Generic Name: Hydrochlorothiazide for High Blood Pressure (hydrochlorothiazide)
"I was on thiazide for 10 years. I started to get bad gout and developed psoriasis on elbows and knees, and it was getting out of control. At the time, I didn’t realize it was the side effect of hydrochlorothiazide. So I got a new doctor as my old one retired. He didn't like thiazides so I got off it. After a year, my gout has gone, psoriasis is gone, nails are smooth, and skin feels better. I hope this helps some people."
"I'm a 50-year-old female. I was on Hydrochlorothiazide for 1 year and 3 months for uncontrolled high blood pressure, which landed me in the ER with a hypertensive crisis. The last 4 months of taking the med, I had been experiencing terrible side effects. Most notably was the skin reaction to sunlight. Severe photosensitivity, toxicity. I would break out in a sun rash on all exposed skin, including face, neck, chest, and arms, within 10 minutes of sun exposure. I started having kidney pain that would wake me at night. I chose to taper off the BP med and began to limit sodium intake to 1500mg per day, not exceeding 2000 mg, and taking 300mg of a potassium supplement daily along with D3 vitamin. I eat 1 cup of oatmeal and 6 oz of blueberries every day. Pleased to say I no longer take Hydrochlorothiazide. Even happier to report BP is averaging 115/70 every day, and the side effects are gone."
"When I first started taking this medication, my heart was racing. I started getting leg cramps, and I felt bone tired. I felt as if something was not right, so I called the doctor. Turns out he started me on 25 mg, and that dosage was too high for me, so we cut it to 12.5 mg. Seems to be working much better without all those side effects outright. My advice: Listen to your body, not all medications are one size fits all. You are your best advocate."
"I am 67 years old and was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2000. My doctor prescribed a daily dose of 25mg of hydrochlorothiazide, and I have taken it all these years with no side effects. It has worked well for me and keeps my BP in the range of 125/85. I am sorry to read that others have had problems with the drug. I consider myself very fortunate."
"I was put on hydrochlorothiazide due to my BP 150/86. I took it in the morning, and very soon afterwards, my BP went to 171/112. I felt dizzy, had a headache, and felt like something was really wrong with me. I went to the hospital, and they said I was having a horrible reaction. After 2 days of not taking it, my BP went back to what it was. It's great if it works for you, but for me, I'm going to try diet and exercise."
"I have been having erratic blood pressure, but it was starting to go over 140/90 regularly. My MD put me on hydrochlorothiazide 25mg. I have a family history of high blood pressure. I am very health conscious, and this is the first time I am taking a medicine. So I cut the pill in half (12.5mg), and it dropped my BP the first day to 120/78. I don't think I am urinating more, but I get leg cramps, so I started taking Chelated Potassium. I have been on this medicine for 3 weeks, and today is the first day I did not take it because my blood pressure was 114/66. I have to be diligent with this medicine, even though I am only taking half my prescribed dose. I don't like to depend on medicines, I use herbal supplements and exercise. I recommend diligent monitoring of your BP whenever you are prescribed medicines."
"I've been on HCTZ for over a decade and haven't really had any problems until the past year or so. I was taken off of it because of failing kidney function and was surprised to see the change. I had developed horrific leg cramps and foot numbness a couple years ago that I blamed on my back issues. I'm now off this med and realizing that these were side effects of this med. Today I can feel my feet today and I haven't had a leg spasm in days. These spasms were constant and severe enough that they used to make me have to jump out of bed at night... many times a night! Cramps were in my hands, my back, upper and lower legs, and hips. I've been off of this med for 5 days only and wonder what other symptoms might also go away that I didn't pay attention to. Feeling more alert today too!"
"I am a 57-year-young woman in relatively good health. I struggled with my weight since my early 30s, add anxiety, and I developed high blood pressure (BP) by age 40. I have been on 50 mg of Losartan and 12.5 mg of hydrochlorothiazide. My BP did not improve much and averaged in the 150s over 80s to the mid-90s. Recently, I started on a ketogenic diet which works great for insulin-resistant folks, and I have lost 30 lbs in 10 weeks and brought my BP down to 116/70. I asked my doctor to adjust my meds, she said it's too soon. I began to have severe dehydration, blackouts, and dizziness upon standing, profuse sweating, heat intolerance, and fatigue, so I stopped the hydrochlorothiazide on my own, and all the bad symptoms went away, and BP is still great! Listen to your body!"
"I've been taking this hydrochlorothiazide drug for a little over a week. My systolic blood pressure is down ten points - was taking it for high blood pressure. My 'always swollen' ankles, feet and calves are now slim and fluid-free. Very pleased with that!"
"I have taken it for about 4 or 5 years on and off. I had stopped for a while because my BP was fine, but started this last year because I suddenly have elevated BP again and some swelling. It works fine for me at 12.5. I had a doctor prescribe 25mg and I had the leg cramps, some dizziness, dry eyes. I realized that is because I am dehydrated. If the medication is dehydrating you, I would say you are prescribed too high of a dose. Once it was decreased, all those side effects went away and I do not swell, and my BP is better. If you ever complain to a doctor and they tell you to just keep taking it and you don't feel good about it, follow your gut feeling."
"When to my PC doctor for high blood pressure and he prescribed hydrochlorothiazide. I looked up the side effects and quickly decided that this medication is not anything I want to put in my system, especially when one of the sides is high blood pressure. All the side effects of this medication are very scary! If I had known, I would never have filled this prescription. I am changing my PC because I have lost faith in him and do not believe in his competency to prescribe medication. A patient should learn to look up the side effects of their prescription and see for themselves if what they have been prescribed is right for them. If in doubt, ask the doctor why he prescribed that medication and if he could prescribe something else."
"My 79-year-old mother has experienced very high blood pressure. She had been taking HCTZ for four months, which helped lower her BP, but ever since she had a persistent, very dry cough to the point of choking each time. She stopped this med, and the coughing stopped after just a few days. Her cardiologist said there was no such side effect as coughing, but I insisted with our family doctor to take her off that med. Listen to your loved ones as too often the doctors don't take their complaints seriously. If I would not have insisted, she would still be taking HCTZ."
"I was only on HCTZ 12.5mg, along with Losartan 50mg, for five dosages, and it caused some bad physical and mental side effects. They included panic attacks, headaches, pressure behind the eyes, lightheadedness, confusion, foggy feelings, being tired, and also unable to sleep, lack of appetite, and probably more that I am forgetting. I also fainted twice within 15 minutes of each other on the evening of my third dose, which included spending three hours in the ER to recover from massive dehydration. I had a follow-up appointment with my PCP earlier today, prior to my sixth dosage, and he told me to stop taking it. I have been off it for only 28 hours, and the side effects are gone! I still have a mild headache, but it is considerably better than the past couple of days. I know medication reacts differently for every person, but for me, it was not worth taking this medication/dosage, which did lower my blood pressure a small amount, compared to all of the side effects I experienced."
Microzide (hydrochlorothiazide) "Having gone through a long list of life's tribulations, high BP and all that entails wasn't surprising. Tried lisinopril several times, still felt general malaise. Went to a cardiologist, everything checked out. I started taking hctz - after a day, I felt great and two months in, still do. Curious now why it works and is it compensating for a lack in some organ. I do not eat processed foods and am a healthy, young woman of 65."
"I am a 63 y/o male diagnosed with hypertension; it was discovered during a left inguinal hernia examination. I was averaging a BP reading of 143/86, with a systolic range of 138-167, and a diastolic range of 91-100 - basically stage 1 and stage 2 levels over the past two weeks. I have always been in good health, never smoked, am not obese or diabetic, am physically active, but hypertension runs in the family. My primary doctor suggested medication a few weeks ago and I balked at the thought of taking meds. That said, I took my first non-antibiotic med in my life about 2 hours ago - 25 mg of Hydrochlorothiazide. Only 1 hour and 20 minutes after taking the pill I checked my BP, not expecting much of a change. Lo and behold, I clocked a 133/83. 10 minutes later it was 129/83. I took the final reading and it was 128/83. Absolutely no side effects as I write this 2 hours and 10 minutes later. If the outcome remains as positive as it is right now, then taking a tiny pill once a day is well worth the expense."
"I am only 45 years old. This medicine, I was put on when I felt perfectly fine. I was told my blood pressure was a little elevated. The next day after taking this medication, I was hauled off in an ambulance from work with symptoms of a stroke, a reaction to this medication, and was scared for my life. I thought I was either going to die, end up in a coma, or be paralyzed for life. My face drooped for 20 minutes, my speech slowed, and I could not find words. Luckily, my boss called 911 in time, and the doctor and staff were able to prevent a stroke and TIA. I am scared to take any new medication now. I am looking for a solidarity approach. My blood pressure went the opposite direction and through the roof. I was scared for my life and stayed in the hospital for 2 days. The pharmacy called me to see how I was doing, and the PharmD told me to stop the medicine since my blood pressure changed for the worse, consistently abnormally high. I am now okay after stopping this medication."
"I started taking this med for HBP. I notice after I take it, my BP goes up and my pulse drops. I feel dizzy. I don't like it. My doc said to keep taking it, but I'm not so sure I should. Has this happened to anyone else?"
"My doctor put me on this medication for high blood pressure. It made me very sick within two weeks after taking it. I felt like I was coming down with the flu. My muscles were weak, my joints began hurting. I had a very low-grade fever and wanted to go home and go to bed. Then my bladder began to hurt so bad. I had been on some other type of medication for high blood pressure and the same thing happened with it. I knew that I had experienced this before and immediately stopped the hydrochlorothiazide, and my body went back to normal within a week and a half. Another thing I noticed was my urine was like water, there was no color whatsoever in it, until I started taking vitamins and the color returned."
"I'm 21, 5'4, 125 pounds, very active. Hypertension runs in my family sadly, and there is no escaping from it. It ran in the 140s/mid to high 90s range. I was put on hydrochlorothiazide two months ago. At first, I didn't like it because obviously it makes you urinate like crazy, and I hated waking up in the middle of the night to go because I would have trouble falling back to sleep. I started taking it early in the morning instead of 3 pm, and my problem was easily solved. Other side effects I have noticed, I've lost around 10 pounds of water weight within the last two months. My blood pressure is now in the low 130s, mid 80s range, and I feel great. I probably will end up on a higher dose in the future."
"I tried for 2 months to adjust to hydrochlorothiazide. Immediately my legs hurt and felt like jelly, also my energy levels were so low I hardly felt like getting out of bed. I also noticed a lot of hair loss in my brush. My blood pressure went from 210/120 down to 140/78, and my edema was entirely eliminated. Hydrochlorothiazide definitely did its job, but I was in constant pain and so tired I couldn't function normally. I thought something was really wrong with me until I decided I'd had enough and intentionally skipped a dose and couldn't believe how much better I felt the next day. I'm going back to my doctor to change to something else!"
"I'm a 57-year-old woman with high blood pressure. I had been on lisinopril for about a year and a half. I had a severe case of pancreatitis last August, and my doctor said my meds had to be changed. They tried several different meds for high blood pressure, but it was still staying too high. Next, they tried metoprolol, and it was coming down, but the doctor felt it wasn't enough, so they added hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg. I don't retain water at all, so I can't understand why they put me on it. I've been taking it for about 5 months and started having lots of problems, but I'm not sure why. I experienced increased sweating, thirst, headaches, severe sinus congestion, and pain. I talked with my doctor, but she feels I should continue this medicine. I'm considering taking myself off of it to see what happens. If the symptoms go away, I'll know it was this medicine. Any thoughts from others would be helpful."
"I am 62 and have been on hydrochlorothiazide for 8 months for high blood pressure. I have developed side effects of a severe itchy rash with blistering. It is helping with excess fluid that Lisinopril couldn't manage for BP. The rash and blistering are getting worse. However, I also suspect skin issues might be due to Levothyroxine or Synthroid. Has anyone ever experienced skin problems with hydrochlorothiazide? I have stopped both but know it takes time to clear the system. I read lots of reviews on bad skin issues with Synthroid use. Has to be one or both of the meds for sure?"
"I don't even know where to begin, but my very first adverse symptoms were erratic heartbeats and vertigo symptoms. Doctors never associated these symptoms with the hydrochlorothiazide, so I continued on through the years with severe potassium losses, landing me in the hospital several times, severe muscle cramps, limb tingling, numbness, severe hair loss (being a woman, this was devastating), blurred vision, coughing, wheezing, and sinusitis, which I am now dealing with that started at least 5 years ago. I started reading up on all of my meds, and on this drug's list of adverse symptoms, I could check practically every box. I told my doctor and begged him to read up on this drug himself. He said symptoms couldn't possibly be related to this drug. I took myself off this drug in 2019, and guess what happened? My hair stopped falling out, my potassium level is normal, the crazy heartbeats have stopped, dizziness, and lightheadedness symptoms are gone. My cholesterol is back to normal, my blood pressure is normal."
"I have genetic high blood pressure and had been on lisinopril for many years. It started not working well, so hydrochlorothiazide was added. The first few months seemed to go well aside from fatigue. The last few months, I have had a resting pulse rate of 115 and palpitations. I sweat tremendously and feel exhausted. I went to the doctor yesterday who took me off it. Beta-blockers cause me depression, I can’t do channel blockers. I am on irbesartan and hope it will hold. Different drugs affect people differently, but to think it is a magic pill with no side effects is a mistake."
"The drug does its job, but the side effects of migraine-like headaches make it impossible to take for a long time. I have to take it twice a week so I don't have continuous headaches. The other side effect is extreme muscle soreness in the back and neck."
Microzide, Aquazide H
Microzide, Esidrix
