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Generic Name: Micardis (telmisartan)

Micardis Reviews

For High Blood Pressure "I have been on 40mg Micardis 1 time per day for over 12 years and it always controlled my blood pressure. I had a minimal side effect of nasal congestion. Recently, my insurance decided that they would no longer cover Micardis and switched me to generic telmisartan. The pills no longer control my BP, and my doctor has increased me to 80mg, but it is still not working. Additionally, I have been dizzy and just have a general feeling of ill health. I want to make it clear that the GENERIC is NOT the same as the name brand, and I resent my insurance company for forcing me to take a product that does not work!"


For High Blood Pressure "I was prescribed 20 mg of Micardis and, like many, experienced lightheadedness, dizziness, and back pain. It also caused my throat to swell, mild nausea, vision problems, chest tightness, heartburn, the feeling I was going to faint, flushing, and pressure in my head. Basically, my blood pressure medication made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack and stroke. I stopped taking it 4 days ago and still have these symptoms. Time will tell if this stuff has done permanent damage."


For High Blood Pressure "I was diagnosed at age 47 with BP 140/90, and I am a South Asian. I am 56 years old now and have been a type 1 diabetic for the last 35 years. I have had no side effects and started on Micardis 40 mg prescribed by my endo, who then increased it to 80 mg to be safe. My BP is well under control, hovering around 125-134/65-75. I check my BP every day and keep a log by taking pictures on my iPhone of it along with the food I eat. I avoid frozen food and pizzas and climb 10 floors every day, which helps reduce it by 10 points on the systolic number and about 7-8 points on the diastolic number. I tried the generic and experienced muscle pain as well as shoulder pain on my right side at night time."


For High Blood Pressure "I've been on this tablet for 3 years now and whilst it was an initial improvement to what I had been prescribed previously, its side effects do build up over time. Joint and bone aches. Memory loss, fatigue, itchy, tired dry eyes, weight gain, sugar cravings, Raynaud's syndrome, nails and hair very slow growing. Oh, and yeah, I looked up what it contains and I'm horrified to see sodium hydroxide = caustic soda (drain cleaner)."


For High Blood Pressure "I started on Micardis 4 months ago, the first month it didn't seem to help, the second month it controlled my high blood pressure perfectly, then the third month I started getting horrible side effects. My left arm would go numb and tingly, I had horrible headaches, insomnia, diarrhea, and chest pains. I was exhausted all the time yet I couldn't sleep, had terrible nightmares. The pills work great for controlling my blood pressure but the side effects are awful!"


For High Blood Pressure "Took Micardis for about 15 years. Did great for my blood pressure. I also had sinus problems off and on, and every time I went to the doctor, they put me on antibiotics for sinus infection. Got to where I didn't go to the doctor and just 'bit the bullet' on the sinus problems. One day I decided to look up all my medications and found that sinus problems were a side effect of Micardis. I quit taking the Micardis and what do you know, my sinus problems are gone. I've taken Micardis 80 mg with HCTZ, 80 mg without HCTZ, and 40 mg without HCTZ. It works great for blood pressure, but the side effects don't warrant taking it for me."


For High Blood Pressure "I have been on Micardis 40 mg for over 6 years now. I must be one of the lucky ones, as I have had no side effects to speak of, and my doctor has been happy with my blood pressure readings. Also, pleased to note that I have dropped about 4 kilos of visceral fat with no change to my diet."


For High Blood Pressure "Fantastic. Suffered minor heart attack several years ago at 37 years old, am now 41 years old. Recently started having severe chest pain and was put on Micardis 80mg, after being admitted to hospital, suspected heart attack (pain was that bad), luckily, no heart attack this time and blood pressure dropped from 196 to 125 after a couple of weeks. Feel a lot better. Now on the 40mg dose."


For High Blood Pressure "I have been taking this medication for about 3 months now and don't think I can stand the side effects any longer. I am constantly itchy everywhere, new rashes appear constantly. My eyes are red, swollen, and itchy to the point where it now looks like I have healing black eyes. Blood pressure down but side effects are too much."


For High Blood Pressure "At one time I was taking as much as 5 different blood pressure medicines at a time trying to find something that would lower it from around 200/110. After a year of that I changed doctors and I was given Micardis HCT 80/12.5. That was four or five years ago and my BP is now averaging 128/74. If there are any side effects I sure haven't noticed."


For High Blood Pressure "I'm a white male, 53 years old, 5'11'', and 185 lbs. I just discovered that I had high blood pressure about a month ago during a wellness checkup. The nurse took my blood pressure 4 times on the right arm and 3 more on the left. I was running about 180/120. After she told me that she'd seen 400 lb men with better numbers than that, I decided to see my MD. I've been on Micardis for almost 30 days, and it seems to have lowered it to the 140/90 range. I was also put on Bystolic just 5 days ago due to a rapid pulse of 100 bpm, now down to 75-80. The only side effects have been occasional dizziness and some sharp pain in my hip when I move. I did have a scary tightening of the chest and shortness of breath the other day. It seemed to pass in about 2 minutes."


For High Blood Pressure "Soon after starting Micardis, I suffered from dizziness, nausea, irritability, and I had no energy. It continued, then I started experiencing shortness of breath. I was told by my doctor it was not the medication. I went to a cardiologist, and she kept me on it and put me on Imdur. Then severe headaches occurred. I'm now going natural and taking my chances."


For High Blood Pressure "I have tried: Toprol XL, Coreg & Diovan. All of these controlled my blood pressure. But all had more side effects than I thought was reasonable. When I started Micardis, I had some dizziness the first week. I now feel the best I have felt since starting blood pressure medication. My pressure is now 125-130/70-80."


For High Blood Pressure "I have been on Micardis 40 mg then 80 mg for the last 10 years. My blood pressure hovers around 140-150/90-95. I am 5'11" and weigh 105 kg. I've not had any major side effects that I can tell, but recently in the last 1 year when I turned 44, I started to experience insomnia. At first, it was for a few days, then weeks. The longest bout of insomnia I had was 5 weeks where I couldn't sleep (tossing/turning) until 5-6 am. Thereafter, I could sleep for about 2 or 3 hours before I had to get up for work. I've checked some medical websites, and apparently, telmisartan drugs like Micardis may cause insomnia."


For High Blood Pressure "I love it. No side effects. Tried others because of insurance. All had lots of side effects. I'm really upset because insurance companies are dropping it. I can't take the generic for it. Made me sick as a dog with severe muscle pain."


For High Blood Pressure "I started on Micardis 80mg, good for reducing my blood pressure, but I had bad vertigo, dizzy, had to lie down, felt sickly and had cold sweats. Did not agree with me. Reduced it to 1/2 a 40mg tablet. Felt okay for a day, then had vertigo again. Stopped taking tablets."


For High Blood Pressure "I have been on Cozaar 50 mg (brand name for Losartan) for 15 years. Apart from stuffy nose, it worked well. However, in 2020 it started to wear off as I woke up with high BP and shortness of breath. Three months ago, my doctor changed to Micardis 40 mg, then increased to 60 mg. Since then on Micardis, I developed anxiety and very awful insomnia in spite of the fact that I swim regularly. I am planning to quit this awful medicine and see a cardiologist."


For High Blood Pressure "On starting 40 mg Micardis, experienced severe dizziness that lasted about a month, eventually subsiding. Okay for another 4 months, then started to have burning and pain in feet and lower legs, especially at bedtime. Had to stop even though was doing a good job with blood pressure. Now taking Diovan and doing well."


For High Blood Pressure "I am fifty-nine years old. I have been on 40 mg of Micardis for over five years now, it does control my blood pressure, but the side effects include the following. When first prescribed Micardis, leg pains were like charley horses, lasting about 7 months, mostly at night. For the last 2 years, my insomnia is getting worse, so I started taking 2000 mg of vitamin D3 that helps with insomnia. Now I'm dealing with the constant coughing, mostly at night. I will meet with my cardiologist within the next week and will ask for another blood pressure med."


For High Blood Pressure "I have done much better on Micardis than on the other one I used to take, Cozaar. Micardis lasts longer and seems to get my pressure way down. I'd say all in all I'm very pleased. My doctor said It's a great drug."


For High Blood Pressure "I suspect causation between Micardis (40 mg) and BPPV. I've missed my dose a couple of times, blood pressure rocketed up to 140/90s, and I felt great the following day. Normally, BP is 120/80s on 40 mg, but I feel like crap with a general level of dizziness throughout the day. Sporadic episodes, but this BPPV episode has lasted 6 months now. Worse in the morning and means lying down/standing up takes special head moves to minimize dizzy episodes."


For High Blood Pressure "My experience has been one of falling over if I get up too quickly. Bent down to clean the floor after I had dropped some food. Fell and hurt my ribs. Stopped taking Micardis, the falling stopped. Have recently gone back on it and have had two falls."


For High Blood Pressure "I took this medicine 2 years ago for about a month because my other hypertension medicines were causing rashes. After a couple of medicines were recommended, I took Micardis, and although it lowered my pressure some, I was waking up every two hours at night. So I switched to several other medications that also did not work well. I told my MD I would try Micardis again because the side effects were less than all the other medicines I had tried. So far (8 months), my pressure is better, and the insomnia is workable and not so constant."


For High Blood Pressure "I had taken Micardis for about 3 years, starting from 40 mg and recently 80 mg. My doctor said the drug also helped prevent cardiovascular disease. The initial 40 mg went well without any side effects. Blood pressure was consistently 130-140/80-90. A few months ago, when I turned 38, during my routine blood pressure checks, I noticed that it was 140-150/90-100 even with the 40 mg pill. I monitored this for about 2 weeks, and it remained thereabouts. After consulting my doctor, he recommended a higher dosage of 80 mg. It worked, and the pressure stabilized at 70-90/120-140. However, I did notice a slight discomfort in my respiratory tract or somewhat a mild heartburn (I think!)."


For High Blood Pressure "I've been on Micardis for about a year because I complained about the side effects of Accupril (dizziness). The Micardis is better, but I stay around 140/90. I've noticed a reduction in sex drive since starting this drug, all else seems okay. I'm 35 years old."

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  • Telmisartan (AHFS Monograph)

Other formulations

  • Micardis HCT

Related treatment guides

  • High Blood Pressure
  • Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
  • Cardiovascular Risk Reduction