BP Meds possibly linked to kidney damage

[Ranchhand]

I'm curious, what side effects did you get with the amlodipine that made you stop?

When you write that you stopped it because of "the fact that it's a CCB", can you explain what you meant with that (known adverse mechanism from the drug?)? Is it related to the effects L-type CCBs have on increasing intraglomerular pressure, therefore putting one at risk for increased glomerular damage with time?

Thank you.

Sorry for the late response, just came across your post again and previously forgot to respond. I didn't directly notice any negative side effects from Amlodipine, didn't use it for that long, maybe 6mo. I just decided to stop it's use because one, it's a calcium blocker and wasn't sure if that would be systemic effecting all muscle contractions and two, I just didn't want to be taking so much medication. My decision came more from what I've read on the forum here and medically based articles as opposed to any noticeable side effects. I want to manage my BP with a healthier lifestyle instead of through more medication. Right now, I'm happy with Telmisartan only for medicated BP control.

 

[bg65]

Can one recover from kidney failure if you stop using diuretic

Yes

 

[xx]

What constitutes "long term use"? I'd run telmisartan on cycle not for blood pressure but for its protective effects that it has on some organs, mainly the heart. This makes me wonder if it is worth it. I mean, cycling on and off it probably stops these effects from occuring? Not sure what to think.

 

[xx]

This thread is very much in my wheelhouse/interests.

Backstory:
2020 diagnosed with stage 3B/stage 4 CKD due to rare (1/1,000,000) autoimmune disease called c3g. Gfr was 40 and I was spilling 17,000mg protein in my 24 hour urine. Renal biopsy showed ~70% scarring … top nephrologists advised dialysis was imminent and if I get a transplant the disease returns in 85% of cases and destroys new kidney typically within 18 months. Told I could never workout again.

2021: Got a horrid case of Covid and at ER discovered my ejaction fraction was down to 26%.

Fast forward to now:
Gfr: 110 (up from 40)
24 hour protein spillage: 450mg (Down from 17,000mg)
EF: 55% (up from 26%)
BP: 110/65
Heart Rate: 50

Physique: In the middle of prep for a classic physique show 215lbs 7-8% BF.

The only two western medicines I utilize in my daily stack is an arb (100mg losartan), and a beta blocker (25mg metoprolol) everything else is a combination of supplements, diet, peptides, lifestyle, etc.

I dove heavy into figuring out how to heal the kidneys and heart - I refused to take the prognosis given by the doctors and, more so, trust myself to be able to heal myself better than these inept doctors. I’m considering doing a second kidney biopsy when I am finished what I’m doing to prove I regenerated my 70% scarred kidneys in a meaningful way.

Biggest thing I can recommend is doing meaningful research and knowing exactly what you are taking and doing … choosing to be ignorant when it comes to your health and trusting the doctors is a fools route to death/poor health.

Glad to see you are doing so much better man, hope you are still doing well. What peptide/supplements do you think made the most difference? Very interesting stuff.

 

[bg65]

I have always loved your posts sir! Thank you. I do have a question for you (I am not taking anything you say as medical advice and understand fully you do not present it as medical advice). I was on lisinopril for years and after about a decade it became less effective so my doc put me on amplodipine and it's been working "ok". No sides or anything, bloods are fine, but it isn't impacting my blood pressure as much as I hoped. My doc and I are pretty close and I'm wondering if trying telmisartan may be worth it?

I'm just curious overall as it seems many guys are in my shows where they did the old school lisinopril for a while, it lost effectiveness, and then moved to amlodipine. Just curious on your thoughts overall? For longterm overall health would it be better to move to telmisartan?

Lisinopril can lose its affect on BP over time but my understanding is that it still confers benefits w regard to cardiac remodeling and decreased glomerular pressure
switching to an ARB wouldn't be a bad idea. The ACEi/ARB + norvasc combo is pretty complimentary as stated previously. Norvasc can cause edema and if that happens the addition of an ACEi/ARB can help. Nebivolol was cited as a cardiac selective (beta-1) blocker which is true but my understanding is that carvedilol is a non-selective beta and selective alpha-1 antagonist. Its the alpha-1 blockade that leads to vasodilation. Otherwise the non-selective beta blockade would be similar to propranolol.
Nebivolol causes vasodilation through increases in nitric oxide via agonism of beta-3 receptors. It is the only beta blocker that does this. So, it has highly selective beta-1 antagonism but increases endothelial production of nitric oxide via agonism of beta-3 receptors. This is directly beneficial to the health of the endothelia. There are also cardiac benefits from increased nitric oxide.
Anecdotally, people report less impact on exercise tolerance using nebivolol compared to other beta blockers and it doesn't cause ED like other beta blockers can
I would agree that an ideal combo for someone who needs it for HTN would be ACEi/ARB + nebivolol.
The angiotensin blockade is very valuable to our community because it opposes cardiac remodeling hormonally and not just through lowering BP.

bg