Do high blood pressure tablets affect fibromyalgia?
Dr Mark Porter on whether high blood pressure medication could be responsible for increased muscle pain.
Image credit: Getty/wutwhanfoto
Dr Mark Porter on whether high blood pressure medication could be responsible for increased muscle pain.
A reader asks
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in my late 40s and was under the impression that it’s mainly a problem in middle age, but the aches and stiffness in my muscles seem to have become worse in recent years (I am now 70).
I seem to have gone downhill since starting pills for high blood pressure.
Is this just a coincidence?
Dr Mark's reply
Fibromyalgia is a common but still not fully understood condition associated with a range of symptoms including pain, stiffness, disturbed sleep, mental fogging, fatigue and headaches. It typically develops in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, but symptoms often persist well beyond middle age, and may be lifelong.
I am always suspicious of coincidences in medicine, and there may be a link between your high blood pressure and worsening symptoms.
You don’t say what you have been prescribed, but there is some evidence that a common treatment for high blood pressure – the ACE inhibitor family of drugs ending in ‘pril’, such as ramipril – can aggravate pain in people with fibromyalgia.
Indeed, I have seen a dramatic improvement in a couple of my patients when their ACE inhibitor was stopped and they were switched to an alternative. That said, I have seen more where it has not helped.
Still, if you are taking a ramipril-type drug it is worth discussing alternatives with your GP.
More advice on diagnosing and managing fibromyalgia.
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