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)

  

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

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR BENICARCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  take chemo for a disease along w/b Horrible! Extreme muscle pain,high fever,extreme weakness,dropped BP,HR high,vision messed up. Could not get up. Thought I was dying for two days. I read, also, that it causes kidney failure. I was taking it to protect my kidneys. I hope I have not had damage!! I would not recommend anyone taking any chance with this drug. F 62 20 days
20 1X day
2/18/2010
 2  high bp heartburn, leg cramps, dizziness expensive, not working for me F 74 5 years
40mg 1X day
2/4/2010
 3  High BloodPressure It has worked well on my BP - sometimes very low in the morning. But I am tired ALL of the time. Tingling in my hands, leg cramps and the rib pain others have been describing. Was on Norvasc and HZCT for a year and it was awful. BP was never well controlled: 140/90. Horrible vertigo/light headiness -ended up in the ER 6 or 7 times this past year. Finally relieved symptoms after stopping Norvasc - it really should be taken off the market!!! Benicar caused dizziness first week or 2, but it has had a dramatic effect on my BP taken daily (118/77 average for January 2010). I am tired ALL of the time though, tingling in hands and some rib pain - but it IS working for me. Will see if it changes otherwise I will have to find another new medication. M 54 3 months
2/1/2010
 1  High Blood pressure Weight gain due to ravenous insatiable voracious appetite. Also having numbness tingling in extremities. Extreme Fatigue F 58 90 days
1/29/2010
 3  BP - 145/90 Absolutely no side effects, but it stopped working 40 mg worked great for about 2 years. I take my BP almost daily, and I noticed a spike to 160/100 from 120/80 all of a sudden. The high BP remained there, so now I'm floundering around by adding HCT and Amlodipine to the base 40mg of Benicar. BP is at 135/90. Not desirable. M 65 3 years
1/23/2010
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 3  hypertension I have been on 10mg Benicar for 1 week. The only side effect I notice is I feel sooooo tired. It is lowering my BP which is a plus,now 140/80ish as opposed to 165/90ish. I am moving in the right direction. I know it takes several weeks for your body to acclimate to a new medication so I will wait to see if the tired feeling subsides. I see some people here are having, what seems like, panic attacks in relation to Benicar HCT. If you are taking that form of Benicar ( with hydrochlorithiazide) be careful. I was first placed on HCT and had panic attacks, or at least thats what I thought it was, in fact I am allergic to it, it is somehow related to the sulfa family of drugs which I am allergic to. SO, if you have an allergy to Sulfa drugs DO NOT TAKE BENICAR HCT, you could do the one without however. M 35 7 days
1/18/2010
 5  high blood pressure none M 42 2 years
1/14/2010
 5  high blood pressure None F 52 3 months
1/6/2010
 2  rising blood pressure change in length of time for orgasm no other side effects except the one but my blood pressure keeps rising despite taking this drug. My diet, exercise and weight are all excellent. Now taking 10 mg. per day. 5 mg. at night, 5 mg. in the morning. F 70 1 years
1/1/2010
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 2  HBP Strong rib pain, muscle and bone pain in knee area, worsening of arthritis particularly in one finger, muscle cramps it did lower my blood pressure, but I found side effects too debilitating and I have discontinued it last week. I found immediate relief from the side effects. Looking for new blood pressure medication. F 70 300 days
12/26/2009
 5  TO PREVENT KIDNEY PROBLEMS - AM DIA I HAVE HAD NO SIDE EFFECTS AT ALL AND HAVE BEEN ON BENICAR FOR YEARS. MY INS CO HAS DECIDED NOT TO COVER BENICAR AS IS IS NOT A GENERIC SO MY DR TRIED ME ON LISINOPRIL AND AFTER ONLY 2 DAYS I COUGHED SO HARD AND LONG I ACTUALLY LOST MY BREATH TWICE. I AM GOING TO LOOK INTO GETTING IT FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY. F 58
12/15/2009
 4  High BP Taking 20 mg a day - I feel some type of 'calming' effects - no side effects on sex drive, sleep pattern, appetite, or attitude. Almost like a "chill" cocktail for those that have been under the scapel. M 38 60 days
12/14/2009
 2  blood pressure tired, I have only been on benicar 40 for 3 weeks and have had cough for 2 weeks. get up eat and so tired I have to go back to bed. I did not know what was causing my problems till I read the other people's reports. I can not live with this med. M 61 3 weeks
12/8/2009
 3  HBP - WCHT Joint and muscle pain. Good BP control. no other side effects. Taking 40mg 1 x day. bp = 120's over 80's Thought I found the perfect drug after trying ALL other classes and having bad side effects with each. However, after "Complete" blood work revealed Glucose lever had gone up to 129 I felt this must be wrong. - Dr. said you may have type2 Diabetes, I took myself off Benicar for 30 days. Retested and "Fasting" Glucose back at 85, where it's AlWAYS been. Lesson learned: If you think you found a good BP drug and get good numbers make sure ALL your blood work baseline numbers stay the same. PhysiciansDeskReference book says Benicar can raise glucose levels. M 61 6 months
11/5/2009
 2  HBP pain in Ribs, bdominal muscle pain, Kidney pain, low urine, Headache and chest pain and no sex drive. My BP was 125/90 and lowered it to 89/60 too low for 5/ml. I was on Lisoprin and Azor was same brought my BP down too low. And I was seeing ghost at night they were talking to me (LOL). With Benicar I lost my sex drive while I was so active. M 57 4 days
10/23/2009
 1  HBP Fatigue, trouble with sex drive and ability to maintain an erection, dizziness, depression and anxiety I am a very healthy 41 year old male that works out(weights and cardio) 5 days a week. I have no other health problems other than HBP. I started BP meds in January 2009 due to being unable to control BP through lifestyle changes. I started out on 20/12.5 with good results for about 6 monts. I started noticing problems in July 2009 and visited my doctor. He switched me to 40 mg and I have been off and on it for the last couple of months. I do OK for a few days but once I am on it for about 10 days I start having problems. I stopped today and am going to visit my doctor tomorrow. If this is the only option for me then I won't take anything! M 41 10 months
10/14/2009
 1  High BP Feeling faint, dizzy, heart palpitations, irregular heart beat, fatigue, insomnia, increased hot flashes, hair loss, and some kind of brief brain muddles. I began with 20mg, then after BP plunges causing me to nearly pass out, the Dr. decreased it to 10mg. I felt the same. On my own, I lowered it to 5mg, then 2.5mg. All the bad symptoms persisted, even on the lowest dose. Yesterday my heart pounded so irratically, I felt like I might go into cardiac arrest, so I didn't take the pill. Today I feel like a new person. Before I tell my DR, I will try to eat 4000 mg of potassium a day, absolutely no salt, and more excercise. I am not overweight. This is the only prescription drug I take. Has anyone tried Hawthorn Berry supplements? F 73 6 months
9/12/2009
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 1  Hypertension Dry mouth, pressure in my head, extreme confusion and dizzyness. I missed work I couldn't think straight or stay focused. Worst HBP Med I've been on. Was on Lisinopril Dr took away all my migraines, but I developed a severe cough. The drug made me feel mentally unstable. Scared me - I know they all have side affects but Benicar was the worst. I could deal with dizzness, but the way it affected my thinking, was too much. I left my car in the parking lot running for over 2 hours, because I forgot to turn it off. I'm going to see another Dr if I can't get something better. I'm cutting salt down and dropping 20 lbs - maybe then I can get off HBP meds. This is not life. F 63 3 days
8/30/2009
 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
 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

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