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My husband was at the doctors office today and she checked ...

Sent to Health Experts February 17 2006 at 3:19 PM
   

My husband was at the doctors office today and she checked his blood pressure it was 200/120 she prescribed him three different hypertension medications that are as follows: Benicar 40mg to be taken in the morning atenelol 100mg to be taken at lunch time and Cardizem LA 360mg to be taken at bedtime my question is this. Is it safe for him to take these medications together and is it normal to take three different types and mgs.?

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Male , Age: 45

Already Tried:
he hasn't tried anything yet, before he does i want to make sure this is safe.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status:  Closed   Value: $9
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February 17 2006 at 3:31 PM (11 minutes and 52 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark
This is a lot of blood pressure medication for him to be taking, for sure. You are right about that. However, the blood pressure reading is very high. Dangerously so. It is important to get it down and get it down fast. I trust that he was cautioned about possible side effects. These should be timed so that the peak effectiveness doesn't hit him all at the same time. That's why they are spaced like that. It's to keep the levels up in his blood so he doesn't have wide b/p swings. He will need monitored. I'd suggest you purchase a blood pressure monitor so that you can check it a few times a day for the first week or so, then just daily checks to make sure things are going well. You should follow-up with the doctor in a week, sooner if it seems that he is having problems with side-effects.

Let me know if you need further information. Please remember to click the accept button if this information is helpful. Thanks. JeanRN
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Jean Murphy -- Nurse (RN) -- 99% Positive Feedback on 266 Health Accepts
pediatric specialty, acute care, physician office, home care, triage
Reply
February 17 2006 at 3:45 PM (13 minutes and 26 seconds later)
         
Reply to Jean Murphy's Post: She did not give us any possible side effects of thes medications. All of the medications she gave him are sample packs that will last for eight weeks my question to you was this should he take all of these or get a second opinion
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Answer
February 17 2006 at 4:14 PM (29 minutes and 2 seconds later)
         
ACCEPTEDCheck Mark
I'll track down the patient information sheets for you and either get them in a private message or post them here. Given the very elevated blood pressure, it would be wise to begin the medications.

***More information*** Benicar is an angiotensin receptor blocker. That means it relaxes blood vessels so blood can flow more easily. Atenolol is a beta blocker used to treat elevated blood pressure and chest pain. It blocks the action of certain natural chemicals in the body, such as epinephrine, so that the cardiovascular system doesn't get too "excited". The Cardizem LA is a slow channel blocker/calcium antagonist, which means it affects the conduction rate in the heart.

They all have different actions to help decrease the blood pressure. Clearly the doctor is concerned that one of these alone won't take care of the problem. While it is never wrong to get a second opinion, a delay in your husband's treatment could be very detrimental. I'll send the patient information sheets along in a private message.

hope this helps.

Edited by nursejean83 on February 17 2006 at 4:42 PM

Let me know if you need further information. Please remember to click the accept button if this information is helpful. Thanks. JeanRN
Picture
Jean Murphy -- Nurse (RN) -- 99% Positive Feedback on 266 Health Accepts
pediatric specialty, acute care, physician office, home care, triage
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