DIOVAN Reviews (VALSARTAN)Average Rating: 2.0 (776 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare DIOVAN with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Satisfaction highest to lowest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) 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 |
More on DIOVAN: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR DIOVAN | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | moderately high blood pressure | Within 8 hours of taking Diovan, I always experience a type of depression - - - I seem to have lost the mental "energy" to begin tasks - - - I just feel like life is worthless and want to quit living. This is, of course, quite frightening, and I immediately stopped taking this drug. The half-dozen or so times I've talked myself into trying it again, the same thing happened. No more. | What's the matter with some doctors? They don't believe you when you describe a side effect. I probably need to find a new doctor. | M | 59 | 2 months | 1/11/2008 | 2 | High blood pressure | Light headed; insomnia; itching; urinary problems. | Prior to Diovan, I had never been on any prescribed medication and had none of the above symptoms. Thank God for this website!! I will be stopping Diovan immediately and will be seeking an alternative, natural product to lower my blood pressure. | F | 66 | 3 weeks | 11/28/2007 | 2 | High BP | I have had Dizziness, headaches, feelingn wierd and somewhat disconnected as well as fatigue | I have to get off of this medicine. I will try to get off and try the dash and excersice. Which is what I should have done in the first place! | F | 30 | | 11/24/2007 | 2 | High Blood Pressure | Was taking Toprol XL with a diuretic - did not like at all - things slowed down and I stopped responding to the med after 18 months on it. Doctor tried Diovan 160mg and it definitely dropped my pressure - from 150/100 to 120/60. Saw a dramatic decline in sex drive - 50% drop. No other noticable side effects. Doctor now having me try Cardizem CD and Maxide (a diuretic). No decline in drive with Cardizem at all although it doesn't drop my pressures as much as Diovan. Perhaps the Maxide will drop it more. | M | 36 | 6 months | 11/21/2007 | 2 | border line high blood pressure | Blurred Vision, aching feet. | My husband was given Diovan after his stroke one month ago. He was also given Lipitor and Aggrenox and has been taking Metformin for type 2 diabeties. After a month of taking these pills I had to rush him to emergency because he was week and his speech was slurred. I thought he was having another stroke. When we got to the hospital and finally spoke to the doctor 4 hours later, I was told that my husband's potassium level was extremely low. I did some research on the internet and found that if Metformin is taken with a diuretic that it would lower the potassium levels. I mentioned this to the doctor and said that that would not have had anything to do with what happened. While he was talking with the doctor, his speech starting to get slurred again and he became week. I also checked the side effects of Aggrenox and found that some of the side effects were changes in mood, unusual weakness, slurred speech, vision problems and a change in the amount of urine. These symptoms seem t | M | 56 | 4 weeks | 11/18/2007 | 2 | high blood pressure | weight gain, light-headedness, eventually did not control my blood pressure | Dr. gave me diovan after hydrocholorothyazide seemed to quit working--BP 165/90. I took it for 3 years and had very mixed results. High BP in winter, low BP in summer. Dr. didn't care. Last winter she switched me to Benicar, which caused liver & kidney problems. I now take only garlic, 800 mg. Vitamin D, & forskolin (an Aruvedic herb from the coleus plant), & when I went to Dr. last week my BP was 104/60. Fifteen minutes of deep breathing exercises every day (like mediatation) can do wonders for BP too. | F | 51 | 3 years | 11/5/2007 | 2 | high bp | Been on 80mg for 2 years with norvasc also. I changed doctors last week and BP was too high for his liking, so he changed my dose to 320mg, and added atenolol. On the 2nd day I started having much difficulty swallowing. Sometimes my throat locks up, and I can't swallow, no matter how hard I try. Loose bowel also started about same time. | Did anyone else have the swallowing problem from the Diovan? Did it stop when you quit the Diovan? I have seen a few posts about trouble swallowing, but don't see if it stopped when the drug was discontinued. | F | 53 | 2 years | 11/4/2007 | 2 | high blood pressure | Shooting pain in muscles and joints,Blurred vision (sometimes it appears as though a "sun spot" is in my eye and it takes several minutes to clear up, abdominal distension and gas, Constipation, Extreme fatigue. | I've been on this medication for almost 2 years. I've been having various issues lately and decided to do a search on this medication as I am only taking it and Synthroid for hypothyroidism. After seeing all these posts I no longer think I'm crazy. I took my blood pressure the other day and it was on the high end of normal which is strange to me since I'm on this medication. I've made an appointment with my doctor to see if I can try something else. In the meantime I'm going to not take my Diovan for a week and see if some of the symptoms subside. My blood pressure wasn't that high to begin with, but these side effects (if that is what they are) are horrible. | F | 41 | 2 years | 10/12/2007 | 2 | High Blood Pressure | Severe headaches, severe muscle pains from middle of my back to top of my head, blurred vision, light-headedness, dizziness, flu-like symptoms and my eyes were sometimes very sensitive to light or to bright computer screens. | At first, I had no side-effects at all and blood pressure dropped--consistently below 120/80. After 6 months, however, I had very bad muscle pains from the middle of my back to the top of my head. Really bad pain and no pain meds worked. That lasted about 3-4 weeks before it just went away. Never crossed my mind to link it to Diovan at that time, I just thought I had slept wrong and pinched something. ABout 3 weeks ago, I started having the same pain again, this time much worse, and it was accompanied by the list of symptoms I listed above. Since I am on no other medication and knew that dizziness/light headedness was a known side-effect of Diovan, I decided to stop taking it and see what happens. Within a few days, I started feeling noticeably better. I then started it again and side-effects came back. I have no other explanation. Doc doesn't believe me, but switched me to Norvasc which I haven't started yet. | M | 38 | 10 months | 10/9/2007 | 2 | M | 120 days | 9/22/2007 | 2 | HBP | After about 10 months of taking Diovan once daily, I began to have severe intestinal bloating, gas and diarrhea. I have also experienced lightheadedness and extreme fatigue. I noticed that my legs are very heavy and have cramping especially in the calf muscles. I now have joint pain in my wrists and ankles as well. Initially I thought I may have picked up some sort of bug, but apparenty it's the medication as it's the only medication I am taking. I will be seeing my doctor to get to the bottom of this as this has been going on for the past 2 months. | Initially, Diovan did lower my blood pressure to a normal level, 120/70, after I was diagnosed and hospitalized for HBP which was 230/110. I am athletic and have a very good diet. At 46 years of age and 6 feet tall, my weight has been a constant 190lbs. I did inherit HBP from my Father's side who had developed this condition around 45 years of age. My younger sister also developed this condition. I've come to realize that exercise and a good diet is not enough, and I do need some sort of medication to control this condition. | M | 46 | 1 years | 9/10/2007 | 2 | Difficult High BP | My biggest problem right now seems to be palpitations and I am ready to quit taking Diovan. I take 160 mg with 12.5 of HCTZ but I have already discontinued that. My doctor already told me 7 weeks ago that my Potassium was low and wanted me to start a K-Chlor prescription. All these meds are messing with my mind. First I worry about getting Hyperkalemic but then I get Hypokalemic. Sometimes I wished I 'd never let anyone put me on any medicine. I also take 100mg of Toprol a day and some Hydralazine. If I am hearing people right about the Potassium and ending up in the ER which I have before I think I need to quit eventhough My BP will likely rise. There has got to be something out there that will lower it without the side effects. | M | 44 | 8 days | 8/21/2007 | 2 | high bp | After eight months on 320 mg., can no longer walk a block, climb stairs, must drive everywhere. 7-8 lbs weight gain which I cannot lose, all around the middle. Puffy face and bloated. I was a runner before I began this drug, now I can barely walk. How long after stopping it does it take to lose the weight? | I am a renal patient. I took Cozaar, but insurance will not pay for it. Nothing else works to bring the bp down. Miserable. | F | 54 | 365 days | 8/19/2007 | 2 | High Blood Pressure 180/110 | Was given trial dosage and began to have severe gastrointesinal pains (really bad gas) so I stopped taking and severe gas pain went away Started taking again while watching what I ate. Had severe gastrointestinal symptoms again that always lasted 7 to 8 hours. Other than that I had no other symptoms. Too bad for the pain of gas because otherwise for me I did not notice any other side effects. | F | 45 | 20 days | 7/27/2007 | 2 | high BP (150/90) | diarrhea, no symptom relief | PCP took me off a diuretic, suspected heart failure, and referred me to a cardiologist; symptoms were edema (> 6 years) and a productive cough (> 1 year) and elevated BP (when coughing); cardiologist recommended 40 mg of Diovan which did not relieve the edema or cough and caused diarrhea and BP was still high while coughing; I'm quitting Diovan today and going back to an alternative medicine M.D. tomorrow who was not concerned about my 180/95 BP while coughing (and on Diovan) and will try to heal the "cause" of the cough & edema instead of the "symptom" of the cough (elevated BP). | F | 52 | 3 weeks | 6/3/2007 | 2 | High Blood Pressure | Well they are not good, HAIR LOSS & THINNING, DIFICULTY BREATHING, SORE ON INSIDE OF NOSE, CHEST PAINS, STOMACH CRAMPS, COUGHING, WEIGHT GAIN, BLOATING, INSOMNIA, MEMORY LOSS. I wish these doctors knew how bad these side effects can feel. | This is the second hbp med I have taken. I had side effects within one day of taking it. I was on a beta-blocker which made me really sick, so they put me on diovan, which has lowered my bp to normal numbers but, the side affects I listed are awful. I am about ready to give up on this med cause I feel so lousy. I am not sure If my bp will get worse if I take myself off of it. Currently I am switching doctors because the one that I had doesn't care about me or that I need to function properly. I would have to say the hair loss and stomach cramps are the worst because I never had any of these problems before I started the diovan. Well hope to be off of it soon, I just want to feel normal again. | F | 28 | 2 weeks | 5/21/2007 | 2 | High Blood Pressure | I took Diovan for 2 days. I started having chest pain and my heart was pounding, even when I was resting. It just didn't feel right. | I quit taking the medicine and I've decided to try a different route. I'm going to change my diet and exercise more. I've decided that I'm not ready to give in to medication! I may look into natural supplements also. | M | 45 | 2 days | 5/19/2007 | 2 | Borderline HBP (140/90) | abdominal bloating, weight gain, swelling in lower legs and ankles, fatigue, muscle weakness, exhaustion & need to rest after minimal exertion, difficulty concentrating, extreme bowel and urinary "urgency" (i.e., have to RUN to restroom as soon as I become aware of the need to "go" in order to avoid having to wear a diaper), diziness, occasionally feeling like I'm about to faint. BP readings since starting this drug have been around 110/68 in dr's office; probably lower at home since I have always had "white coat hypertension" (higher BP readings in dr's office than at home). | I started this med after I was discovered to have Borderline HBP after an injury that required knee surgery to repair. Have been taking it for 3 years; thought all my symptoms were due to "menopause" or laziness or "getting old" or deconditioning following knee surgery or not eating right or not exercising enough (can't even imagine exercising due to weakness and fatigue that makes it hard to even walk from the house to the car and vice versa). Before my knee injury / surgery (and starting on Diovan) I was very active; had a job in which I was on my feet and moving 10 hrs/day. Now I can't even walk a block w/out stopping to rest. I have no other health problems. None. All my other "numbers" are excellent (cholesterol, blood glucose, etc.) I should FEEL **MUCH** better than I do. After reading the other comments here I am going to taper off this med. I'm not convinced that I ever needed it in the first place. I think my BP was slightly higher than usual d | F | 53 | 3 years | 5/2/2007 | 2 | High Blood Pressure | After seeing side effects of 208 patients listed on the site, I had all the side effects except hair loss. My children noticed the memory loss. I remember that I immediately got thick around the middle which I shouldn't have because I had weight loss surgery and now it doesn't look like it. It did control my blood pressure but I believe we can find something else and get off this medicine. I plan to come to this site and compare all the medicines the Dr. puts me on from now on. | F | 52 | 5 years | 4/22/2007 | 2 | high blood pressure | very tired first couple months, within the last 4 months, have been increasingly noticing heart palpatations, stomach burning even with food, dizziness & tingling in legs & hands. I am thinking of just quitting & see if I can manage BP on my own. My parents are on Loppressor & seem to like it. My BP is due to extreme busy-ness & minor "crisis" situations that I may over react to. | It seemed to work at first ( I was up to about 180 over 100) but then it wnet to pretty much normal. I am now up to about 138 over 88 average. I have no other health problems, normal weight, exercise, etc. Doc started me on 160 mg instead of 80. | F | 45 | 15 months | 4/16/2007 |