Hi Cindi -
I thought I would let you know - my husband uses amlodipine 5mg, and has for a number of years, without any side effects. It keeps his blood pressure in an acceptable range, which is very important because he has diabetes and a family history of heart disease.

Every drug (even Tylenol and aspirin) have side effects, we just need to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks. So think about the risks of uncontrolled high blood pressure - heart disease, stroke, kidney failure... If your blood pressure is very high, and stays that way for a long time, the chance of having one or all of these increases, even more if you have other risk factors like diabetes.

Here is a report about the most common side effects - at 10mg/day, 4X your dose - published in August 2021. "Researchers observed edema, dizziness, flushing, and palpitations in controlled clinical trials in a dose-dependent manner. For example, at a dose of 10 mg, the incidence of edema, dizziness, flushing, and palpitations was 10.8%, 3.4%, 2.6%, and 4.5%, respectively. In addition, the incidence of headaches, fatigue, nausea, and abdominal pain was 7.3%, 4.5%, 2.9%, and 1.6%, respectively." (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519508/) That means the more serious side effects occur LESS than 1% of the time at 10mg/day, less at lower doses.

What side effects particularly concern you? What other measures - including diet, exercise and weight loss - have you tried to lower your blood pressure? Do you think you would be willing to try the medication for a week and see how it goes?

Sue