Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) - has anyone experience problems with this drug?

[Sharon in SC]

I am a long term sinus sufferer and have, over the last few years, taken Sudafed (one dose/day) chronically to combat decongestion without any obvious problems - until now. My BP is up. While it's still considered to be upper limits of normal (140/80), it is high for *me*. My baseline is 120/70. Anyway, I've racked my brain and the one thing I can put my finger on that might be the culprit is the Sudafed. Of course, I need to stop taking it so regularly anyway! It's just that my sinus issues are SO miserable. I have stopped the Sudafed and will be trying out other options for dealing with the sinus problems....

What I really wonder from you guys is this - has anyone here taken Sudafed, experiencing something akin to what I'm experiencing, come off of it, and seen the side effect resolve? Can I hope that my BP will resume it's normal reading now that I'm off the Sudafed?

TIA for any testimonies you have to provide in this!
Sharon

[Mama Lynx]

I have had temporary blood pressure jumps from sudafed. My doc would always discount higher readings if I was on cold medication.

[Sharon in SC]

Thanks, Mama Lynx!

[nuthouse]

it made my heart race and I felt jumpy as if I had ingested five mega cups of coffee. I took Sudafed for years for exactly the same reason as you, chronic sinus whatever. I don't know what it did to my blood pressure, but I can only imagine. I had to stop taking the stuff 15 years ago, the heart racing symptons were so bad. Unfortunately, the sinus stuff it still with me. It never goes away, however all the sinus symptoms can be fixed by using a "neti pot".
As long as I remember to use my neti pot, I get as much relief as from the Sudafed. There are no bad side effects from the neti pot and I've found that in the years since I've had only one sinus infection that needed antibiotics. In all the years of using Sudafed, I could annually count on at least two full-blown sinus infections. Overall, I'm happy to have given up the Sudafed and the initial investment for the netipot was paid back in less that a year by no longer having sinus infections.

[Sharon in SC]

Well, by all means, please enlighten me - what is a netipot?! :-}

Thank you for sharing your story. I find encouragement in hearing that others have had trouble with this drug but overcome them once they stopped taking it.....

[nuthouse]

is a small teapot like device in which you mix up a mild salt water solution. With this you lean over your sink or bath and tilt your head down and to the side. You then pour the water in one nostril, it flows through your sinus and out the other nostril. It sounds absolutly horrendous and my first reaction on hearing this fifteen years ago was, "Get out, that's just gross." But, I have to admit that years later the neti pot routine in a comfortable part of my daily wash up.

Go ahead and google neti pots. There are lots of them available and at many price points. I paid about $20 dollars for my pot. It's ceramic and will last my lifetime.

Another benefit with neti pots comes with seasonal allergies. When the pollen is really bad, or I've done a really messy dirty job, I come in take a shower and wash my hair. I also "wash" my nose and sinuses with my neti-pot. I find it cuts down on my need for OTC allergy products by half or more.

[Mama Lynx]

Yes! I use one called NeilMed. I used to get sinus infections 2-4 times a year, and was on allergy meds almost constantly.

I haven't taken Sudafed in a year and a half, have drastically cut down on my allergy meds, and haven't had a sinus infection in a year and a half, all since starting with the NeilMed. (NeilMed delivers a more forceful stream than a regular neti pot; however, it's also plastic, not ceramic, so it needs replacing a couple of times a year.)

[Janet in WA]

I don't know if it affects my blood pressure, but it does make my chest feel tight and my heart race a bit. I find that it doesn't affect me this way if I take it in conjunction with Benadryl.

[Sharon in SC]

Janet,
Can you elaborate a little on the chest tightness you've noticed. This is actually one other symptom I've begun to notice over the course of this past year and, until now, didn't make the connection. But, when my BP became notably up, I also suspected that maybe this sensation in my chest is related. For me, the "tightness" generally on either side of my bre*stbone. I've been under alot of stress the last year and a half so I've also wondered if it's related to that....

[Kat in GA]

I cannot take sudafed...or anything with pseudoephedrine. It makes my heart race, my blood pressure rise, and I get completely jittery. Also when I would give otc meds with that ingredient to my kids - they wouldn't go to sleep at night and they would become quite belligerent.

And now that most places put medications with pseudoephedrine behind the counter, I have found that the substitue of phenylephrine in sudafed does work. Now you'll notice lots of otc packaging stating that they do not contain pseudoephedrine.

I have not tried the neti pot yet...I need to get one before we hit allergy season full force here!

[BizyPenguin]

It always makes me feel nervous and jittery, so I avoid it. It wouldn't surprise me if it did cause BP elevations, but I'd ask the dr. about it.

[Begonia]

I second the recommendation for the NeilMed bottle. It's especialy good, I find, at preventing common colds from turning into nasty sinus infections. I start using mine as soon as I think I may be coming down with a cold or when I think someone in the family has a cold. It helps enormously.

I do use Sudafed, have taken it on and off for years, and have never experienced any of the side-effects listed. It's the only med that works on my sinuses, and I've tried all the prescription allergy meds.

Recently I've stopped taking Sudafed at night and started sleeping with a Breath Right strip on my nose. I love these! Now I can stop breathing through my mouth all night and I sleep much better.

[Sharon in SC]

It can contribute to hypertension per the side of the box. I'm just interested in hearing from folks who have experienced something similar and how long it took them to recover from the side effects....

[Kat in GA]

It can contribute to hypertension per the side of the box. I'm just interested in hearing from folks who have experienced something similar and how long it took them to recover from the side effects....

I do not/did not take sudafed on a regular basis...so my side effects went away pretty quickly after I stopped taking the medication. But if it was part of your daily regimen...I am not sure how long the effects will take to disappate.

[nancypants]

Sudafed always messes with me... My Mom has chronic high blood pressure as well as major sinus problems (she will probably have to have sinus surgery... just to give you an idea of how bad it is). I don't know what she uses now but she used to take Coricidin HBP (http://shopping.yahoo.com/s:Cough%20&%20Cold%20Medicine:4168-Brand=Coricidin).

[Mom2legomaniacs]

The idea of the Neti-pot skeeves me out! Does it go down your throat at all? I can see me gagging and choking from something like this. But I am intrigued.

[Janet in WA]

Janet,
Can you elaborate a little on the chest tightness you've noticed. It's hard to describe, but it's like my lungs are squeezing shut -- it's hard to breath deeply or naturally. I had asthma as a child, and I'd say it's a feeling similar to that. I don't know for sure why, but Benadryl keeps this from happening.

[Claire]

You might be able to continue taking Sudafed without a rise in blood pressure if you add pomegranite to your daily supplements. I had normal bp for years, then had it gradually inch up into the borderline high area. Started taking a pomegranite capsule once a day and a couple of months later it was normal again. I have continued with the pomegranite capsules and bp has continued to remain normal.

[ereks mom]

For me, Sudafed causes insomnia, but I haven't noticed other adverse effects. We don't have a neti pot, but we do occasionally use a bulb syringe filled with salt water. Way cheap & easy to use! I know a chiropractor who recommends that his patients use a WaterPik.

[Julie in CA]

I have allergies and was taking Sudafed often. Not every day, but probably about 4x per week. Oh, it made me feel so much better!! (you can tell how much better because I used TWO exclamation points!! :D)
I'm not sure if the Sudafed caused my high blood pressure, but now I'm taking meds for the blood pressure, and no longer taking the Sudafed. I'm so sad. :(
I am using the sinus wash, and yes, it's helping. I no longer get the sinus infections that linger for weeks and weeks.
-BUT....I never feel as well as I did when I was taking the decongestant.
To answer the question I think you were really asking, I'll just say that I quit the Sudafed and a month or two later when I saw the doc my blood pressure was still high. At that point, my doc prescribed meds for the hypertension, and my blood pressure has gone down. I can't say if the bp would have gone down on it's own after more time had passed, because my doc felt that we shouldn't wait any longer for the bp to go down on it's own.
I share your pain about the no Sudafed thing.
~Julie~

[mcconnellboys]

I just got one for myself and my father over Christmas, at Kroger, for about $15. Saline washes, rinses, mist, etc. work wonders for the sinuses, but you sometimes have to do them several times a day if you're trying to get infected.

Regena

[Sharon in SC]

Julie,
Thanks for sharing your story. Do you mind my asking what your BP was when your doc decided to treat?

[Sharon in SC]

Claire,
Interesting. Where can I purchase pomegranite capsules?

[Julie in CA]

Julie,
Thanks for sharing your story. Do you mind my asking what your BP was when your doc decided to treat?

My bp was consistently about 160/75.
I don't necessarily think it was really that high all of the time, I just think I have a little of the "white coat syndrome" going on. It was at least that high every time it was tested. I've been taking Benazepril with a diuretic, and now my bp is pretty consistently around 130/85.
I've also started watching my diet with Sparkpeople, because I certainly need to lose a lot of weight. Because I don't really add a lot of salt to my cooking, and because I don't eat a lot of snack foods, I had the impression that my sodium intake was probably ok. Boy was I wrong! Using SparkPeople to track my food has shown me that my sodium consumption is *totally* out of control, so I'm slowly working on improving that also.
~Julie~

[Sharon in SC]

Thanks for sharing, Julie. I'm glad to hear your numbers are down to a more acceptable range and congratulations on the steps you've taken to better understand/control your nutritional intake! :-) My most recent BP was 142/81. I'll recheck in a week or so after having been off of the Sudafed. I'm also going to make a concerted effort to get all of my days of exercise in!