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Suggest Treatment For Side Effects Of Azor

Posted on Mon, 8 Aug 2016

Question: I have been on Azor for high blood pressure for 2 years and have now developed edema and palpitations. I thought this side effect happened in the beginning. Why would this happen?

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (22 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
can happen later

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
It is the amlodipine part of Azor that can cause edema. It is true that this usually happens early in the course of treatment but it can happen at any time. The palpitations may or may not be related. If you have been tolerating the Azor fine then it may be that something else has happened to cause the edema after two years, for example, a heavy salt load or a decrease in kidney function. Many things can cause palpitations so your doctor will need to do blood tests and perhaps some tests on your heart if that persists. I do agree though if you are getting edema you need to be off the Azor.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Kathy Robinson (1 hour later)

Thank you very much. Nothing has signifigantly (or non signifigantly) changed with me in the last 2 years except my age. What else could it be? How do I find out? Something like this happened about 2 years ago when I had been on diovan with hydrochlorizide(sp?) . I had been fine taking that for several years and then I had palpitations and my blood pressure was high again (140/90) so that's why we changed to the Azor. There was not any explanation for that, just med change. All my blood tests and stress tests were fine. I want to know why these things change seemingly out of the blue and what it may indicate about my health. Could it just be hormonal changes?

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (18 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
hard question

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for the follow up.
Unfortunately we do no know why someone can tolerate a medication and then all of a sudden after years have a side effect. We can sometimes sort it out but not always. It is the same with allergies. You can take a drug or eat a food for years then all of a sudden become allergic. If your stress tests, blood tests and blood pressure are normal then I would not worry that this intolerance means anything negative about your health. It could be hormonal. It is also true that our bodies change as we get older and our tolerance to drugs changes as well. The main things are to control your weight and blood pressure, exercise regularly and eat healthy foods. Please let me know if you have further questions.
Dr. Robinson

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Kathy Robinson (2 hours later)

Thank you. I really want to get to the root of this problem. I am not just worrying about it nor is there anything really wrong right now. I have a good weight, a good diet and manage my stress. This is why I am so puzzled, I have a family history of high blood pressure so that explains why I have HBP. I am mostly wanting to be more proactive. If the medications are suddenly not working or having side effects it seems that the body is trying to say something. There may be nothing I can do about it but I'd like to figure out the reason for the change. It sounds like it could be hormonal or a slight change in kidney function. How can I determine these things? I think that a blood test would probably show me in the normal range of functioning . Is there any other way to measure changes that might be slight? or would I be able to look a former tests and see if there is a slight change that might have caused this?

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
microalbumin

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
You definitely want to know that kidney functions tests BUN/creatinine and Glomerular filtration rate are normal and unchanged. You could ask your doctor to check a microalbumin. That test is a marker for early changes in kidney function. I doubt that hormonal tests would add much to the information unless you have recently gone through menopause or are in the process of it now. If you went through menopause a few years ago then hormone levels will not really help.
I hope you find an answer soon.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Kathy Robinson (2 hours later)

Thank you ! I will do that!

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (17 hours later)

Brief Answer:
best wishes

Detailed Answer:
I hope you and your doctor can figure it out soon, but it does not sound like anything serious.
Thanks for using Healthcare Magic
Dr. Robinson

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar