BENICAR HCT Reviews (HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE: OLMESARTAN MEDOXOMIL)

Average Rating: 2.7 (127 Ratings)

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 DIURETICS ANTIHYPERTENSIVES

 Type: Rx Drug

  

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)

  

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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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More on BENICAR HCT: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR BENICAR HCTCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 2  High blood pressure LIGHTHEADNESS all day , every day since started it. Cough, leg cramps, ear congestion, nausea , chest pressure, irritability , indigestion/ heartburn F 43 1 months
40mg 12.5
9/15/2014
 2  high blood pressure I hate taking this medicine. I have problems breathing, I think this is why I ended up in the hospital. I also have trouble swallowing, muscle ache BAD...swelling hands & feet, stomach always bloated.. no energy..theres much more but my life sucs since ive been on it.. F 55 5 years
40 1X day
6/23/2014
Email
 2  High blood pressure Frequent urination and ITCHING!!!! This is the first time that I have been prescribed medicine to contol my blood pressure. Blood pressure still spiked quite often. Frequent urination because it contains a water pill. But ITCHING OMG!! Find out I am allergic to sulfa. If you have any itching please consult your doctor! I am currently taking amlodipine besylate and its doing great so far. Haven't had blood pressure spikes and no itching. F 41 3 months
1X day
5/19/2014
 4   The experiences I had while taking benicar 40 milligrams HTC a controlled my blood pressure in the beginning quite well but now over a. Of time I have severe diarrhea headache swollen joints M 51 10 years
40
5/11/2014
 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
Email
 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
 5  High Blood Pressure When prescribed by my doctor he started me off at a low dose samples. Once finding the right dosage he gave me a prescription. He also gave me the website and literature about Benicar HCT and told me to read it carefully and so I did. The side effects are listed and It made me fully aware when starting the medication. At first was dizziness when doing heavy lifting or in the direct sun light at extended periods of time. I no longer have that side effect. The other side effect is frequent urination which is common in a Bp med with hct. No other side effects. The literature will tell you to drink plenty of water as for hct takes a toll on your kidneys. My blood pressure started at 190/95 and since I been on benicar hct it has dropped to 134/84 so it's a great Bp medicine but my advise to others is research and make sure it's right for you. M 36 4 months
40-12.5
11/25/2013
 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
Email
 4  HIgh Blood Pressure/Migraines WEIGHT GAIN, Frequent urination, flushing, stiff muscles, fatigue, tightening of the chest, shallow breath, low blood circulation. This medicine definitely lowered my pressure from scary 160/120 to 110/73. My two problems were the weight gain and the stiff muscles. I workout a lot and it's hard to breath and move with a tight chest and poor circulation. Instead of maintain my healthy weight, I gained 25 pounds with this medicine and my diet has always been great. Not good.... F 30 8 months
40/25 1X O
10/15/2013
 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
 2  hypertension Headache, shortness of breath, legs and knees cramps. F 43 10 months
20/12.5hct
6/1/2013
 2  Hypertension Very Low BP - Lowest reading of 101/52 Mild 'lightheadedness' Mild itchiness of the scalp Mild shortness of breath Severe muscle cramps I'm 33y/o, 5'7", 150# male, blood chem all perfect but diagnosed with hypertension (genetics) since I was 28y/o. I exercise at least 4 times a week (light weights lifting and playing basketball, sometimes biking and tennis). Have taken Losartan and Losartan HCTZ that I have outgrown, my body got immuned to them I think. Then I was prescribed w/ Benicar HCT 40mg/25mg. On the 4th day taking this benicar, while playing basketball, I experienced leg cramping like I had when I first started on Losartan HCTZ. I checked my BP that night, had a lowest reading of 101/52. I felt some mild lightheadedness but felt OK overall. But on the 6th day of taking this Benicar, I experienced a very severe cramping while playing basketball which started from my thighs up to my torso! Driven home by a friend, cramps continued at home and in dire agony I asked my wife to take me to the hospital. In the ER I was given intravenous rehydration and after 4hrs was released. I know very well and I had muscle cramps before but that time it was so severe that really frightened the hell out of me, I could not breathe because almost my whole body except from the neck up were cramping alternately. I am kind of pain tolerant but it was so severe cramping and pain that I have never experienced before. It was like a very bad nightmare that still frightens me up to now (happened 4days ago while writing this review). I guess for active persons, be very extra careful while taking this Benicar HCT. I M 33 6 days
40mg/25mg 1X day
3/14/2013
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 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
 5  prehypertension M 56 2 years
20 1X day
5/21/2012
 5  hypertension I haven't experienced any side effects, aside from the cost causing my blood pressure to rise at the pharmacy. It controls my hypertension very well. Benicar HCT is not available in generic for yet. It may be offered in generic in 2016, according to the web. It is very expensive to buy, without insurance to cover at least part of the cost. The price here in OH is approximately $160.00 for a 30 day supply. Benicar HCT website does offer a payment assistance card. It reduced the price of copay to $25.00 per month, but only if you have a primary insurance plan. If you don't have insurance, it will reduce the price by $25.00, making your cost still $145.00. That makes no sense to me, but that is how the plan works (small print). The plan is offered directly from Benicar HCT's website. It is called the Right Fit plan. You enter your information and you can print a temp card to use, until they send you a card. It would be a great plan, if it offered the same benefit cost for everyone, not just those fortunate enough to have primary insurance coverage. F 48 6 years
40/25 1X day
4/6/2012
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 2  high blood pressure Not lowering my pressure. M 45 2 weeks
40mg
3/3/2012
 5  Hypertension No side effects whatsoever. Was originally on 40/12.5 mg and it dropped my bp too much. Cut it into the 20/12.5 and it regulates my pressure perfectly with no side effects. Great drug. F 46 3 years
20/12 1X day
1/14/2012
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