Bystolic

[RickyC1]

On the 6th of October I had a Doctor's appointment. At this time during check in my BP was checked and was a little high. I believe it was somewhere around 151/80. Prior to this appointment I had been having my BP check on nearly a weekly basis since April this year. It had been running most of the time 115 up to130 with most being in the teens  over 50s, 60s & 70s with most in the 60s. There have been a few highs such as 145/74, 141/70 & 139/77. A couple of months prior, I went for an annual stress test and at that time I checked in with I believe it was 150/80 something. The weekly checks have been done with a BP machine and those done in the Doctor's office were done by a human. During my visit with my Doctor, he changed my BP medicine from 50MG of Atenolol to 5MG of Bystolic. Since a few days after the change, I often feel very flushed in the face, forgetful, confusion, seem to lose my train of thought more frequently, change in bowel movement.......With all that said, I guess my major question is are these some of the side effects when taking Bystolic? Should I go back to my Doctor and request he put me back on Atenolol? I believe the Atenolol was doing the job. I had a few spikes and most of them were while in a Doctors office. I might add I have been taking the Atenolol since my Heart Surgery in 1996.

[Sandra Y, RPh]

Bystolic is the newest beta blocker available in the U.S.  LIke other beta blockers, the most common adverse events with Bystolic are headache, fatigue and dizziness. However, the manufacturer states studies have shown that Bystolic was well tolerated, with a low incidence of traditional beta blocker side effects.

In addition, Bystolic decreases vascular peripheral resistance, improves left ventricular performance and is not associated with decreases in cardiac output sometimes seen with the initiation of other beta blockers. Since you had heart surgery, this would be a favorable advantage of Bystolic over Atenolol.

Blood pressure readings will also vary due to factors such as stress level and machine vs. human readings. Measure your blood pressure with your machine to get an average. If it continues to run high and the flushing and confusion contiues, talk to your doctor about switching back.

[jesusbaby]

u should go back and see the doctor to replace the medication