Anoj Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 I've (happily) been on Betaxolol 10 mg for over a year now. Lately, I've been having lots of problems, including 3 a.m. POTS episodes. I feel that the beta isn't doing a good job anymore. Is it possible for these things to quit working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hanice Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 I don't know but don't stop taking it without first asking your doctor! I just read about it. It said that if your doctor decides to take you off of it, he would have to wean you off of it very slowly and limit your exercise while weaning.Maybe he can prescribe you a different beta? I would ask your doc if I were you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akgirl Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 I am on atenolol and it really helps. If you change betas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 When I started bb's they worked perfectly for 10 days then they stopped working. My cardio prescribed up to 300mg to get me stable in steps of 50mg each time. Every step worked perfectly well for 10 days. I'm not sure why it worked like that but it is possible for bb's to stop working. I decided (with my cardio) that 300 was too much (though comfortable re chest pain and hr) as I got too tired and got back to 200mg 24/7. In POTS that is unusually high as far as I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkd Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 What do you mean by POTS episodes?I take 5 mg betaxolol once per day and 2.5 mg midodrine 2x/day. The first month, I was only taking the betaxolol and I still had a near-syncope moment and that's when he added the midodrine. It kicks my BP up just enough so that I haven't had anymore syncope episodes since (it's only been two months though).So, if you're episodes are syncope related, maybe you need midodrine also???I know the betaxolol is working because my heart rate is staying down. If your heart rate is not staying down, then I'd say it's probably not working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anoj Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 I don't know but don't stop taking it without first asking your doctor! I just read about it. It said that if your doctor decides to take you off of it, he would have to wean you off of it very slowly and limit your exercise while weaning.Maybe he can prescribe you a different beta? I would ask your doc if I were you.thanks. good to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anoj Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 I am on atenolol and it really helps. If you change betas.are you saying that if you change betas, it might help? this one seems to be less effective after about a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anoj Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 What do you mean by POTS episodes?I take 5 mg betaxolol once per day and 2.5 mg midodrine 2x/day. The first month, I was only taking the betaxolol and I still had a near-syncope moment and that's when he added the midodrine. It kicks my BP up just enough so that I haven't had anymore syncope episodes since (it's only been two months though).So, if you're episodes are syncope related, maybe you need midodrine also???I know the betaxolol is working because my heart rate is staying down. If your heart rate is not staying down, then I'd say it's probably not working.i have been on & off midodrine since 2010. i am experimenting with getting off now because of the 3 a.m. adrenal surges.the POTS episodes i have in the middle of the night are blood pressure surges that wake me up from sleep. most of the time my heart rate stable, except for the surges. i ended up in the ER about a week ago becs i thought i was going into a seizure at 3 a.m. it turned out to be a surge. BP was high, arms got cold and red, sweats, shaking, diarrhea ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkd Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Hmmmm, I don't know what to tell you --other than ask your doc--sorry!! Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alex Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Anoj,obviously it's best that you ask your dr about this change in pattern for you. I can tell you though that it's not uncommon for a POTSie to experience what you're going through. I've read many such stories since I joined the forum and I've dealt with similar situations myself. In fact I can tell you that most my surges have happened at night.Is it possible for the betas to stop working? I'd say yes, particularly with a condition as unpredictable as POTS. I have decided to come off my beta and I've been off for a while now. My dr disapproved but still provided me with a tapering schedule which I tripled in length as I wanted to avoid all possible risks. Now I only take it when I have a nasty episode. I notice though how my episodes tend to terminate in about 20 min (sometimes even faster) so I doubt that the beta is really helping in my case (given the low dose I am taking and the fact that it takes at least 30 min for most meds to enter your blood stream). Deep breathing and meditation have helped me a lot more than pills in dealing with these surges in the past (and I take that as a good sign as I am not a big fan of pills). I've recently started a thread about breathing exercises (you can look it up) and I can tell you that they work...at least whatever I've experimented with so far.Another idea - ask your dr about clonidine as an alternative med to help you control these surges, or perhaps a different beta if this is the type of med you feel comfortable with.Best of luck.Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.