Q: I have been taking hydrochlorthiazide and ramipril for some time. I now have tinnitus and low libido. Are these related or side effects of the medications?
A: Although not common, both tinnitus and sexual dysfunction can be caused by an adverse reaction to the drug ramipril. You should discuss your problems with your doctor as other medical conditions can also cause these symptoms.
To learn more about ringing in your ears, tinnitus, go to this article at the National Library of Medicine website.
a good doctor should discuss possible side effects with you before prescribing the drug. I was having the same side effects with Carvedilol. Also insomia,and depression. I discussed this with my doctor,hoping he would change my medication. However he prescribed sleep medication and a drug for the depression. Then I begin having more problems. I took matters into my own hands and cut back on the Carvedilol slowly until now I take half the amount and able to control my blood pressure. I was also taking a calcium chanell blocker and was able to cut it in half . I ,alone, got off the sleep medication and the depression drug. Most doctors don’t want to work with their patients when they have troublesome side effects. Many times you can controll your blood pressure with just half the medication the doctors put you on.If not you can help through diet,weight loss,excercise,and natural supplements.
Most Doctors are not as smart as you think they are. There are good and bad Doctors. They are only trained to pump you with pills. Listen to your body, and throw away those pills if they are doing you more harm than good.
Bravo Jerry,
Especially with that last part. We want quick solutions to problems we ourselves took years to create. With the help of Resperate and exercise and herbal supplements I have cut my meds in half and still have normal or below (110/70).
I was on hydrochlorthiazide for over 5 years to lower my blood pressure…one day I realized that I had no sense of smell! When I asked my doctor, he never heard of this side-effect, but it is listed as a side effect on the drug website. It’s been a couple of years since I stopped taking it and my sense of smell is slowly coming back. I also had side effects of tinnitus when I was on several high-blood pressure medications; as well as vertigo. It also causes weight gain. When you take anti-depressants, it decreases your sexual response, too!
Good for you Jerry. I’ve had side effects with many medications, inc. b/p. I either cut them in half or eliminate them. Thankfully my doctor feels I know my body better than anyone else and works with me. He never pushes or gets angry if I feel a med is not working for me.
More common than the AMA would have you believe, actually! It is not just the ramipril that can cause the sexual dysfunction. The diuretic reduces fluid volume in the body, and that includes blood. Does that ring any sexual dysfunction bells?
If you google negative side effects for the drugs you are taking, you will read about the numerous, varied nightmares.
All the best to you!!
Check out askapatient.com, enter your drug names and you will see actual patient experiences with your drugs. Against the advice of several doctors I have gone from a dozen prescription meds, that I realized were causing and/or treating side effects of each other without improving my original complaints, to just 2 over the last several years. I am doing much better now and attribute it to realing what other patients were going through at askapatient.com.
That’s the only problem with hydrochlorthiazide? Good thing you didn’t get dehydrated, dehydration doesn’t feel good and there are neither warning labels on the prescription labels or warnings from the pharmacist.
I’d like to make 2 points here, one may get censored, please leave the other point!
I’ve been on hydrochlorthiazide [HCTZ] for almost 10 years after having a several MI, at age 47. It’s the ONLY BP med my body tolerates. NONE of the “beta’-blockers” help me in that I can’t function on them or my immunity gets so depressed I catch evry cold going round the office bldg, very unusual for me. My body can’t tolerate any of the “-oprils” at all. I sit in a stupor. Being mid-50s I need to work for a living, I’m not a zombie in a hospital which the docs & Big Pharma want!
* Sexual Dysfunction?: recently discovered, it’s a lack of zinc!!! After a few weeks of supplementing it, (you’ll know when you’ve re-built your supply via headaches in the morning & day). I now take a 25mg of Zinc 2x/week. I take a50 mg & cut it inhalf. VIOLA!! I’m 30 again in that arena!
* This part may get censored, I take Med Marijuana instead of the Big Phama poisonous “beta-blockers”!!! I have my BP under control throughout most of the daysince I only indulge in the evening. It also helps with the libido
After a month of being on a combination drug that included hydrochlorthiazide (HCTZ) I was admitted to the hospital with pancreatitis. It took most of a week for the doctors to determine that the (HCTZ) was the cause. A rare side effect but it is for me.
I think med. marijuana ought to be legalized. A lady told me she obtains it for her cancer-stricken husband.
Why is my BP higher readings first thing in a morning 180/80 but 135/68 before evening meal? This is a regular check as I self monitor even though on medication.