Hello -
I am new to this board and new to diovan hct. I was prescribed this med for hypertension a year after the birth of our third daughter. I am 38 years old and in excellent health otherwise (vegetarian, exerciser, non smoker, non drinker) but I have a strong family history of hypertension.

I have been taking it for 6 days (started with 1/2 a dose of 160 diovan/12.5 hctz) the first day and added another 1/4 dose (now at 120 diovan/@10mg hctz).

I have been having abdominal pain in the upper region just below the ribcage...... additionally lightheadedness/hypotension when standing. The abdominal pain was particularly bad the first 2 days on the 120 dose and has since eased in frequency but not intensity.

Has anyone ever experienced abdominal pain? I am extremely sensitive to medication and tend not even to take an aspirin.

Also, has anyone switched from diovan to another ARB (avapro or atacand) and had a better experience? I have read some very concerning info online regarding diovan. It is bringing my numbers down quite nicely so I believe this class of drug is one that will work for me.

Thank you so much for your input.

God Bless.....

[QUOTE]I had bad indigestion from Diovan HCT 160 when I began taking it. Lasted about 4-5months. And I took it after eating. We knew I might have issues as I am allergic to sulfa drugs and that is a contraindication with this med. However, my doctor and I discussed and decided to try it. He has had good luck with this med in people like me and really wanted to try it. But we knew i would probably have some stomach problems with it. Just hoped I could hold on long enough for them to subside. Which finally happened. Got switched to the 320 last week due to my BP going up again. Haven't had the same issue with it though I can sort of tell a little. But I think it will pass soon

How nice to hear you've learned to tolerate this medication, Titchou. :) I tried it for about a week @80mg/day and kept having constant allergic reactions that just wouldn't go away. My doctor doubled the dose of Micardis then to 160mg (instead of discontinuing it when hearing about my problems with it) and my various allergy reactions got worse.
I had no better luck with Micardis from the same drug class (ARBs). There must be something in these drugs that I can't tolerate. I am glad to hear you can, though. If and when a change in my meds is required, I would like to try Avapro and see what happens.

How well is this med reducing your blood pressure? Increases in dosing are not always the best way to go. Sometimes an addition of another medication from a different antihypertensive class in a small dose yields better results.

flowergirl