birth control pills, blood pressure pills....

[090308health]

Hi, has anyone took birth control pills and blood pressure pills together? My pharmacist said it was safe to take them together. I take Aetenolol for high BP, and am wanting to start a low dose birth control pill. If anyone has taken these pills in combination, were there any side effects for you? Did your blood pressure remain low? Thanks....

[gopokes]

I had taken birth control for a year and was then put on Atenolol myself. The birth control was causing my blood pressure to spike thus causing massive migraines headaches. The atenelol worked for a while, but then they changed me to Atacand. That worked well, but when it came time to try getting pregnant, my doctor changed me to Methyldopa (I'm spelling it wrong probably; it is a generic). It was much cheaper and worked excellent. From what I've been told it depends on the person as to which medication works best. Just make sure you monitor it because the birth control medication can really cause your pressure to go up, but if you monitor it your doctor can adjust if need be.

[090308health]

Hi, thanks for your comment. I used to take Ortho Tri-cyclen after my baby was born in Aug. of `02. It raised my BP like crazy! I also tried a low dosage birth control for a while, not taking BP medicine with it, and my BP was still high. So I wanted to try the BP medicine and birth control together and see what happened. Did your BP stay low while taking birth control medicine and BP medicine at the same time? Thanks... Tabitha

[gopokes]

The atacand kept it low about 90% of the time. Unfortunately, when it did spike, it did so worse than ever! My sister is going through the same problem right now trying to balance her pressure while on the birth control. They have tried about 3 different ones and finally found one that works.

[090308health]

Really? What brand is she taking? I want to take a low dose if possible.

[090308health]

Also, did your sister have pregnancy induced hypertension? Thanks for your replies.

[gopokes]

Currently my sister is on atacand, but this is her 3rd one. The doctor has her check her pressure regularly. No, she did not have pregnancy complications.