verapimil for svt

[loopy lou]

is anyone else on this for svt? if so how long did it take to take affect? my heart still races along after being on them 5 days

[sb786]

i was on verapamil for about 2 weeks before i felt them work. My resting heart rate didn't lower much even after 2 weeks but i stopped them because i hated the side effects.
When you say your heart still races do you mean in general its fast or you still get svt attacks?

[loopy lou]

in general what side affects did you get. i dont know if it has anything to do with the meds but my face feels like its puffy and hot

[loopy lou]

i still get svts , but also my resting heart rate is 120 or more which is really bugging me.

[CollegeGirl143]

is the 120 resting heart rate new since you started the meds? or have you had it all along? If its new, ide call your doctor and let him or her know..

The "hot face" is usually flushing, if it really bothers you, let your doctor know..If you arent sure if its the new meds or not, just look up a list of side effects

Im sorry you arent feeling well :(..I hope you feel better soon!

[loopy lou]

thanks.my face has felt puffy and hot the last 2 days, i started the meds on sunday. but my heart rate has always been this fast. i was hoping the verapamil would slow it a bit, or is that just wishfull thinking. i was on propranol which slowed it a bit but they took me off them to put me on these.

[CollegeGirl143]

ide call your doctor, if for nothing more than to just check in and gain a better idea of where you stand, find out if you should see a response yet, ect ect.. Not every medication works for everyone.. Keep us posted!

[sb786]

The side effects i had because of the verapamil were costipation and flushing which you are describing. why were you taken off the propanolol? i remember when i was diagnosed with the svt the docs at A&E told me that the verapamil is not as effective as the beta blockers and also it takes a long time for it to start working. Are you in England by any chance? the reason i ask is because alot of gps here are more keen to put us on calcium channel blockers rather than beta blockers.

[mmfd]

I went 5 whole years without any sustained episodes of SVT while on a low dose of Verapamil.  I am very sensitive to cardiac drugs though, and you may just need a higher dose.  The med goes to work right away but dose adjustments can take a little more time to be effective.  My only side effect was the constipation which is extemely common for that class of drugs.  It is manageable and certainly worth it if the SVT is stopped!  I do agree that you need to let your physician know about the sustained tach.  Good luck.

[Amanda2029-]

It took six weeks for the Verapamil to take effect.  Then all did was make the palpitations more noticeable.  My doctors said all medications take roughly 6 weeks to take effect.  Did you try toporal XL?

[loopy lou]

i went to see gp and he said i had a reaction to the drug. i have now been put back onto a beta blocker solotal. i think thats it. thank you all for your comments. and yes i live in england

[sb786]

did you find the solatol helps with the svt? If you don't mind me asking how often do you have svt attacks and how long do they last?

[lasso]

is there any history of congestive heart failure associated with verapamil that you know of?

[ireneo]

It's been 8 years since I tried Verapamil and then had to go off it (severe side effects). If I remember correctly there are rare instances of folks developing some CHF symptoms when taking it. But I think they disappear after going off the med. If you don't mind wading through all the information, the PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) is the best place to look.

I had the usual mild symptoms of headache, dizziness, some pain in my legs. What got to me was the chest pain that went up to my shoulders and the severe SOB. I would puff and pant just from walking across the room. I ended up in ER. However, I've been on Diltiazem (another CCB but very low dose) for the past week because of surgery I'm having tomorrow. Haven't had any trouble with it except a little woozy feeling. Even that is going away.