{"id":673438,"date":"2026-11-03T06:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T06:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/673438\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T06:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T06:36:14","slug":"pharmacist-gets-worse-alert-for-anyone-taking-amlodipine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/673438\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacist ‘gets worse’ alert for anyone taking amlodipine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patients taking amlodipine are being urged to get one symptom checked urgently\"Closeup<\/p>\n

Thousands of people in Ireland take blood pressure medication(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

People who take amlodipine <\/a>for high blood pressure<\/a> have been advised to pay attention to one particular side effect, especially if it gets worse as the day goes on. Pharmacist Raj Patel says the symptom can be a side effect<\/a> of the medicine, but it is important to recognise when it needs urgent medical attention.<\/p>\n

Amlodipine is a prescription medicine used to treat high blood pressure and prevent angina by widening blood vessels. The Health Service Executive<\/a> (HSE) lists swollen ankles among its common side effects and advises patients to contact their GP if side effects are troublesome or last for more than a few days.<\/p>\n

Mr Patel, known online as the Straight-Talking Pharmacist, has more than 100,000 TikTok followers and millions of likes. He said: “After 35 years in the pharmacy game, swollen ankles with amlodipine is one side effect I’d never tell you to simply put up with.”<\/p>\n

Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n

The pharmacist explained that swelling can develop gradually and affect both ankles, sometimes becoming more obvious towards the end of the day. He said: \u201cIf your swelling came gradually, affects both your ankles and gets worse later on in the day, amlodipine is possibly one of the reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

People should not stop taking amlodipine without speaking to the healthcare professional responsible for their treatment, as stopping can allow blood pressure to rise again. Patel said: \u201cThe prescriber may be able to adjust your dose or discuss another option,\u201d meaning patients should discuss persistent swelling with their GP or pharmacist.<\/p>\n

The HSE <\/a>advises people to take amlodipine as prescribed and explains that a doctor may be able to prescribe a different medicine if side effects are a concern. Keeping a note of when the swelling began, whether it changes throughout the day and whether it affects one or both legs can help patients explain their symptoms at a review.<\/p>\n

\"Amlodipine<\/p>\n

Amlodipine pill(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Swollen ankles can have causes other than medication, including injuries, infection, blood clots and problems affecting the heart, kidneys or liver. Sudden swelling in one leg, especially alongside pain, redness or warmth, needs urgent assessment, while chest pain or sudden difficulty breathing may indicate a medical emergency.<\/p>\n

Mr Patel warned: “But if one leg suddenly becomes swollen, painful, red or warm or you become breathless or develop chest pain, that’s a different pattern and needs urgent help.” Anyone in Ireland experiencing chest pain or severe, sudden breathing difficulty should call 112 or 999 for emergency assistance, rather than waiting for a routine appointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Patients taking amlodipine are being urged to get one symptom checked urgently Thousands of people in Ireland take…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1911,95791,7466,38124,103,397,19319,100897,396,21361,2119,6788,61,60,351,58,6116],"class_list":["post-673438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-blood-pressure","tag-department-of-mental-health","tag-expert-advice","tag-good-health","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-health-department","tag-health-services","tag-healthcare","tag-healthy-life","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-healthy-living","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mens-health","tag-social-media","tag-tiktok"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}