Valsartan/Losartan Dosage

[dddave]

I was prescribed Valsartan 40mg daily among other meds 4 years ago after a triple bypass in the US.  Normally, I would return to the US annually and renew my yearly supply while there.  Because of Covid-19, that option is no longer available.

Valsartan (Diovan) is available but is expensive and sometimes difficult to obtain.  Losartan is easily available and much less expensive.

 

My online research revealed that the equivalent dose of 40 mg Valsartan using Losartan is 25mg daily.   I checked several sources and the figure was consistent. 

Does anybody have information that is inconsistent with this?  Are their other considerations I should be taking into account?

 

My former primary care physician at the Boston VA Hospital has left and I am in replacement limbo as there is a wormpile of bureaucratic requirements involved in replacing a PC physician when you can not present yourself for an examination.

That is why I am asking here.    

Edited November 11, 2020 by dddave

[Pottinger]

Losartan is out of patent and hence there are lots of generics available, so the price is very cheap. If you are in Bangkok, there are a number of good generic pharmacies which will sell it to you OTC without prescription. The same is true of beta-blockers, if you are on a regimen of them too. PM me if you want more info on that.

As regards dosage, 25mg Losartan sounds on the low side, but I'd hesitate to gainsay either your research or your doctor. If in doubt, I'd see first if 25mg Losartan stabilises your BP within normal parameters. If not then perhaps increase to 50mg daily and continue to monitor BP closely.

[Sheryl]

There are 2 locally made brands of valsartan:

 

Valsartan GPO - somes in bioth 80 and 160 mg

Dioforge-160 (as the name indicates comes in 160mg so a bit difficult for you)

 

They will certainly cost less than Diovan thouygh might still be more than losartan

 

The losartan equivalent to 40 mg valsartan is indeed 25 mg.  Easy to find scored 50 mg tabs.

[dddave]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

There are 2 locally made brands of valsartan:

 

Valsartan GPO - somes in bioth 80 and 160 mg

Dioforge-160 (as the name indicates comes in 160mg so a bit difficult for you)

 

They will certainly cost less than Diovan thouygh might still be more than losartan

 

The losartan equivalent to 40 mg valsartan is indeed 25 mg.  Easy to find scored 50 mg tabs.

Thanks Sheryl.  Are there any downsides to changing to Losartan?  The only negative thing I read was that it's period of effectiveness is shorter than Valsartan.

[KannikaP]

While on the subject of hypertension, how would a doctor know which type of medication or which specific one is best for a patient based merely on their BP measurements and an ECG please?

[KannikaP]

Just now, KannikaP said:

While on the subject of hypertension, how would a doctor know which type of medication or which specific one is best for a patient based merely on their BP measurements and an ECG please?

Is it not a question of try this and if it doesn't work we'll change to another?

 

[KhunFred]

I was prescribed 50 mg of Losartan in the USA. Once I moved to Thailand and started walking a lot, I found my blood pressure creeping back up after a brisk walk. I adjusted the dose to 100 mg and this seems to have solved the problem.

[KhunFred]

23 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

While on the subject of hypertension, how would a doctor know which type of medication or which specific one is best for a patient based merely on their BP measurements and an ECG please?

Is it not a question of try this and if it doesn't work we'll change to another?

I have similar concerns. I was originally prescribed Lisinopril for high blood pressure, but the drug caused a nagging dry cough and muscle pain. I asked my physician if he could prescribe something else and he gave me Losartan, which seems to keep my BP under control.

Edited November 11, 2020 by KhunFred
Because

[Sheryl]

The selection of BP med should take into account the total medical history and other medications (some drugs are better than others for diabetics, for instance, and people with heart problems may already be on other drugs that affect BP, or might benefit fro ma drug which addresses cardiac arrythmias as well as hypertension) and patient's ethnicity (some drugs work better than others for people of African descent, for example).

 

Doctors may have their own preferences as well.

 

And cost is also often a factor.