AboutDomenic Sica Expertise All aspects of hypertension as well as any consideration in drug therapy for the management
of hypertension.
Experience Heavily published in the area of drug therapy in hypertension and renal disease. Primary management physician for a large multi-state referral practice for diagnosis and management of complex hypertension
Organizations Multiple including the American Society of Hypertension, International Society of Hypertension, American Society of Nephrology, American Heart Association, American College of Clinical Pharmacology amongst others.
Publications Over 250 publications (see PubMed)
Education/Credentials Board certified in internal medicine, nephrology, clinical pharmacology, and hypertension
Awards and Honors Multiple awards as clinical and/or teacher of the year.
Question QUESTION: Thank you for answering my question which is: my doctor wants me to try benicar because I suffer from side effects of medication quite easily and he says side effects from this drug are almost non existent. My blood pressure is being controlled by a beta blocker at 50MG but this drug makes me very tired and is constipating. He gave me samples of Benicar at 20MG but I took it yesterday and at one point in the mid afternoon my blood pressure was 109/54! Otherwise I felt ok but a little tired, which passed. I looked at askapatient.com and some people are saying that benicar is used as an immune suppressant for an autoimmune disease and can cause lupus or damage to the immune system. I don't want to take a risk like this. What do you think about this drug? has it been around enough to be considered ACTUALLY safe or is it too soon to tell? The drug I am taking has been around a long time and to my knowledge is hasn't killed anyone or caused any serious health problems. I'd rather be tired than dead. I appreciate your opinion regarding benicar and if there is some reading material you can suggest I will be most grateful.
ANSWER: There is no data that I know of where Benicar is used as a immunosuppressant. What "people" are saying is way off base. This is a remarkable safe compound with a number of years of experience relative to its use for lowering blood pressure. E-mail me back if you need specific reading information; however, if you could tell me what aspect of it you want to read about it would be helpful. The issue of how best to treat your blood pressure is a separate one pending your clearing up the issues relating to this medicine whether you continue taking it or not.
I understand that Benicar is used in significantly higher numbers in this protocol than the mere 20MG/day I am taking, but I'm wondering what effect this med will have on my immune system, if any. I would like specific reading information on this drug; I'm taking it now for a few days and my blood pressure seems (I take it 3X daily) about 110/65 (a little lower at night). Exercise and diet have controlled my hypertension but without medication I have numbers like 140-145 over 85-90 with spikes that are higher so I clearly need some medication. Thank you for any information you can offer.
Answer The Marshall Protocol is not something I was aware of it. I would never recommend those kind of doses with this medication and the company manufacturing this has never advocated the use of Benicar in such a way. At usual doses it is an effective blood pressure lowering compound. There are six other drugs marketing in the United States that work identically and this class of drugs has been in use since 1995. As to additional literature are you looking for something that states how the medication lowers blood pressure a good source to start is Wikipedia. If you want an immunologic discussion relative to the doses used for hypertension there is nothing out there unfortunately.
