BP Medication

Anyone else had problems with BP medication newly prescribed for high BP  due to wd.  Never had it before in my life.  Depression, anxiety, even suicidal ideation have been reported with beta blockers, and this is how I have been feeling. 

 

Rang doctor who told me to cease and said I didn't need to taper as only low dose and short duration of 3 months. 

 

Have been off for 2 days and feel improved already.  Anyone else? 

 

Dee

When I came home from the hospital in November with insomnia I blamed it on the Metropolol, which is a beta blocker. It also gave me anxiety. I had to wean off of it. By the time I finally took my last dose of Metropolol I was already given Ativan for the insomnia.  So, in a way you could say my whole situation may have started due to a beta blocker.

Thanks FakeItTilYouMakeIt

 

The Atacand has given me anxiety too and have been terribly confused as to what is WD and what is the beta blocker.

 

Can't understand why my doctor said not to wean because I thought you had too. 

 

How did you wean? 

 

Thanks

Dee

By cutting the pills. Very slowly too because I was so scared. I had gone into the hospital for a heart issue (tachycardia) ... First time it ever happened.  They wanted to do a heart ablation and everything. I said no way. I quit smoking cold turkey.  Haven't had an issue since then. This was in November/December.

I cut then in half, then in quarters. I wasn't on a high dose at all anyway and hadn't been on them for more than a month. But I googled it to death and had myself so scared to stop them.

That's me too.  Very scared of BP spiking, and there is stroke in my family.  I'm going to follow your lead and quit smoking, crazy not to.   

 

My hair is falling out too which is a further side effect beta blockers.  Confounding because also involved in benzo WD

 

Congratulations on quitting smoking, so well done.  :

 

Dee

I had super high BP because of W/D at one point but doctor realized that was what it was and told me I didn't have to go on a drug. in about 3 months it evened itself out and now I have normal BP.

HI DWG, NewMoon (GPet) here. I've had extensive experience with BP medication of all sorts, so I am hoping that I can help you out a little bit with your issue. First of all, keep taking the meds and don't quit them cold turkey whatever you do or you can have a significant paradoxical reaction and shoot your pressure through the roof. BP meds need to be tapered like most meds, but only take about a week to do so.

 

I used Beta Blockers for many years initially for migraine prevention assistance. As usual with me I have had severe depressive issues most of my life so if the Beta Blockers caused me more depression I didn't notice. However, because of the way they work physiologically, it would not be out of order for them to cause depression. They are designed to block the body's response to adrenalin. By preventing adrenalin from connecting with their receptor sites it keeps your heart rate from accelerating and your major arteries from constricting. It can also cause a generalized neuro-depressant type of effect, which you are obviously feeling. Most patients when first put on Beta Blockers take a few weeks to a few months to fully adjust to this drug, especially with the most common side effects which are fatigue and feeling light-headed, dizzy or fainting if standing up or sitting up suddenly. It is possible that given time, the depressant effects may also dissipate after this adjustment period is over with. It is up to you whether you want to weather this out or not.

 

There are also other BP meds that work quite differently than Beta Blockers. These are drugs such as ACE inhibitors, which I am now on, and there are virtually no psychogenic side effects associated with this drug. ACE inhibitors work via the kidneys and because of this are not for everyone, but if the Beta Blockers are bothering you a lot, you probably should discuss all of this with your doctor. If you are a candidate and there are no contraindications in your medical history, you can have your BP controlled with the ACE inhibitors and then not have to suffer with depression the way you are right now.

 

Whatever route you end up going I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep control of your BP. Fortunately in this day and age there are more pharmaceutical options than in the 1950's where the gesture they could do was restrict salt intake and prescribe a diuretic (something that made you pee out a ton of your body fluid levels which is fraught with multiple problems all on its own).

 

Best wishes and I hope you find a solution that is right for you and your situation.

 

Hugs .... NewMoon

If you feel much better and your bp is okay, I would say stay away from them. I'm still taking beta blockers, and personally I believe they cause anxiety when they wear off. I wish I didn't have to take them, but I've had a terrible problem with my bp.

 

Don't worry about stroke. Just keep taking your bp. You might think about taking propranolol. Some people take it as needed if things get rough. I wish I'd known about that. It blocks adrenaline/norephinephrine.

I take metropolol for high BP. I've been on it for 15 years. Never had any trouble with it but everyone is different. I know some times they give beta blockers for anxiety. Weird how meds react differently in different people. I just had a terrible reaction to Prozac it caused me way more anxiety