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Anyone taking beta blockers ( propanol )

Hi I've been having problems with my heart racing constantly , even though I'm on sooooo much medication it should be non existent lol

So my gp yesterday put me on beta blockers called propanol 40mg to take once a day or twice a day if that doesn't help .
She said it won't affect my other meds ( see below )

Any one else in this ?
What r the side effects ?
Will I be ok to function with looking after my kids etc ?
I'm not normally this wary of medication coz I'm used to taking allsorts but this is a heart medication an I dont wanna mess with stuff like that !!

My gp explained my heart rate is so fast due to anxiety even though she knows me well an knows I'm not really anxious or nervous it's just happened over a few months , she's not saying I'm a nervous wreck lol just that my heart has it's own ideas of when to act up in certain situations an nothing serious is wrong lol but not much else I can do about it .
Thanks
Jen xx
Thanks again
 

Jennifer

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
SLO
Side effects lists:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000727/
http://www.ehow.com/about_5513062_side-effects-propanol.html

I'm curious, if your GP thinks its mainly anxiety related then why not give a med for anxiety? If you need to go on heart meds then you should be seeing a cardiologist so they can check and see if there's actually something wrong with your heart.

I'm on beta blockers too and take Tenormin. I was started on 25mg which is a low dose (dunno about the dosage for the one you were given). I noticed less heart palpitations yet still got them and wanted them to not happen at all so my doctor upped the dose to 50mg. I could not handle that dose. I was bedridden. My heart rate went way too low I could barely lift my arm. I felt heavy everywhere especially in my chest and was extremely tired and it almost seemed like a chore to breathe. Since it made mine go too low I went back to 25mg and have been fine on that dose ever since and haven't noticed any bad side effects.

If you don't have your own blood pressure monitor at home then you'll want to get one. This way you can keep track of your blood pressure at home and know if the med is working or doing too much so the dose can be adjusted or switched to something else. We have a digital one which makes it easy to keep track of past readings. My husband and I got one because he started having high blood pressure issues and is now on meds for it and its great for me to use too.

Keep track of how you feel and write it down when you notice anything be it a headache, tired, dizzy etc. If you're super concerned about it interacting with any of your meds then you can contact your pharmacist and they'll let you know. With mine I've taken 6MP, Humira, Asacol, Entocort, Prednisone, Lomotil, birth control, Klonopin, Xanax, Ambien, Tylenol 3, Tramadol, antibiotics (usually the Z-pack) and probably some stuff I'm forgetting as I've been taking it for a while now.
 
Thank u x

I have read up on it on the Internet an the leaflet etc but there's nothing better than first hand experience so that's what I'm hoping for really people on here who used it an can tell me what problems if any they had on it.

I think my blood pressure is fine last check was 135/95 pulse 116 an that was just a dental appointment ( hospital maxilofacial ) coz I'm having wisdom teeth removed under general anaesthetic after Xmas .
The nurse who did it said wow your pulse is fast do I said sorry I'm just nervous she said I'm not going to touch you today lol

I knew I wasn't nervous it just randomly goes fast an then I'm aware of it so it seems to go faster an I get slightly out of breath .
It was just embarrassing so I had to pretend I was nervous lol

I think I'll take them later tonight when I'm home after trick or treating with the kids , just in case they do hive me any weird side effects .
Thanks
Jen xx
 

Jennifer

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
SLO
Ya I always take my meds before bed in case they make me tired but if it keeps you tired all day then give your doc a call. I took the 50mg for 3 days to give it a chance but there was just no way I could do it.

Could also be a panic disorder which I also have. My heart rate goes up randomly and I don't get nervous or anxious until it happens. Hence why I started taking Klonopin 2x a day and it did help a lot but I recently switched to Xanax to try and replace my Ambien for helping me sleep and to have something faster acting during a panic attack. I have them less often now too and don't take them everyday anymore. :) Might want to try a psychiatrist too and see what they say. Still a good idea to be checked out by a cardiologist though to be on the safe side ya know? Mine didn't seem serious but as you can see in my sig I've got two heart problems and heart disease and other heart problems run in my family.

My number one guess of side effect you'll notice is feeling tired. Hopefully not too tired though.
 
Thanks so much :)

It always helps when someone else has been there done that etc .

Yet any 1 else I could have spoke to wouldn't have the added problem of crohns an all the meds to go along with , so may not have been much help regarding adding in a beta blocker lol

Ive got a funny feeling I may need another blood transfusion , because this time last year the same thing happened an I had a blood test an was sent straight to hospital the day they got my results back needing a blood transfusion , an I haven't had my iron or anything really checked for well over 3/4 months and I haven't been on iron tablets either for that time . Do I think I better get that checked ASAP !!

Panic disorder and depression run in my family , my mum has severe depression and is an alcoholic , an my brother has schizophrenia an was a heavy drug user .

But me on the other hand went the opposite way , I wad brought up in foster care so I suppose that's why really but I've always been a happy outgoing person , a bit shy , get nervous when I'm supposed to lol but apart from that only get a few down periods of why me etc etc so I'm positive I'm not in need of seeing a psychiatrist or needing any therapy etc coz honestly I'm dealing with everything ok .

I'll get my iron levels checked this week an update you .
Oh yeah I've also got polycystic ovaries apparantly , I have no hormonal changes or any symptoms but on a pelvic ultrasound it showed 1 large bleeding cyst on 1 ovary an other small ones an small ones on the other .
At the time my periods were very heavy an lasted 3 months then were non existent for 3 mnths so that's the reason I had the ultrasound .
I seem to be all back to normal now though but not sure if that could be a reason ?

Thanx for listening , it's like my life story here just over taking a tablet lol

Jen xx
 

Jennifer

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
SLO
Hey no problem! Life stories often pop up on here.

I've read somewhere that schizophrenia runs in families. Was also told that my dad had some mild form of schizophrenia and used to take medication for it (kind of a hush hush thing in my family, can't ask my dad about it cause he tends to fly off the handle). I'm losing my train of thought here, I believe it had to do with if there's one mental illness in the family then its more likely others in the family may have one as well such as depression or anxiety etc but doesn't necessarily have to be the same mental illness. I'll have to find where I read that, might have been a paper or study on schizophrenia itself actually.

For me I'm pretty laid back and usually don't worry over little things or anything like that. Just always went with the flow and only fought the current when needed yet a few years ago in 2008 I started almost passing out while driving. I was on my way to a Halloween party where suddenly my vision went black, my heart started racing and I got really dizzy. I slammed on the breaks and it went away as quickly as it came. Had no idea what happened so went about my business. Same thing happened while driving days later on the freeway. Decided its time to go to the ER cause this is too dangerous. They found nothing wrong with me. Drove home same thing happened again (it was a 3 1/2 hour drive back to my house from my parent's where I was visiting and I was honestly afraid to drive home). I made it eventually but stopped multiple times.

Saw a GP with no answers then saw a therapist who had me answer yes or no to a list of questions. I answered yes to almost all of them and she suggested that it might be that I'm having panic attacks and she had me see a psychiatrist. Took meds for a while and it seemed to help along with the therapy yet then my heart palpitations started happening about 10+ times a day a lasted longer and longer each time (ER doc said to come back when it lasts for a half hour or more). Started seeing a cardiologist and sure enough I have an irregular heart beat. Got put on meds for that and ever since those issues I had while driving that I went to the ER for originally stopped happening. At most I have some slight panic at times but I'm able to work past them using the tools I learned in therapy.

So do/did I really have panic attacks or was it all heart related? I dunno. I think its worth checking out all angles though. Even if you don't go on meds for anxiety and don't feel depressed like I didn't therapy did help a lot when my heart rate would start speeding up and I'd start feeling dizzy.

Yes please do have your iron tested. Might as well test everything while you're at it really to make sure you aren't low or deficient in anything. Common things I was low in was Iron, B12, folic acid, magnesium and most recently vit D. Any one of those can create some pretty nasty symptoms when you're low.
 
Thanks again :)

Yeah Im positive that I've heard before that mental illness and addiction are pretty much in your genes an get passed down etc , an it's always when I'm in hospital an the NEW DOC has hold of my file an comes to see me saying " wow how on earth did you turn out so well!"
I just reply I made better choices ;)
I mean what else am I supposed to say to that lol

I think because of my family history I was never taken seriously with my stomach an bowel issues in the beginning , it would always be put down to ibs or mental health like depression etc , it's quite unfair really but at least I got taken seriously at some point or I'd still be stuck at square 1 with a diagnosis of depression and ibs .

Crohns is a hard illness to find really when I think back especially if there going off family history and expect you to be the same .

I still haven't taken the propanol yet coz It was Halloween an if anything went wrong I would have spoilt it , so tonight is the night I will try it an c how I get on .

Thank u for your help crabby it means alot !
I will update on this thread when I have any updates regarding the propanol iron an whatever else so keep a look out lol
Jen xx
 
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