help for tachycardia please!

[monicaileana]

Hi. this is my first time here and i've several answers and so hoping for some help here too.
I am a 53 year old female with tachycardi triggered mainly by bending over or turning sideways.
I was at clinic and found my blood pressure was high.  they decided to put me on a BP med and i asked
if i could go on inderal as i've been on it before for tachycardia.  i've been on and off metoprolol and inderal (propranolol) for over a year now.  they both tend to make me tired and low energy.
my biggest problem though is that i've gained so much weight!  i keep gaining and gaining each month
more and more.  i'm only 5'2 and i now weigh 170 pounds.  i am small so it is alot to handle and i'm sure also
hindering my energy level at this point.

my dr. is very conservative and i seen him today to change thhis med again.  i wanted to get off beta blockers all together but i've been on cardizem before and didnt like the side effects one bit.  i wanted something other then a beta blocker but he insisted that it is not causing the weight gain so he would not change my meds...also i've been  having horrible awful anxiety attacks each morning and he dont know what it is from either.  i am hypothyroind and post meno so he is checking into more thyroid stuff and cholesterol stuff as well to see if anything there is causing the anxiety stuff which greatly raises my blood pressure too dispite the meds.

i've read several stories from others who gained seveal pounds being on propranol and or metoprolol and did lose it once they got it.  also i read it can cause diabetes 2 in people as well.  i've struggled with a high hba1c and high blood sugars reading but nothing in diabetic range yet.  i've totally changed my eating and eliminated manycarbs and sugars and brought my hba1c down from 6.1 to 5.7 and am still working on it.  i'm afraid it is such hard work because of this constant weight gain and also exercise intolerance because of something, the weight, i dont know but it's so hard to exercise...

what can you suggest for me to suggest to my dr.?  i want to get off the beta blockers for a while and just take a blood pressure med and see if i lose weight.  i dont "need" to be on a beta blocker, that was my own choice but i do need to be on a blood pressure med...any thoughts on all of this so much appreciated...Monica

[grendslori]

I was on Inderal for several years and i can tell you that I, along with several other people have gained weight on that drug! I had to quit taking it because I started hallucinating on the drug.

[monicaileana]

Thank you BOTH for such awesome advice!
Gil i've had the eco for the tachy and the pulmonary hypertension and all was fine.  it's not really the tachy is that is the problem its all the anxiety i suffer each day and i dont think the tachy has anything to do with it...i just dont know where it comes from but before i even barely open my eyes i can feel it rearing it's ugly head.  the only thing that really calms me down is to eat and thus the weight gain though i've gotten the a1c down weight continues to crawl up, ugggh..

yesterday i actually DID do some cardio!  i desperately want to lose some weight and hope that that will make me feel better. i dont think weight gain is causing the anxiety and i'm going today for some fasting tests such as cholesterol and all of them and thyroid levels again and he said he has some other tests he is doing too but i dont know what they are...i will ask today then i have to go back in two weeks to find out results..

at this point i almost hope they find something wrong with me to attest to this anxiety.  as for the beta blockers, i have taken them several times over the years and i really had no problems with them, making some lethargy but i cant say weight gain is one of them nor the tinnitus i've had for 9 years that i am now wearing a split for to see if it helps it at all, i'm on day 3 and so far nada.

its been one month and a few days since i started my new dose of thyroid meds and i would think that would be long enough to make a difference and it i dont think it's done much anxiety wise, maybe a little, good day then bad days.

my dr. wants me to go on celexa for anxiety so i'm still considering it...

[Flycaster305]

The fact that your AC1 is down attests to your attention to your diet, and I congratulate you for that!  It sure sounds to me that your thyroid balance is involved, and there is no question in my mind that your beta blocker is adding to the issue.

My suggestion is to contact your doctor and ask that you be connected with an Endrocrinologist, or someone who can analyze your drugs.  I recall the President of the company I worked for struggling with an issue like you have, and it took an expert to sort out a diet/exercise/drug/ plan.  

High blood pressure is simply very dangerous, I can attest to that, I've had a lot of heart procedures because I didn't pay attention to it as a younger man.  Medications are very important in bringing down blood pressures.  So is the elimination of salt.  My doctor suggested I try and lose a pound a month through calorie reduction and walking two miles a day, and as much as possible, quit eating boxed, processed or canned food.  I did that, and I've lost over 50 pounds in four years.  My blood pressure is great and my aggressive CAD is arrested.  

It takes time to get used to Beta Blockers, but also we all have different tolerances to these drugs.  Perhaps you can take a lower dose.  What Beta Blocker are you taking?  Also, have you been given a 24 or 48 hour monitor to determine your heart patterns?
Keep us informed.

[dj197]

We live in a society that has created an environment that encourages us to find a medication to take care of all our problems.  I once was that kind of person.  Of course I have some medications I am taking yet, but every so often the doctor cuts one back in strength, or cuts in out all together.  

I was much heavier at one time, and it seemed like I was gaining weight every day.  It was tough but I started to walk every day, drink only water, no more soft drinks.  Found myself cutting out the salt in the diet, as well as things like mayo.  It seemed like I had problems walking very far, but I set goals to keep myself active to enjoy walking for excerise.  Soon I found myself losing 10 lbs a month, and I kept plugging away.  You know when I started to feel really better!  It was when people started to comment on my weight loss.  That just gave me an extra boast of energy.  Now I enjoy walking, often walking three to five miles every day.

I still have a thyroid problem that requires medication.  But at one time had high blood pressure, took medicine for diabetes.  Weight loss through excerise and smarter eating habits left me with only taking medicine for a thyroid problem.  Of course now my doctor is concerned with a low pulse rate.  

I know if there is one person who can help you and make a difference in your life, "It is you."

[GilWest]

Request an echocardiogram.  I was tachy for years and we always thought it was anxiety.  After a recent echo I may have pulmonary hypertension.  I had many of the same symptoms you have.