Candesartan and Dizziness: What Users Say

• Kim...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 27, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "Have only been on this blood pressure medication candesartan for a month. Have been experiencing dizziness and a really sore neck. Thinking, what have I done to myself? Then, ahh moment hit me, must be this blood pressure pill. Thanks for all these reviews. Made me realize it's medication and not a brain tumor. Ha ha."

• Mik...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 8, 2020

For Heart Failure "Have finally stopped candesartan and I can't believe how much better I feel! I have been on 8 mg for 3 years and have tried to increase dosage (consultants wanted me to increase to 32 mg) but have resisted because of side effects when I increased dosage. I wasn't aware of how bad the side effects of 8 mg were and put them down to my heart condition and aging! Now I don't get dizziness and feeling that I'm going to pass out, don't get breathless, heart rate is much more regular, and I don't feel tired and fatigued all the time! Only negative is my average blood pressure reading has increased from 128/69 to 131/71. Stopping candesartan was like taking a miracle cure."

• MR ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 20, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "Took Candesartan for 3 days. While on it, tingling in hands, aching jaw, dizziness for a few hours. Stomach fullness started and stomach distended. 3 days off and stomach not right, now got higher back pain. Going back to the doctors to get something different!"

• Anonymous
• October 20, 2021

For High Blood Pressure "Wow, I just stumbled across this site! It's nice to know I'm not the only one having health issues. Been taking 4 mg Candesartan every morning for approx 2 years. I have had x-rays, blood tests, scans, amongst other things, looking for my problem. After feeling dizzy often and recently bleeding nose a lot, I decided to stop Candesartan tablets. I am a healthy and fit 49-year-old who runs my dog 4-5 km daily. I've had constant lingering headaches that are always there. I have been worried sick for over 1 year. I have stopped any recreational habits that I enjoy, trying to figure out why I always have a headache. So, 5 days ago I stopped Candesartan. To my surprise, I have not had a blood nose or felt dizzy. My headaches stopped until today, but I had a normal feeling headache and not one radiating from both sides of the base of my neck. I'm hoping today's headache is the drug leaving my body."

• Not...
• July 30, 2022

For High Blood Pressure "I'm on 2 mg Candesartan for mild hypertension. A month in, I had such bad chest pain, my Dr. sent me for an ECG. It was normal, thankfully! Since then, I've gone on to have daily headaches and dizziness. I started HRT at the same time as Candesartan, and I put it down to that. I've now started with a painful neck, pain down both sides, and a niggle in my back. I didn't know Candesartan had all these side effects. I phoned a pharmacist this morning, and she's told me to stop immediately. I'm so glad I found this forum, and I hope this post helps others with the same symptoms."

• Myr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 31, 2021

For Migraine Prevention "As I have low blood pressure, I was hesitant to try this medicine. However, the dizziness subsided after only a few days. After that, no migraine for a couple of months! They have come back, though, so I will start a higher dose as of today (the maximum dose of 32 mg). Until now, very positive! It’s been a life saver."

• Kim...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 10, 2023

For High Blood Pressure "For some reason, this medicine seems to give me nasty palpitations and arrhythmia. It also makes me really tired, even on an 8 mg dose. I tried switching to another medication, and these side effects went away. Sadly, I had to go back on candesartan because the other medicine caused really bad vertigo. Side effects came back after starting candesartan again, so the correlation is pretty clear. Hopefully, I will find something that works for me since I really do NOT want to take candesartan anymore. I know several people who tolerate this medicine well, but for me, it's absolutely terrible. We are all different."

• amy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 18, 2023

For Migraine Prevention "Day 4 of using it for migraine prevention on 2 mg, and already side effects of feeling dizzy, unwell, fullness in my ears, and stuffed nose. The light-headedness is affecting me most at work and at such a low dose."

• Mul...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 20, 2018

For High Blood Pressure "I'm a multi-stroke survivor who has silent migraines with auras; malignant hypertension (MHP) and Crohn's. Have tried many BP medications, but the adverse effects I couldn't tolerate, especially the dizziness (already a fall risk after the strokes). A doctor seeing that I'm sensitive to medications and hypokalemic put me on Candesartan as it's a potassium-sparing medication; has a strong BP lowering effect; and fewer side effects than ACE inhibitors. No adverse effects. One of the few medications that is like a sugar pill to me to take. It's not enough to control my MHP itself even at 32 mg, but combined with another and a water pill it can get my 230/120 BP down to 120/80s. I still have silent migraines with auras with Candesartan, but it, and elimination of caffeine, reduces the auras to about once a month. Overall, very pleased with the medication."

• Can...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 23, 2024

For High Blood Pressure "This pill works well but has bad side effects. Pain in the back of the neck, back, feet, legs, arms, and even fingers. Stomach issues. Anxiety every evening. Palpitations, such as a thumping heartbeat. Dizziness. Tight throat and trouble breathing. Headaches. Ear pain and head congestion. Trouble sleeping. Tinnitus. Itching. All this on just 8mg. Does lower blood pressure from 160/80 to 130/72. Blood pressure rises in the evening for some reason. I am a female aged 73."

• Ham...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 15, 2025

For High Blood Pressure "I have been using this medication since 2022. Daily 8 mg, greatly reduced my BP from 160/120 to 110/80. I think it's some side effect, dizziness, frequent urination, difficulty ejaculating. Otherwise, it's the best choice to reduce high blood pressure."

• Tes...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 7, 2020

For Migraine Prevention "I’ve been taking Candesartan for about 6 months now. I have tried many other migraine preventatives over the years, but nothing has lasted. This medication has decreased my daily migraines to just a few a month. It hasn’t had any impact on my menstrual migraines, though. I started on 4 mg and am now on 8 mg. The only side effects I can complain about are dizziness if I stand up too fast or overexert myself. I have also found it increases the effects of any painkillers I take, so I try to take any pain meds a few hours before taking the Candesartan, which seems to help. I finally have my life back!"

• Nul...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 12, 2020

For Migraine Prevention "Taking candesartan to prevent 3-4 migraines/week, possibly exaggerated by spinal issues in the neck. Tapered to a 16 mg dose in 4 weeks' time. Tapering felt like taking a sugar pill. At 16 mg, I did experience some dizziness, especially with hot weather or hot meals. Now I've settled in at 2 months, and my energy and libido are really low. It does seem to stop some of my migraine attacks, but these low energy states with mild headache persist almost every day. Especially in the morning, I can hardly stay awake and feel like fainting. I don't think this is the right medicine for me."

• Yor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 20, 2021

For Migraine Prevention "This has been a godsend for me. I’ve suffered from crippling migraines for about 10 years, which had escalated in frequency to the point where I was having headache days for half of the month. This was despite my trying a number of different preventative drugs, most of which I found had side effects I couldn’t tolerate. I started taking Candesartan two months ago; initially 4 mg for two weeks, then building up to 8 mg. I’ve not had a single migraine since I’ve been taking the higher dose. That’s completely unheard of for me. Side effects are minimal; it has dropped my blood pressure, and I have to be careful sometimes when standing very suddenly as I can feel a bit dizzy, but I’m aware of that and it’s not severe enough to cause problems. So happy to have been prescribed this medication as it’s changed my life."

• Jan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 27, 2024

For Migraine Prevention "I started on 2 mg in June, gradually increasing to 8 mg daily at the present time. In this time, the pain from the migraines has almost stopped, which is great, but I am still getting visual disturbances and some vertigo. Although I am grateful that this has helped, I am now feeling unwell, so tired, and just not myself. I'm waiting to see the doctor to check if it could be the candesartan, hopefully not, as I don't want to go back to square one!!!"

• Con...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 30, 2025

For High Blood Pressure ""May take up to 6 weeks for full effect." I was assaulted, hit in the head. I lost consciousness for about 5 seconds. I also have an undiagnosed "thing" (it's not a blood clot, unlikely to be a tumor according to the CT specialist). I am waiting for an MRI. I am male, weigh 125 lbs, about 5'10. I was 161/122 BPM 76. I took 8 mg about 16 hours ago. 123/88 BPM 80. I felt like I put my head through the wall. Obviously, I don't feel perfect. But my headache has gone from 7 to 3, ten being pain so bad you lose consciousness. I do have "post-concussion syndrome". This drug is reducing my blood pressure with certainty. It does make me tired. I am a little dizzy. My nose is running into my throat a bit more. Don't ignore your body. I was throwing up for 3 months. This drug lowers blood pressure, and I am perhaps mildly more dizzy. We'll see in the future what is wrong. I still have a headache, but my BP is good again."

• lei...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 22, 2022

For Heart Failure "I had terrible reactions to previous blood pressure meds. I was on them for approx 4 months. I was in the hospital with chest pains, constantly dizzy, and felt like my heart was going to fail. Had a nuclear stress test, everything was fine. My doc put me on Candesartan 16 mg, now, 4 months later, exactly the same side effects but worse. Felt like my heart is giving up, muscle pain, dizziness, and weakness. Every time I go to the doc, they want to put me on a stronger dosage, they just don't listen to me."

• Ron...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 20, 2021

For Migraine Prevention "I am a migraineur from my 7th. The triptans were a game changer for me. They still always work. I still have a lot of headaches that would have resulted in migraines if it weren't for the triptans. I know I can manage fairly well with paracetamol and codeine, and when it gets worse, I take triptan about once or twice a week. I was advised to try Candesartan. I used 4 mg (tried 8 mg too) for one year. I am keeping a statistically graphed diary in Excel so I could fairly well monitor the efficacy of Candesartan. It worked for what I call 'being migraneous' (nagging not coming through headache). So, quality of life went up a bit but not enough to keep taking it. When taking it before exercise, I became very dizzy because of low blood pressure, so I took it before sleeping."

• Jul...
• April 22, 2020

For Migraine Prevention "I have had migraines since age 11, they slowly got worse over the years. I have just started Candesartan 4 mg, feel really dizzy, but hopefully, they will help. I have tried every tablet under the sun. Propranolol had no side effects but wore off and ended up on higher doses, which made me feel ill. Fingers crossed for this one."

• ton...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 14, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "dry mouth, excess of sweat, sore throat, cough, depression, dizzy, tired"

• Anonymous
• June 19, 2022

For High Blood Pressure "This is a dangerous drug, be careful of this. I had side effects of dizziness and low heart rate, so I ended up in the A&E."

• dar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 25, 2021

For High Blood Pressure "Been on candesartan a few months, 4 mg, and I notice soft and loose stools, unsteadiness - but it is good for bringing down my BP, though."