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Calcium Channel
Blockers and Irritable Bowel
Recently
we had a woman write in regarding concerns she had with her prescription
medications – calcium
channel blockers. She had talked to her doctor about it, but was
frustrated by his lack of interest in her concerns and having given her what
she called “the kiss off.”
She
was concerned that one of her medicines
was giving her an irritable bowel and she was getting frustrated because of the stomach upset that was becoming more frequent.
The
medicine in question was a calcium channel blocker. This drug has been
shown to increase the blood flow and available oxygen to the heart, while also
relieving the workload or stress the heart is under. She was taking a
long-acting version to treat high blood pressure and had been on it for some
time.
Calcium
channel blockers are also used to treat specific types of heart failure and
also some migraine conditions, so these types of drugs are very widely
used. Many have seen relief from their cardiac symptoms while using them,
but at the cost of introducing a host of side effects.
Even
though she had been taking her prescription for a number of years, she was
surprised when she started in with the stomach upset since it seemed to be a
relatively new symptom.
Her
assumption at the time was that she had gotten hold of some bad food.
Then when it persisted, she thought maybe she had gastroenteritis.
But
as the weeks dragged on and the stomach pain and constipation persisted, she wondered if it could be due to medications.
She was already experiencing occasionally low heart rates and passing
dizziness, which she understood was a known side effect, but the pain was a new
symptom altogether.
Gastroesophageal
Reflux Disease, or GERD, is a known side effect of calcium channel
blockers. So is constipation.
Both of these symptoms are painful, and pain increases a person’s blood pressure. She said she felt like she was causing high blood
pressure by treating high blood pressure.
There
was also a concern that she was showing the early signs of osteoarthritis and
osteoporosis, and she had always been told not to take a calcium supplement
because of the calcium channel blocker. Similarly, grapefruit is also on
the “no” list, as the “grapefruit effect” occurs with this drug in a similar
way as it interferes with statin absorption.
Frustrated
and worried, she went to her doctor to see if he could reconcile the pain, supplement
and medication quandary with which she was faced.
He
apparently just gave her the standard answer of, “Well, we can adjust your
dosage. We’ll also need to consider starting a prescription GERD
medication and you’ll need to look at maybe a laxative a couple times a week.”
After
that there was a discussion of timing… when to take which pill, how long to
wait before the next, which ones required a full stomach, which ones couldn’t
work together, etc. It was apparently more than she was able to process
and she left the doctor’s office angry, frustrated, and still in pain.
We
hear stories like these so many times and it is frustrating every time we hear
it. While the stories are all different, they resonate with one common
theme, which is dumping more medicine to undo side effects of medicine that is
used to treat preventable (in many cases) or naturally treatable diseases.
Our
advice to her was not exactly what she wanted to hear, but it’s the only thing
that safely works to resolve all the issues she was having. That is
basically to march back into the doctor’s office with the list of complaints
and this time the list of goals. The goals being specifically, not to
have to take more pills and to resolve all the conditions in a natural way, where possible.
It
was a tough conversation because she had already decided the doctor wouldn’t
listen to her. But she pressed on anyway, citing that she was not going
to take the GERD medication, didn’t want laxatives, and wanted to come to some
agreement regarding the current dose of her calcium channel blocker.
He
was apparently glad she went this direction and had a lot of feedback for her
about ways to get the blood pressure under control, and referred her to a dietician
who could help her to get the bowel irritations resolved using diet and supplements that wouldn’t
interfere.
The
diet plan was also more concentrated on bone health, so that helped to get on the right track with that problem
as well.
While
we don’t have the details yet on how she’s doing, I did want to write about our
correspondence so far, mostly because the point can still be made that if you
suspect that your medications are causing side effects that you are not willing
to live with, take the bull by the horns and talk to the doc. You might
be able to find a new treatment plan that is much easier (and safer) to live
with.
For
natural, drug-free ways to conquer high blood pressure, acid reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome that
are easy and safe, click on the links here or have a look at the guides in our
library, listed on the right side of the page.
Warm
regards,
Christian
Goodman
This post is from
Julissa Clay’s IBS Solution Program. This program is a step-by-step 21-day plan
for relieving irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for good, 100% naturally and
without side effects. You will regain your normal social life again with no
more pain, cramps, bloating and “emergency” trips to the bathroom.
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