Anyone else on Lisinopril??

[Buttons2]

I had my RX filled last week for Lisinopril,I get my drugs at Wal-Mart. Several weeks ago I asked if any of my drugs were coming from China & was assured they were not.

My new RX comes from India! It's in a large blue plastic container & is difficult for me to even open. That gripe went by the wayside however when I finally figured out why I'm feeling light headed & possibly why I have new leg/thigh pain.

These pills are a different color & size than the previous ones. I take 20mg.

Tomorrow I'm not gonna take the pill & see what happens. I just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced bad side effects from Lisinopril & especially the new ones being sold now.

Thanks

[mrsdoubtfyre]

I previously was using 40mg lisinopril from Ivax (Goldline). They are huge white tablets.

I think lisinopril is the easiest to tolerate of all the ACE inhibitors. But it really depletes zinc...so you have to take a zinc supplement.

I haven't opened the new Indian ones yet... as I had about 20 of the others left.

I'll have to try one tonight.
I used to get my lisinopril at Costco....but they closed the one near me, They are building a new one on the same spot.
so I did not want to drive for 1/2 hr to a far away one and wait HOURS...they are sooooo busy 600 Rxs a day at some locations! So I took my RX last week to WalMart (close to home, and low cost since my insurances does a 20%
copay). And I got the same blue plastic dispensing boxes.

My lisinopril from WalMart say Lupin on them. Are yours the same?
I'll take mine now, tonight, for a couple of days, and get back on this thread.
Odd...that we would have the SAME thing happen! WISH ME LUCK!

Do you have a blood pressure cuff at home? Can you take it?
I have times when my pressures are closer to normal, for a while, and when that happens I take 1/2 tablet. Dizzy could mean your blood pressure is too low all of a sudden. I often get dizzy when I get up in the morning..I take my dose at night. Orthostatic hypotension. So I get up from chairs, etc SLOWLY.

You know lisinopril is NOT metabolized in the body, is excreted whole.
It also crosses the blood brain barrier (not all ACE inhibitor drugs do)...and new research shows that the ones that DO this, may reduce inflammation in the brain and block Alzheimer's. I think it is far and away the best to take for an ACE inhibitor.

There was a tainted lisinopril in Panama not too long ago...
http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_12/issue_19/news_01.html

But it was not this company.
Here is an article on Lupin:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/71026.php

Many (even MOST) of our generics come from other countries.
TEVA is in Israel. (IVAX has merged with TEVA)

It is good that you ask... but if you ask at the pharmacy you will most likely get a blank look.

Wait two days, and I'll be back!

Did they show you how to get your tablets out? You don't open it, you press down on the little lever and the pills slide out.
then you punch one out. And I agree they are odd....but you know I LIKE the sealed unit doses...they keep the drug
more safely from moisture in the air, etc. This is a big plus for me in the summers. We live where it can be very damp (the lake)
and I've had my mirrors cloud up when fog comes in. So at least my medication is safer this way.

[Buttons2]

Thanks for the reply. Now I just noticed it says take twice daily!! Yikes,no way is that correct. I have had nothing but bad luck @ Wal-Mart pharmacy,if there's a way to mess it up they do.....it's even a joke with the older workers there. So I send my housemate & he seems to be OK. (We've concluded I'm jinxed).

Housemate went to pick up HIS Lisinopril yesterday & it wasn't ready,while there he voiced concern for the new pills I'm taking & leg pain. The check out gal didn't comment. Today when he picks his RX up I'm urging him to confer with the pharmicist if possible & find out why they changed the drug supplier. We both pay $4. for these RX's.

Yes my package says Lupin Limited in India.

Thanks for the info about zinc,I wasn't aware of that! I do have a BP cuff but I need housemate to do it for me I can never get it right.

I could be wrong about the leg pain since I have so many pains but this one isn't in a joint so caught me by surprise. I don't feel as light headed today so might be onto something there.

I'll look forward to reading your reply after a few days on these new pills.

[mrsdoubtfyre]

I would ask to see the original RX. They have to show it to you.

Maybe your doctor made a mistake? Did your doctor raise you and not tell you?
There can be many reasons for the label change, besides the obvious
pharmacy error in typing.

I WILL BE BACK.... to this thread.

But I want to also share with you that when the weather changes suddenly and the barometric pressure drops, I can feel awful. Yesterday here was a very bad day for me.

But today I feel better.

Just watch the weather--- LOWS are miserable to anyone with pain. (or old injuries etc).

India has been supplying ibuprofen and generic Zocor, and many other drugs for years here. Much of the generic Zantac in the stores like Costco or Sams is from India. But I have not seen recalls or any horror stories connected with India, except for a few raw herbal products that were found to contain lead.
(these were Ayurvedic herbs).

Here is another company commonly sold in US...from India.

http://www.drreddys.com/gchemicals/gchemicals.htm

Notice that Dr. Reddy's purchased the Mexico manufacturing plant from Roche.
Drugs are made all over the world. Many American companies purchase raw material from other countries, and only package here.

What is an issue for YOU is what dose you should be getting.
Call your doctor first and confirm the dose (20mg) and how often daily...
once or twice. Then go to WalMart and have them show you the RX you brought in.
That should clarify what is going on. (or alternately, have the doctor's office
call the pharmacy and ask to have the original faxed back to them.).

So see you in a day or so. If I don't get any major different response from Lupin tonight/tomorrow morning, I'll post tomorrow.

[mrsdoubtfyre]

no increased side effects so far at all.

I had a thought though.

If your RX was written for 40mg and you want to participate in that
low price for generics that WalMart offers --then, they would give you 20mg
and increase the directions.

When I took my RX in the clerk started to tell me this, but I have insurance and it doesn't matter. Their list of drugs included in the special pricing does NOT include 40mg Lisinopril. The list DOES have 20mg on it. So the guy started to tell me they would increase the RX and give 20mg, and put 2 on the label.

When he discovered I was not paying out of pocket, that was the end of that.
My insurance covered 90 for about $6.50 (it is a % copay and is based on the cost).

Let me know how it turns out for you, but so far I don't see anything alarming about the Lupin brand. (it is just new for you).

Edit... I've been working in the garden most of the day, in the heat, and I feel fine. No dizziness etc. So I think my
lisinopril is okay.

[annelb]

I am on ramapril - any advantage or disadvantage over the other prils? I am only on 2.5mg a day.

Thanks for the info on the zinc depletion. I assume that is for all ACE inhibitors.
Anne

[mrsdoubtfyre]

crosses the BBB...

http://formularyjournal.modernmedicine.com/formulary/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=151015

This gives further lists:
http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Alzheimers/2007/7-05-08-ChooseAnACE.htm

Altace is metabolized by the liver however.

Lisinopril is not.

I have found lisinopril much more tolerable than Vasotec (which tended to give me the ACE cough sometimes).

Altace was marketed with some nice studies showing it to be "better" than other ACE drugs...that is how it got an edge with some doctors.

However there are studies to show Altace can negatively affect the liver:
Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2003 Nov;127(11):1493-7.Click here to read Links
Ramipril-associated hepatotoxicity.
Yeung E, Wong FS, Wanless IR, Shiota K, Guindi M, Joshi S, Gardiner G.

Departments of Medicine, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

CONTEXT: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are prescribed for many cardiovascular and renal diseases. Adverse hepatic events, especially cholestasis, have rarely been reported with captopril, enalapril, lisinopril, and fosinopril. To date, hepatic injury associated with ramipril has not been reported. OBJECTIVE: To describe 3 patients who developed hepatitis, with or without jaundice, after receiving ramipril. DESIGN: Medical records and liver biopsies of the 3 patients were reviewed. Clinical, laboratory, and histologic findings were compared with findings in other cases of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-induced liver injury reported in the literature. RESULTS: The 3 patients were middle-aged men. In 2 patients, jaundice appeared 4 and 8 weeks after starting ramipril. Bilirubin levels peaked at 15.5 and 5 mg/dL, and alkaline phosphatase values peaked at 957 and 507 U/L. Aminotransferase levels were mildly elevated. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and ultrasonography showed no bile duct obstruction. Liver biopsies from the jaundiced patients were similar, with cholestasis, duct necrosis, and extravasation of bile, ductular proliferation, and portal inflammation. Cholestasis improved in 1 patient 6 weeks after stopping ramipril and was prolonged for 14 months in the other, in whom biliary cirrhosis was present on biopsy. The third patient developed hepatitis without jaundice 3 weeks after starting ramipril; symptoms resolved after stopping the drug. Ramipril-associated liver injury is similar to that seen with other angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, but liver biopsy findings of duct necrosis and extravasation of bile have not been reported previously. CONCLUSION: Prolonged cholestatic hepatitis and biliary cirrhosis may result from the use of ramipril. Monitoring of liver enzymes is advisable for patients starting on ramipril.

PMID: 14567716 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Lisinopril however has shown liver regenerating effects in animals:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11151038?ordinalpos=19&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsP anel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

I personally switched to lisinopril over a year ago..based on what I had found about its benefits. I really like it. I've been on Accupril, and Vasotec at other times in the past. I like the lisinopril the best. (it seems to reduce my PN burning too).

Yes, while zinc was found to be depleted with captopril (Capoten) and enalapril (Vasotec) the recommendation for zinc
supplements has been extended to all of them. (this would be more crucial for vegetarians, who tend to be low in zinc
because the vegetable phytates complex the zinc in the GI tract making it unavailable for absorption).
http://www.swedish.org/111851.cfm

[Buttons2]

Update: I was only off the Lisinopril 2 days,my mother just had a mini-stroke & both my grandmother's died of strokes. I'll put up with the muscle pain since it's better than the alternative of a stroke!

I see my doc in Oct. I might ask for a different med then.

Glad the new brand isn't affecting you Mrs. D. And again,I appreciate the replies & the links/info.

Buttons

[mrsdoubtfyre]

Buttons... this link has other patients with the same complaint:

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=19558&name=PRINIVIL

I wonder if you are taking a magnesium supplement?
This can do wonders for muscle pain. I use it for that reason.

My magnesium thread at NeuroTalk (on the vitamin forum there) has all the information about it.
I would try it for a short time to see if it helps.
1/2 the RDA (about 200mg) of any chelate (excluding magnesium oxide)
will tell you if your muscle issues are due to low mag.