DIOVAN Reviews (VALSARTAN)

Average Rating: 2.0 (776 Ratings)

Filter Results

Compare DIOVAN with similar:
 Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs)

 Type: Rx Drug

  

DIOVAN  (VALSARTAN):  Valsartan is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. It is also used to improve the chance of living longer after a heart attack. In people with heart failure, it may also lower the chance of having to go to the hospital for heart failure. Valsartan belongs to a class of drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). It works by relaxing blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily. Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent strokes, heart attacks, and kidney problems.   FDA Approval Date: 1996-12-23 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

Results are sorted by Date added.

Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39


RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR DIOVANCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 2  HBP Stomach upset, gas burping constantly Anxiety increased depression lethargy insomnia hip and joint pain shall I go on? I have gone on & off this med several xs. before this I was on lisnipril and ended up getting the "cough", so went to diovan. HAve never put together the SE I was experiancng with this med until yesterday. My doc added to the diovan 80mgs 12.5 HCTZ...1st night I woke up with feeling like my skin was on fire and could not sleep. 2nd night same thing. I have been taking prilosec for a week now because my stomach has been bothering me SO bad started that the same day I was changed to diovan with HCTZ. I am convinced that diovan is slowly killing me & btw...never did get my BP down as well as it should (thats why Dr added the HCTZ. When I take L-theanine my pressure drops to 110/70's and no side effects with that. So as of yesterday no more Diovan......Its not for me F 54 2 years
80mg 1X day
12/8/2012
Email
 1  High Bloos P. Very bad joint pain, Muscle pain Cold all the time. I don't care if I get up in the morning any more. Ears ringing really bad. Just started getting sick to my stom. 2 days ago. F 63 3 months
160 1X day
11/26/2012
 1  Hypertension Numerous side effects but it did control blood pressure Started Diovan 5 years ago.It controls my blood pressure.But the side effects are horrendous.In the 5 years on Diovan,the following have occurred(some are permanent,others were temporary).Low thyroid,high cholesterol,high triglycerides,high normal blood sugar,gout,sexual dysfunction,tendinitis,sinus problems.With each condition,the involved doctors say it can't be caused by Diovan. Each doctor wanted to prescribe drugs for the problem,but I refused.If I followed their advice,I'd now be on 8 more prescriptions.No thanks.Finally told the cardiologist I threw the Diovan away.Now taking Benazepril 20mg for several weeks.No side effects yet,but I'm skeptical.In my case,Diovan made an energetic,physically active guy into a depressed,moody individual.Novartis makes Diovan.Their sales each year are about $6 billion.Thanks Novartis for ruining my life for 5 stinking years. M 66 5 years
160 1X day
11/21/2012
 1  blood pressure Very bad muscle and joint pain F 55 2 months
320 1X day
10/13/2012
 2  hypertension nausea,feeling so tired, sob, tired, foggy, palipations, insomnia, muscles hurting all over, anxiety,panic attacks,general feeling not well after the pill kicks in, aprox 1-2hours after dose i dont like the feeling taking this drug..think it is antagonizing my bp with side effects..will be talking to cardiologist since side effects have increased.. now insomnia..palipations ..anxiety at night and cant sleep..until i take my dose of coreg in early am to counter act the side effects...or take a xanax(i do not tolerate meds well with dx of fibromyalgia ) F 52 3 days
160 2X day
10/4/2012
Email
 1  Hypertension Nonstop upper-respiratory flu symptoms; severe, persistent diarrhea Symptoms began almost immediately but were not discovered right away since they mimicked other conditions M 71 75 days
32 mg 1X day
9/12/2012
 1  high blood pressure dizziness, weight gain, anxiety, depression. I hate it. I want to just quit cold turkey. The doctors are all full of "well, you will have a stroke if you do quit". I have white coat syndrome, so I monitor it daily. If anyone has quit it "cold turkey" and had success, please let me know how you did it! M 56 7 years
160 1X day
8/28/2012
Email
 1  To lower BP & protect kidneys Total insomnia leading to collapse, persistent nausea, abdominal cramping & pain, hip pain, blurred vision, vacant mind, borderline panic/psychotic feelings, whole body tension, feeling of impending doom, depression setting in, BP unaltered or increased, and many more things unable to list mainly because the major side effects so horribly overshadowed the smaller things like hair loss, rise in irritability, etc. I have autoimmune kidney disease & my competent nephrologist Rxed this because he wanted to reduce my BP a little & reduce the amount of protein I lose in my urine, which over time causes damage to kidneys & raises BP further. I had been on Lisinopril about six years, and could not tolerate side effects of increasing dosage of that. So he thought Diovan, being a different class of drug might work. Beginning @ 160 2x day, side effects rapidly made him cut dose by half after about a week. But the longer I took it, the worse things got. After five days of being almost totally unable to sleep, my body crashed into involuntary jerking of muscles with intense nausea & feeling I might die. When 6 mg of melatonin failed to produce sleep, I knew it was the meds. My Dr told me to stop them immediately & wants a work up to see if lasting damage has been done. He switched me to Tekturna, very low dose, which is a direct renin inhibitor (different class). Has side effects, but nothing like the Diovan. I'm sleeping well, all symptoms of Diovan leaving my system & it's a whole new life! It's working better on my BP too. I hope this new med is worth all the hell I went through on Diovan---I never imagined an evil drug like Diovan existed. I just pray my brief experience with it doesn't yet prove to shorten my life with lasting harm. F 53 3 weeks
160 mg 2X day
8/8/2012
 3  High blood pressure Insomnia, dry cough, shortness of breath. Some memory loss, fatigue. M 58 2 years
160 mg
7/26/2012
 1  Hypertension (hi BP) Regulated my BP well, but caused Apathy, loss of libido, tiredness/lethargy, poor concentration, head felt like 'cotton-wool', impatient, functional memory recall issues (i.e. difficulty in recalling a particular word I needed) M 52 400 days
40mg 1X day
7/22/2012
 1  hbp swollen legs, sweating ,pain in left shoulder ,anxiety ,coughing,blurriness,weakness ,back pain ,and terrible weight gain. its a terrible pill no one has to suffer like this to lower they bp. F 2 years
1X day
7/21/2012
 1  Prescribed after Bypass surgery Dizziness, lethargy, fatigue for up to 6-7 hours after taking. Cannot recommend side effects to severe. I will need to try another BP medication. M 68 30 days
20 MG 1X day
7/5/2012
Email
 1  Hypertension first week was ok, after that became very tired, no energy, hot flashes, stomach pain,reflux. Then I began to have a sore throat, thought I had a virus, began having achy joints, muscle stiffness, headache and cough. I waited another week with these symptoms thinking the virus was going to pass. it was not until reading all of your comments here, that I too realized this was all due to the drug. My BP was controlled on it, but not worth enduring the side effects. I called my MD and told him . He immediately is switching me to another generic. I had Been on atacand for over 5 years without any problems. It's all the insurance co tying to force generics where they do not work,causing us patients to endure other debilitating conditions. last year they forced me to change to cozaar which did not work, now I am currently prescribed Benicar to start tomorrow. The interesting thing is Benicar is not generic, so why is the insurance e co forcing me to change!!!! F 51 21 days
320 1X day
6/14/2012
 1  High Blood Pressure Blurry vision, weight gain, gained 5" around waist, numb feet, tinnitis, breathlessness, lack of energy, lethargy, heavy legs and swollen ankles, runny nose, headache, awaken at 3 am every morning and can't go back to sleep, weakness. I can't seem to finish the projects I start. It has taken a full week to plant 5 plants in a flower box! Very frustrating. This medication is very bad for you! It has turned me into a zombie . . . . I sit for hours and daydream. NOT GOOD! F 72 365 days
80 mg 1X day
6/12/2012
Email
 1  Borderline high blood pressure Mental and physical exhaustion; back and neck pain; leg discomfort. I'm glad I found this website. I had been taking Diovan for a little over a year, theoretically for high blood pressure, although most of the time my blood pressure is between normal and high normal. However, I have a very bad case of White Coat Syndrome and my b.p. spikes whenever anyone measures it. In fact, I stress out almost to panic mode in a doctor's office worrying that it will be too high, and then of course it is too high. I am otherwise in excellent health. I thought my tiredness and achy muscles were due to some other cause, particularly since my GP assured me that Diovan is like a vitamin for your heart. After reading comments on this website, I discontinued the Diovan. (No, I didn't check with my doctor first, and I didn't cut down gradually; I just quit cold turkey.) Within two (2) days my energy was back and most of the achiness was gone. So were the leg cramps and muscle spasms. This is a BAD drug! It cannot possibly be helping if it's screwing up your body and your life! Fortunately, lifestyle changes can usually control blood pressure, and I have taken steps to do that. (Take a look at Mark's Daily Apple website for a lot of good hints as to diet and exercise.) As for the White Coat Syndrome, I will monitor it myself at home and avoid the doctor's office to the maximum extent possible. Additionally, I'm having second thoughts about the GP that prescribed this junk. F 68
320 mg. 2X day
6/1/2012
 1  HBP joint paint, chest pain, palipitations,extreme pain in hand and fingers and my nails started growing out malformed and sometimes with missing nail. I hate this medication and think it caused more harm than good. feel almost 100% better now off it. F 49 12 days
1X day
5/24/2012
 2  HBP Abdominal cramps, cramps in my sides when bending, cramps in legs and feet. After one day of taking this medication I had the worse abdominal cramp. Now I'm experiencing cramps in my legs and feet. I can hardly move without experiencing a cramp F 43 4 days
160mg
5/3/2012
Email
 1  hypertension headaches, lack of mental clarity, anxiety, poor outlook on life, muscle and joint aches I was switched to Diovan by recommendaton of my health insurance coverage due to cost. gradual onset of these symtoms worsened over the timefreme I was on the medication. I did not realize it was Diovan until I found this websight and decided to take myself off of the medication. I went about 10 days with no hypertension medication and all of the symtoms I mentioned reversed themselves and disappeared within days with the exception of the muscle and joint aches which are still present but much abated. My doctor put me on Losartan 50mg once daily and so far, so good. I am in agreement with the majority of respondants on this board that Diovan is a junk drug that needs to have its FDA approval revoked. M 43 15 months
160mg 1X day
4/20/2012
Email
 1  HBP Headaches, progressively worsening muscle cramps, and difficulty with urination I have been off it 7days now, also was given a course of prednisone for five days, now my doctor tells me to go back on it because as she says "My problems were not because of the Diovan_I will be seeing a new doctor next week F 65 3 months
160/25mg 1X day
4/19/2012
 1  High Blood Pressure Severe throat, chest and upper abdominal pain. Had been taking this drug for about 3 - 6 months prior to the throat, chest and abdominal pain appearing and at the same time was diagnosed with a 12 cm benign kidney cyst. It was believed by the Urologist that the pain was being caused by the cyst pushing my liver, stomach, etc upwards causing GERD. Had kidney cyst removed in Sept, 2010 and none of the symptoms disappeared. Have since had swallowing tests, PH studies, gastroscopies, ultrasounds, etc to try to determine the cause of all this pain since then and all results come back normal. Have been on numerous pain medicines to try to control this pain that no Dr. can diagnose. Pain persists. Just a couple of days ago I thought perhaps my blood pressure medicine was causing this pain, so I have not taken my meds since Tuesday night and am still not feeling great, but it's only day 3, so will give it some time. BP was 142/94 this morning, so not ideal. Will give this a few weeks to see if these symptoms go away, and if they do will visit Dr. to discuss other options. I pray that this pain disappears as it is very uncomfortable and basically controls my life. F 51 3 years
80 mg 1X day
4/13/2012

Previous Page       Next Page

BACK TO TOP