Brye Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 My memory problems have gotten progressively worse. I know there have been recent posts on this about the feeling of losing your mind. I'm definitely getting there! I know some of it is POTS and some is from fatigue. I have a vit D deficiency as well. I discussed it with my cardiologist and he said it definitely could be the atenolol. I've been taking it almost 3 years. I didn't know atenolol could cause memory problems but apparently it's not so uncommon. Anyone out there have to stop taking it for this reason? I'm so hesitant to change meds ever for obvious reasons. Just wondering if there are any metoprolol users out there and have you had success with it. My atenolol really works quite well but it's only a matter of time before I forget a child at the shopping mall. The atenolol also really helps with my hand tremors. That's the 1st thing I notice if I miss a dose. Any advice would be appreciated. Brye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comfortzone Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 I have EDS and some pots-like symptoms with orthostatic intolerance issues etc... I was put on metoprolol at first for my tachy baseline heart rate and runs of SVT (PAT) & palpitations.... It didn't really help with my baseline high blood pressure that I also have....but it would dip low sometimes too. I gave up on it -- tried next Bystolic. Only 2.5mg. With a diuretic. Anyway - I just have to say that though I know how painful it is to lose your mind.... I am mildly relieved to read I'm not the only one. When I tried to tell my neuro doc this - he said firstly my time would best be spent ruling out a bunch of other stuff. Then they found mild sleep apnea - I tried C-pap for a month and gave up on it. Anyway I get lost in my own house sometimes - like where am I and why did I get in this room anyway. I lose absolutely everything many, many times a day. I break down and cry over it -- get this -- DAILY. Yet so far no one wants to take this seriously. Anyway I have a great book called Hypermobility Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain by Hakim, Keer and Grahame - maybe I'll find something in there that speaks to this issue. It's a catch 22 - do I really want to admit I'm going crazy? Do I want that in my chart when I have an invisible disease to begin with? Not really - then everyone is that much more likely to blow you off as 'mental' =-> sad but true in some instances. Yet if you really, really trust one of your clinicians ... what are they to do? Neuropsych testing to say - yes you have cognitive problems on top of everything else? I'm at a loss......sometimes I wonder if I'm safe to live alone. At age 53. I mean I know I am safe to do so ... but it's getting scarier and scarier to be alone.Is this the "brain fog" everyone speaks of linked with certain other diagnosis? Is this menopause? Is it normal? I even stopped all pain meds for a ten day trial (ouch) - to see if that would help my mind. It did not. Not a bit of difference. I still lose everything I touch! One doc said it's because you don't feel well and are stressed out. Anyway I never really attributed this to my beta blocker because I only started that in April of this year - and my mental remembering thing started 2 years ago. I have no short term memory - like my brain can't store the information. I've had 4 major surgeries and wondered if the anesthesia did something - as only the last of the four did I have a general by way of airway...maybe it fried my neurons lol?I hope others post - maybe I'll learn something....thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelika_23 Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 Hi,I was on Atenolol early on and it did nothing for me. They tried Cardizem and it made me much worse. Then Cleveland Clinic put me on Toprol XL and it has been a help with my "regular" tachy. I don't have blood pressure issues, high or low, so the Toprol works just fine with my BP. I still have breakthrough tachycardia when exerting myself or exercising. I would have to say that the Toprol has been the most effective medicine I have at this point.I hope the Toprol works for you!Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBlonde Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 On the bright side, I can watch movies over and over again, 'cause I can't remember how they end, lol!Seriously, I really knew I was in trouble when I was driving home for work and suddenly couldn't remember how to get home! Scary!! After several months, I finally figured out that my BP was dropping low and my heart rate was rising high when I was sitting down in a chair or as it turned out, the seat of a car. Maybe your not getting enough blood to your brain.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah4444 Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 I tried metoprolol for a couple of weeks and didn't find much change, positive or negative. I also feel that I have significant cognitive impairment, particularly when it comes to concentration and memory but I don't think it has to do with meds, but more likely with lack of oxygen to my brain (or something else, who knows). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brye Posted November 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 Thanks so much for all the responses. It's so hard to nail down a cause of memory loss because there are so many options to choose from. I pick and choose what to complain about because every problems comes with a whole other work up by a different doctor. I'm almost embarassed to complain about fatigue and memory problems. 4 kids, POTS, meds, Vit deficiency, 4 kids, brain fog. I'm doomed to be tired and I get that but I don't want the dementia thing to start in my 30's. Nowwhat ... it sounds like you've tried just about everything. I'm terrified to give up my atenolol but I can't take much more of this. I'm afraid to see a neuro doc because I know they'll just order a bunch of tests. I need to take one problem at a time and right now I'm trying to resolve the fainting.Angelika ... great to hear the toprol worked well for you. The atenolol is working so well for me right now it's hard to switch. I don't even have exercise tachycardia. I do have low BP problems so I'm hoping it won't make that worse. Mc Blonde ... scary!! So far it doesn't affect me sitting down thank goodness!! I haven't gotten lost yet. I was a bit embarassed the other day when a friend asked me what I did that morning and I had no clue. I also recently forgot to take my socks off getting into the shower. To me that sounds like something a brain injured patient or geriatric person would do. Frustrating!! It totally feels like my brain is starved, especially when I exercise. The doctor told me though my BP was good during my stress test so this probably wasn't the cause. Who knows. I may never know!Sarah 4 ... do you take another Beta Blocker then or how do you control your HR's? I totally feel like my brain isn't getting enough blood or oxygen as well. It's easier to claim it's from fatigue, stress, etc.Thanks so much for all who responded. I appreciate your input and I feel for you all. It is nice to know I'm not alone. My biggest fear is that I'm just doomed to a life of fatigue and brain lapses. Brye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah4444 Posted November 13, 2010 Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 Brye - I suspect I am one of the MCAD people, and apparently we're supposed to avoid beta blockers. I am trying the MCAD meds, hoping that will help my POTS. In the meantime my heart just goes nuts and I'm pretty debilitated. Sorry not to be more help here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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