OT beta blockers

I was given these for a short time as a method of calming me down during a very stressful time. So, as the overall result was hoped to be a sedative effect (though nothing like as habit-forming as tranquillisers or as soporific as sleeping tablets), I imagine that is an effect from them that is to be expected (even hoped for in my case!!)

Most of my experience with other BP-affecting medication has been that the body adapts to it, in a shorter or longer time. I don't even know that I have taken mine, nowadays - don't notice if I haven't either, though >g< . . In message , Anne Rogers writes

I've taken beta blockers for years. Your body *does* adapt the drug, but on the other hand, lowering the heart rate is one of the things a beta blocker does. So check your resting pulse often and make sure it's not too low, and that isn't the reason you're feeling so draggy.

Sherry

According to mayoclinic.com, that is a common side effect and may go away as your body adjusts to the medication. Read all about it at

Julia in MN

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Anne Rogers wrote:

after reading the three replys so far, seems that there are more reasons for taking beta blockers than i knew about. i'm guessing the most common is high (aka too fast?) blood pressure and the BBs slow it down. i had the cardiac surgeon at our main hospital here suggest them for my irregular heartbeat. it wasnt fast or slow just irregular. he did no more testing than done by my local GP who sent me to him in the first place. he was also extremely rude to me, considering i was there about my heart. i told him no and went home to deal with it nutritionally. i was fairly certain it was cuz i had high cholesterol. hell i knew it was beating funny when i went to the dr for something else. now it doesnt beat irregularly, well enough that i notice it anyhow. might not be perfect yet nor the cholesterol be as low as it should be but i'm working on it slowly but surely. i'm also not a fan of drugs in my old age. just had a newspaper article here yesterday that said most anti depressants (including the all time favourite it seems, Prozac) only help about 2% of those taking it. yet drs continue to Rx it for anyone who is slightly sad or miserable. they dont take the time to consider that the person has issues that wont last forever or not at the high stress levels causing the sadness or misery. nor, too often, do drs consider that the reason for the depression might well be cuz they eat too much crap and/or excess caffeine and not enough good healthy foods causing their body chemicals to alter sufficiently over time to make'em feel like crap too. just give'em another round of drugs/pills to shut them up and collect their money at the door as they leave. sorry but that just irritates me no end what some drs do and dont do. argh, j.

"Anne Rogers" wrote...

I began taking them (plus a lot of other stuff after a heart attack and pacemaker) well over 6 years ago, and have no problems with anything at all now! It did take a little while for everything to even out and adjust, but was well worth it. Please be patient!

I'm taking it because my heart rate has been too high, which means they drop my heart rate into normal range, not too low. Good to know your body adjusts as I suspect unless I can find any other things that might be contributing, that the current dose isn't doing enough, it's only dropping it by about 10 beats per min, the doc wants it down 20-30bpm.

Thanks Anne

oddly enough I've had a couple of times of feeling physically anxious/on edge since starting them, which surprised me, knowing about the calming affect they can have.

Cheers Anne

I read through the mayo clinic page, it's such a great resource. Personal experience is helpful too.

Cheers Anne

Jeanne, I've been finding out the same thing too, that there are so many uses. Seems like using it for controlling high blood pressure is changing as their are things that work better these days as well as some long term risks. You wouldn't describe blood pressure as fast or slow, it's a measurement of pressure, so fast and slow are in appropriate describing words. High and low work for anything described numerically

That sounds pretty poor treatment, GPs need to be able to refer to cardiologists and trust that everything will be checked. I've been finding out recently that there are a lot of different things that can be abnormal in a heart and some aren't a problem and some are serious ones and some cause symptoms and some don't and they aren't always the same ones. I'm glad you were able to sort it out.

I had one very severe episode of depression, I suspect I was in the 2% where drugs were effective, though the ones that worked for me weren't one of the one the news has been all about. After having experienced that and knowing just how crippling severe depression can be, it shocked me how many people were on antidepressants and worse, how many people were dealing with significant side effects from them, but not being told to stop, or offered anything else, just being switched from one to the other. I'm all for looking after yourself and non drug treatments and what not, which is why this situation has been so odd for me, I'm 28, normal weight, I exercise, I eat ok, I don't smoke, etc. but looks like that doesn't always work! I'm still digging for possible causes, I don't want to be on beta blockers for 50 years!

Anne

Good to know it smooths out in the end. It's hard right now, when I was only having very minimal symptoms - I got checked out because of numbers I was noticing when exercising, not any symptoms. Taking medication for long term protection rather than current management is new for me.

Cheers Anne

Beta blockers made me feel like a walking zombie.

Denise

i'm assuming they did a cholesterol check? Anne. i understand drugs for severe depression. i dont understand why so many drs continue to hand them out to everyone for every little ache, pain and whine. argh.

i've not been back to the dr for anything since then. i rarely get sick, not going out of the house much. i'm on call, in case dh's van breaks down or there is an accident disabling the van or whatever else puts the van out of commission. then i have to take the small van to wherever he is to switch the flowers and i'm left to deal with whatever is the problem with his van while he finishes his days deliverys. nowhere much to go anyhow so i sit online most of the time surfing and stuff. occasionally, like after Valentines Day when i spent a week or so doing as little as possible with mushed disc pain. probly from jumping in and out of the van all day delivering those flowers on VDay. occasionally i get a cold if dh or ds brings one home. no biggy there, just time fixes it. neither of those things can the drs do anything about but give me pain pills for the back. they just need time to heal. i live thru that pain. i've got otc pain pills for the odd headache or whatever but rarely take those either.

i sure hope they figure out what you're heart is doing asap. you're just way to young to have problems of this sort. aint no fun worry'n. at least if you know what the problem is you can then more effectively deal with it. all the best, jeanne

"Anne Rogers" wrote...

not that I know of, but then I've also discovered a couple of other things I think need checking, so I guess I'll be getting some blood drawn anyway. There is definitely a tendency to high cholesterol, on both sides of the family, but I don't know what age that tends to effect, my parents are both early 50s and they are in the zone that's above normal but doesn't immediately require medicating, they've been really trying to reduce it with diet and exercise, but starting out fit and healthy, which they both are, their isn't far to go and they aren't seeing changes in the numbers.

Cheers Anne

Then I bet your body *will* adjust and you'll start to feel better. Hope its soon. The one I take now (Lopressor)....is pretty widely prescribed for any heart patient. It makes the heart "work smarter" as it was explained to me. Also helps with BP. I took a different one 20 years ago, for a different reason; back then they prescribed them for preventive migraine therapy. Good luck! Hope you're feeling "normal" very soon.

Sherry

I'm losing sight of what is normal, problem is, I have multiple problems with overlapping symptoms - one of which is narcolepsy, which is a neurological problem that means the brain is doing the wrong thing relating to sleep, but when I feel sleepy is it the narcolepsy, medications, or genuine physical tiredness. Everything happened rather fast, I got called last Wednesday and offered a cancellation for a test on Thursday and they told me I'd get the results at the test rather than another appointment, when I was thinking I had the test tomorrow and the results next week, so all the questions fell out of my mind!

Anne

My husband has been on a beta blocker since June and he still gets tired easily. I suppose every one responds differently. If it gets to be too much of a drag (excuse the pun) tell your doctor. Sometimes they can adjust the dose or change it to a drug that doesn't cause that side effect.

i'm so glad to hear you're searching for answers. if the dr didnt check cholesterol, probably cuz your so young and this isnt usually an issue til the 40s at least, he needs his head read since both your folks have high cholesterol. there could be any number of reasons you might have developed high cholesterol at your age. the obvious heredity factor should have been taken into acct and testing done if only to eliminate that as the reason for the high blood pressure. tis a shame but oh so glad we can do so much research on our own via the internet for answers to problems. read, read, read and write down any questions you come up with so you can put those to the dr on the next visit or phone call. drs are not perfect, they make mistakes, they forget things, they may not be fully up on the latest scientific research results and studys that have been done. we are first and foremost in charge of our own medical care. ask ask ask til you get answers that you understand. if you ever start feeling panicky (sp??) stop and do some deep breathing til you calm down. panic attacks or do they call them anxiety attacks there now, i can never recall which, are fairly common tho not usually at your age either. that said, those could be a result of worry'n about the BP things going on. keep reading, writing down questions and ask til you get the right answers for your peace of mind. there are websites where you can put in symptoms and get results of various possibles. its a good place to learn about how the body works and might give you some questions to ask the dr. they arent foolproof by any means but it is another place to search and learn. now where'd you put that notepad??? :) fingers crossed, jeanne

"Anne Rogers" wrote...