BENICAR HCT Reviews (HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE: OLMESARTAN MEDOXOMIL)Average Rating: 2.7 (127 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare BENICAR HCT with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Satisfaction lowest to highest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on BENICAR HCT: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR BENICAR HCT | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | High Blood Pressure | This is the absolute worst medicine I've ever taken. I noticed after two days of taking this, that I had a very bad anxiety attack. After the attack, I had horrible chest tightness, headache, trouble breathing, and dizziness. I knew in the back of my mind that it was the medicine but I couldn't prove it. Because I was determined to elevate my blood pressure, I continued to take it. Well, after the 5th day of taking it, I said enough. I'm not going to take it for a day to see if it's the medicine. Almost immediately, I had no chest tightness or trouble breathing. The same day I decided not to take the medicine, my pharmacy called to check on me. I thought it was very weird that they called to “see how I was doing” on the medicine. Weird. I explained my symptoms to them and they told me not to take it and to discuss with my doctor which I did. She still did not believe it was the medicine. I know 100% it was because I feel better now! It's very important to listen to your gut. If your gut tells you something isn't right, you need to listen to it. I would not recommend this medicine as, you will have more medical problems to add to the list!! | F | 44 | 5 days 20 1X day | 11/1/2022 | 1 | High blood pressure | Horrible muscle spasms and cramps, frequent urination, sinus pressure where it felt like my nose wanted to bleed, extreme weakness and tiredness I had no energy to do much of anything without feeling exhausted and sweating profusely. Was told to cut pill in half by health provider pharmacist, still same symptoms, leg cramps not as frequent and frequent urination slowed down. I decided to stop taking this generic garbage on 6tg day. I sent my doctor a message asking for another medication asap, I was on Valsartan but because of several recalls manufacturer was constantly changed McCleods generics are garbage not correct dosage in pills. | F | 58 | 5 days 40 mg | 6/11/2020 | 1 | High blood pressure | Extreme neck, back and hip pain for years | Just found out that these were probably side effects. Stopped taking it about a month ago and feel like a new person. Thought these pains were due to a car wreck but apparently not | F | 68 | 5 years 30 mg | 3/12/2017 | 1 | High Blood Pressure | dizziness, short of breath, muscle aches, extreme fatigue | M | 56 | 7 days 20 1X day | 1/20/2017 | 1 | To lower my blood pressure | Head congestion very badly. Ear congestion. Dizziness. Rapid pulse. Anxiety. Bad taste in my mouth. Felt horrible. | F | 52 | 2 days 40 | 9/2/2016 | 1 | Hypertension | 20lbs of weight gain, testicle pain (feels like I've been kicked between the legs.), unable to sleep through the night (wake up every 2hrs every night) | M | 47 | 2 years 40mg | 11/22/2015 | 1 | High blood pressure | This drug damn near killed me! I was on a lower doseage for apx. 1 1/2 year until the doubled my medication in March of last year. I felt crummy on many fronts from the beginning but when they doubled my medication all hell broke loose. I was so fatigued the doctors put me on a narcoleptic medication so that I could minimally function 10 - 12 hours per day. My GI problems wouldn't allow me to leave the house for any significant period of time. The urination was just terrible... had severe difficulty making it to my office each day (1/2 hour from home). My nails (finger and toe) began to peel and breaking back into the quick. The most troublesome by far was the tremendous hair loss. Besides losing apx. 70% of my hair in 11 months I constantly felt like I had fire aunts on my head. The itching and burning nearly drove me out of my mind. Also the ongoing Potassium drops were problematic. I ran to every Doctor imaginable and all could not believe it was this medication. I'm a | F | 48 | 1 years 40/25 1X day | 5/17/2015 | 1 | Hypertension, Hyzaar losing effect | Scary drug! Yes it lowered my BP, Hyzaar was losing it's effectiveness. But I started feeling sick. Had what I thought was heat stroke when working out in the sun. What felt like severe asthma, but my inhaler didn't help. Chest tightness & pain. Body pain which I thought was a fibromyalgia flare-up. I have PTSD & anxiety suddenly got much worse. Upset stomach, indigestion & diarrhea. I don't know if it is connected, had a tooth abscess, needed extraction, & severe decay in 3 other teeth, I have Medicare so I am screwed. I won't be taking another Benicar after today. I'm going to file a complaint w/ the FDA. | F | 55 | 2 months | 4/26/2014 | 1 | High blood pressure | At first the side effects included weight gain, muscle cramps, and hair loss. Then I started having digestive issues, including bloating, constipation and occasional diarrhea. Lots of tests to find the problem including an endoscopy with biopsies. Found the opening between stomach and intestines constricted so opened it. Four years after taking this med I was hospitalized . My blood pressure was way too low, potassium level low, severe dehydration and kidney failure. Nearly died. | Other than a low dose aspirin this was the only medication I was taking. During my hospitalization I had another colonoscopy and endoscopy and diagnosed with microscopic colitis. A year earlier they had done the same tests checking to see if I had celiac disease. I did not but even tried a gluten free diet and it didn't help. This time they recommended I go on a steroid. I refused. They put me back on Benicar HCT a week after my hospitalization and I within an hour I began vomiting violently and had diarrhea at the same time. Back to the emergency room when it subsided. A week later took another Benicar and the same thing happened. That's when I found the Mayo Clinic study on the drug and then changed doctors. I have to admit that when I first started taking this drug it controlled my blood pressure very well without any intolerable side effects. Other drugs I had tried caused heart palpitations and other side effects. But, if you take Benicar, be aware that issues can develop several years after starting this drug. I am happy I went to the emergency room when I did! and by the way! I made a visit to a quick care and to a family doctor just a few days before my trip to the emergency room and not one of the doctors thought it was my medication, even though I suspected it and shared that with them. | F | 60 | 5 years 20 mg 1X day | 4/23/2014 | 1 | Fluctuating Blood Pressure | Swollen ankles; pain in my muscles; pain in my feet; could hardly walk without experiencing severe pain; lumps appeared in my legs and hands; lumps were painful; lumps left blotches or marks; had night sweats where the bed sheets had to be changed; shivered because I also felt cold even when the AC was turned off. | DONT TAKE THIS DRUG. My doctor gave me this drug as a sample, and told me that the ONLY effect would have been frequent bathroom usage. This was a lie. Why do they give out samples without knowing the effects, or without telling patients about the side effects? I stopped taking it right away. | M | 62 | 21 days 30 1X day | 11/7/2013 | 1 | High blood pressure | I was taking Benicar 40 mg but BP was still high. Dr. Added HCT and I began having side effects which included extreme muscle fatigue and listlessness. This continued for several months without making a correlation. Then I began vomiting frequently. One night I started feeling extremely weak and checked BP and it was very low. My room mate rushed me to the ER and I spent 5 days in the hospital diagnosed with Hyponutremia (low sodium level) Cost about $30000. Dr. Discontinued HCT part of RX. | F | 56 | 6 months 40mg | 6/27/2013 | 1 | Hypertension | Trouble breathing, frequent urination | My Dr. prescribed this medication last year and I took it for several months. I began having trouble breathing, but attributed it to the fact that I'm a smoker. My company switched insurance and they wouldn't fill the script without going through hoops, which during this time I went without and didn't notice my breathing had returned to normal. Recently started on it again and the breathing issue returned. I didn't realize that the Benicar HCT was the reason. This was a severe side effect for me. I literally had no air. I couldn't take in enough to finish a sentence. Very scarry. I'm going to request my Dr. change my script. | F | 52 | 10 days 20 1X day | 2/18/2013 | 1 | HBP | Was feeling short of breath and thought it was asthma and got an inhaler from my doctor. No help. Later developed a cough and irritation in upper chest, but nothing would ever come out. This has gone on for at least 6 weeks. After eliminating the Asthma theory I thought I inhaled a dog hair or something. Then I thought allergies and tried allergy pills with no effect on the constant cough. Then accidentally I missed my BP meds one day and the next day I felt less of a cough. When I started back up the cough returned in full force! Now I stopped again 3 days ago and the irritation causing me to cough is gone, but I am left with a chest infection. Come to find out on the testing of Benicar/HCT they had several instances of chest infection when testing the drug. | You never suspect that a drug designed to help you is actually poisoning your body. Sad | M | 53 | 1 years 20/12.5 1X day | 1/8/2013 | 1 | Hypertension | Palpitations, fast heart beat, added sleepiness, headaches, itchiness. Soreness in back and neck with muscle spasms and cramps. | I have Fibromyalgia so when a lot of these symptoms would happen I just brush it off as my Fibro acting up. It was only when I needed a new script and had a few days w/o I noticed the difference almost immediately. I didn't feel so groggy, foggy, or achy. I stopped sleeping almost around the clock even though I have sleep apnea I don't feel so sleep deprived. In the beginning the Benicar was helping and it did lower my pressure but shortly thereafter my blood pressure returned to being high. I didn't realize this stuff causes bone deterioration which can lead to kidney failure! No way would I take a chance like this having Diabetes I'm already at risk. I also suffer from a Degenerative Disk so my back hurts anyway but since I've stop this script I haven't been hurting near as much even with the Fibro, back pain, and migraines. Benicar exacerbated all my ailments to the degree I could hardly move. I feel so much more better. I'll find a natural way to decrease my blood pressure by exercising, losing weight, and taking suppliments. I also believe it made me more anxious, something I really don't need being that I live in a stressful neighborhood. I definitely feel more mellow. | F | 2 years 40-25 mg 1X day | 8/20/2012 | 1 | HBP | lower leg/toe cramps, upper respiratory tract infection - had to be put on antibiotics, lower back pain, increased serum calcium level, heart palpations, tiredness, heaviness | all symptoms cleared up since stopping the medications... just did a tsh, calcium level and cbc everything is back to normal..back pain is not quite gone but is much improved. | F | 54 | 8 days 0 / 1.5 mg 1X day | 6/27/2012 | 1 | High Blood Pressure | Started out with blood pressure controlled and feeling ok but over time noticed pain in my legs with heaviness when walking. The leg pains increased so badly that even walking short distances caused so much pain. Told my doctor but she did not think it was the Benicar. Went through several tests including xrays of knees, blood pressure circulation test by a cardiologist on my legs and arms, also 2nd opinion treadmill test, diabetes and cholesterol reading, and all tested normal. Also went through 2mos of Physical therapy and no respite. Then i found that the side effects I was experiencing were all the Benicar side effects. This drug is dangerous over time, now I am using a Disabled placard because it hurts to walk. Sleep deprivation, heart palpatations are some of the effects too. | I have used other HBP medication with other side effects such as coughing, upset stomach and dizziness so when my doctors switched to Benicar I thought finally, this would work and it turned out to be the end of my feeling better and the beginning of disabling pain and limited well being. Am feeling unbalanced all of the time. what???? | F | 65 | 365 days 20 mg 1X day | 10/4/2011 | 1 | hypertension | Peripheral edema in legs, ankles, feet. Pain in legs, heaviness in legs. Swelling of wrists and hands. Extreme fatigue. Saw Dr on 11/18 and BP was 130/100. Also she doesn't believe the med caused the swelling. Switched back to lisinopril and happy with this. | Diovan HCT also caused horrible peripheral edema in me and my dr. didn't believe me then. She said it can't be that because it contains HCT. Now she doesn't believe the Benicar caused the same reaction, even though it is in the same class of drug (ARB). Only reason I went on Diovan or Benicar is because she suspected my cough was from the lisinopril. I still had the cough with Benicar. | F | 51 | 4 months 20/12.5 1X day | 11/21/2010 | 1 | high blood pressure | was taking benicar off and on over the past 4 years. I kept getting shortness of breath, high pulse rate, lack of motivation, chest pressure. | finally asked to switch me to 10mg lisinopril because I was sick of having benicar pushed on me. My pressure went from 180/70 within 3 hours of taking the med. No side effects. I was on benicar 40mg hct and it took weeks to kick in and I never got the great numbers I do with lisinopril | F | 45 | 4 years 40 1X day | 9/14/2010 | 1 | hypertension | Extreme weakness, shortness of breath upon walking, depression. Taking in conjunction with Bystolic. Don't know which medicine is worse. BP reduced somewhat. | F | 65 | 4 months 40 mg 1X day | 6/15/2010 | 1 | severe diarrhea. almost died. hospitalized 6 times before they figured out it was the Benicar. Lost 35 pounds. | F | 62 | 2 years 40 mg 1X day | 3/20/2010 |
BENICAR HCT (HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE: OLMESARTAN MEDOXOMIL): This drug is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent strokes, heart attacks, and kidney problems. This product contains two medications: olmesartan and hydrochlorothiazide. Olmesartan is an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and works by relaxing blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily. Hydrochlorothiazide is a "water pill" (diuretic) that causes you to make more urine, which helps your body get rid of extra salt and water. FDA Approval Date: 2003-06-05 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)