What Is Your Beta Blocker & Dosage?

[SeattleRain]

I got back from my GP today and after going over my ultrasound results (came back normal) he brought up autonomic dysfunction (he deserves a cookie just for that). He said I could be having an adrenaline problem, and that one way to go from here is to try a low dose SSRI or low dose beta blocker - both which have an effect on the ANS. It was up to me so I went with the beta blocker as I know this to be what helps with most POTS patients.

So, he has me on 25mg of Atenolol (daily) for 10 - 14 days, and to stop if I get dizzy or fatigued.

I'm curious to know what you guys are on and what your dosage is (for beta blockers specifically).

He also mentioned that beta blockers can cause a drop in blood pressure which is why he has me on the lowest dose possible (25mg - 250mg range). Given that I hear a lot of about low blood pressure among POTS patients - is this why the increased salt intake is necessary? To not only combat the low BP, but on top of taking a BB?

Lastly, he deserves another cookie for saying "You're learning a great lesson in medicine. Doctors do a great job at telling you everything that's not wrong with you." Coming from a doctor, that was music to my ears.

[Guest Alex]

I'm taking propranolol 10 mg in the am and 10 in the pm.

as I also take florinef, I supplement with salt. I do tend to have a lower than norm bp (always have) - around 100/70 lately.

I tried metoprolol and bisoprolol before but the dizziness and tiredness were pretty bad, and my bp was extremely low, so I had to switch.

Can you give your dr a cookie from me too? That is a very "eye opening" statement.

Good luck.

Alex

[Canadiangirl73]

I take Metoprolol 12.5 mg three times a day. I try to eat a lot of salt too and drink plenty of fluids.

[southbel]

I take Metoprolol 12.5 mg once to twice per day. Also been told to add extra salt, extra fluids, etc. We're still trying to figure out the timing and dosage on mine. For some reason. the BB causes me insomnia but if I don't take it at the right time, I won't get relief of symptoms during my waking hours or I'll be up all night. On a good day, I have been able to get about 5-6 hours of improvement which is a huge leap forward from being nearly bedridden back when this hit me like a mack truck.

[Jacquie802]

Beta Blockers drop my Bp so low that I cannot tolerate them :0(

[TCP]

I take 80mgs of Propranolol

[peregrine]

Atenolol 25mg once a day these days. I took propranolol in the past.

[SeattleRain]

The Atenolol was a no go. After an hour I started having breathing problems, extremely painful palpitations while standing (never have had standing palps much before) and the feeling like my heart was about to drop/fall out of place... (and oh, dry mouth like crazy).

It did, strangely enough, reduce the symptoms of standing up. Wasn't very worth it - my pulse got as low as 32.

At least I know it's definitely a blood flow problem (I think?).

[arizona girl]

I take short acting labetalol 50 to 200 mg, depending how bad my symptoms are on a given day. These are baby doses for this med and it's an alpha beta that is suppose to help supine from getting to low and standing from getting to high, I have the hyper form of pots that causes very high standing bp, which can trigger presyncope if it is up there to long, or I'm in a triggering environment.

I took a lot of the others, I gained weight on propanonl and it really jumped up with a higher dose of it, and the fatigue was awful. Atenenol lowered me to much when supine, most of the others were just unable to bring my standing blood pressure down, but that was before we knew what was going on.

[jangle]

I'm feeling better on propanolol, still have my symptoms but they're alleviated somewhat. Currently on 20 mg BID.

[cmreber]

I take Metoprolol 50mg twice a day (at 5:30am so I can get up in the morning by 8-9, and then at 5:30pm); also on high salt intake and lots of fluids. So far, aside from fatigue, this seems to be working for me.