Ramipril and Low Sugars

[allisonb]

Hi guys, I don't post much due to time (I work full time and have three children) but would really appreciate any advice ........

I was prescribed Ramipril by my doc last Thursday for high blood pressure, my blood pressure has always been on the high side and I think has got higher and higher with each child I've had! Since I've been taking it my blood sugars have been terrible, I've had at least 10 hypos over the weekend, with no hypo signs, last night I woke because the baby was crying and felt a bit odd, tested my blood sugar and it was 1.3! My doc didn't say anything about Ramipril lowering my blood sugar but on the information leaflet that comes with the tablets it says that diabetics should be careful when taking Ramipril because it can cause more frequent hypos. Am a bit annoyed that my doc didn't warn me.

Just wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience or if anyone is taking something different for high blood pressure that doesn't affect blood sugars. Not sure I can carry on with continuous testing and lucozade and carbs............!

 

[Northerner]

Hi Allison! I was prescribed ramipril when I was diagnosed Type 1 last May. I started on a low dose which was gradually increased. However, I experienced very bad side-effects as I increased the dose - constant nausea and lack of appetite. This is also listed as a side effect of the drug, but as it affects only a small proportion of people taking it the doctor was reluctant to identify it as the culprit - it seems that, although these drugs have listed problems the doctors don't believe they actually occur!

Eventually, I convinced them to let me stop taking it for a while and my appetite returned! As my blood pressure was still a little high, I was prescribed a drug called Candesarten, which has caused me no problems at all and my blood pressure is now fine.

I can't say whether the ramipril also caused me to have more hypos because I was taking it when newly diagnosed and still getting used to food and insulin levels etc. so the hypos I had may have been due to other causes.

Are you on any other medication? I was on beta-blockers for a while, which caused me to lose hypo signs.

Hope you get things sorted soon, it can be scary when your sugars start dropping for no apparent reason, and especially so when you have young children to cater to!