For Nina

[nantynannie]

Hi Nina,

I hope you don't mind all of my questions! I am wondering why you do not take medication? I am asking because I would prefer not to take medication and I would like your advice. Have your docs told you that it is not good for your heart rate to be so high all the time? Mine tried to tell me that this time the medication was "not optional" just like a diabetic does not have an option when it comes to insulin. What is your opinion of this? I have so many other problems that I prefer not to wonder if a new symptom is just a side effect of some medication that I am taking. The problem is that I have felt so terrible lately that I decided to try the Coreg. Not sure if it is worth the side effects. I have gained 4 pounds in the last few days (water weight I am thinking) and I don't feel much better.

Thank you,

Ann

[MightyMouse]

I've taken various meds through the years. I was on florinef the longest; however, after weaning off of it for a study and trying to restart, it shot my bp through the roof.

I sometimes have taken proamatine, but for the most part, can manage without it as long as

1. I've had enough sleep

2. I've eaten enough salty stuff

3. I've had enough water

4. and the kicker...it's not too hot.

oh...and when I don't let my vanity get the best of me, I wear my Ames Walker support hose.

I do well on proamatine but forget to take it at the right times, so then I get a precipitous drop in blood pressure and would feel horrible.

I don't do well with beta blockers. Makes me too dopey, sluggish.

Actually, the Celexa DOES help my bp and hr. If you look back to some post from a few months ago, I tried to wean myself off of it and sent my bp and hr into a tailspin...up down up down up down and dizzy as all ****. The theory is that the ssri's help the central nervous system to mediate the autonomic system. Regardless of how it does what it does, I learned a lesson: I do better with Celexa than without it.

I take a huge amount of other meds, including GI meds--which you will learn have some relation to autonomic problems. Many of us here have problems with GI functioning and I'm definitely among them. In total, I take 7 different medication for GI, asthma and allergy every day.

Like you, I HATED taking medication, even tylenol and asprin. It was a HUGE deal for me to come to the realization that I need certain medication in order to simply function. Which ones work for each of us is very individualized. One person's miracle is another's poison.

Nina