Experience 35 years of experience in the field of nephrology & hypertension. Emeritus Professor of clinical Medicine at a major medical school and director of Nephrology & Hypertension at a university affiliated medical center.
Question QUESTION: I had to reduce the Toprol because of fatigue (side effect). Now the dose of
50 Mg/day does not reduce my pressure. My doctor wants me to try Corvair,
and if it doesn't work, a diuretic (HTC). SInce I am very prone to side effects ,
which drug in your opinion would be the least likely to cause side effects,
and/or which one is the safest and also the most effective for lowering the
pressure? I am very leary of medications because of past experiences with
side effects. Lately I've developed intermittent pain in the bladder (more
bothersome then painful, really), which I'm wondering if it was caused by the
Toprol, since I never had anything like that before. Maybe it made the urine
acidic, or my bladder more sensitive than is normal. Thanks for your help.
ANSWER: Dear Susan,
There is no antihypertensive medication called corvair. If you can get me the name of the medication, preferably the generic, I'll be happy to try to answer your questions.
sincerely,
Dr. Falkinburg
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: The drug is Cozaar.
Susan
Answer Thank you Susan.
Cozaar is an antihypertensive medication that blocks the effects of a substance called angiotension II which is produced by the body and raises blood pressure. It is a great blood pressure medication that has few to no side effects that you should tolerate without difficulty.
While toprol is a very effective medication, it does have a myriad of side effects and for that reason is best used a second line medication. I usually prescribe either an ACE inhibitor like lisinopril or an angio blocker like cozaar as first line meds. Both are extremely effective medications with very few side effects. I usually use lisinopril first because cazaar has no advantages to it and it is available as a generic so it is dirt cheap; $ 11 /mo vs $66/mo for cozaar. Otherwise they are equivalent in terms of their effectiveness.
Lastly, toprol has no known effects upon the bladder and lower abdominal discomfort usually is from the large intestine not the bladder.
Thank you for using Allxperts and please feel free to follow up.
