Can Blood pressure medicine cause extreme constipation?

[rsingh6675]

I have been taking LOSARTAN a blood pressure medicine since about 6 months. Lately I have experienced constipation, almost everyday. Has anyone suffered from this kind of drug related abnormality?
Are there any alternative medicines beside Accupril & Losartan? I have tried both these. Accupril gave me dry persistent cough. I need to try some other blood pressure medicine. Any ideas before I visit my doctor?
Thanks.

 

[fwest]

the nick name for Calan is "constapating Calan" for a reason.........

 

[Sandhog]

I take Accupril and at the beginning use to give me dry coughs but it went away. I'm not sure if it was due winter when I was first taking the medication or it was one of the side effects. I don't have dry coughs anymore and I have been taking Accupril for more than 10 year. 25mg twice a day.

If I had a choice between constipation and dry cough, I would choose dry cough. If I had choice between constipation and high blood pressure, I would choose constipation.

BTW I'm in much better health by taking medication and other illness dropped by maintaining my blood pressure. I hope you'll continue to take some sort of medication to maintain your blood pressure.

 

[martyb]

I take Benicar 20mg, and I sometimes have the opposite effect...! Don't know if it's the Benicar or the 81 mg aspirin....or just my not so great diet.

 

[GregLee]

I take Benicar 20mg, and I sometimes have the opposite effect...! Don't know if it's the Benicar or the 81 mg aspirin....or just my not so great diet.

I've been taking Benicar 20mg for 3 years. It immediately brought my blood pressure down from 180 to 120, and I've never noticed any side effects. I gather that the main side effect (still uncommon) of Benicar is dizziness (which I don't have). However, other individual patients have reported lots of bad things from taking Benicar -- all kinds of stuff. I looked here, Losartan Side Effects | Drugs.com, for side effects of Losartan, and constipation is mentioned, but only among a host of other rare and unsubstantiated side effects.

 

[obgyn65]

Sandhog - Accupril is an ACE inhibitor. ACE inhibitors can cause cough.

I take Accupril and at the beginning use to give me dry coughs but it went away. I'm not sure if it was due winter when I was first taking the medication or it was one of the side effects.

 

[mikelmraz]

My personal opinion is that the medication has nothing to do with it. Probably something else. Should get it checked out by a real doctor, though

 

[SteveL]

If you don't already, try taking magnesium (250mg). It has benefits for BP and if you are like a lot of people and don't eat enough veggies, it can help with this problem.

 

[Sandhog]

Sandhog - Accupril is an ACE inhibitor. ACE inhibitors can cause cough.

Thanks Doc. It's good to have a MD on the board as a member. I have an opposite problem of ED which keeps me up at nights, what should I do, Doc?

 

[ERD50]

Sandhog - Accupril is an ACE inhibitor. ACE inhibitors can cause cough.

I totally forgot about this, but when I was started on an ACE Inhibitor, I had this side effect. I would seem to have an involuntary small cough almost continuously. It was rather annoying, but not so bad - it was more like clearing your throat than a full cough. Kind of like a nervous reaction. And it faded away over time, maybe strongest for two weeks, then after a month or two I just forgot about it as it decreased over time.

-ERD50

 

[JakeBrake]

I totally forgot about this, but when I was started on an ACE Inhibitor, I had this side effect. I would seem to have an involuntary small cough almost continuously. It was rather annoying, but not so bad - it was more like clearing your throat than a full cough. Kind of like a nervous reaction. And it faded away over time, maybe strongest for two weeks, then after a month or two I just forgot about it as it decreased over time.

-ERD50

When I was on a ACE Inhibitor, I had a cough that would not quit. I am now on a Angiotension II Receptor Antagonist (what a name!) with much better results.

The problem with the latter is that these are newer, brand name drugs that can be very expensive.

I have been taking BP meds for over 30 years, sometimes 3 different meds at a time. I think I've tried most of them. Some work, some don't work and some have bad side effects.