Beta Blocker

[samemmycatsmom]

For those of you on a beta blocker, how did you feel before starting it compared to after starting it. I would love to hear both good and bad experiences with a beta blocker.

Thanks

[pastordari]

Prior to BB I was tachy, weak, dizzy, and just all over miserable.

The BB lowered my heart rate which helped with energy level and dizziness.

It also helped with chest pain and palpatations.

I've had good results with my BB - toporol xl.

Dari

[kjdube]

I'm on inderal and I can honestly say its made a huge difference in the quality of my life. Before using it my heart rate would flux constantly leaving me dizzy and weak, feeling miserable.

I take the regular 4 hour type, not the LA as I want my heart rate to increase while exercising, etc. This way I have control of when and how much I need, as I have 20mg tablets and usually take up to 4 at a time depending on symptoms.

My son has POTS also and he took his first dose of beta blocker before bed one night. I remember he woke up the next morning and said "this is the best I've felt in years".

So we've had great results with a BB... but as for anything... YMMV.

[Adria]

I have had really positive experiences with beta blockers. Prior to my beta blocker, atenolol, my heart rate was in the upper 100s and sometimes over 200 just from standing up. I was completely unable to exercise and was for all intents and purposes bedridden. My beta blocker slowed my heart rate into the 60-70 bpm range and dramatically improved my chest pain and palpitations. I also did not experience a dramatic lowering in my blood pressure even though I was not taking midodrine or any other vasoconstrictor. My blood pressure has always been low even before I had POTS, however, the beta blocker allowed my blood pressure to be consistently low so I did not experience dramatic drops in BP when going from a sitting to a standing position. I also made sure to take in a great deal of extra sodium. My beta blocker enabled me to do light cardiovasuclar exercise on a recumbent bike and made it possible for me to finish my college degree and get through law school. In the last year, I was taken off of atenolol since my body developed a tolerance to it and the medication was no longer effective for me. In the past year I have been on a combination alpha/beta blocker called Labetalol which did was not effective for my tachycardia and chest pain. I am currently on Coreg which is an alpha blocker and while it has improved my tachycardia to an extent, upon standing my HR is 130-140 and sitting down it's usually 111. Overall beta blockers have been the best therapy for the tachycardia and chest pain associated with POTS in my case however everyone responds differently.

[ode_to_fantasy]

I believe I was the most miserable I've ever been when taking beta blockers (toprol xl). I took it for 3 months, thinking that maybe it would get better. My blood pressure, which is usually average (115/70) dropped to the lowest it's ever been before or since. (50/20) and my organs started shutting down...It had gotten steadily worse. I slept the whole time, I could barely crawl out of bed to get the normal things done that I needed to accomplish. They kept changing my dosage thinking it would get better, but it never did. As soon as I stopped taking it, I got immediately better. Not good enough to walk yet, but much better than I had been before. All in all, it was a horrible experience, and I never want to repeat it. Hopefully you'll have a better reaction that I did!

[cardiactec]

I had tremor in my legs and arms before taking my beta - along with HR's in the 200's - and horrific nausea.....I'm down to 40mg's of beta currently (from about 200 mg's) and am continuing to ween off of it because i'd like to see where i'm at for a baseline and perhaps take a break from the meds for a bit - but all in all, the beta has been a life saver for me -- the difference between working or not, having somewhat of a life or not.......

[yogini]

Beta blockers are one of the most effective treatments for POTS. While some can't tolerate them, as the others have said, they're a lifesaver for many of us. As with any other med, it's also a matter of trial and error, finding the right BB (there are many different ones), finding the right dose and learning to live with the side effects. You can search thru some of the old posts, as this topic has come up a lot. Good luck!