BENICAR Reviews (OLMESARTAN MEDOXOMIL)

Average Rating: 2.2 (332 Ratings)

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 Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs)

 Type: Rx Drug

  

BENICAR  (OLMESARTAN MEDOXOMIL):  Olmesartan is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent strokes, heart attacks, and kidney problems. Olmesartan belongs to a class of drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). It works by relaxing blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily.   FDA Approval Date: 2002-04-25 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

Results are sorted by length of time drug was taken longest to shortest.

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


RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR BENICARCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 5  Hypertension None F 75 15 years
40
8/30/2017
 1  Blood Pressure. In my early 30's I was put on Lisinopril to control my BP. Due to a constant dry cough I was taken off and put on Benicar. Benicar did a great job with my BP....slowly but surly here came the GI issues. Diarrhea after eating...stomach pains...joint pains...dizzyness....weightloss...dehydrated. After 5-6 years of thinking this was how my body worked I began having bone issues. I did not realize that I was not getting the proper nutrition to my body as the nutrients were being flushed from my body. I have had 4 arm surgeries. Right and left carpa tunnel...Left elbow epicondalitus...Right Rotor cuff had 2 tears and stage 4 ostearthritus. Next came lower back surgery L5-S1 broken disc pieces laying on spinal cord...had surgery to remove. I WAS WORKING FULL TIME THROUGH OUT ALL OF THIS. Then came the pain going down my left arm...and I mean pain! Was busy at work so went to ortho for an injection. MRI was done and it wasn't the left shoulder. Was told to see a Neuro specialist. Was told by Neuro L4-5 and L5-6 were pressing on my nerve. This surgery was done by Neurologist. After surgery still had issues including right shoulder radiating pain. Worked untill I could not take it any more and saw an Orthopedic Neck specialist. In the back of my neck I am now fused from C3 down to L2. I also had to have my teeth pulled so I now where dentures. So my question is how did my bones become so weak after taking Benicar all these years. I just read about Benicar yesterday could it be Benicar ruined my Life. And just last week I got a call from my Dr. That my blood work is low. I am losing Blood, but not bleeding. WOW! It could be RA...Anemia...Cancer. Or could it be Benicar depositing all my nutrients and vitamins in my small intestine all these years??? F 58 15 years
20 1X day
8/22/2017
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 1   It stopped working so Dr doubled dose. I then started to get dizzy and fast heart rate in a week, was then put on a beta blocker. I really got dizzy on beta blocker so stopped. The next week the low back pain from SI joint to tailbone started hurting. It got so bad the dr did a MRI and found normal wear and tear, but also major inflammation in low back. We decided to try an injection which helped SI joints for 3-5 months but the tailbone area was worse. Started on Tramadol which didn't help. So stopped the benicar as that is when it went south doubling it. BP dropped to normal and heart rate went to normal. 50 percent of pain left and now tramadol helps. It has been a year off and residual pain is still there and have the take tramadol. Dr says might eventually get better and maybe not. Do not let this drug steal your life F 65 15 years
1X day
12/25/2021
 5  hypertension Benicar was prescribed for me after the birth of my youngest child. I must say I probably experienced most side effects others have listed. I also think I dealt with them by way of denial and the reality of daily life having two babies, no time for illness, a husband in law school and myself working full time at the hospital. At the time, I felt Benicar was indeed beneficial because my numbers stayed within a normal range; this after having to test through several other HPT meds during a 2 week stay in the hospital only a week after child birth. Now, just in the last 3 months or so, I've been feeling awful pains from the top of the buttocks down the backs of both legs. The pain continued to grow until I was popping up to 6 Tylenol a day or more. As of 3 weeks ago, it became so excruciating I knew I had to do something without going back to these "Dr"s that pick you apart rather than heal you as a whole and keep you in balance. So, after all these years, I decided to heal myself and it started with going against Codex Alimentarius by not eating flesh and anything that has a face and runs away from you! Vegetables, plants, and herbs have all the healing you need. Take elementals as supplements and drink a better water; there are different ones, you know. Stop eating white powder food and strangely concocted oils. Monsanto has corrupted soy now so really vegan and strictly vegetarian is in. Get a blood pressure monitor and watch your numbers, keeping data and reference F 52 10 years
~10mg/day
10/2/2014
 5  High blood pressure No side effects Best medicine I have ever taken for high blood pressure. I take low dosage, once at night before sleeping never had any problems! M 60 10 years
10 mg
10/9/2015
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 2  High Blood Pressure I have been on Benicar for years and have many side affects I have never had before taking this drug. I get light headed/head rush when standing or sudden movement, arms go numb and feel very heavy when walking, heart racing (gone to hospital many times because would not get back into rythm on own). Very scattered thoughts hard to concentrate, heavy chest/labored breathing. Now vertigo, I have noticed when ever I eat bananas, baked potatoes or cantalope (potassium basically)it triggers it. I am now also getting crushing chest pains when bending over or laying on my side but test show heart is fine. So tired of my heart randomly thumping hard for a second. They caught that on tape while I was in hospital but were not concerned just said you are probably use to that, how do you get use to that? If I new how to safley ween off I would, the doctor scared me by getting on to me and saying I could die if I just stopped taking it. My blood tests show elevated liver enzymes and my doctor said I don't know if I am the minority on these reactions but please be mindful of any changes or new things that you did not have before. F 42 10 years
1/25/2008
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 1  high blood pressure Extreme diarrhea stomach pains stayed in the icu for almost a week drs thought it was some thing else and 2 weeks ago I four found out wat was wrong I thought it was the end of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! F 61 10 years
50mgs
10/2/2014
Email
 1  High blood pressure I didn't know it was benicar that was causing my severe sun allergy for 13 years the doctors didn't help at all. I would burn through my windows at home through my clothes. My face would ooze from burns and the doctor told me it was my fault for not taking precautions. I worn sunscreen, spf sun clothing, hats, a mask. I just quit all my meds starting taking herbs and supplements and this year is my first year not to burn. My BP is fine--am taking hawthorn berries and clonidine. F 69 10 years
5 mg 1X day
6/13/2016
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 2  high blood pressure Ringing in ears weakness tiredness numbness in left arm and hand grinding of teeth sore joints and muscles It kept BP in check but I have realised that all the things Ive been worrying about and putting up with are probably side effects of olmasarten F 66 9 years
20mg
3/4/2016
 1  HBP Ringing in my right ear. Sinus congestion and a really bad cough. Could not keep an erection. Gout from high uric acid. Gerd. So tired all the time that I have to take a nap every afternoon. I have taken this poison for 9 years. It did keep my blood pressure around 122/75 most of the time. Felt bad for years. Went to the doctor many of times and he never found anything wrong with me. Found this site and realized all my problems could be this medicine. I have stopped taking it for about a week. Many of my problems have gone away except for the ringing in the ears and the cough. I hope in due time those will go away also. I am going to find another alternative to keep my pressure in check. After taking this drug for a long time I am sure it is going to take a while for everything to subside. M 58 9 years
40 mg 1X day
9/19/2015
 1  Hypertension Almost all of the negative side effects experienced by patients on this site. The longer that you take it, you will experience more side effects and they will get worse This is a update from from a previous post. I have been power walking 5 miles/day and calesthenics 30 min/day for 3 months and my bp went from 140/90 on meds to 116/74 off them and excercising. The combined workout takes 1hr 45 min/ day. My life is so worth that time spent and I am so healthy and VERY HAPPY. 9 years on Benicar stole a lot from my life. Please don't be scared to wean yourself off this drug if you really want to change your life. Yes there will be AWFUL withdrawls that taper off after a month or so and disappear after about 2 months with excercise. If your bp was similar to mine and your sick of letting these type of drugs hurt you then don't doubt your instincts and start weaning now. Every day you will improve with daily exercise. When you start weaning take something natural right away for constipation which can be severe and last for a couple of weeks but it will pass. Good luck . M 46 9 years
20 mg
6/11/2016
 3  HBP I've been taking this medication for many years. In the beginning, I felt fine and the medication did it's job and lowered my BP. Slowly and I mean SLOWLY the side effects started. So slow that I didn't recognize what was happening or why. I would say that being light headed and noticing that my allergies went hay wire were a couple of the first symptoms I recall. Within the last few years I have noticed that I am gaining weight, ZERO energy, severe anxiety, depression (I will start to cry for no reason), and I just feel sick and horrible. Within the last year I have noticed that I can no longer catch my breath and struggle to breath at times. For some reason I have left sided weakness that comes and goes. My joints ache, especially my arms and legs. There are days that I feel that all of this nightmare isn't the Benicar and then days I am convinced that it has to be. The only other medication I take is Zantac 150 for GERD. All I know is that I am 52 years old and I feel like I'm 72. This just shouldn't be! I've been on this stuff so long that I'm unsure how long it will take to get out of my system if I stop. What I can say is that all of my suspicions are pointing directly to the Benicar. If you decide to start taking this medication, please understand that it may take YEARS for the side effects to catch up to you-pray they don't! Your life will become a living hell. M 52 8 years
20MG 1X day
6/10/2015
 3  High blood pressure This drug stole 8 years of my life. Yes, it did keep my blood pressure under control. Side effects began to slowly creep up on me and made it difficult to figure out what was happening. I experienced bouts of low blood sugar, depression, severe light headedness, tired all the time and a ton of other small things. These symptoms came on very slowly and I had a hard time figuring out why. After my new doctors said "just stop taking it and see how you feel" I began to realize that it was the Benicar that had been causing all of my health issues. Sad to think that I felt ill for all that time due to this horrible drug. M 50 8 years
20 MG 1X day
4/6/2014
 2  hypertension Ok at first. Finally had some bp control. Also reduced night trips to bathroom. I developed severe insomnia, never thought they could be connected. Suddenly developed angioedema, thanks to reactions by friends and my PT I saw my doc who says no more of this type med or ace inhibitors. Now I'm off and surprise, I can sleep again. The insomnia was ruining my life and causing a host of other issues. Now I wonder if the severe intestinal issues I have were also caused by the drug. And I just have to find a new bp med that works. F 58 8 years
40 mg 1X day
11/21/2014
 1  Hypertension Extreme fatigue,ringing in ears,cysts in mouth,extreme sweating,diarrhea,jaw clenching,depression,irritable,muscle aches,irregular heartbeat. After 8 years of horrible side effects I have weaned myself off of this drug. Over six weeks I suffered awful side effects. The worst being severe intestinal inflammation and terrible constipation which still persists now. I walked 7 miles per day and cut out all salt. Tried a anti inflammatory but it only spiked my BP so I suffered through the pain of the withdrawls. Started eating prunes and taking cannibus sativa seed oil to ease symptoms. Feel so much better, and alive now.monitor bp as you go.theres hope. M 45 8 years
20mg
3/2/2016
 1  HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE ANGIOEDEMA M 71 8 years
20 MG
2/10/2014
 1  high blood pressure Severe diarrhea and stomach pain was told it was gallbladder and to lose weight and eat right, was treated like it was all in my head. F 54 7 years
40 mg
8/27/2014
Email
 1  HBP I thought none but then.. I have had skin rashes on extremities and head and the dermatologist just gave me ointments. I have leg and feet cramps and was told to take vit d and calcium and fish oil. I now have cramping and diarrhea and most recently hives on my neck and face. Feel tired from the diarrhea and cramps. Not sleeping. Now losing weight also. Finally ran across article about Benicar and thinking that is a lot of my problem if not all. Started taking every other day but that is still toxic. Going to stop for week or two to check out. I have a feeling that is it. All problems trace back to when I started it. Dr said it can't be that. But then she quit her practice and went to work at a nursing home what does she know.. F 72 7 years
40 mg 1X day
3/16/2015
Email
 1  hypertension This drug stole (7) years of my life. Only fate and persistence on my part identified this drug as the culprit in a nightmare of almost constant unrelenting pain. Finger joints were so sore I could not do anything requiring grip strength. Neck and back were constantly in pain as was my ribcage/sternum. Had an episode of vasculitis that nearly cost me my hands. I frequently suffered photophobia and dizziness. I have spent in excess of $5,000 dollars in co-pays for exotic tests and scans this year alone. I've Been put on dangerous drugs like methotrexate and prednisone to deal with the vasculitis and the swelling of my hands face and ankles. Had a constant skin rash during the bout of vasculitis that mirrored radiation burns. Skin on my ankles would itch and become red and caused me to scratch the flesh until raw and bloody. In short, pain and discomfort had become my constant companions and made me feel like I was not living the life of other normal people in the prime of So HOW did I finally find out that this drug was the cause of my symptoms? I fainted one day about a month ago and wound up in the hospital. I was so hypotensive I needed intravenous fluid infusion. My Dr. suggested that my hypertension may have gone into remission for some unknown reason, and so he instructed me to stop taking the Benicar unless my BP started to creep back up. After about a week off the drug, BP was increasing to well above normal, so I started taking Benicar at my 40mg daily dosage again. After all, I had tolerated it well for the first year that I started taking it, so it never occurred to me that that my body's immune chemistry and subsequent inflammation response had been very gradually altered to the point that these symptoms started to appear. And this is where fate comes into play. I came down with a bad cold. My Dr. who noted my higher BP decided to put me on an entirely different BP medicine. Why a different drug? Because my cheap-ass insurance company took Benicar off of its covered drug list. If not for that, I might still be suffering with all the weird side effects. It is VITAL that people realize that Benicar is a VERY powerful drug. It can have profound detrimental effects on all kinds of immune, inflammatory, and biological processes. It also builds up in the tissues slowly over many months. M 50 7 years
8/4/2009
 1  high blood pressure Side effects of vertigo and weight gain didn't become pronounced until after 6 or 7 years of 20 mg. a day. Increased to 40/12.5 (with diuretic) for two years and dropped back down to HCT 20/12.5. Stopped Benicar for 2 days and felt much better. Dr. took me off this and placed me on Diazide. Symptoms did not reveal themselves until seventh year on this various strengths of Benicar. F 67 7 years
8/11/2009
  

BENICAR  (OLMESARTAN MEDOXOMIL):  Olmesartan is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent strokes, heart attacks, and kidney problems. Olmesartan belongs to a class of drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). It works by relaxing blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily.   FDA Approval Date: 2002-04-25 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

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