Midodrine Seems To Be Increasing My Bp Too Much All Of A Sudden

[iheartcats]

Midodrine works ok for me at twice a day (10mg AM, 5mg early afternoon). A really bad day I'll take it in the evening, but that's usually too much on my system.

The last week or so it seems to be raising my BP too much, though. I was hitting the warning zone from my doctor (which is 140/95)...I was 120s-130s usually around 130-138/90-95. I even had ear ringing, which is unusual.

I've contacted my doctor and will go see my EP on Tuesday...but has anyone had this? I have had a mild cold all week and with POTS it could be just my system out of whack, or my system out of whack + Midodrine making things worse. You know you can never tell for sure.

Can a medicine just start working differently, or is there probably an outlying cause?

And I'm really concerned about the high blood pressure because I am on birth control and my woman doctor does NOT want me to have high BP while on it, too much risk for a stroke so I'm concerned. I may just stop taking Midodrine until I see my EP Tuesday and see how I do.

I am so frustrated!

[hollie]

Midodrine does the same thing to me. I was on 2 - 5mg spread out throughout the day, but it wasn't quite enough. Then my doc upped it to 3 a day. But this was way to much. I jumped from 100-110/65-70 on 2 up to as high as 165/110 on 3. He told me now to do two and a half. I've only been doing it for about a week, so too early to tell, but it has leveled out a little. It seems Like the littlest thing can throw my whole system off! It stinks!!! It's all a balancing act!

Talk to your doc, take slow steps when changing doses. Who knows, your cold may have even thrown you off.

[mkoven]

I'd check in, but those numbers don't sound too high for brief periods. And midodrine has a short duration. When "normals" exercise, their pressure usually increases at least twenty points. I think it matters more what your pressure is over time, unless you're spiking really high. I was told that if I spike 170/90, then i need to take prompt action. But an occasional 140/90 doesn't worry my docs. On midodrine and florienf, I'm usually still at 115/75. (feels a lot better than 80/35!).

[iheartcats]

Glad to hear people have similar experiences/similar spikes.

I finally broke down and ordered a BP Monitor that holds the data, so I can monitor over time. I can't do it well at work (people look at me funny and I swear this makes it a bit higher! I know! I shouldn't care)!

I could not get in touch with my doctor (Friday late afternoon) but made an appointment for Tuesday. I'm just going to go back to 5mg/2.5mg instead of 10mg/5mg twice a day to get me through until Tuesday. I'm hoping that's 'safe' since Midodrine can be used on an as-needed basis (me included in case I need one for evenings).

Glad to know my spikes aren't horrible and that normals get spikes with exercise.

[ana_22]

my auntie had a pressure reading of 230/110 the other day, no stroke. she does not have pots. just saying your spike in pressure should not be a concern until you seee your dr next. hope that makes you feel better

[mkoven]

You could ask for a 24 hour ambulatory bp study on the current dose of midodrine, to what your bp does around the clock. If it shows occasional readings of 140/90, that's a different story than if it's all day long. Then at least you'll know the range and decide if changes need to be made. if midodrine helps you to function, esp. if your numbers are at the level you're reporting, I'd wait before cutting the dose. I've ended up in the er when I've forgotten a dose! Not that everyone is so dependent...

[ajw4790]

Is anything else different now with your cold? Maybe your BP is higher because of the cold? Are you drinking a lot more or anything that could also cause an increase in BP?