Have Allergies And Adverse Drug Reactions. Is Benicar A Safe And Effective Substitute?

Posted on Sun, 3 Nov 2013

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

Sun, 3 Nov 2013 Answered on

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : My medicare part D plan will no longer cover MICARDIS. Benicar (olmisartan) is proposed as a substitute. Benicar appears to interact with aspirin, codeine, Tylenol, chlorphenerimine, Go-Lytely (all of which I take or have taken. It seems to interact with dozens of other meds and OTCs, most of which are very common and difficult to avoid. I have many allergies & adverse drug reactions (sulfa, amlodipine, atenalol, hydrocodone, erythromycin, amoxicillin, etc. I Also have a chronic cough. I have taken Micardis without incident for 10+ years. Is Benicar a safe and effective substitute? Is there a better substitute? Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Jose Ignacio Artero Munoz (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists. Detailed Answer: Hello.Delighted to be able to help. The drug that you were taking (telmisartan) and current drug(olmesartan)belong to the same group of drugs called angiotensin receptor antagonists. The interactions means that taking together olmesartan with referred drugs ,may increase or decrease levels of olmesartan but not contraindicate its use. If you have taken telmisartan without incident for 10 + years,you can safely take olmesartan.Telmisartan and other angiotensin receptor antagonist (candesartan, irbesartan, valsartan ...) are good substitutes with similar efficacy. I Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help.If you do not have any clarifications, please don’t forget to evaluate my answer.I wish you good health.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T