Diovan HCT for hypertension. Have you used it? Was it good for you? Any side effects? Thanks!? -

Yes, I used it. It didn t do any harm, but it didn t do any good either. However, it did have side effects which weren t particularly pleasant. When I discontinued them -as an experiment, I found it impossible to tell (from the records I d kept) any difference in my B/P s. So I repeated the tests three times, and each time got the same results. By all means try the experiments on yourself; it won t do you the slightest harm. Buy (or borrow) a sleeve-monitor, record your own readings at the same times each day (say 3, -or 4) and I think you ll find it quite impossible to distinguish when you re quot;onquot; Diovan, and quot;offquot;.....interesting, isn t it? NOTE: to JOANNIE Please! disregard your doctor, and come (slowly) off the beta-blocker. This is terribly important. Don t stop taking them suddenly, or you ll get a quot;bouncequot; effect. Just take them less frequently and cut the dosage down over 2 or 3 weeks until you re clear of them. The diagnosis of borderline hypertension is tosh. Sheer rubbish. You DON T need medication, and of all the medications you could have, beta blockers are the absolute worst. They ll make you feel tired, lethargic, and awful. Unlike Diovan (which is harmless and probably does you no good either), beta blockers will both lower your pulse rate and prevent it from rising properly when your body needs it to and this is why more people died (in the ASCOT TRIAL) when on beta-blockers than those who weren t. The Trial was halted because the facts were so stark.. You don t need drugs for quot;borderline hypertensionquot; and you are taking grave risks with your health by taking beta blockers. Your resting systolic pressure should be roughly quot;100 + your agequot;.... (give or take about 10 ...it varies all during the day, )that s the normal, average figure for the Western female. If your doctor construes this as marginally hypertensive, he simply is wrong.

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I used to take an ACE inhibitor with hydrochlorothiazide that regulated my blood pressure quite well. This past year, it started going up gradually until I got to 160/100. My doc switched my meds to Diovan HCT. It lowered my systolic pressure slightly, but did not lower my diastolic pressure at all. I had no side effects, but I was only on it for a month. Now I m trying isradipine (calcium channel blocker). Hope this works for you!

I was diagnosed with borderline hypertension this past year at 60. It was the diastolic (bottom #) that was a bit higher.. So right away my doctor perscribes DIOVAN.. Took it as directed, and a month later my pressure was still the same, no different.. Another month, and same. And, I have an HMO and pay 1/2 for all my perscriptions. Diovan has no generic for it and it s very expensive. On the 3rd month, I asked the doc if she could switch me to another drug, that would be generic and less expensive.. Of course she could! I m now on a beta blocker and my pressure has been in the normal range ever since. I believe that the drug companies who s salesmen visit the docs with their meds, push the doctors to perscribe their drugs first.. Maybe a kickback? Who knows, but long and short, Diovan is expensive and didn t work at all for me.. No side effects from it but then I wasn t on it very long.. Hope my answer helps with your ? :-) Joanie

I also used Diovan HCT for close to a year...with no significant results. My blood pressure pretty much stayed the same. 150/90...give or take a few points. Im no longer on it and feel much better..overall..It always made me feel tired and gave me a terrible dry cough.... Currently trying out different alternative supplements to see what works. ... this along with exercising and watching what I eat. .....I would have stayed on it .. if it worked!