension?"

• Anonymous
• June 29, 2015

"My BP was 170/110 and was put on 50mg of Losartan Potassium and 6 weeks later my BP was 242/129 and I was sent to the ER and 25mg of Hydrochlorothiazide was prescribed. After one week my BP come down and now stays about 140/100. I take my meds about 5am and I have not experienced any side effects except for feeling sluggish until about 10am, which is one side effect. No weight loss either, which I was really hoping for!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 6, 2023

"I was taking hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg, Amlodipine 10 mg and Telmisartan 80 mg for 3 years without any noticeable side effects other than slight decrease in serial urge. I recently did a blood work and my potassium level was dangerously at 1.3, I was immediately admitted in the hospital for 2 days and I was taking off this hydrochlorothiazide. Please do blood test regularly if you are on 25 mg of this drug."

• Anonymous
• September 23, 2009

"I started taking hydrochlorothiazide about 18 months ago. My blood pressure was never very high - about 125/95. It lowered it to 115/85 but my blood sugar jumped to 450 (I was not diabetic below taking HTCZ). My A1C was 9.6. I went off the HTCZ and my blood glucose went to 97 within a week. I also reduced my diabetic medications from 5 pills a day to 2."

• Borgie
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 15, 2017

"I've been taking 12.5 mg for about six months now and can honestly say it lowered my BP. Unfortunately, it makes me sweat horribly. I was going thru 3 tshirts a day. I took my self off it last Friday so I could enjoy my vacation this week and will consult my PCM when I get home."

• SBano
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 6, 2021

"My dr. first prescribed amlodipine which caused swelling in my ankles and feet, then prescribed Hydrochlorothiazide. I peed a lot, but swelling noticeably went down by the next day. Had some leg cramps, not sure if it’s related to the meds. Overall, I think it’s helped a great deal!"

• Babso...
• March 29, 2009

"I have taken hydrochlorothiazide for almost 20 years. Had to increase to 50mg. Never really brought my blood pressure to normal until it was taken in conjunction with Lisinopril. My blood pressure is perfect now. HCTZ is great for water retention. Need to take it in the morning as in the evening I was constantly waking up to relieve my bladder."

• Mimisg
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 19, 2021

"My doctor prescribed this medication for my high blood pressure, even though I have had a tendency for years to have low sodium. Five days after starting the med I had a medical emergency due to critically low sodium and potassium and was hospitalized for 4 days to try and bring my levels back up. My doctor has since added this medication to my list of drugs I can’t take. The hospital doctor tried to convince me that my doctor did not make a mistake by prescribing this for me, but common sense tells me if a patient already has low sodium don’t prescribe a drug that could potentially lower it even more. My doctor has said more than once that she has never had a patient react so severely to hydrochlorothiazide. I am living proof that it can and does happen."

• Lucie...
• August 12, 2017

"I have been on 25mg. once daily of this medication for over 20 years now. I take it with Losartan (Beta blocker). I have never experienced any of the side effects (e.g. dry mouth, dizziness, nausea, etc) that others have reported here. Of course, it's a diuretic so frequent urination (another side effect others report) is going to occur. But for myself I'd not noticed it as the only time I experienced frequent urination was due to either a UTI or the massive fibroids that formerly pressed on my bladder; the HZT never contributed to this. So really I've never had one side effect that I could attribute to this drug at all since I began taking it. In fact, the only warning from the pharmacy is to avoid sunlight or artificial sunlight"

• 33...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 4, 2021

"I am currently nursing and have been dealing with high blood pressure since I gave birth. I was started on labetalol but my PCP wanted to try out HCTZ instead because he said beta blockers are not a first line drug for high BP. From day one of taking it I had a terrible headache that never went away after 3 weeks of taking it daily. My blood pressure (which was 160/98 prior to any medication) shot up to 172/118 at my last dr visit. In addition to the headaches, I also experienced some brain fog, tiredness, and weakness. I think I may have been severely dehydrated from HCTZ combined with breastfeeding (which also uses a lot of the water in your body), despite drinking water all day long... So this was not a good fit for me at all. I stopped taking it today and started back on the labetalol and my BP is now 142/86. I’ll be asking the dr to increase my labetalol dose or add on something else because I didn’t have a good experience with it."

• Donnie
• July 2, 2016

"I had an serve allergic reaction to this medication. I broke out in a high fever, blood pressure spike, and broke out in hives all over my body. The hives were so serious I was being dosed with Liquid Benadryl (IV given)."

• Dee
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 1, 2021

"I was in hospital on June or July of last year and my blood pressure was elevated and this Dr. prescribed me this hydrochlorothiazide medication through my IV and my heart rate was completely out of control. It was so bad when they gave me that hydrothiazide the nurse had to put a defibrillator on me in case I had a heart attack my bp was 235/300+ my heart rate was 175 beats per minute."

• MeInS...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 27, 2023

"I am a 62-year-old woman who had been taking Losartan for 7 years to manage my blood pressure, but it only brought it down to 134/90. I noticed fluid accumulation near my ankles and my doctor switched me to HCTZ 25 mg in June 2022. Within weeks, my blood pressure decreased to a consistent 116/65, and I lost 8 pounds. However, in January 2023, my blood pressure started to increase to 134/92 and continued to climb until I ended up in the ER on March 23, 2023, with a blood pressure of 193/116, feeling chest pressure, dizziness, and a racing heart. The ambulance personnel and ER staff were unable to determine the cause, but they discovered that my potassium and magnesium levels were critically low and treated me accordingly. My regular doctor advised me to stop taking HCTZ immediately, and I have been feeling better for the past 5 days. However, I found HCTZ to be a powerful medication."

• Anonymous
• June 24, 2009

"I've been taking a HCTZ in combination with blood pressure medication. So far it has worked well for water and salt retention. My blood pressure has come down from its highest point of 220/120 which is insanely high, its now at 140/80. Only complaint like the other users is constant urination at night. During the day it's not noticeable but right before sleep I'll go about 2 to 3 times."

• CCB
• October 28, 2008

"I started taking this medication in combination with Quinapril, which apparently is common (they also make a single pill containing both medicines). My blood pressure was reduced, though it is hard to say if one medicine was more effective than the other. However, after taking this, I began having attacks of gout, which I've never had in my life. This diuretic increases uric acid levels in the bloodstream, which is the cause of gout. If you are prone to gout or develop it let your doctor know."

• doesi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 6, 2016

"Well I've been on this medication 25mg for about a week... I started to have side affects about two days in like extreme dry mouth like I woke up in the Mojave desert or something. And I still have the side affect so I keep a bottle water handy at night. 2-3 day I stated to feel the mild cramps on my legs but it's gone away so it's temporary I guess. As for urinating regular not sure if it's not high enough or what. Cause I have not noticed any loss of water I have been retaining. Really disappointed so I'll keep taking this med for another two weeks if I don't notice anything I'm off it. Cause it hadn't worked. Oh well I guess let's see what happens."

• mbmimi
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 25, 2015

"HCTZ worked fine for me for 30 years. It kept my peripheral edema under control and worked synergistically with Lisinopril to keep my blood pressure low. But in May my yearly blood tests showed sodium level of 126. A repeat a few weeks later showed 124. By that time I was having my grandson care for me. The doctor then stopped the HCTZ. I've recovered from the cerebral edema caused by the hyponatremia and my sodium was up to 130 at the last check, but now have hypertension and peripheral edema. I'm now on a 40mg dose of Lisinopril with no improvement after 4 days."

• Minni...
• June 2, 2010

"I originally gave this medicine a thumbs down, as the side effects, nausea and leg cramps were too much. Decided to try it again at the prompting of my doctor and after a few days adjusted to it. 25mg dosage, the edema is gone and it seems to work with my beta blocker with no issues."

• Dhano
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 23, 2021

"I am sure this hydrochlorothiazide works great for some people but definitely not me. I was only on it 5 days and I almost had every side effect listed. Just recovering now. I could not eat a thing (for all 5 days)and then my blood pressure plummeted and then I fainted in my kitchen. Now I have the dreaded cough. Am hoping that a little increase in sodium will help. Any ideas how long the cough lasts? I have been off of it for 2 days so am hoping this clears up soon. Yeah, you do lose weight be but I thought it was going to be the end of me."

• Terry
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 17, 2017

"I have been on it for a week and my bp has only gone down a little but I feel terrible, mild headache and tired all the time. I will call Monday and get something different. I have been taking Atenolol for years but my bp is too high now for that alone."

• Distr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 12, 2023

"I was on Irbesartan for about 4 years, but it was causing fecal incontinence, so I decided to ask my new PCP to try another BP med. If I had known then how terrible the other categories of meds are with side effects, I would never have done this. I went to a calcium blocker which made me horribly ill. So I told him I wanted to go back to Irbesartan. The Irbesartan doesn't kick in for weeks (I'm praying that it will) so he prescribed hydrochlorothiazide. For four days I felt fine. Then I started to get terribly weak with on and off debilitating headaches. Also constipation. I stopped one day and felt better. Then took for two days and could barely function because of weakness, joint aches, back pain and neck pain. I stopped again today. I'm seeing the doctor in two days. I am just going to go back to the Irbesartan alone and pray that it works. Irbesartan is the category that relaxes your blood vessels. Other categories are horrid for me. This did lower my blood pressure"

• sonic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 4, 2022

"This drug works well in getting rid of water retention. I would give it at least an 8 for that. But the side effects are just horrible for me. So I am rating it much lower at a 1. I've tried to make this medication several times. Every time I end up with a very dry mouth, dizziness, and fatigue. It makes me feel very lousy. It is strange that I used to take this drug for many years as part of high blood pressure combo such as Valsartan HCTZ. But I can't anymore. I think I am allergic to this medication. I will never take again."

• lidia...
• July 28, 2009

"I have been taking hydrochlorothiazide for about ten years and it has helped me with high blood pressure. The only bad thing about it is that I now have low potassium levels and have to take potassium pills but overall it does help with the water retention on lowering high blood pressure."

• hatep...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 3, 2015

"This medicine is ok nothing to be scared of, I hate taking pills and my blood pressure was extremely high so I was prescribed this and I changed the way I ate I'm 31 years old and healthy otherwise. Within a month(it toke time) my blood pressure was at high risk level which was lower than before. Probably because I still had a lot of weight to lose. I remember feeling tired at first. As I got used to the medicine I was able to hot the gym again."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 16, 2022

"I’m in age of 45, female. I have hypertension around 145. Went to ER twice because it went up over 165. My doctor prescribed me thiazide 26mg because I have side effects with Lisinopril 5mg. I got low potassium 2.9 after I was taking thiazide for two weeks. My potassium was normal before I started taking thiazide. My heart rate increased, I lost 5 lb. in two days, and my blood pressure was up sometimes. I got bladder infection. Now I stopped the medicine. Taking potassium to reboot the potassium in my body. Still feeling weak if I walking too much."