ACE inhibitors and a hot bath - Not good!

[mg_2204]

Saturday I had the house all to myself and thought... I'd have a hot steamy bath with lots of bubbles.

15 minutes later... and all of a sudden I started to feel dizzy. Whoa! I got out of the bath as fast as I could. Was enough water in there to drown. My gosh! Am I having a hypo??!? It felt like it! Shaky. I started to sweat profusely. In fact, I have never sweated like that in my entire life! I thought I'd faint. Then I started to have chest pains. Right smack in the middle of my chest. I felt thight chested too.

I tried not to panic. I told myself that as long as I could stand up this stupid thing would go away. I held on to anything I cold grab a hold of.

Time passed and I was getting worse. I was having trouble breathing and the pain in my chest was getting worse. Oh no! I'm having a heart attack........................

I called 911.

Let's make this story short. I had a sudden blood pressure drop. Not a good idea I was told to have a hot steamy bath when on ACE inhibitors...

As for the pain in my chest it was reflux. And a bad case of a panic attack on top of it. I've had 3 ECG done and my heart is healthy. Going for more tests later on, as a measure of precaution. BG went incredibly high too, just like that *snap!* ...

And to stay standing at all cost was perhaps the worse idea I had! You must lay down. Now I know.

BP stayed around 101/58 all evening Sat. It's really uncomfortable when it's that low.

Seeing the doc very soon. I wasn't too keen on ACE inhibitors to start with... now I can honestly say I am certainly not a big fan. At all. :mad:

PS : My family freaked out when they came back. House empty. Bath full of water and bubbles. Footprints all over the living room and scraps of antiseptic wipes and papers. Last number dialed on the phone : 911.

I had no idea a hot bath could turn into a merry ride in an ambulance. Live and learn.

[princesslinda]

Gosh Marie, what a time you've had. Hope you're feeling better today. I'm on ace-inhibitors as well and take them at night, usually just before a hot bath. Guess i've been lucky. I'll have to remember to take them well after the bath. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[valc3]

Wow Marie, glad you are okay. I bet your family was worried. I'm not on ACE inhibitors, but thanks for sharing the info.

[v3xtr0n]

Blimey!

Glad to hear you are OK and didn't have a heart attack.

I'm on an ace inhibitor but thankfully have not experienced this kind of thing as I haven't had a bath for years (and no I don't smell as I take showers instead)... ;)

[BriOnH]

I am sorry to read what happened! That is awful!! It sounds like you are on to much medication. You bp is way to low.

[Mister Q]

Wow I am glad you OK how scary is that though!!!

I am also ACE but I have had no such reactions, I think maybe its time to have chat with your doctor about the kind of blood perssure meds you are taking, they tend to prescribe ACE for diabteics as they also offer kidney and heart protection, however blood pressure meds are notorious for not suiting people. I have spoken to some people who have tried 10-15 different brands of meds as well as switching type of meds (ACE, betablockers etc) before finding one that does it for them.

Can be quite an irony sometimes that the side efects of the meds can leave you feeling worse than the thing the meds were prescirbed for.

[am1977]

That must have been scary for you... I think it was wise of you to call 911- I mean, you don't want to take chances with experiencing symptoms like that!

Glad you are ok :wink:

[BriOnH]

Please keep us posted Marie. This is so awful :( . If it were myself I would stop taking it immidiatly.

[Penny]

Hi Marie, I am glad you are OK. I used to have trouble with being light headed and feeling like I could not breathe, after a hot shower or bath. Sometimes still do. I also had BP I thought was too low sometimes. I talked to my Cardiologist about it, and he said the lower my BP the better. Generally I will be 110/60 to 70, with my Ace Inhibitors. Like you, I wonder if it is safe for it to be that low.

[mg_2204]

BP averaged around 111/69 today when I was active. I didn't feel great but ah well! Work to be done nonetheless. Watching 24 tonight didn't bring it up at all, BP was 108/59, pulse 60. Haven't taken my meds since Sat. Sheesh! Can't wait to see my doc. Been on Coversyl (and only 4 mg!) for about 2 weeks now, I guess the meds are really kicking in...??

I've been searching on the Net for more info on BP and what's considered low, etc but found many conflicting infos so I'm more confused than ever before.

The whole experience made me realize the most trivial thing can be hazardous... given the right circumstances. And there were a lot at play here.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. :)

[xMenace]

So what your saying is we could be taking long hot steamy baths every night instead of popping pills?

Glad your ok, and thanks for the warning.

[June91]

That must have been scary! I also haven't been able to find any good info on low BP, so please post any good links you can find.

Mine is always under 100/60, and a few days ago it was 88/54 - I could not stand up at all. But I've lived with it all my life, even before diabetes, so I guess the body learns to adjust, I don't feel anything as long as it's over 100.

And it's good for the arteries, after all, so count yourself lucky :)

[BriOnH]

Marie,
How have you been lately? What did you dr advise?

[ClaireZk]

I had a scare too, with Lisinopril. My BP was ok, but dr put me on a low dose as a preemptive strike against complications from D.

The day after it was prescribed I took it, thinking nothing of it. My shower has 2 settings: Arctic or Inferno. I opted for hot as I usually do, but the steam made me really dizzy. I felt my eyes start to flutter back, my knees buckled and I kind of hit the side of the shower. I had to really fight to stay upright, but I was otherwise okay. I thought it was a hypo too. So I got out, tested and realized the dizziness was from the new med. For the next week or so it just made me really nauseous.

Its been a few months and my body has gotten used to it. The only other problem I've had with it was when I had to get fasting blood work done. Low blood pressure+no food+loss of blood= :vollkomme

Maybe you should talk to your dr? I talked to my mine and he did end up lowering it to the smallest possible dose and I feel sooo much better now. Good luck figuring this out!

[Cyborg]

Glad to hear you are ok. Perhaps you should stick with warm baths if your blood pressure isn't elevated. I wonder if it was a reaction with the medication or that a hot bath simply lowers blood pressure.

[mg_2204]

This is what I was told : soaking for a while in a hot bath WILL lower your blood pressure. If you add the meds to this, you end up with a cocktail for disaster...

I am already on the lowest dose. I don't like it much. I feel so tired in the evening, after taking my meds. BP is mostly around 105/58 in the evening. Doc says it's low but not that low. When active BP won't go higher than 125/78. I'm hooked on caffeine so not sure what would happen if I'd cut down.

I've tried to look it up on the Internet but can't find what DOSAGE is enough to protect kidneys from damage. I'm on 4mg at the moment and if it's not enough to protect my kidneys and since I can't take more than that... what's the use??!?

Next time I see my doc is at the end of May...