Shortly after starting Lisinopril I developed a cough, chills, weakness, and muscle aches. I got fed up with bad advice from my MD and stopped taking it. All of the side effects were gone within a week except the muscle aches that have lasted 5 months. Does it cause loss of muscle mass?
I stopped taking it 5 months ago. How can lisinopril side effects (muscle pains) be treated?
Question posted by DRF on 1 July 2013
Last updated on 4 September 2024 by Oneflewover
Added 2 July 2013:
Since discontinuing use, my 5 month avg BP is 126/81, while on the med it averaged 135/86. I took this med for 2 years. One of the listed side effects is muscle aches and joint pain. Are the muscle aches permanent?
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7 Answers
Oneflewover
5 Sep 2024
I started taking low doze lisinopril and started having trouble lifting a leg to get into the car. Weakness then after awhile started to have spasms in my back that went away by using peppermint oil. Then I started having spasms like a hard cord going down my arm from my shoulder to my wrist and in my back next to my shoulder like a tight cord. The pain is debilitating. I stopped taking the medication but have not gotten rid of the spasms so far. I'm going to take the CO Q10 and see if it helps me.
Godtime1
8 Oct 2021
Because Lisinopril affects potassium you can have muscle and tendon separating from bone. My sports Doc recommended 400 mg of COQ10 and it took a while, but eventually helped the problem.
dahliaqueen
31 Oct 2019
My husband took this systemic poison for 10 weeks starting on Dec.26, 2013. He immediately had severe side effects, and his V.A. doctor could only say "keep taking it, you'll get used to it" ! He followed his advice "reluctantly", and experienced a 38 lb. loss of muscle with severe muscle cramps for 5 years! This BP med is made from the chemical replication of the south american "pit viper" Golden Lance Head from "snake Island" ! It is pure poison, and with so many side effects that only a totally corrupt FDA, and big Pharma would not have taken it off the market many years ago! My husband was a body builder with a beautiful strong body 6&1/2 years ago. He has never recovered from this poisoning, and never will.
His joints have literally come apart, and the muscles have pulled away from them, and the cramping still takes place on occasion! There is so much corruption concerning medical treatments, and people are left with no "recourse" in the system that is rigged in favor of the "medical establishment" ! He stopped taking Lisinopril after 10 weeks on his own, and hasn't taken any meds since, so doctors don't always know what they are talking about do they?
Charmon1966
17 May 2019
I have been on Lisinopril and HCTZ for 2 months and have notice I am having uncontrollable muscle twitching and cramping. I am also noticing muscle weakness and feeling very tired. Glad to hear that other people have the same complaints. I was beginning to think I had ALS or something. I quit taking it today but continued the HCTZ that I had been on prior to starting Lisinopril. Going to the doctor tomorrow to discuss with him.
Achylegs
20 Jan 2018
On lisinopril 10 mg a day for 2 years. Good results. Then came the leg pain and muscle weakness. MD said no way. I stopped it. 2 years later, no quad strength: legs still hurt
Virtualabe
12 Jan 2015
I also was put on lisinopril along with atorvastatin and metoprolol , to lower my blood pressure and heart rate, after having a Heart Attack. After 2 years I discovered how harmful those Drugs are. I started high dose Niacin on my own, 2500mg a day, and stopped lisinopril, atorvastatin and now am going off the metoprolol gradually. The Niacin gives you flushes when you start, and you must gradually increase the doses to get to the high dose level, and avoid most of the flushing. Niacin is a Vitamin, and I can't swear by it enough ! It increases Good Cholesterol, cuts Tryglicerides, AND lowers Blood Pressure. It also helps clean the Arteries of LDL-P, small particles which are the ones that clog them, unlike Statins. Be very careful about withdrawing from Beta Blockers like Metoprolol. They can do real harm, and I'll never go back to them once I'm off.
AniB3ll
9 May 2018
I was put on lisinopril one year ago and it caused scalded mouth syndrome. Stopped taking lisinopril and that went away in two weeks... last doc visit my BP was 129/83. I'm having swollen ankles now and Doc trying Avapro ... I'm very worried about trying another prescription
AniB3ll
9 May 2018
What do you mean by flushing? Like hot flashes?
Leezr380
1 Nov 2018
I think I need to stop Lisinopril from reading , been on about 2 yrs give or take. Also just noticing side effects. And can attest To NIACIN flusges, so bad had to call 911 , made me FLUSH, PANIC, NAUSEOUS, DIARRHEA . Never took it again & this was a small dose.
kaismama
2 July 2013
Real smart, you didn't want bad advise from dr so you just stopped your blood pressure meds. What's your blood pressure? Lisinopril doesn't cause muscle aches, particularly 5 months after the fact. You need to get on another blood pressure med. Tell them ACE inhibitors cause coughing and you'd prefer not to be on them.
DRF
2 July 2013
Lisinopril does cause muscle aches. Its listed on the side effects and the FDA has many complaints about it but no one has a treatment that I can find. Read the question, my pains along with other side effects began soon after starting the med and all but one went away when I stopped the med. I just wanted to know if anyone with the same condition has found relief.
chrissiecw
27 March 2015
Lisinopril has caused me terrible side effects including swollen ankles,muscle weakness,knee pain... sometimes its very difficult to even walk..the MD brushes away the talk of side effects... the industry is multi billion $... I was on diovan 160/hctz 12.5 for more than 10 years no side effects ,then it stopped holding the pressure down... so she put me on amlodipine and losartan... no hctz... pressure was great but edema developed... took me off of amlodipine,told to continue losartan,swelling cont'... then put me on lisinopril 10/12.5hctz... ok for about 2 weeks,then everything just started to ache couldn't eat anything with potassium ,was very tired, ankles hurt even more..even excersing is difficult now .I.just stopped taking it and thats where i am now... compression stockings do help somewhat,but i am going back to diovan and hctz and eating nothing but greens and walking
swelensk
9 Nov 2017
Patients come here to discuss their personal experiences with these medications. Lisinopril most certainly *does* cause leg main and inflammation/muscle fatigue in a small percentage of people. I'm one of them. It's debilitating.
In my case, I have been on a low dose of it once a day - and it was even suggested by my cardiologist at one point that I might try to discontinue it. I tried several times and had some bp spikes during the day, so went back on it. Each time, muscle pain stopped/started again like clockwork. After some regular exercise, I've cut the dose in half this time - and that seems to be enough to both keep my BP reasonable and the leg pain is gone (and no, that's not because of the exercise. The pain and inflammation comes and goes based on Lisinopril dose, regardless of exercise). I've been down to half dose now for about 3 days and life is so much better.
I monitor my BP daily and while there seems to be some adjustment going on, things are going ok!
I'm not suggesting that anyone just quit taking their BP medications unadvised (or any other prescribed medications) *ever*. I'm just sharing my personal experience.
Again, there is a small percentage of people that have that side effect and it is documented. It's not the case for the majority. It was *debilitating* for me this past year, as well as completely counterproductive, since walking and exercise were essential. If someone else is having those issues and you need to stay on regular maintenance medication for hypertension, I would strongly suggest that you talk with your prescribing healthcare provider (Dr., Nurse Practitioner, etc) about alternative medications.
A quick note here about a different kind of medication, often used as an adjunct medication for hypertension: beta blockers. Under no circumstances should anyone ever try to stop taking beta blockers with medical supervision. They are very different from ACE inhibitors and you cannot just drop the dose radically or stop taking them without some real backlash.
As for what's "real smart"... What's real smart is doing some actual research and not condescending with huge deficits in knowledge.
big balls
13 Nov 2017
I Have Been On Lisinipril For 10 years Now. I Started Having Joint Pain In My Heal And Knees And My Right Wrist. I Am Wondering If The Lisinipril Could Be Causing This. When They First Said I Had High Blood Pressure They Put Me On Toprell Lx My Joints Hurt So Bad I Couldn't Pick Up 10lb Of Weight. So Now Im Wondering If The Lisinapril Is Causing The Joint Pain I Also Have Shortness Of Breath.
judy101
4 April 2018
it sure does cause muscle aches and joint pain, I can hardly live my life since I started taking it.
judy101
8 April 2018
damn sure does cause joint pain and muscle aches and real bad joint pain.This is an old thread but believe it causes alot of pain
Idagram454
20 Oct 2018
Dont be so quick to judge. My husband (who had a heart attack and a stent put in 2 years ago).was put on Lisinopril. He wasn't told by his physician of the side effects or that Lisinopril blocks potassium uptake. As a result he had terrible swelling of the legs. He realized that he immediately felt better after eating bananas so I made the connection and looked Lisinopril up. Potassium is a antiflammatory. The human body needs it. My husband started taking potassium In between doses of Lisinopril and his legs immediately went down to normal size. We recently read not to take potassium with Lisinopril but without it my husband would be disabled. He is functioning in a highly physical job normally now except for the pain which only subsides with potassium. He is weining himself off of Lisinopril now but since starting lisinopril has had leg pain which still happens even when not taking it.
I think the pain is enough to cause higher blood pressure and without knowing the side effects of Lisinopril ?which is much like congestive heart failure he would have been diagnosed with exactly that). He weined himself down to taking 1/4th the dose prescribed for some time now and recently passed his physical with flying colors with his cardiologist. With my husband the bad outweighed the good with this medicine. He will be glad to be completely off of it. We have no doubt that when taken as prescribed my husband would be completely disabled and misdiagnosed as to why he had leg swelling pinning his symptoms on to heart failure and not Lisinopril.
brianNstl
1 Dec 2018
I have been on blood pressure meds for about 6 months. Lisinopril was my 3rd blood pressure med, ive never had a side effect from a medication so this was new. about 10 days after starting this medication my arms started to hurt along with shortness of breath after 30 days my arms hurt so bad i could barely pick anything up. but my blood pressure went back in check so my doctor changed my medicine said the sore arms were a less common side effect. its been about 30 days after quitting lisinopril the muscles in my arms still hurt so bad and are very weak. not a fan trying to drastically adjust my lifestyle to maybe be able to take less of any medicine one day. after reading several forums on the muscle pain some people for years after taking this medicine i am concerned it may not subside for a very very long time.
Letsdill
14 Dec 2018
The hell if dont doesn't give you muscle and joint aches since I have been on this poison every joint in my body hurts so you Kaismama who ever you are if you don't take this med or you do and don't have these problems then you need to keep your opinion to your self I have never felt any joint or muscle pain until they put me on this crap
Related topics
cough, pain, muscle pain, lisinopril, side effect, muscle, muscular dystrophy
Further information
- Lisinopril uses and safety info
- Lisinopril prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Lisinopril (detailed)
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