Lisinopril Almost Killed Me: A Cautionary Tale of Meds Gone Wrong

What if I told you that, one sunny day while living your best life and going about business-as-usual — WHAMMO! My drama started with something as small and innocent as **lisinopril**. Instead of a helpful medication, I got close to dying which made me wonder if I accidentally signed up for some live-action medical drama. Stay tuned to follow me on my lisinopril rollercoaster and how it almost took me out of the game.

### What is Lisinopril Anyway? **

But first, a little background on lisinopril so you can have an idea of what it’s supposed to be before heading into battle: Lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor that is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults and children who are at least 6 years of age. It is in a class of medications called ACE inhibitors. This is done to assist your blood vessels by relaxing them and bringing high blood pressure down, giving you a chance at evade any dangers of going through hypertension. Sounds good in theory, right? But theory and practice are not always the same.

### This Is the Way My Lisinopril Story Starts

It really all started quite innocently with Lisinopril. My prescription had been for the high blood pressure that was misbehaving. I had hope and was excited about this new phase of getting fit. This, unbeknownst to me at the time, was a twist straight from the pages of Days Of Our Lives.

Began taking the Pill religiously. All was well for a bit. Even with my pills — and I was taking them on time now — things didn’t change much down there either, but at least my blood pressure improved. But not long after, it all ‘got a bit weird. It was as if a stealthy gremlin had moved into my body and kicked off the grand slam I-got-knocked-up party.

### The Unintended Consequences

I wish I knew what evil genius was penning the side effects for medication labels because good lord man, they sound like nothing a human has ever lived through. The side effects of lisinopril, for me anyway were like a ring off series unfortunate events with a headache. This began with the tell-tale symptoms: light-headedness, listlessness and a dry cough forcing me to talk like an old man who had smoked 40 woodbines every day of his life.

And then it was just a rapid descent into Madness. My face swelled, my extremities began to swell until I looked like an over-sized blow fish that had been stung by a thousand bees and there was nothing left of who “Jacoline” used to be. In my case, it was that of a cellulite circus where my calves auditioned for the role of balloon animals. Oh and I forget about the rash that showed up… I looked like a mosaic of radiographs instead of, well human.

### The Climax: Nearly Died

If the swelling and rash was not already bad enough, it began to escalate. I woke up one morning and felt like I had been run over by a train. My breath felt shallow, my heart was pounding as if I had just finished running a marathon. My body was rebelling against the medicines that were supposed to save me.

I picked up the phone in a panic and called my OBGYN. After a quick consultation with my PCP and an even quicker call to SHITTY healthcare (I swear they love to take their damn time when you’re in distress), I was told IMMEDIATELY STOP taking lisinopril. The diagnosis? Allergic reaction that was text-book almost anaphylactic. It was as though my body had made an extra big splash in the “side effects” pool.

### **What Went Wrong?**

So what was wrong with Lisinopril? As it happens — lisinopril is usually pretty well-tolerated by most people … but in some cases (as these two instances have shown) can cause a vicious allergic reaction. These can range from a simple local reaction to anaphylaxis (~severe allergy that causes swellen lips/angioedema, difficulty breathing/wheezing & hives you can almost see spreading) It is a reminder that meds can be fucking magical or absolutely wreck your world, depending on what the rest of you thinks about it all.

Nichia’s Sanya has closed its door, 20 lessons Sitong and Li Chunbo will learn插图2

The following are things that I’ve learned post near-death from lisinopril:

1. **Expect Number of Side Effects**: List of side effect is a mile long. Well, it never hurts to be armed with what kind of signs you should keep an eye out for. When you begin to feel like you might be auditioning for a disaster movie, it’s probably time to go in and chat with your doc.
2. Listen to your body: If something doesn’t feel right, that means it is not. Your body is like a highly capable machine with warning lights of its own. When that happens, get to the side of the road and lift open that hood.
3. ***Follow up with your care team:**** It is very important to keep in close contact and open communication. They are there to guide you through the sometimes sea of medicines that can and will help, or provide advice when they go wrong.
4. Read The Medication Labels: No matter how boring it might seem to read that side effects sheet, take the 3 minutes out of your life and truly understand what you are up against. It is like someone telling you what all the potential plot twists will be before starting a suspense book.

### **Humor in the Chaos**

If I look back, it is so chaotic that its actually hilarious to me now. I mean, I used to joke that my ankles were so huge they could have gotten me a spot in the circus. Here are a few things I made up – that her adult daughter scolded me or chased after the transport with Palin on board, like an angry mother of toddler drivers; Or who could forget how my rash was even too vivid for European modernism? After all, laughter is the best medicine — of at least that misery loves company.

### Alternatives, and Where We Go From Here

Shortly, I never knew what was going to set lisinopril off so after the bathroom incident with it my doctor determined that we were not a match and thus began investigating other treatments for managing hypertension. If the side effects had hit me that day, I would have been a prime example of what could go wrong and be mentioned in all those happy ads — but there are lots more prescription and lifestyle fixes to help you control your blood pressure without turning into one.

1. Alternative Medications: There are other types of blood pressure medications—like calcium channel blockers or Beta-blockers that might be worth considering. Show your doctor which will work better for you only without the drama.
2. **Lifestyle Modifications**: Sometimes a simple change in diet or exercise can have significant effects on elevated blood pressure. So not as fun as a pillventure, but also much less likely to result in being admitted.
3. **Monitor Your Condition:** Make sure to keep up with your blood pressure and look out for any new symptoms that may be a sign of complications. A health concierge or your own personal assistant for your well-being without all the other various awkward conversations and discussions.

### **Wrapping Up the Tale**

So there you have it — a cautionary anecdote on how what seemed like an innocuous medication nearly went all Grey’s Anatomy on my life. As lisinopril ended not being the superhero protagonist in my journey, it proved an example of how medication can be quite fickle and that we should never let our guard down.

Always stay in communication with your healthcare provider — especially if you take lisinopril or any other medication and know the signs of change! How They Work: Medications are great but they can be a double edge sword. And, next time you are in a position similar to mine think of this—it always can be the story where it is possible to laugh about later!

To our health and SIDE EFFECTS BE DAMNED! Here is to a smooth medication journey, and lets make the D-R-A-M-A be only lived through great stories that do not include near death experiences. As always, stay safe, educate yourself and keep your health warriors in check.