Yes there is:
But this is one I never expected.
I have a tendency to high blood pressure, hereditary I think, and I have been on two HBP drugs for some time now. The last time I saw my doctor, my BP was still too high so he put me on an additional drug, an ACE Inhibitor, Lisinopril.
I got it filled at Kroger for just $4.00 as it is on their list of less expensive drugs. The helpful pharmacist asked me if I wanted to know the possible side effects and I said yes. She told me that a common side effect of this drug, Lisinopril , is a dry cough.
I had been taking this medicine for about 3 weeks now and at night I did have a slight dry cough but I decided I would not concern myself with that and just popped in a Hall's Honey Menthol cough drop and went to sleep.
Then night before last I got up for a routine pit stop and decided my bottom lip felt strange. I turned on the bathroom light and sure enough my lip was slightly swollen on one side. Hmm, I thought could it be the cough drop or what?
The next morning when I woke up I could tell before I looked in the mirror that the lip swelling was worse.
I looked in the mirror and I was HORRIFIED
My cheek was swollen. My lips were swollen at least 6 times normal size.
I showed hubby and he said ice it and call the doctor.
I waited a couple of hours until the lip swelling had reached GIGANTIC proportion and then called and went right in.
I took the Hall's cough drops, a box of probiotics I had just started taking and the Ace Inhibitor pills because by then I felt it must be an allergic reaction to a medication. The meals I had eaten the day before was just normal standard food.
Dr G. took one look at me and the bottle of medicine, Ace Inhibitor, I had brought in with me and he said this is the culprit.
He said this only happens rarely maybe one in a thousand cases. But it was good I came right in because otherwise my entire face might have doubled in size. He said he rarely sees this sort of reaction, maybe once a year if at all. It is possible, also, to have airway swelling and constriction and breathing difficulity which I did not have.
He immediately gave me a cortisone shot and an anti allergy shot of some type and of course said to discontinue the Ace Inhibitor med. He prescribed oral cortisone for 4 days.
Today the lip swelling is somewhat better but not gone. I have a lingering hoarseness and feel a bit under the weather.
From what my doctor said this reaction can happen right away with Ace Inhibitors or years later while on the medication.
Just thought I would bring this to your attention if you are ever prescribed this medication. I would say,
"Just say no"
PS: I just read an article by a reasearch MD at Vanderbilt who said drug companies do not do enough follow up on side effects of drugs after they are given the initial FDA approval and released to the public.
And from
From WebMd.com:
"An allergy to ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers can cause dangerous swelling of the face and of the throat that blocks airways, referred to as angioedema. "It's a generalized, sudden swelling, usually beginning around the lips and face, sometimes with shortness of breath and wheezing," says Jones. "It's life threatening. The patient needs to get to the emergency room."
