Blood Pressure Drug Withdrawals

Blood pressure management can often mean drugs are implemented. There are many different types of blood pressure drugs and all of them come with their own set of side effects. Some of them may have similar side effects, and some side effects may be completely specific to an individual drug class. But one thing is for certain, the side effects are real. Many doctors and medical professionals will claim that side effects of certain blood pressure drugs are very minimal, and that the patient complaining of horrible side effects must not know what he or she is talking about. Here at blood pressure authority we encourage you to listen to your body. Always make a note of new or worsening symptoms you may be experiencing when on blood pressure medications.

Out of all the drugs for hypertension, beta blockers and central agonists (alpha-2 receptor blockers) are thought to have the worst and most dangerous withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal symptoms from both of these drugs will be both physical and mental. The runner up drug classes for worst withdrawals would most likely be alpha blockers and calcium channel blockers.

When you take any drug regularly for a long period of time, your body gets used to it. It adjusts to the chemical changes in your body and in your brain that the drug may cause. Unfortunately hypertensive medications are no different. Patients withdrawing from them can often experience awful side effects. It is generally seen that a patient discontinuing blood pressure medication can expect to go through the withdrawal symptoms for 2-3 weeks. Many drugs may take longer than this if you were on them for an extended period of time. Although not as common, some patients may experience withdrawal symptoms for 6 weeks. And beta blockers may cause withdrawal symptoms for longer than that. For patients taking the more potent blood pressure drugs, withdrawal symptoms can be almost as bad as withdrawals from narcotics. They can include anxiety, panic attacks, extreme dizziness, aches and pains, chills, insomnia, heart palpitations, the feeling of a pounding heart, a rise in blood pressure, vasospasms in the blood vessels and arteries, and many many more unpleasant sensations. Withdrawal symptoms are usually the side effects of the drug itself, except intensified.