My 70+ year old mother recently had a bout of glossitis where her tongue 
and throat swelled. So much so that she would not have been able to 
breath had the hospital not inserted a breathing tube into her airway.

This is the second time her tongue and throat have swelled in the past 
month. The first was not as severe. Her primary care physician was away 
on vacation while this happened, but the wife of her physician, who is 
also a doctor, determined that the medicine she has been taking for 
hypertension and congestive heart failure, lisinopril, had caused this 
to happen.

We now know that glossitis is a possible side effect of lisinopril and 
other ACE inhibitors. But she has been taking this for over 10 years, 
and has not had a bout of glossitis until this past month.

My mother also experiences gastrointestinal bleeding which requires her 
to take iron pills and get an occasional blood transfusion. The 
gastrointestinal bleeding may have been caused by asprin or ibuprofen 
that was taken to thin her blood.

Is it possible for her not to experience any side affects from 
lisinopril for 10 years, then start to experience one now?

E.C.