Which is lesser of two evils: high BP or bad meds?

I went to the doctor because my blood pressure stays about 220 / 130 without medication. He prescribed lisinopril. I told him that I preferred a different medication, because sexually active women of reproductive age who are not on birth control are not supposed to take lisinopril. He told me that I was "being a bit ridiculous" and said, "you should trust your doctor." He refused to prescribe anything else.

I have been taking it for two weeks now. My blood pressure is great, but I am having extreme muscle weakness and pain (I find it hard to walk across the room), I have large bruises appearing all over for no apparent reason, and I have developed a blind spot that makes reading difficult. This medicine scares me.

I do not have health insurance, and I cannot afford to go to another doctor, so my choices are: don't take the medicine, and thereby take the chance on the BP killing me, or take the medicine and suffer the debilitating side effects. Which is the lesser of two evils?

[claytex]

Well wendy I can tell you that the 220/130 is a  stroke waiting to happen.  Id suggest exercise such as walking and a change in diet.  foods such as tuna, apples and oatmeal will help lower your BP... then see if you can possibly lower the medication amount.  Id guess that a life style change would probably be your best bet. This is probably not the answer your looking for... but I had a similar problem 30 years ago and a healthy life style is the thing that changed my health around.  Hope this helps Claytex

[jrbon]

When you say that your BP is great, how low is it now?

Perhaps too much for you?.

The blind spot it is really worrying... If I were you either I would call the dr. or try to reduce the dose.

Jesus

[ChatterAlly]

Change doctors.  Your life may depend on it.  Take care and keep us posted. Ally

[ireneo]

There are other BP meds out there. Get a second opinion. Diet and exercise will help as mentioned but for now, check into medication options. A dear friend of mine died due to long term hypertension. He didn't like the meds because it interfered with his love life with his wife. The high BP destroyed his kidneys. He ended up having 2 kidneys transplants. Things were never the same and his heart gave out suddenly one night. Terrible thing for his daughter to find in the morning. So don't ignore this, please.

[WendyWen]

Thank you for the many responses. I'll try to respond to each individually.

Claytex, I do exercise regularly and follow a healthy lifestyle. I have under control all of the individually controllable factors. Unfortunately, there appears to be a genetic component, because both my Mother and Grandmother suffered from extremely high BP from a very young age, as does my daughter.

Jrbon, the BP now is 112/72 with the medication. I am loathe to deal with that particular doctor, but given the limited options, I will.

ChatterAlly and Ireneo, unfortunately, I no longer have health insurance, and am not in a position to pay to see a different doctor. The doctor that I saw is the only one available that works for s sliding-fee basis. Hopefully, as the economy recovers, I will once again find an employer who offers health insurance. Until then, the choices are limited.

Again, thank you to all of you.

[Mom2four85]

I don't know what your situation is, but I lost my health insurance last year when I had to go to P/T work.  I found out on the HR forum about the PCIP plan, have you looked into it?  

If not you can find info on www. pciplan . com or google the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance -  http://www.healthcare.gov/law/provisions/preexisting/states/oh.html
Plan (PCIP) to see if your state has a plan available.

I pay $352 monthly (age 43) and have co payments for any dr I see; so far they have all been $25 and testing I haven't paid anything for but different plans have different amounts; the most I've paid for meds is $3 so far.

Also, I see you're in OH? If so try Cleveland Clinic they have a financial assistance program most don't know about http://my.clevelandclinic.org/Documents/Patients/Financial_Assistance_App_0809.pdf

If the links don't show up let me know and I'll pm them to you =)

[aheart]

Extreme muscle weakness and pain is a side effect that you MUST report to your doctor
ASAP this is not normal and you will be taken off Lisinopril and put on something else. It's on the paperwork you get with the medicine, its very important that consumers read this things so they can look for adverse reactions and report them. Do not wait. You are having a bad adverse reaction. That being said, the High BP is definietly worst.