Blood pressure meds and side effects

It seems all meds have side effects to deal with if taken long term. I've had high BP for 26 years and in that time I've taken different drugs because eventually they either stop being effective or cause reactions. One in particular gave me a dry cough. I don't remember it's name. It was effective for about 7 years, then my symptoms- a tight throat followed by a dry cough began. This was challenging because I was teaching and forced to stop talking and slowly drink water for a minute to get the throat to loosen up. My doctor said this often happened after being on this prescription for years, so he prescribed a different one.

Interesting, @gardeningjunkie. I guess that means we shouldn’t assume things will stay the same with our conditions.

This may be related, certainly ties into an article I read, interviewing a clinical pharmacist. “Our relationship to medication can change over the years: our bodies take longer to clear them from our system, and in some cases, side affects from medications lead to even more prescriptions!”
* Mayo Clinic Health Aging: Managing Medications- https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/healthy-aging/meds-meds-meds-managing-your-medications/

Do you have other health conditions that may impact your blood pressure, or vice versa?

@jlharsh i take Lisinopril for my hypertension which gives me dry mouth/throat and I use THC and CBD tincture on a daily bases and cannabinoids in cannabis effects cannabinoid receptors in your throat hence adding to the dry mouth/throat. These both add to my dry mouth/throat and I found a lemon drop candy from Amazon called Perle di Sole Italian Lemon Candy drops. Lemon stimulates your saliva glands to produce more fluid.

Until age 50 I had no health issues. I've never read that my other health issues affect my blood pressure, but yes I do have other conditions.
At 50 I was in the middle of menopause and developed several autoimmune diseases. I developed high blood pressure, Allergic Contact Dermatitis, ACD, with severe contact allergies resulting in eczema and also at that time developed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, CLL. Clearly my immune system was faulty.
I'm one of the lucky ones with CLL, less than 5% have a total regression with this incurable form of leukemia. I was told my life expectancy from this adult form of leukemia would be 5 - 15 years. My disease progressed slowly and blood draws went from every 3 months to every 6 months, always advancing for 10 years, then miraculously without any treatment my cancerous white cells began slowly returning to normal counts and my lymphocytes are normal also. Zero leukemia markers. Now 25 years after my diagnosis they won't say my cancer is gone or in remission because there is no cure and am told it would be found in my bone marrow. This is called a spontaneous regression. Even with normal, cancer free blood my oncologist still insists I have blood taken every 6 months.
My ACD requires vigilance as far as my contacts. I never cheat. The burning,itching, internal pain and physical rashes are non-existent now. I had to replace my wardrobe, bedding (my memory foam mattress about killed me), linens, cleaning and grooming products, avoid 5 metals, several of the 5 classes of steroids, adhesives, and many other contacts. Not a contact allergy but I also gave up processed sugar and alcohol and have no more yeast issues. I'm free of all 3 forms of my eczema. I haven't had so much as a cold in over 10 years. Even my hayfever, unrelated to my ACD allergies has basically disappeared. Yet only a few friends and family are aware of my avoidances, because I have found suitable replacements, good enough. Yet life is complicated. The hardest is finding replacement shoes. Just to wear athletic shoes I have to put on a 100% cotton sock, a plastic bag and top with an allergic blended material sock with elastic to hold it up. Some 100% leather shoes don't cause foot burning, but others do. Otherwise I can only wear 100% vinyl yet EVA, a form of vinyl causes burning. Going to a doctors office or movie theater that has fiber seating which is always blended material and often covered with fire retardant or Scotch Guard, more of my allergens', so I take a large clear plastic bag to cover the contact area. One gets over the embarrassment preferring to live pain free.
Still my high blood pressure is not going away and must be treated with meds for life and I take meds 3 times a day, a total of 5 pills a day normally. If my BP is above what my doctor recommends I can take Clonidine (which I hate, it turns me into a zombie but this keeps me from needing an ER trip. I check my BP every night before bed and haven't had an ER trip for severe episodes of 215 over 90 in over 4 years now because of my stockpile of meds. As bad as some episodes have been there is sign of stroke or heart damage.
All in all life is great. I'm extremely active and I'm grateful for the happy life I have.

I also experimented with CBD oil, but never found any benefit and gave it up after 6 months.

I've been taking Lisinopril for my borderline high Blood Pressure for nearly 20 years with no obvious side effects. I needed to start taking it in order to keep my CDL license and my DOT medical card. It's been doing the job all this time, my BP at the doctor's is always very good. I do take a Krill oil supplement daily as well.

@gardeningjunkie if you were taking CBD for pain alone it will not work without THC included. It is known as the Entourage Effect. Read these to learn more about the topic.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK574562/,
https://www.cureus.com/articles/106551-the-use-of-cannabidiol-in-patients-with-low-back-pain-caused-by-lumbar-spinal-stenosis-an-observational-study#!/,
https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/medical-marijuana?campaign_id=18&emc=edit_hh_20230310&instance_id=87268&nl=well&regi_id=53838627&segment_id=127334&te=1&,
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8252988/

Why does taking Lisinopril required in your case to keep CDL license and your DOT medical card? Does the doctor need to report high blood pressure to authorities?

Exactly, if you have chronically high blood pressure, you can't obtain a CDL, and drive a truck or heavy equipment. If the bottom number on your BP is over 90, you can lose your DOT card and your license. Mine was in the mid 80's consistently, so my doctor prescribed Lisinopril for me, and it worked wonders for years.
But I had to retire and give up my CDL and go on SSDI in 2015 because of my worsening osteoarthritis and neuropathy in my feet. My doctor wanted me to start taking Gabapentin for the pain in my feet, and taking it voids your ability to maintain your CDL. If you're taking it, you can't drive a truck any more.

Hi @robal19. I am just reading this comment you made a couple months ago. I am putting a link below to a later comment where you can find an article about medication management. To your point, all the variables change making it impossible for us know how to manage ourselves. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1370014/

Have you talked to your pharmacist? Have you thought of an appointment with a clinic pharmacist to discuss exactly this?