Generic Name: Hydralazine for High Blood Pressure (hydralazine)
Hydralazine for High Blood Pressure Reviews
"Been taking Hydralazine 25mg three times daily. My blood pressure doesn't go down much, and I am having major headaches daily, feels like a sinus headache, and my ankles are swollen daily since I started taking this medication. I haven't had headaches for a long time, so I was wondering why all of a sudden I started having debilitating headaches. My doctor's assistant always asks me if I am taking my blood pressure medication because each time I go into the doctor's office, my blood pressure is always high. I don't have energy as it is, and this medication zaps what energy I have, and I feel stuck not being able to complete anything. I also wondered why I have a fast heartbeat all the time. After reading about Hydralazine and the side effects, it sure makes sense that I better get off of this medication. No one tells you the bad things regarding medications unless you look them up for yourself. Pays to do self-research in order to stay alive."
"Hydralazine is a fast-acting drug to treat high blood pressure! Avoid this medication at all costs. The side effects I experienced included dizziness, lightheadedness, sweating, vomiting, and rapid fluctuations of blood pressure readings. I've been taken to the hospital twice in an ambulance from that med! I recognize that prescription meds affect everyone differently, but please read the list of side effects before allowing your doctor to prescribe Hydralazine. I would rather have a slower-acting blood pressure med that gradually decreases blood pressure and keeps it down. With all the blood pressure meds out there, there is no reason to use this med. Avoid it like the plague!"
"I was on Hydralazine for about 5 years for high blood pressure. And at a very high dose of three 100mg tablets per day, along with Amlodipine and Lisinopril. About 5 months ago, I started experiencing severe joint pain. It never stayed in one joint for more than a day but moved around between fingers, wrists, ankles, knees, and shoulders. At times, absolutely excruciating. At best, I had maybe 4 or 5 days (not consecutively) out of that 5-month period where I was in little or no pain. I stopped taking Hydralazine three weeks ago after consulting my doctor and a high ANA measurement. After 2 days, all pain was gone. Pain-free for almost 3 weeks now. I am a 63-year-old male."
"I had A-Fib and hypertension. I went for an angiogram and a stent was placed in one artery. Afterwards, my BP spiked. They are giving me 4 different BP meds plus Crestor, Plavix, and Xarelto, but my BP was still 170/80! They tell me that they are going to add one more BP drug to work on that top number...Hydralazine. After the second 20 mg dose, I had a really bad reaction. My BP went from 170/80 to 210/100. I am short of breath, tight-chested, experiencing numbness in my right hand, and my vision in my right eye was failing. I thought that I was stroking out. My wife is an RN, she calmed me down and convinced me I was having a drug reaction."
"This medication, hydralazine, almost killed me. Under the NIH SPRINT blood pressure study, I was prescribed a massive dosage of this drug, 300 mg, which I took for years, becoming more and more ill. I suffered from anorexia and lost over 20 pounds, suffered extreme fatigue, aches and pains, and in the last few months of usage, ran a daily fever of 100-101. It was like having the flu for months. I had thousands of dollars worth of tests in attempts to diagnose my problem which only made me feel worse. My daughter and 'Dr. Google' and I finally discovered the cause of my illness: Hydralazine-induced ANCA, a very serious autoimmune disease which caused vasculitis, inflamed blood vessels causing kidney disease. I stopped the hydralazine and most symptoms have improved. Beware this drug!"
"Taken off all previous BP medications and put on Hydralazine 100mg 3x daily. Horrible sinus pain, headache, severe back pain, diarrhea and my pulse got very high 95. The worst was it isn’t managing my BP. It’s running 165/133 higher than it’s ever been in my life. I feel miserable and am stopping it immediately. Going to have a long talk with my cardiologist! Horrible medication."
"Dr. started me at 10 mg 2x daily for 2 weeks. BP went much higher. She upped dosage to 25 mg 3x day. Every day I felt worse and worse. Extreme fatigue, body aches, facial pain, and severe headache. Last night, my whole face became swollen, and I had anaphylaxis. ER doc said to quit taking it. Called my cardiologist at 8:30 am and left a message with the receptionist about what happened. Cardiologist never called me back. Just called in an Rx for Metoprolol tartrate 25 mg. I am upset with my cardiologist for not calling. My face is still swollen, severe headache, butterfly rash on face that feels hot, lips swollen, and jaw and neck pain. I think it was drug-induced lupus erythematosus. This drug should be pulled from the market. Too many people have bad reactions. I almost died from it, and I am still not out of the woods. You are not supposed to quit cold turkey."
"I've been taking hydralazine for two weeks. My heart rate is higher, I'm always tired. My heart is pounding in my chest, I have chest pains. My feet and hands are swollen. I have an awful headache all the time. I just feel awful. My blood pressure is not much better. I quit taking it a couple of days ago and already feel a little better. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone. I thought it was just me till I read this article."
"I was on Hydralazine for high blood pressure for a few years. My blood pressure was being controlled. Then, I started experiencing rapid heart rate, hearing my heart thumping loudly through my ear when my head was placed on a pillow and in my back when lying down, joint pains, swollen ankles, legs, and feet, fatigue, outdoor light intolerance, leg cramps, and itching. My doctor stopped the medication and ordered labs. Everything came back elevated. My ANA and Uric acid were all up in addition to other tests done. I was diagnosed with medication-induced lupus because of this drug. It is a bad drug. I am now a lot better, most of these symptoms are gone or getting better. My labs will be rechecked in a couple of months. Fortunately for me, mine was caught before I had to be hospitalized like some of the other readers."
"Given this drug for high BP readings after taking steroids for an allergic reaction to Lisinopril. Worked great in lowering BP. Side effects have been awful. 25 mg 1 or 2 times a day. Taking Coreg and Verapamil plus a little diuretic. Extremely lightheaded, in a fog, confusion. I was clumsy, stumbling. Had vision problems. Actual blind spots. Flushing, restlessness, bad anxiety. It did its job but I was so freaked out with the way I was feeling. I worried BP may go too low. Horrible headaches, but to be fair, my BP was causing headaches. Cut pill in half. Symptoms improved. Tonight BP decent 142/87 so I didn’t take it. Just be aware of potential side effects. Going to keep an eye on everything as doctor still wants me to take it, but I don’t want to. I spent my nights with my heart pounding. Good luck to all. God bless."
"Hydralazine did lower my BP, but it was slowly killing me. Side effects included: low energy, nauseous, no appetite, weight loss, major joint pain/swelling, Swelling of lower legs. I thought I had Lyme disease and was tested for it. All I wanted to do was sleep! I could barely move. Doctors told me it couldn't be this drug, but I stopped taking it anyway, and felt better almost immediately. A nurse told me I was allergic to it."
"The side effects are minimal. It doesn't play well with alcohol, but I'm determined to make that work. It's great at putting my blood pressure in an acceptable range (109-126 or so). I'm not thrilled with having to take it three times a day, but it's better than having high blood pressure."
"Started taking this med due to high blood pressure (BP) 220/140. Already on atenolol 50 mg twice a day and lisinopril 60 mg a day. Doc put me on this hydralazine 100 mg - 3 times a day. It did bring my pressure down but the side effects are terrible. I’ve had a migraine every day with such bad sinus problems I can’t breathe. I read that combining lisinopril and hydralazine is habit-forming and it’s very hard to come off them safely. What was this doctor thinking? I'm 54 and will definitely talk to him about changing meds. It’s scaring me just thinking about it."
"Was given this along with 4 other meds to help lower my BP, I have heart failure, an enlarged heart, and hypertension. Was given through an IV at 06:30 and immediately had tingling in my hands and feet. Later at 10:30, my sister came to sit with me. I was in the middle of an echocardiogram, and this time I thought I was dying. I couldn’t feel the top of my head, it went completely numb. The tingling in my hands and feet were at the same time, but then I noticed my face, tongue, and throat tingling as well, just more intense. They had to call the medical response team in and were doing the stroke test questions and movements on me. All I could manage were tears and prayers. My breathing was severely labored, my speech wasn’t clear as I couldn’t really feel my face, throat, or tongue. I will not EVER take it again. It didn’t help and made matters worse. I was sad thinking my sister was sitting right beside me and was going to watch me die. I won't let anyone give it to me again."
"On hydralazine 50 mg twice a day, with some Afib issues, but not a big problem. BP is still high anyway. Mitral valve replacement surgery in April, recovery seemed slow, then nausea, Afib, fast heart rate, dizziness, and fatigue getting worse and worse in May and June. I asked the doctor to reduce the dose, the more it was reduced, the better I felt. Now the doctor says I can reduce the dose to 25 mg once a day for 2 weeks, and then hooray, I'm off the medication. I just saw on the internet that hydralazine is contraindicated for mitral valve malfunction caused by rheumatic disease, and that's exactly what I have. I wonder why I was ever put on this medication. It caused the most unpleasant symptoms I've ever had, which were very depressing."
"As stated below, with Denver Viking's statement, this medication, I believe, is causing my husband some terrible problems. His GFR has gone down to stage 5 kidney failure with this medicine in only under a year's time. This new nephrologist is running some labs to see if this hydralazine has indeed caused a form of lupus or vasculitis issues with the kidneys. I have decided to stop this medication for him, and hopefully his kidney function will improve and his blood pressure also. Feeling hopeless."
"Went to the ER at the local hospital for excruciating back pain, & found my BP to be 213/103, which was enough to have me admitted. Spent 3 days in there, & 50mg twice a day of Hydralazine was one of the meds they put me on. Taking these with a meal, & glass of milk to try to ease the side effects barely helps. I get really drowsy with body aches where I want to take a nap, but can't sleep, & find myself sitting, staring at the floor a lot, unable to concentrate, really short of breath to the point where just walking 50 feet becomes laboring. On a positive note, my diastolic reading has dropped over 50 points. As for the back pain, I found out a previous blood pressure medicine had drained my body of Potassium. Once my levels were normal, the pain went away."
"I've been on this medicine for three months, 50mg twice a day. I have noticed great hair loss as well as being tired and sleepy. I have always been an early riser but since taking this medicine, it's hard for me to get out of bed."
"My blood pressure numbers run high. I was given Hydralazine 25 mg 3 times a day, then increased to 50 mg. This medication gave me the worst headache, blurred vision, dizziness, dry mouth, chest pains, very tired. It dropped my blood pressure some but not enough to continue taking this drug. I am going back to the doctor to get something else. It had me in bed and sitting for most of the day, totally out of it. Made me feel like I was tired. This medication is not worth taking."
"Doctor prescribed hydralazine in addition to other blood pressure meds. I have been experiencing palpitations, anxiety, joint pain, blurred vision, chills, and other 'anomalies'. Told my doctor about it, he had me do a stress test and wear a harness for two days. I think I'll take myself off of it, it hasn't lowered my BP that much. I think I would have better results with a stiff drink."
"I was informed I have high blood pressure a few years ago during a DOT physical which is required for my CDL license. After being on Lisinopril and then Amlodipine, with little improvement, I was put on 25 mg of Hydralazine twice daily, and I've had some of the side effects mentioned by others. The worst one was not being able to breathe when taking two tablets at the same time or too close to each other, so for anyone taking this medicine for the first time, don't make that mistake. This medicine has a warning label that states not to drive or operate machinery while taking this medicine, and it's a valid warning. This medicine makes you very drowsy. I was on opiates for 15 years, and I'm on 110 mg of methadone daily now (no nodding/no drowsiness), but Hydralazine puts me out for 8-10 hours. This details how strong its effects are."
Apresoline (hydralazine) "This was working at keeping my BP down. But I found out I was allergic to it 2 years later. I was experiencing angioedema, with weekly swelling of my eyes, lips, back. Most times it wasn't all at once, but sometimes my back would swell up so bad, it felt like it was going to explode. The doctor didn't realize what was causing the swelling until I found something online that this might be a side effect and asked him."
"My blood pressure (BP) has been really erratic for the past two weeks. Blood work came back with nothing wrong. My doctor put me on a clonidine patch to supplement Coreg, which I have taken for years. I had a horrible reaction to the patch: extreme tiredness, nightmares, dizziness, and ear ringing. So they took me off the patch and put me on hydralazine 50 mg. It's not helping to bring my pressure down, I have an extreme headache, my ears are ringing, and I feel exhausted. I am taking myself off this. It's worse than having my pressure go up. An echocardiogram is scheduled for this coming Monday. I am at the point where I hope they find something wrong so they can fix it and stop using me as a guinea pig with different BP meds!"
"I was started on Hydralazine 25 mg twice daily in mid-Feb following high BP readings. In early March, I was experiencing shortness of breath but at the time it was attributed to a lung issue than a heart issue. I also started to get tiny blisters all over my body, horrible pain in one arm, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, and feeling heavy in my chest. When the blister issue got worse, I decided to research my new meds. Among the top side effects are the ones I just listed. Agree with a previous reviewer, one must self-advocate when taking a medication."
"The side effects for me were horrible. I experienced joint pain that was an 8-10 on the pain scale, cold chills, loss of hair (came out in handfuls & my thyroid tests were all normal) & it caused me to be foggy in my thoughts & forgetful. I tried it for 2 months hoping that the side effects would lessen, but they got worse. I have been off of it for 1 week & my friends & husband said they were happy to have me back to my old self. My BP went up because of the pain."
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