Benicar and Lightheadedness: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• August 13, 2017

For High Blood Pressure "I've been on Benicar HCT 20mg/12.5mg for 3 weeks now. This medicine has some bad side effects. I've experienced light-headedness, dizziness, coughing, feeling like my chest is tight, sometimes muscle aches, and feeling tired all the time. Does anybody else experience these side effects? When you tell your doctor about your experience, they think it's not the medicine but we know our bodies."

• tod...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 13, 2015

For High Blood Pressure "Benicar is great. I have been using it for 4-5 years now. I had an initial period of being light-headed for a few weeks when I first started the medicine, but after that, no problems whatsoever. Keeps my blood pressure around 115/70. My bottom figure had been around 95. Benicar is more expensive than a lot of the other hypertension medicines, but it is well worth it for me."

• Sha...
• May 12, 2009

For High Blood Pressure "I had been using Benicar with good results except an occasional headache and lightheadedness upon getting up quickly. Because of the high price, I asked my doctor to prescribe a cheaper product - Lisinopril. I have only been on it a short time but have experienced so many side effects that I'm asking to go back on Benicar - high cost or not."

• Con...
• December 6, 2014

For High Blood Pressure "Been taking Benicar/HCT for several years now. It is a very effective antihypertensive in this combination. As they say, nothing in life is free. While it does a great job of lowering my blood pressure, I have experienced several bothersome side effects. These include lightheadedness, dizziness, and sleepiness. The latter may be due to the potent antihypertensive action of the combination. Tried cutting the pill in half, but since it is not scored, really don't know how much medicine I am getting in the split piece."

• Tar...
• January 31, 2011

For High Blood Pressure "I have been very pleased with the effectiveness of Benicar 20 mg. I started out taking Benicar 20/12.5 mg, and the 12.5 HCTZ caused dizziness and light-headedness after several days of use. So I requested the plain Benicar 20 mg without the HCTZ diuretic, and I have felt much better, no problems at all. My blood pressure has stayed at 120/78, and often it is even lower. I take it once daily and go about my normal routine."

• onl...
• January 12, 2009

For High Blood Pressure "I have been taking Benicar 20/12.5 Hydrochlorothiazide for 7 years now. It works well and keeps my blood pressure at 120/75-80. Regular Benicar without diuretic did not work so well, so I switched to HCT about 6 years ago. I do experience dizziness occasionally and get light-headed, but I was told that's normal."

• Anonymous
• June 22, 2009

For High Blood Pressure "I've been taking Benicar 20 mg/12.5 HCT for about 7 years, and it works great. It keeps my blood pressure down to 120-125/75-80. I do experience dizziness and light-headedness frequently, but I sit at a desk most of the day at work, so it's no big deal. I also cannot stay out in the sun long at all. I don't know if this is a side effect of Benicar, but also 2 years ago, I started getting vision 'floaters' and had to change to another prescription twice. I'm only 43, and my vision is no longer 20/20 and can only get 20/40 with corrective lenses. The eye doctor doesn't see anything wrong and says 20/40 is okay. I'll get a 2nd opinion just in case. Also, I started getting flushing or 'red face and neck' about 3 years ago. It comes and goes. Benicar is the only medicine I use."

• Anonymous
• June 21, 2010

For High Blood Pressure "As of today, it's two weeks since I started taking Benicar 40/12.5 mg. Wow, what an experience. I don't take any other medicines for anything. I do take vitamins and supplements. My blood pressure now is so great that it helps me deal with the side effects better. I have lightheadedness, spontaneous increase in heartbeats, light muscle aches, all of these I didn't have before taking Benicar. It took at least a week and a half for my system to adjust. I'll continue on with it, and hopefully, after significant weight loss, I will come off altogether. Until then, I'll take the 123/75 blood pressure any day!"