My primary dr prescribed an ACE Inhibitor. She said she routinely does this for her diabetic patients because it may help protect kidneys. I don’t have high blood pressure so it’s a low dose. 2.5 mg. Anyone else taking this? Wondering about your experience. Thanks.
I have been on a low dose for 24 years. No problems from it. Nancy
I used ACE inhibitors for many years before I switched to another class of blood pressure meds. When I started on the ACE inhibitor, my blood pressure started to rise. My doctor told me about the protective kidney effect and I’ve seen references to this effect in the medical literature. It did a good job for me and I experienced no noticeable side effects. Then, after about 20 years on ACE inhibitors my blood pressure started to rise and my doctor switched me to another med.
I have been on an ace inhibitor for probably 15 years with no problems.
Thanks everyone for your replies. I’m glad there were no major problems. Thanks again.
This a very common precaution for people with diabetes. It’s pretty standard.
I was taking one for a couple of years but had to discontinue it. One common side effect is that they can cause you to retain more potassium. For most people that is not an issue but since my potassium level was near borderline to begin with, it pushed me up into danger territory, so we stopped it.
Thanks for that info David. When you stopped the ACE did your potassium level go down?
Yes it did. Not dramatically, but enough.
ACE inhibitors are considered effective at reducing high blood pressure and can protect kidney function when there isdiabetes related kidney damage (or reduced function) . However, NO drug is entirely free of possible side effects and I am very leery about the attitude of some doctors who like to prescribe “preventative” medicines to people with diabetes even when there are no overt medical reasons to do so.
Taking ACE inhibitors can result in a dry cough in up to 10% of people. This is supposed to be reversible if you stop taking them. However, in my case, I was left with a permanent chronic cough for which I have to take two other medicines. What annoys me most is that I was not warned about the cough and that there are alternatives to ACE inhibitors called ARBs that are just as effective and do not have the same side effects. However, ACE inhibitors are the first line go-to drug because they are cheaper.
If your blood pressure and kidney function are both good, I would avoid them.
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My doctor keeps insisting that I take Lisinpril because my BP is elevated in the office. I take my BP at home and it is fine. I have asthma and the absolute last thing I need is a “chronic dry cough” which for me would cause asthma attacks. So he calls in the Rx, which I have repeatedly told him I will not take.
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Elevated BP at the doctor’s office is officially referred to as “White Coat Syndrome”. My doctors were happy for me to take my BP at home and bring in the readings, You could also ask to wear a BP monitor for 24h. A bit of a PITA as the cuff inflates every 30 mins or so, but worth asking your doctor about.
If you do have a genuine elevated BP issue, it is wise to take antihypertension meds. However, if you have an existing asthmatic condition, you might want to aks your doctor for an ARB. These have names ending in -sartan (Telmisartan, Losartan) and target the same pathway, but at a different location. They are generally considered to have a very much reduced risk of causing a chronic cough.
Although I am not asthmatic, I have to take an anti-asthmatic steroid inhaler to suppress the inflammation in the lining of my trachea (otherwise I can cough almost continuously). I have been to see one of the UK’s top cough specialists. They did a load of tests and finally put me in the small category of “unexplained”. Apparently a high proportion of those in this category have either T1D or Crone’s disease., which suggests an autoimmune condition (which they think was exacerbated by the ACE inhibitor).
Joel,
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Amen. ACE inhibitors, statins . . . the list goes on and on.
I was warned about the dry cough up front but that didn’t make it any less annoying.
I’ve been on a low dose ACE inhibitor for probably ten plus years as a kidney protective measure. However, they had a documented UA that contained protein. I have never had any problems.