Losartan (Cozaar) side effects......

Side Effects

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

Rare

• Hoarseness
• Swelling of face, mouth, hands, or feet
• Trouble in swallowing or breathing (sudden)

Incidence not known

• Abdominal pain
• Black, tarry stools
• Bleeding gums
• Blood in urine or stools
• Coma
• Confusion
• Convulsions
• Decreased urine output
• Difficult breathing
• Fast or irregular breathing
• Headache
• Increased thirst
• Irregular heartbeat
• Large, flat, bluish patches on the skin
• Muscle pain or cramps
• Nausea or vomiting
• Painful knees and ankles
• Pinpoint red spots on skin
• Unusual bleeding or bruising
• Unusual tiredness or weakness
• Upper right abdominal pain
• Weakness or heaviness of legs
• Yellow eyes and skin

Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:

Less common

• Cough, fever or sore throat
• Dizziness

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

More common

• Headache

Less common

• Back pain
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Nasal congestion

Rare

• Cough, dry
• Leg pain
• Muscle cramps or pain
• Sinus problems
• Trouble in sleeping

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

Coreg side effects...That's a really long list

Side Effects

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

More common

• Allergy
• Chest pain, discomfort, tightness, or heaviness
• Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting
• Generalized swelling or swelling of the feet, ankles, or lower legs
• Pain
• Shortness of breath
• Slow heartbeat
• Weight gain

Less common

• Ankle, knee, or great toe joint pain
• Anxiety
• Arm, back, or jaw pain
• Blood in the urine
• Bloody, black or tarry stools
• Chills
• Cloudy urine
• Cold sweats
• Coma
• Confusion
• Convulsions
• Cool pale skin
• Cough
• Dark urine
• Decreased appetite
• Decreased frequency or amount of urine
• Depression
• Difficulty with breathing
• Dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying position
• Dry mouth
• Fainting
• Fast or irregular heartbeat
• Fever
• Flu-like symptoms
• Flushed, dry skin
• Fruit-like breath odor
• Headache, sudden and severe
• Inability to speak
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased hunger
• Increased thirst
• Increased urination
• Itching
• Joint stiffness or swelling
• Large amount of cholesterol in the blood
• Loss of appetite
• Loss of consciousness
• Lower back, side, or stomach pain
• Mental depression
• Muscle pain or cramps
• Nervousness
• Nightmares
• Noisy, rattling breathing
• Numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or lips
• Pinpoint red or purple spots on the skin
• Pounding in the ears
• Pounding, slow heartbeat
• Rapid breathing
• Seizures
• Shakiness
• Slurred speech
• Stomachache
• Sweating
• Swelling of the fingers or hands
• Temporary blindness
• Tenderness on the upper right side of the body
• Trouble with breathing even at rest
• Unexplained weight loss
• Unusual bleeding or bruising
• Weakness in the arm and/or leg on one side of the body, sudden and severe
• Weakness or heaviness of the legs
• Yellow eyes or skin

Incidence not known

• Sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth
• Swollen or painful glands
• Wheezing

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

More common

• Back pain
• Diarrhea
• Prickling or tingling sensation
• Unusual tiredness or weakness

Less common

• Abdominal or stomach pain
• Bleeding gums
• Blurred vision
• Burning, crawling, itching, numbness, prickling, "pins and needles", or tingling feelings
• Changes in vision
• Cold hands and feet
• Decreased interest in sexual intercourse
• Decreased tearing
• Difficulty with moving
• Feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings
• General feeling of discomfort or illness
• Headache
• Inability to have or keep an erection
• Increased sweating
• Joint or muscle pain
• Lack or loss of strength
• Loose teeth
• Loss of sexual ability, desire, or performance
• Loss of strength or energy
• Muscle aches, stiffness, or weakness
• Nausea
• Persistent breath odor or bad taste in your mouth
• Redness and swelling of the gums
• Sensation of spinning
• Sleepiness or unusual drowsiness
• Sore throat
• Stuffy or runny nose
• Sugar in the urine
• Trouble sleeping
• Unusual weak feeling
• Vomiting
• Weight loss

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

Decision made.....

Have you really read ALL of the SIDE EFFECTS of your prescription medications? When I say all that includes the fine print as well as the large print that is normally told to you. It's funny how although we may be aware of the dangerous side effects of medication we still take that pill anyway because in our doctors we trust. They are medical professionals, and they have gone to school for many years. Now some doctors will give you alternative ways to get well first before writing a prescription. Then you have others that will write the prescription first and tell you that you will have to take this for the rest of your life. I was told that I would have to take the Coreg for life, but I after some research of all my medications I made the decision that this will not be a lifelong drug for me. At some point we have to take control of our health by eating for our health. My next Echo-cardiogram is on July 27th, and I can't wait to see what my EF. During this visit the Cardiologist and I are gonna have a conversation about holistic options, and believe me I am going in prepared. This has to be done because I can no longer let the side effects of these drugs controller my life. I encourage each of you to take a look at your prescriptions, think about the different problems that have occurred since taking them, then read the side effects of the medication. Personally, several things that I have been telling my doctors for over a year now are side effects on all three of my medications. While fixing one problem my body are treating these medications as toxins and causing other issues. Hmmmmmm.......I am taking over my steering wheel, but are you informed enough about your health to do the same. I hope so, and if not I hope that you will be soon!!!

He's the best physician that knows the worthlessness of the most medicines. ~Benjamin Franklin

The struggle....

Everyone struggles with something at some point of their life. I remember when I used to workout and the weight would just melt off, but when you add other things into the mix like health, and prescriptions then things aren't as easy as they once were before. It's funny because a co-worker and I were talking today and she said "Dolicia life just isn't fair. You eat so healthy, take the stairs to the fourth floor sometimes, and exercise regularly, but you struggle to lose weight. Me I eat garbage, and I am skinny as a rail. That's not fair, life is not fair for you." I feel that way alot of time, but at the same time I believe that EVERYTHING that I have gone through with my health is a blessing. Now, that sounds real crazy, but think about it. Someone is reading this blog saying wow look how positive she is, and may have made the decision themselves to look at life from a positive angle vs. negative. Everything that I have been through is a lesson for someone else including myself....Wait!!! Especially Myself!!!! I have a story, I have experience, I have a testimony, and I have a hell of alot of strength. I also have personal health goals that I will accomplish, and nothing can stop me from getting there which is why I go to the gym and make sure that majority of my meals are healthy. Now if you are reading this and flowing through life with no worries take a moment to consider your future health when you load your belly with fried foods, tons of candy, and other forms of the not so healthy stuff. I am so excited to meet the new me, but my body needs to work with me. I know that once I am off these medications the weight will melt off as if I am working as hard as I actually work to get there. LOL!!! July 27th is my next echo-cardiogram , daughters 2nd birthday, and an important day in the terms of EF because the higher means the closer I am to getting off the meds. 

 Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. ~Mahatma Gandhi

A Hearts physical strength vs. numbers

"I don't need a number to determine the strength of my heart" is what I posted on Facebook last week while putting in some hard labor in the gym. I say this to myself because I believe in speaking things into existence rather good or bad. The reality is that I do need that number because it determines how long I remain on Losartan, Carvedilol, and Hydrochlorothiazide. Everyday I have to take this medications, but on the same note I need to get down to a clinically acceptable weight so my heart does not have to work so hard. This gets frustrating when I do my part, and my body does not respond as I would like. The doctors can't help me because the medications that they use in their patients for weight-loss could actually relapse me. I can't help, but to wonder if I didn't catch a virus in December would my numbers be normal at this point. That was in the past and everyday I have to do my part as I speak to my heart and tell it to do the same. Yes, I literally speak to my heart. Anyway, my next echocardiogram is on an very important day...Bella's birthday! I can't wait to see how much progress my heart has made in numbers because in my mind it beats strong, but I NEED TO GET OFF THESE MEDS!!!! 


Talk happiness; talk faith; talk health. Say you are well, and all is well with you, and God shall hear your words and make them true.~Ella Wheeler Wilcox
American Author and Poet

Outside heat vs. dry sauna heat

Some people body reacts differently to some medications. I haven't been outside in the heat for awhile since the weather has been pretty comfortable lately, but today I was reminded of something. One of my meds make me so sensitive to the heat. We spent a portion of the day at the park for a birthday party and I wasn't outside for an hour before I start feeling the effect of the heat which I didn't think would be a problem. My body was really screaming for water, and saying "sit your tail down Dolicia". Now the reason why I say this was strange is because I have been hitting the gym lately, and after working out I spend time in the dry sauna room. I don't get that "life is being sucked out of me" feeling when in the sauna like I do outside in the heat. Talking about things that make you go hmmmmmmm........I wonder why whats the difference? At the end of the day isn't heat...heat? My curiosity levels are at max levels right now!

The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.~Horace Bushnell

It's Mine...For now!!!

I am late updating, but I went to my followup appointment and got some good news. She confirmed that my EF is at 50%, and stated that it's my normal. I can live with that, and we will see if MY normal increase. I am motivated to be normal 55-60% and healthier than any point of my life. So I am eating live foods, and exercising at the gym to accomplish my goals. I can't stop, and I won't stop!!!!



"So long as there is a breath in me, that long will I persist. If I persist long enough, I will win."~Og mandino