OT: ACE Inhibitor Cough

[TSSleepy]

I started CPAP and lisinopril (an ACE inhibitor for hypertension) at roughly the same time.

I developed this nagging cough and was blaming CPAP for weeks. I'm a mouth-breather with poor nasal airways. And because of my mouth-breathing, my throat is often dry in the morning. So I fiddled around with humidity a lot and got things "as good as I could get them". But my throat still felt scratchy all the time, triggering a nagging dry cough.

I finally gave up playing with my therapy. But my throat kept acting stranger and my cough kept getting more annoying. I thought I had a virus, but it just kept going and going and going.

Finally I realized that several weeks of coughing and weird-feeling sore throat, with no other symptoms... sounded more like allergies than a disease.

The two major things to change in my life a few months ago were CPAP and blood pressure medicine, but I didn't feel like it was probably CPAP because the coughing/throat irritation seemed to peak in the early evening, not morning.

So I googled "lisinopril cough" and "ace inhibitor cough"...and sure enough, it turns out to be a frequent side effect of that drug type. I stopped taking lisinopril three days ago, and my throat starting to lose that itchy sensation and my cough is starting to fade.

Thank goodness, because coughing with a full face mask on is miserable!

Anyway, I mention this here because the first sign of trouble was an itchy throat that I assumed was from the dryness of mouthbreathing in my full face mask with inadequate humidity. I've now been able to lower my heated humidifier from 2 down to 1.

So far, my blood pressure isn't going up, so I'm hoping I won't even need it any longer now that I have my CPAP treatment dialed-in.

[DreamStalker]

Keep tabs on your BP ... there is a lag time between when you go off the ACE and when your BP begins to respond.

If it goes up ... ask your doc to try an ARB like Diovan. ARBs do the same thing but not in your lungs which cause an allergic reaction with some folks like me and you.

[El Pap]

Tell me about it. I suffered with a dry, unproductive cough for two years before I figured out it was the ACE inhibitor Accupril. My doc switched me to Cozaar, which was the only ARB on the market at the time, and the cough went away within a couple weeks. I later switched to Diovan (a newer and more potent ARB), which has been controlling my hypertension without any detectable side effects.

[Wulfman]

Yep! Put me in this category for experiences, too. The reaction from Lisinopril was immediate for me when I started on these paths in 2005. I complained to the doctor after doing Internet searches on the side-effects and he put me on Diovan, too. I eventually quit taking that in early 2006 when I felt my BP was "within reason".


Den

[anotherRandy]

I' ve been taking Lisinopril since 4/04. Never a cough. Just another data point.

[computerguy2202]

Hi all....DO NOT stop taking your ACE inhibitor's without your Doc knowing. There can be side effects as these pills do other things in your body chemistry as well as your heart. Yes the cough is bad, but your doc should be able to put you on something else right away. Once you start taking some of these medications you have to be weened off of them or substituded with something else. Be careful....

[kteague]

Both myself and my mother experienced the cough with Lisinopril.

[BleepingBeauty]

Interesting thread, so thanks for posting it.

I've also been taking Lisinopril for several months now and have been experiencing that same dry cough, but I had no idea what might be causing it until now. I'll be seeing my GP for my annual checkup in early June and will mention this.

I'd love to get off the meds I'm on altogether, but I'm sure that won't be even a remote possibility until my therapy is effective. (I'm impatiently waiting on my insurance provider's approval of a new sleep test with an ASV machine so I can then begin a new and productive treatment plan.)

Oh, the bureaucracy...

[howkim]

I was warned back about 1990 not to take ACE Inhibitors. I have asthma.

[Mce]

OMG! ACE inhibitors are a major enemy of mine! I cough so bad I cannot sleep at all! The sensitivity apparently runs in my family. The coughing from them is so awful, it makes the apnea seem like a walk in the park!

I was on Diovan HCT for a while after that, but it eventually stopped working so well, so now I'm on Hyzar HCT, it works great. Hopefully, after a while the XPAP will obviate the need.

[Markchi]

I also take the ACE inhibitor Accupril and have had the cough for years. I only continue to take ACE inhibitor because it helps protect small blood vessels in the kidneys which is beneficial for me. I also take Diovan to help control the blood pressure and have had no side effects I've noticed from it.

Markchi

[kebsa]

Irritating tickling cough is a very common side effect from ACE inhibitors, most physicians i have worked with have warned their patients about this and the usual advice is that the medication is so effective at dealing with hypertension and cardiac failure that its just something the patient has to put up with- I can see that cpap and a persistent cough are not a good mix at all- There is a risk of rebound hypertension from abruptly stopping ACE inhibitors, it would be advisable to talk to your physician- there are alternatives to ace inhibitors

[Mce]

I also take the ACE inhibitor Accupril and have had the cough for years. I only continue to take ACE inhibitor because it helps protect small blood vessels in the kidneys which is beneficial for me. I also take Diovan to help control the blood pressure and have had no side effects I've noticed from it.

Markchi

The Hyzaar or Cozaar (hyzaar has HCTZ in it too, the Cozaar is jsut the one BP med) has similar protective effects to the ACE inhibitors, without the evil cough... As for me there was no option of continuing the ACE inhibitors, it wasn't just n nagging cough, it was almost chest spasms, like I wasn't getting air for minutes at a time...

Diovan is a good one if it owrks for you, but may eventually stop working...I did for me after about three years, and that's why I'm on the Hyzaar now.

[WearyOne]

Ace inhibitors caused a cough for me after years of being on it. I never heard of rebound hypertension from abruptly stopping an ACE inhibitor (didn't happen to me), but you should never stop a beta blocker without tapering as it can damage your heart. (Beta blockers are used to slow your heart rate and/or for high blood pressure.) My doc doesn't want me to go back on an ACE inhibitor even though I wanted to give it another try and see if I still coughed with it. It worked great and I never had any side effects until being on it for about four years. He said there are plenty of HPB meds out there that we can find something without the cough. Diovan HCT sent me to the emergency room after one dose! Guess if I'd just lose weight I would have to take any. At one point, I lost 30 pounds and my BP dropped significantly (stupidly gained most of it back, though. ) I've been on a beta blocker for several years now, but it just doesn't work as well for HBP for me as it should. (Definitely slows my heart rate/pulse, though.)

[garymbsail]

I'll strongly echo the advice to NOT STOP your BP meds suddenly without consulting your doc! As has been pointed out, there are alternatives to ACE inhibitors with different side effects. Diovan is one which has worked for me, but there are several options. Sure, there are great ways to help with hypertension [weight loss, exercise, diet, salt control, etc], but don't change meds without your doc's OK.

Gary