GeminiAmy,

Who does not believe you??

Lisinopril, as ALL the Inhibitors of the Angiotensin II Converting Enzyme (IACEs) inhibits also the production of bradiquina and therefore, depending on your sensibility, can produce a dry cough. It is one of the most frequent side effects.

You have 3 options:

1) Divide your doses between morning and evening and see if you feel better.
2) Try another IACE, eg: Enalapril.
3) Change to an Agonist of Receptors of Angiotensin II (ARA II) that do not produce that effect, eg.: Losartan

Jesus

I was on it for a little while and yes I did have a sore throat and dry mouth and cough. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!! I also had a few other side effects that is why I took myself off of it. Good luck sweetie.

My lisinopril side effects were quite bearable (tickly throat) until I got given a higher dose. I had a nasty dry cough so much of the time.

Doctor said that the cough is not dose-dependent, and it should not get worse on the higher dose (well it did for me). He switched me to candesartan and was fine.

John

thank you all, i will start taking 1 in the morning and one at night and see if that helps, I was told they make you tired that's why I didn't try it but i think my body to use to it now.

I never did have the cough with ACE inhibitors (I had a severe adverse reaction to lisinopril itself with a super rapid resting heart rate of 150), but it is a very common reaction. If the cough and sore throat are too much to deal with by sipping water throughout the day, get a copy of the paperwork for lisinopril from the pharmacist and bring it in and tell your doctor that the side effects are intolerable and you need to switch medication.

Generally, if you have this reaction on one medication, you will have it on all ACE inhibitors, so as Jesus said, switching to an ARA or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker, which is the more commonly used term for the angiotensin receptor anagonists) such as irbesartan (Avapro), telmisartan (Micardis) or losartan (which is available via generic), can help.

Before considering the divided dose, please talk with your pharmacist. Many of these medications used to be taken twice a day regardless of dose, but have been reformulated to once daily dosing. So even if that tablet is scored or you take two tablets, check first splitting your dose. You want to ensure you will still get and keep enough medication in your syste throughout the day to keep your BP at the right level and not have too many fluctuations. And make sure it's the actual pharmacist you talk with, not the technician who is pretending to play one!

Good luck! :)

PS I was never aware of being tired on ACE inhibitors until I was switched to Avapro (irbesartan), an angiotensin receptor antagonist/blocker (next generation BP medication that works on the same general blood pressure system).

Hi Amy, I thought is was just me. I occasionally have a cough but I drink a lot of water to counteract the coughing (which helps the kidneys and PKD). Other than that, its been a good med for me and controlled the BP.

Ruth has a good point when it comes to splitting your doses. Can't hurt to call the pharmacist for advice.

Jen

Hi, I don't have a sore throat, but I do have a weird dry cough. Not too annoying, just strange that it comes out of no where!