Jason_X Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 EDIT: The title should read IST, not Isp. I blame autocorrect. Mild, But Disruptive IST. Ivabradine? Finding A Doctor.I’m so happy to have found this forum. I found this site from an internet search of the word “Ivabradine”. It looks like some here have some similar experiences to mine. My primary complaints are elevated heart rate (IST), insomnia, fatigue, and brain fog. I don’t seem to have POTS, but I do have Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia (IST). For me, this is much more than an inconvenience. The fatigue and brain fog are seriously affecting my career and my ability to support and enjoy my wonderful family. I’d be grateful for any advice from anyone! Here’s a little background:Long Term Insomnia: I’ve been an extremely light sleeper all my life. It doesn’t take much to disrupt my sleep. Mild tachycardia will keep me awake and will wake me up.Tachycardia: I don’t have sudden episodes of severe tachycardia. If I take an antihistamine, drink alcohol, eat certain foods, etc…, it will gradually rise and remain elevated for several hours. I get REALLY tired if my resting heart rate is even slightly elevated (80-90 bpm). I am unable to sleep if it’s slightly elevated (80 bpm). If I don’t take a beta-blocker in the evening, I’ll typically wake up in the middle of the night. I don’t typically feel a racing heart. I usually have to check my pulse to determine that it’s high. As I’ve gotten older, my sensitivity has gotten worse. Oddly, I’m not very sensitive to coffee, but I’m very sensitive to alcohol.No anxiety: Some doctors have suggested that maybe I suffer from anxiety. I REALLY don’t think so. I’ve done the online anxiety questionnaires, and my anxiety levels aren’t just low, they are very low.Gastroparesis: Diagnosed with stage 1-2 gastroparesis a year ago, which was about a year after I had my gallbladder removed. I’m always a little hungry, but it’s not that bad. Exercise intolerance: I need beta blockers to exercise. If I exercise too much, my heart rate stays elevated for ~18 hours. If I overdo it at noon, I won’t sleep that night, and feel awful the next day. I wear a heart monitor to keep track of my heart rate. It's easy to tell when I've done too much. I immediately feel nauseous and my heart rate stays eleveated. I still manage to keep reasonably fit. Drug Treatment: I’ve had best luck so far with Bisoprolol and Bystolic. Bisoprolol seemed great when I only needed it a couple of times a month. Now that I need it daily, it really seems to produce brain fog, and I suspect that it disrupts sleep. Bystolic is expensive, but my brain fog seems better. I suspect that it also disrupts sleep, though. Verapamil did nothing. Tenormin (Atenolol) and Inderal (Propranolol) were awful. I’m also currently taking Lunesta to help with sleep. I don’t think that I’d need the Lunesta if I weren’t taking the beta blockers. Maybe I can eliminate the Bystolic and Lunesta with Corlanor.Can’t Find a Good Doctor: Every cardiologist I’ve seen has the attitude: “Your heart rate shouldn’t be much of a problem for you. Come see me when you have a real problem.” The treadmill tests, EKGS, an holter monitor tests are always fine. My cardiologist didn’t know anything about Ivabradine. I’ve seen neurologists in the past, and they’ve never been helpful. A GP I saw was just insulting and condescending. I’m excited to read about Ivabradine (Corlanor) being available in the United States. I’m currently looking for another cardiologist in the Dallas area. This time, I’m looking for Cardiac Electrophysiologist, instead of a generic cardiologist. Some of them seem to specialize in ablation techniques, which I understand would not likely be a good solution for me. I’d be grateful for any suggestions from anyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahA33 Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 Hi, Jason, welcome to DINET! FYI -- I've fixed your title for you.I've had so much success with Ivabradine. I spent 8 years trying to control my IST and tachycardia from my POTS and nothing worked. (Mass doses of all types of Beta Blockers, Alpha Beta Blockers, Calcium Channel Blockers) I was actually at the point where my Electrophysiologist was going to refer me for a Sinus Node Modification Consultation because of the refractory tachycardia and then we tried this. It's worked so well for me. Everybody is different though, but in my opinion more doctors need to at least be willing to familiarize themselves with it now that it's been approved.I hope that things improve for you soon. You've got a lot going on it sounds like, hang in there. I'm glad that you've found the forum!Just in case you are interested, one of our medical advisors for DINET, Dr. Suleman is an Electrophysiologist who is located in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Areahttp://dinet.org/index.php/about-us/advise ,http://dinet.org/index.php/index.php?option=com_physicianlist&view=physiciandetail&Itemid=0000&phyid=390Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_X Posted September 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Sarah, thank you so much for your response. It was one of your posts that brought me to this forum. I now have Dr. Suleman’s website bookmarked. One of his offices is nearby. I’m encouraged to hear about your good results with Ivabradine. This started as an intermittent problem about 25 years ago and has become a continuous daily problem. Thank you for correcting the title. I tried to edit the post, but I couldn’t change the title to “IST”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahA33 Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Jason,No problem, moderator's can edit title's for members if needed. I'm truly sorry to hear that you've been plagued by this for so long. When it's affecting all aspect's off your daily life, ie; career, family, etc., it becomes more than an inconvenience. I'm glad that you've found some encouragement from my response. My doctor has said that he's seen patients respond well or some haven't at all, and that my response has been quite profound. It's actually pleasantly surprised everyone I hope the same for you!Here are some article's that you might want to check out. The first one you might find really interesting. http://content.onlinejacc.org/article.aspx?articleid=1358180http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/705913_3http://heartdisease.about.com/od/womenheartdisease/fl/Ivabradine-for-Inappropriate-Sinus-Tachycardia-IST.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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