Swelling in legs and feet while on Amlodipine

joyster15, both amlodipine and gabapentin can cause swelling in the legs and feet. With your aortic stenosis and other valve issues, though, I wouldn’t assume the medications are necessarily the cause. It seems worth letting your doctor know about the swelling so they can help sort out what is causing it and whether anything needs to be changed.

Did the swelling begin after you started either medication or had a dose changed? Have you noticed any recent weight gain or shortness of breath along with it?

The doctor who prescribed your medications knows what they intended each medication to do for you, while you know your body and what you are experiencing. Putting those two pieces together can help you and your doctor figure out what may be causing your unique swelling and what to do about it.

@joyster15

Not sure as mine was below the knee and worse in the left leg. They have a hip high which I wore for 3 days after my ablation procedure. I think you might be better served with a different BP med.

@joyster15

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. My youngest granddaughter acquired it after getting COVID.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is an autonomic nervous system disorder that causes an excessive increase in heart rate when transitioning from lying down or sitting to standing up

Swelling of the ankles and legs is a well-known side effect of amlodipine. This happened to my husband when he was prescribed amlodipine, he'd never had issues with that swelling before the amlodipine. We weren't thinking of the side effects of the drug, his mother had had serious issues with venous insufficiency in her legs, and fearing this was happening to him, my husband went to see a venous surgeon about this. He didn't have that, thank goodness, and when she asked him about the medications he was taking, his mention of the amlodipine solved that mystery of the leg/feet swelling. He stopped taking the amlodipine, it was replaced by another medication, and his swelling disappeared.

Swelling of the ankles and legs is a well-known side effect of amlodipine. This happened to my husband when he was prescribed amlodipine, he'd never had issues with that swelling before the amlodipine. We weren't thinking of the side effects of the drug, his mother had had serious issues with venous insufficiency in her legs, and fearing this was happening to him, my husband went to see a venous surgeon about this. He didn't have that, thank goodness, and when she asked him about the medications he was taking, his mention of the amlodipine solved that mystery of the leg/feet swelling. He stopped taking the amlodipine, it was replaced by another medication, and his swelling disappeared.

@marybird Can you share the name of the other medication that worked per your closing comment?

@joaf37 I asked my husband this question- we both had to take a trip down memory lane to get the answer, it's been a few years, LOL. He says he thinks the amlodipine was replaced by lisinopril. Figuring that the amlodipine is prescribed to lower blood pressure ( and it was in my husband's case), if this medication is discontinued due to its side effects, the substitute would likely be another blood pressure medication. This could be chosen from a number of medications, depending on the patient's needs, other conditions, medications he/she is already taking. The provider might add another blood pressure medication as a substitute for the amlodipine- could be another calcium channel blocker like diltiazem, an ACE inhibitor or ARB ( examples lisinopril or Valsartan), a diuretic, or a beta blocker. Or the provider might increase the dose of another pressure med that the patient is already taking when the amlodipine goes away. As you can see, there are many options, and are best discussed with the subscriber!

@shmerdloff Hi, thanks for your input.

I developed major edema in my feet after haveing taken Amlodipine for at least two years - and my GP diagnosed it as a side effect of that medicine...stopped taking it and swelling did go away! Up to that time it hadn't caused a problem,,,
Linda