Can Edema Of Ankles And Feet Caused By Norvsac Be Reduced By Lsix?

Posted on Sat, 16 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 16 Nov 2013 Answered on

Sun, 8 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : does edema of ankles and feet caused by norvasc can be reduced or cured by lsix 20 mg once a day.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: the lasix would not relieve the swelling Detailed Answer: Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic Norvasc belongs to the family of medications called calcium channel blockers. One of the most common side effects of this class of drugs is swelling of the lower limbs. Edema (build of fluid in the certain tissues) due to norvasc and similar medication is not like fluid retention where the body is retaining or keeping fluid. It actually does not respond to diuretics such as lasix. This is because the swelling is not because the body is collecting extra fluid but there is actually a shift of fluid from one body compartment (inside the blood vessels) into the surrounding tissues. It would not respond to your use of lasix. The treatment option are : (1) lowering the dose of medication (2) changing to another type of calcium channel blocker that would not cause this side effect (3)adding another type of anti hypertensive that would reduce the pressure in the veins and reduce fluid being pushed from the veins to the surrounding tissues (eg micardis, ramipril, atacand, diovan, enalapril,lisinopril) I hope this helps, feel free to ask any additional questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (3 hours later)

i am taking simvastatin 20mg at night cholestrol, metoprolol 25mg (1/2am & 1/2pm) BP, lisinopril 20mg twice daily BP, norvasc 10mg once daily, adult aspirin once daily, 70/30 insulin 30 unit am & 18 unit pm. Blood sugar is running between 80 and 119, the blood pressure running in 130s/60s. I have ankles & feet swelling in both feet. I took lasix 20mg yesterday am and today am. No change in swelling and caused weakness. Definitely intend to stop lasix no matter what. Tomorrow intend to monitor my BP without norvasc and check swelling. Monday will contact my primary physician for modification of meds as your potential recommendations. I strongly tend to agree with your analysis and recommenbation.. The above meds are from in patient therapy when I was discharged on 11/30/2013. The swelling has been at least 3 weeks. Look forward to your suggestions and input. Will greatly appreciate.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (8 hours later)

Brief Answer: norvasc dose may need decreasing Detailed Answer: HI The fluid loss from the lasix, if there is no history of fluid overload, would have caused the weakness you experienced . It would have not affected to swelling of the ankles as explained earlier because this occurs by a different mechanism. Amlodipine (norvasc) belongs to the class of calcium channel blockers called dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker. This type of calcium channel blocker is more likely to cause the swelling than the other type. I agree you can monitor your bp without norvasc, though since the dose is 10 mg (the maximum) it is very likely that you need it to keep the bp under control. If the BP increases then the option would be to restart norvasc at a lower dose (5 mg) and either add a thiazide diuretic (not as strong as the lasix to cause weakness but will help with the blood pressure) or alter the lisinopril (this can be increased to compensate for the decreased norvasc). IF there is still swelling with the reduced dose then it would have to be eliminated altogether Please feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar