Dangers of Blood pressure medicine

Back in 1997, after going through a tough 5 years with terminal illness in my family, I was prescribed Ziac for borderline high blood pressure.  There was no blood work done at any time I was on this and I was on it for 11 years.  In 2003, I developed a kidney infection that took a year to get rid of.  At the same time as this kidney infection, I developed problems with my hands.  I would develop large pustules on my hands.  My hands would swell and crack and bleed.  I spent 6 years in severe pain with this.  In 2009, I went to visit my son.  It was in Colorado and when I got there, I was having trouble breathing.  I could not walk across the room without stopping to fight for breath.  I said nothing to my son and when I got home,  I called my doctor. I was sure I was going into congestive heart failure.  I wanted to know how much time I had.  His nurse told me that it was the blood pressure meds.  I got off those things.

Fast forward to 2013.  I let that doctor talk me into taking Triamterend/Hydroclorothiazide.  I took it for about 3 months.  In that three months, my hands and arms developed a boiled lobster look.  It truly looked as though I had stuck my hands and arms in boiling water.  Needless to say, I went back to the doctor.  When he walked in the room, his response was "Oh, you can't take any blood pressure meds."  Ya think.  He told me it would take a couple of weeks to get out of my system and the lobster look and rash would go away.  Not!  Three weeks after getting off it, my hands and arms are swollen to three times their size, crusty and oozing blood and pus.  And last night I thought I was going into shock.  I was so cold.  I go back tomorrow.  Something has got to be done.  So, if you are prescribed a medication, make sure that all the side effects are made clear to you.  Look it up on the internet.  I was told with both these meds that they are low dose and can't cause me any problems.  Yeah.