The doc say’s I need to stay on them, but I’m a million miles away now from the stress I was under when I first went on them 8+ years ago.

Are they a life thing, or do people come off them?

I don’t have high sugar, and my cholesterol is low.

Ta

I’m curious about this as well as I worry about side effects. I’ve always assumed they are for life as I tried the lifestyle changes and my bp barely moved but ramipril and amlodipine have sorted it out. So I think mine could be hereditary but yours may not be

I would be interested in this too.

Earlier this year I was threatened with them but was just starting the process of losing weight and getting fitter for an operation so decided to wait. Three months later and two stone later my blood pressure was fine.

If I was on tablets, how would they have known?
Would they say I could stop or would they say it was the tablets working?

Doctor didn’t seem keen to answer me when I asked and just said he would monitor again in a year.

Which ones?

If your high bp is linked to stress or being overweight etc then my thinking is that if you remove the cause then you don’t need the tablets any more. My plan is to get off mine by the time I have my next check in October and to that end I’ve lost a stone in the past month with two more to go.

the-muffin-man – Member
Are they a life thing, or do people come off them?

For life i.e. once you have taken them you are on them for life.

My cousin takes them, if I am not mistaken, she has to take it for life but then she is obese …

Also few other friends have been told the same thing. i.e. once taken it is for life.

I was prescribed last year and after taking them for 3 days I stopped coz I couldn’t stay awake for more than 3 hours after taking them. Freak me out …

Consult your doctor before attempting to stop just in case.

😯

If your BP comes down, and that’s associated with changes in lifestyle or circumstance, then you can come off them. But its a suck it and see approach – you won’t know if you still need them without coming off them and testing your BP.
(I’m on lisinopril and amlopidine, hoping to get off the amlopodine soon)

I should be on amlodipine, but took myself off due to side effects. Trying to exercise a bit more and manage stress better.

I was put on Lisinipril and told that I would be taking them for life, which at the time I accepted. I’m struggling to remember exactly how long ago that was but I think it was probably twelve years ago during a time of great stress and poor mental health (that’s happened a few times in my life).

Seven years ago I was taken off them. My blood pressure was monitored at regular intervals (along with other health checks) and the doctor said I no longer needed to be taking them. I had managed to lose a lot of weight and become quite fit. I had been 16.5st and lost 3st over 3 months – through diet and throwing myself and bike at the Pentland Hills at every possible opportunity. Haven’t looked back since.

Hmmmm… side effects? What side effects?

I’m on Perindopril and Amlodipene as a supa bosh bosh combo thingy and they don’t seem to do anything but keep my BP under the red line. The whole ‘on this for life’ thing really put me off taking BP meds for a few years, but I’m okay with that now. After all, I will also be breathing ‘for life’ and drinking ‘for life’ too.. 😀

I’m dubious as to whether one might be able to come off them, unless your previous lifestyle choices were REALLY bad. I have essential hypertension (no underlying cause). Essentially, it means my BP has a tendency to go absolutely bat shit mental if I binge drink and/or get stressed and/or eat too much sodium anyway, but without the tablets my BP would still be high, even if I sat about eating only carrots and doing yoga for 3 hours a day (I know, I’ve tried it!).

BP tabs are awesums, but a PITA to pay for each month. Money that could be spent on really cheap tyres instead, or maybe some muffins.

On amlodapine cardine losartin and spirolactone (max dose on all) BP still 160/100 even though I am not fat or unfit – consultant over prescribed spiro and losartin and f**ked my kidneys and pancreas so now type 2 diabetic – happy days – losing weight and gettng fitter made NO difference to my BP – it’s down to your individual make up but chances are it’s a life long medication

consultant over prescribed spiro and losartin and f**ked my kidneys and pancreas so now type 2 diabetic

That’s a bit shit to say the least!

Which ones?

Sorry – sort of forgot about this thread as there were only 2 relies last time I looked!

I’m on 5mg Ramipril; 5mg Amlodipine and 2.5mg of Bendrofluethiazide.

BP is pretty much always 140/90odd

What is your BP at home?

Sometimes it can be genetics.

I was 149/95.

Lost weight and went down to 120/70.

My old man has dropped 8kg looks skinny but still 165/85 so still on tablets.
Yet at home he is 130/75.
White coat syndrome?

Just checked it now – 135/93

Do you have a prepayment card? If you need two or more items it’s a big saving. It’s about £10 a month.
I came off Amlodipine as it was giving me serious backache.

Ooooh.. Pre-payment card? This sounds a good idea! Cheers 🙂

You can get as ill as you want and it’ll only be £10 a month no matter how many tablets you need 🙂

My dad had been on statins for about a year and then watched them hairy bikers diet program and they came off them, he had been told he’d be on them for the rest of his days so was more than a bit surprised!

Almost immediately he took up running, eating properly and making a proper effort of it. His doctor did eventually take him off them but left him in no doubt that it was more risky if he didn’t keep up the exercise/good food than not changing his lifestyle.

He’s never looked back.

But then these days, he does make a habit of saying that it’s far easier to avoid having a Mars bar than slogging it out for a 30 minute run afterwards….