BP Med Odyssey
I'll relate my experience, BUT, of course, each individual responds differently. I've been on a few different ones, through two different doctors.
First was Toprol XL, which is a beta blocker. Didn't feel quite right; can't really describe it -sort of like I always felt like coming down with a cold. Plus, it didn't really lower my BP much.
Doctor then added Norvasc which is a calcium channel blocker (taking Toprol and Norvasc together). Amplified the weird feeling and also didn't do much with the BP.
Doctor then wanted to add a third drug which really pissed me off, so I switched doctors. The second doctor is really great - can communicate with her. Anyway, I related my story up to this point and she suggested starting with basics and put me on hydrochlorothyazide, which is a diuretic. HCT has been used for 50 years and is quite safe, and quite cheap. 100 25 mg pills are $12.00 at drugstore.com. (Whereas generic Toprol XL is around $86 and generic Norvasc around $25.) For a good read on diuretics, see
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/archive/tcaw/12/i07/pdf/703health.pdf .
The first problem with HCT is that the doctor will say you'll piss a lot for a few hours after taking it. I didn't notice it making things any worse than usual for me since I drink a lot of water to stay hydrated and have to piss a lot anyway. The bigger problem with HCT is that it can screw up your electrolytes. Specifically, it can deplete potassium. I was eating 1 banana a day and my potassium still was too low. Bumping it up to 2 bananas a day fixed that problem.
HCT did bring my BP down somewhat and my doctor would have left it at that, but I wanted better numbers. So, I was put on benazepril, actually a combo pill with benazepril and HCT. Benazepril is an ACE inhibitor. She said a common side effect was a chronic cough. After two days on it, I didn't get that, but my nose was completely plugged - like a bad cold - which went away when I stopped it.
Doc then suggested trying Diovan, which is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist. She said many of her patients have had success with it and no or little side effects. It's available as a combo pill with Diovan and HCT. This absolutely did the trick for me. NO side effects and my numbers are consistently <120 / <80. Only problem is it's expensive. 30 pills are $100 at drugstore.com. I have insurance (for now, until I lose my job), so I'm covered.
Anyway, that's where I'm at now. Hope this helps.
Peace.
Geo