Hydrochlorothiazide for High Blood Pressure User Reviews (Page 5)

• LOI...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 12, 2022

"I was prescribed this several years ago with no problems, but I discontinued it because I was worried about it affecting my kidneys. Took it again a couple of months ago, and within 30 minutes, I had respiratory distress. Went to the hospital for several days on oxygen. Come to find out that I was one of the rare cases to have this reaction. I am now severely allergic to this medication."

• Ter...
• 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."

• Dee...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 8, 2021

"I was prescribed 12.5 mg for hypertension. My BP was averaging 140/90, even though I am very active and vegetarian. It reduced my blood pressure, but about one month after I started taking it, I began to have frequent nosebleeds that lasted only about 15 seconds. My PA did not discuss side effects. She didn't even discuss lifestyle factors that contribute to high blood pressure. When I told her about the nosebleeds, she said they were probably caused by high blood pressure, so I started checking my BP whenever I had a nosebleed. Needless to say, my BP was under 120/80, so I just stopped taking the HCTZ. Now, my BP is normal. It was likely high as a result of working night shift and not getting much sleep for the past 5 years. I now have a day-shift job and feel much better. I also have a new doctor. If you take this med, pay attention to your body. Your body might be telling you to stop taking it."

• Red...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 15, 2021

"Was on hydrochlorothiazide for 5 days. Constant and severe panic attacks. The water weight loss was nice. Ended up with violent shivers, went to the ER and had extremely low potassium, especially, but all my electrolytes across the board were very low. Had to have potassium given orally and by IV for hours just to get to a stable level, and that is very painful. Doctor took me off it immediately."

• lid...
• 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."

• mbm...
• 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 a 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 I have hypertension and peripheral edema. I'm now on a 40 mg dose of Lisinopril with no improvement after 4 days."

• Min...
• 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. 25 mg dosage, the edema is gone, and it seems to work with my beta blocker, with no issues."

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

"This medicine is okay, nothing to be scared of. I hate taking pills, and my blood pressure was extremely high, so I was prescribed this. I changed the way I ate. I'm 31 years old and healthy otherwise. Within a month (it took time), my blood pressure was at a 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 hit the gym again."

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

"Well, I've been on this medication, 25 mg, for about a week... I started to have side effects about two days in, like extreme dry mouth, like I woke up in the Mojave Desert or something. And I still have the side effect, so I keep a bottle of water handy at night. 2-3 days in, I started to feel the mild cramps in my legs, but it's gone away, so it's temporary, I guess. As for urinating regularly, not sure if it's not high enough or what, because 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, because it hadn't worked. Oh well, I guess let's see what happens."

• Kat...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 24, 2020

"This medication was ineffective for me - years ago, I had a mini-stroke, also known as a TIA. At first, hydrochlorothiazide helped a little bit, but when you have 158/90 BP, you need more than a 5% reduction in it. This medication made me severely dehydrated and caused significant electrolyte loss. I quit it and tried chlorthalidone, but that again failed - if you only have mild elevated BP, this could be OK; if you have significant hypertension, though, you are much better suited to a real medication, such as a beta blocker."

• lol...
• September 13, 2009

"I have been taking Diovan for years for my blood pressure. Recently, it stopped working to keep the numbers down. I was 180-190/85 and began to take EForge, which was a combination of Diovan and a beta blocker. I got sick, and my ankles swelled so badly they hung over my shoes. My doctor changed me to hydrochlorothiazide along with Diovan, and it has worked wonderfully. There is a combination pill, but I am afraid to take it because if I have a reaction, then I have to stop both medicines, as happened with EForge. No real problems with urination as I had expected."

• Bab...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 6, 2021

"I have taken 25 mg of HCTZ once a day for 6 years. I now have cancer, and my oncologist recommends that I stop taking it. Within a day or two of the medication, my head and neck audibly pound with each heartbeat. 24/7... supine, prone, sidelying, reclined, or standing. I also develop light swelling around both ankles. I feel my body and organs have acclimated to the diuretic such that I shouldn't come off it. Anyone else have insights?"

• Cru...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2022

"Having all sorts of problems with lisinopril and metoprolol succ, doctors prescribed hydrochlorothiazide and three other meds. Worked great taking down blood pressure, but in a month, my sodium level dropped to 124, should be 133 to 145. 4 days in hospital, a nightmare."

• Wor...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 8, 2022

"My doctor put me on this drug starting with 12.5 mg/day when my blood pressure was consistently in the low 140's/75, approx. 8-10 years ago. It knocked the 140 down to 135 on average. As I aged, my bp crept back up to the 140's again, so the doc increased my dose to 25 mg/day, approx. 2 years ago. Again, I am down in the 135/75 area. My new doctor thinks I should consider taking something different to reduce my top number even more, but I'm hesitant to do so. I take it first thing in the morning only and have no side effects or other problems. It supposedly makes you pee more and should not be taken at night for that reason; I have not noticed any increase of urination by taking it in the morning. I drink 6-8 cups of coffee in the morning, so the drug's effects might be masked by the volume of coffee I drink(?). If my average bp creeps back up in the coming years, I may need to consider another drug. My present doctor doesn't like adding another drug to hydrochlorothiazide."

• Lad...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 3, 2021

"I take Lisinopril for high blood pressure. I had a situation where I had to go to the ER because my blood pressure went up. I was prescribed the HTZ to bring it down. I took it for 30 days along with my Lisinopril and my new BP, amlodipine. Recently went to the doctor, and all of my vitals were excellent, except for one, A1C! I am convinced that this water pill caused my new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes! I was very angry, and I told the doctor that I am not going to take this anymore, regardless of whether he sends it to the pharmacist. I came off the med, and for three straight days, I have not felt any tiredness or any of the side effects once I dropped this water pill. Warning: stay away from water pills! Just do the exercise and take one, if not an additional BP med. I am going to kick this diabetes diagnosis. I have never had diabetes in my entire life, just high blood pressure. And they shot my blood sugar up higher than it has ever been in my entire life."

• Nya...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 13, 2018

"I was diagnosed with high BP about a month ago - 171/102. Took this pill for about 2 weeks, and I didn’t see much of a change with BP. I stopped taking it and noticed my BP was lower around noon but would spike in the evening. Went to the ER today because of pain in my back (kidneys?). I will start taking the pills again. Not sure if hBP is causing pain in back?"

• Kri...
• November 17, 2008

"I was taking Diovan by itself and was having difficulty getting my top numbers down. I was always running right around 145/80-85. When they changed me to the Diovan HCT, I am right on target 117/70. And the HCT made the difference."

• Lyn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 23, 2022

"I took it for 11 days. I had a rash on my chest, and my eyes became puffy and sore. The rash might have been from the sun because this medication does make you sensitive to the sun. I had to put Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream on it to clear it up."

• Cir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 4, 2017

"Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) didn't affect my blood pressure much at 12.5mg or 25mg. It stayed around 145/95. When I added 10mg Lisinopril on top of 25mg HCTZ, it went to 120/85. I don't know how much of the benefit comes from HCTZ and how much from Lisinopril. I rate HCTZ high, though, because it's very inexpensive and caused no side effects."

• Joe...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 2, 2022

"My doctor had me on 1 pill of hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg, and after initial cramping, my body was okay after adding more electrolytes. Eventually, I agreed with him to try 2 pills of 25 mg a day, and it went fine for a month or two. Then I had dizziness bouts for a whole day, and I kept taking naps (which I read were signs of dehydration), and my skin and mouth were drier. My vision doubled in blurriness (some from the first pill too), and I got pink eye from the dryness and irritation. I just felt very 'off,' so today I went back to one pill. It does help, but stay on track with your electrolytes, especially if you're doing a low-carb diet AND taking these! On a side note, companies DO put in different ingredients, so if you have a bad reaction, try another company and see if it works better."

• Lha...
• August 7, 2009

"This medication was used with Pimobendan (a 'miracle drug' hypertension medicine for my dog Cody's heart disease). Made him urinate constantly and made him tired. Went back to the Lasix. This hydrochlorothiazide is easier on his kidneys, but he was feeling bad. Put him back on the Lasix and he's back to himself."

• kst...
• January 17, 2012

"Before I started taking this medication, my blood pressure was 148/98. It's now 117/78 on a consistent basis, and I haven't noticed any side effects."

• Bar...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 25, 2018

"Love this pill. It's a water pill!! No side effects after 6 years of use. My blood pressure is good now. Also take another BP pill at night. I'm 80 and feel like 60."

• sco...
• February 10, 2017

"Worst experience of my life. I was sick for 2 days and felt hungover on the 3rd. Sweats, Fatigue, Restlessness, Minor Vision problems. To me, it was poison. This was 1 dose of 12.5 mg."

• ros...
• April 11, 2012

"The hydrochlorothiazide helps my high blood pressure, but it seems to make losing weight harder, and it is also bad for thinning your hair."