Amlodipine and Lightheadedness: What Users Say

• Ali...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 1, 2025

For High Blood Pressure "I was terrified to take this med after reading the reviews on here. Of course, I was more terrified of my crazy high blood pressure, so I took the meds. (After changing diet/exercise did not help much.) I had one day where I felt a little 'off,' maybe dizzy/light-headed, but the next day that was gone, and I have had no big side effects at all, other than my BP is in the normal range now. I only reviewed it to give others who are nervous a positive perspective."

• Fre...
• February 21, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "From day one, I experienced lightheadedness and once fainted. After one and a half years, the constant dizziness was crushing me, I couldn't concentrate, do anything physical, walk far, ride my bike. My work was suffering, and I was beginning to feel depressed and hopeless. My doctor finally (why so long?) took me off the amlodipine, and within 48 hours, my dizziness had gone. Also, I realized that the serious back pain that had been torturous for over a year faded away. Over the time I took this medicine, my gripes included painful urination, serious muscular pain in my leg and in my back. The worst thing was that my doctor was leaning more and more towards psychosomatic causes and trying to convince me I was provoking the symptoms due to depression. He wanted to put me on medication for this. It disgusts me that he didn't listen to me, that he didn't take me seriously, that he didn't take the amlodipine side effects into consideration until I argued with him for nearly an hour about it."

• Bet...
• October 2, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "I’ve taken amlodipine for a little over a month and I find it very bad. Every side effect possible I have: light-headed, tightness around head and neck. Buzzing sounds, vivid dreams. Can’t sleep, dry mouth, infection in left eye, nervousness, and depression; been off for just five days and I feel so drained!! Who can help get this pill out of my system!!"

• Bob...
• May 28, 2017

Amlodipine for High Blood Pressure "I'm 37 and didn't always have issues with BP. I have been Norvasc 2.5 mg for about a month. It has made me worse. I have been to the ER twice because I feel lightheadedness. I feel like I am going to faint. I do not understand. I never had any issues until I started taking this medication. Has anybody else gone through this? Both hospitals couldn't find anything."

• gar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 18, 2023

For High Blood Pressure "Have been on this drug for 4 months, 5 mg. The first month was okay, but now I feel dizzy, anxious, lightheaded, fatigued, and tired. I have been to the hospital twice for blood tests. I have been off work on sick leave due to no energy and brain fog. You name it, I've had it. I'm now off it. Avoid this medication at all costs, it will change your life, but not for good."

• Ric...
• May 21, 2014

For High Blood Pressure "The first few days I took Amlodipine 5 mg, I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack, and was a little light-headed. As I got used to the med, the feelings decreased but I still have that panic feeling once in a while. After a week, my right leg and ankle became swollen, but not my left leg. I also experience nausea with this medicine and a loss of appetite, which, in part, is good as I'm overweight. However, I could do without the nausea. I always take this medication with food and my other meds in the morning. It has dropped my high blood pressure from 200/97 to 140/83. This is the only good thing about this medicine. I can't put my finger on it, but I just don't feel right since I've been taking Amlodipine 5 mg."

• Deb...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 2, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "Been on amlodipine besylate for about 3 weeks for high blood pressure, and I ended up in the ER a few days ago for severe weakness in my right arm. They did an EKG, CT scan, and blood work. Everything was normal. The doctor said it's an injury to the muscles in my shoulder. I'm 53 and very active, running my farm by myself. Now the weakness is also in my right leg. I feel shaky and lightheaded. I'm not taking the amlodipine this morning, I'm waiting for the doctor to call. It did lower my blood pressure, but now I can't do anything."

• Emc...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 28, 2020

Amlodipine for High Blood Pressure "Took Norvasc for about 6 weeks. For about four weeks, it very effectively lowered my BP to normal rates, and I was feeling well. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve started feeling lightheaded, experiencing heart palpitations, and arrhythmia. Will be contacting my doctor to change medications."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 23, 2022

For High Blood Pressure "This drug has the worst side effects! I am 34 years of age, African American, very fit and muscular. I’ve never experienced side effects or discomfort like I’ve been feeling for the past 6 months. I’ve been trying to ride it out, thinking the side effects would fade away, like the cardiologist said, but no, this drug has been affecting my life from my 3 beautiful kids and wife. I was working a full-time job cleaning houses (would clean 3 houses by myself in a day shift), now I can barely sweep my home floors without being fatigued. The side effects ruined my 2021 past Christmas and Thanksgiving. I’m so happy I’ve read these reviews, and I thought I was all alone experiencing these episodes of severe dizziness, lightheadedness, tightness in the chest area, nausea, fatigue, tiredness, feeling faint, confusion, mood swings, dry mouth, pressure in the neck and head area, bad anxiety, anxiousness, and depression."

• 40-...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 22, 2023

For High Blood Pressure "I’ve been taking 10 mg of amlodipine for the past 3 months, and I have recently developed severe body aches and pains. I’m extremely light-headed and almost passed out at work. I’ve developed anxiety and feelings of depression for the past couple of weeks. I was prescribed this medication as a result of HBP. Don’t know why the doctor did not start me off on a lower dose. I’ve told her about my symptoms, but she has not lowered the dose. I’m a 40-year-old female that, besides the HBP, I do not have other issues, and I’m not taking any other medications. I can’t sleep at night as I am struggling to fall asleep. I wake up fretting. I’m having tremors and muscle twitching, as well as a constant headache and nausea. I have a consult again with the doctor this week, but since yesterday, I have reduced my dose to 5 mg because the symptoms got worse a few hours after taking the medication. I’ve never been so sick in my life."

• Osk...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 25, 2019

For High Blood Pressure "I have been on amlodipine for three months to treat hypertension, which the drug has reduced from 150/90 to 148/84 at a dose of 10 mg/day, which is practically no effect at all. It has produced debilitating side effects, however, and my feet and ankles are now grotesquely swollen, I become breathless every time I climb the stairs, I am constantly light-headed, and I have no strength whatsoever. In short, it has utterly ruined my life, and if I don't come off this hideous drug soon I will have to retire from my job."

• CHD...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 23, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "Taken this drug for a year - in the last few months have had a lot of the side effects - nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, tingling sensations, feet swollen etc. I have been off 2 days now and side effects have lowered by a lot. Still got some dizziness but not that much compared. The pill didn't even lower my blood pressure, on the pill and off the pill pressures are the same. This drug is awful, don't take it! Doctors didn't believe me at first when I stated that this drug possibly causes me to have these effects."

• Mrs...
• January 14, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "I started taking Amlodipine 10mg 6 days ago. I was switched from Nifedipine 30mg because I had some unpleasant side effects. Every day on Amlodipine has been worse than the last. I now feel an unshakable sense of dread. My head is stopped up. I can’t taste or smell. I have a headache that will not go away, facial flushing, brain fog, depression, and very high anxiety. IT. IS. NOT. WORTH IT. I noticed the initial symptom of lightheadedness on day 3. It was like I hadn’t eaten (even though I had) and I stood up too fast all the time but even worse when I actually stood up too fast. I will immediately switch back to Nifedipine and then make the lifestyle changes necessary to wean off of BP meds hopefully for the rest of my life. They are awful. I tried to stop taking it but my blood pressure shot up to 162/91. I’ve never seen my top number that high EVER. So I took my Amlodipine because I was scared and as I had guessed everything just got way worse from there."

• She...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 22, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "I have been on amlodipine, and I despise it! I also take losartan and have diabetes. I was started at 2.5 mg of amlodipine and gradually moved up to 5 mg. Now, I have been on 10 mg for roughly 2 weeks. I have experienced every side effect possible during the transition, starting with chest and back pain, exhaustion but can't sleep. Now, I'm experiencing the worst! My blood pressure isn't much different, I'm lightheaded, I have horrible swelling in legs and feet, I have tingling throughout my body. I have cold sweats and cannot stay warm, even shaking and shivering. I am calling my doctor tomorrow to get off of it. It's too much!"

• ech...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 3, 2017

For High Blood Pressure "Initial BP 211/100. Dose taken: 10mg amlodipine + 10mg Ramipril. BP now 140/80 and dropping, still after 3 weeks. Side effects: lightheaded and tiredness, but dissipated after a week or so. Noticeable benefits for me are less anxiety, no sweating, a kind of calmness. More focused, less irritated. I do not care what they say...having a lower blood pressure does physically and mentally make you feel better."

• mud...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 25, 2021

For High Blood Pressure "I have been on 2.5 mg of this tablet for 4 months only at night and take perindopril in the morning. Last week, the amlodipine has been upped to 5 mg. It has not helped blood pressure at all and so many side effects from this tablet and perindopril, I get ringing in my ears, anxiety, which doctors just want to keep prescribing more meds for instead of changing blood pressure meds, dizziness, lightheadedness, muscle weakness. I've been on blood pressure meds for a year and now feeling like my life is ruined, these drugs have taken over my life. I can see that I am not the only one, so I will be going to the doctors on Saturday asking for a complete change once again, still trying to find one that works, so frustrating."

• Anonymous
• October 8, 2012

For High Blood Pressure "Wanted to post my experience. I started on amlodipine, 10mg, in January 2011. Everything was fine and my bp was 115/78. Sometime late 2012, I started experiencing lightheadedness, foot and ankle swelling, my asthma worsened, and I had severe pelvic pain. Spent three months and quite a bit of my deductible trying to figure out why. A friend suggested it may be time to change my bp medication. I went to the doctor, and she told me the formula had been changed for generic amlodipine late last year, and many of her patients had experienced problems with it, had to discontinue the medication. I've been on Metoprolol and I haven't had any issues so far."

• pat...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 27, 2023

For High Blood Pressure "I started taking amlodipine for high blood pressure in early 2021. My tinnitus became very high. I had severe stomach cramps and colonic pain, and felt lightheaded and dizzy. I also had brain fog, anxiety attacks, and was feeling very unwell. This was during the lockdown, and I could not get to my GP at the time. Because of the anxiety and severe pain, I did not attribute this to the medication. I would warn anyone taking this drug to stop!!! Amlodipine is a nightmare. I lost weight-2 stone-and was dehydrated. The medication actually aggravated my acid reflux. There is a warning that this medication can make acid reflux much worse. After ceasing the drug, I read it can take 250 hours, or 11.5 days, to clear the system. The drug also affects vision. I am now on felodipine 2.5 mg daily."

• Bis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 7, 2019

For High Blood Pressure "I was prescribed this medication after I was unable to go more than a week on Lisinopril (10 mg). I figured this new medicine would be okay since it was only 2.5 mg. Oh my gosh, this drug is horrible. I feel like I am constantly in slow motion. I have fatigue and lightheadedness. I have what feels like hot flashes throughout the day and night. THE WORST is the anxiety. I have never dealt with anxiety before. I was in a store and I felt a chill run down my body. I felt clammy and hot, and I had to run out of the store. I could barely drive home. It was awful. I am going off this medication. I lasted 6 days. My blood pressure was in the high 30s at home before medication. I had a few high readings in the office because I was nervous. I am going to try diet and exercise. I am at a healthy weight and I don’t drink or smoke. This drug is evil! I had horrible dreams too!"

• Anonymous
• December 2, 2011

Amlodipine for High Blood Pressure "I have been taking this medicine now for 6 weeks and am experiencing tremendous flushing with it. So far it hasn't helped my blood pressure go down much. Doctor says give it a little while longer. One day I almost passed out, got lightheaded and felt like I was in another dimension! Doctor says he can't say for sure it was a side effect of this medicine. I will keep trying it for a while longer."

• MKO...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 20, 2022

For High Blood Pressure "I was prescribed this medication because my blood pressure was high. After a few days, I would get a little lightheaded occasionally. On day 6, I had a really bad turn. I was dizzy, fatigued, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, tingling in both arms, dry mouth, anxiety, and spasms in my legs. I ended up in the hospital and was taken off the medication immediately. It's been 6 days since I have been off the medication, and I am much better but still get some symptoms. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 5, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "I have been taking 5 mg amlodipine for about a year for HBP. A few months ago, I started having blood sugar problems, lightheadedness, and heavy legs with pain when walking. I do have reactive hypoglycemia, so when my sugar wasn't high, it crashed. My head is better, and I am not so fatigued, but my legs ache when walking. I am going to get off this drug myself if my doctor will not help me."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 28, 2012

For High Blood Pressure "On it for two years now, was lightheaded at first but that went away quickly and have had only swelling in my feet every now and then. I just put my legs up a little, then it goes away, this doesn't cause me any pain. Other than that, no side effects, not even having any problems getting an erection, wife likes that. She was worried about that at first. No problem with other meds either so far. Also, it works best with exercise."

• Dot...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 9, 2019

For High Blood Pressure "I have been taking 2.5 mg amlodipine for probably five years. I've recently had spikes in my morning blood pressure, so my doctor prescribed me 5 mg. I've done it for two nights in a row. I'm not doing it a third night. I am having the most vivid dreams, I am incredibly lightheaded, I've got a pounding headache, and I'm very off balance. I literally have to hold on to the walls to get from one room to the next. I've laid in bed all day. I have zero energy, and doubling my dose is definitely not working for me."

• Jim...
• March 17, 2023

For High Blood Pressure "In my opinion, Amlodipine is a poison drug with a very long half-life. I was given it for hypertension. On day 11 of taking this drug, I got brain fog, lightheadedness, a dull headache, and became nonfunctional. My wife had to do all the driving, shopping, and paid the bills, etc. This condition lasted for about 3 weeks. Stay away from this drug."