Beta Blockers

Question

Hi all,

Question for you:  Is there a general consesus on which beta blockers tend to be better than others? 

I know this may be a silly question b/c everyone has different experiences with these drugs.

I need to lower my heart rate a bit (I have mild POTS).

I had a bad experience with metoprolol.  (even at just 12.5 mg).  It made me dizzy and lethargic and then at night I had a vivid night terror.

Could anyone recommend another one that is working for them?  I have prehypertension as well so the BB would be killing two birds with one stone (BP and HR).  

Thanks in advance for your responses!

Detours211 · Answer

Thanks all for your comments.

The doc today put me on atenolol at 25 mg to start.  We'll see how it goes.  I'll keep everyone posted.

kay2486 · Answer

beta blockers are safer to use than any other heart drug, but still have side effects like tiredness, dizziness and more serious ones if you have other heart problems, ive taken 80 mg of propanolol a day and they were fine except i felt a little bit tired towards bedtime. i had them for constant anxiety so my heart rate and bp was up all the time.

CFS56 · Answer

I have done well on bystolic.  No significant side effects except occassional dizziness when I stand up.  I felt awful on Lopressor and the atenolol didn't work after a while.

jyant · Answer

I think everyone is different, I had Tom's feelings with Atenolol, heart would be at 50 resting and I couldn't do squat. Verapamil I'm ok with, resting 70 and I can kick it up to 130's but feel a little extra winded. Haven't attempted much more than that yet.

tom_h · Answer

That heavy feeling in your chest is your heart being slow to respond to your body's demand for increased oxygen needs when you place any physical demand on it,  I've found when taking Metoprolol, that I had to work thru it, and eventually my heart came up to speed and I felt fine again.  Hope you find the one that works for you.

Detours211 · Answer

Jerry,

My highest heart rate (I believe) has been 119.  That is when I was in the doctor's office and a bit nervous.  This evening when I took it here it was 90 bpm.  
That being said, I am currently on 1 Mg of Xanax for anxiety (30 day treatment) so that has lowered my HR and BP a bit.  
Ideally I would like my Hr to be b/w 60 and 80.  

I have actually tried a Calcium Channel Blocker (Diltazem 120mg) and that one seemed to be worse for me than the Beta Blocker.  It may not be a coincidence that the times that I have problems with these drugs is at night - when my HR and BP are at their lowest - maybe the drugs are taking me too low?

Hard to say.  Will be talking with doc on Friday.

Detours211 · Answer

Tom,
You said it perfectly!  "It felt like a large rock on my chest when I tried to do any physical activities."  I tried so very hard to explain this to my doctors over the last 3 weeks since coming off metoprolol.  All I could come up with was "it wouldn't let me move or walk as fast as I wanted to and I couldn't break a sweat"  They didn't seem to get this.  But the "rock on my chest" analogy is perfect and I will use that when I see my doctor on Friday.
Thanks much.  Glad to hear you have found something that works for you.

tom_h · Answer

Addressing only Metoprolol: One of the side effects this particular beta block is bradycardia.  I was put on this med after complaining to my PCP about an elevated pulse during the night(not tachycardia).  He kept increasing the dosage until I was up to 150mg/day,  It slowed my pulse alright, but it also slowed my hearts response to needs for increased output.  It felt like a large rock on my chest when I tried to do any physical activities.  I eventually discovered I had severe sleep apnea and that was the reason for the elevated pulse.  I still take it today for my SVT but have backed off to 100mg./day in an attempt to better manage my SVT (which it seems to do).  I appear to tolerate Metoprolol very well with little to no side effects now to physical activity, or my libido.  Each type of of beta blocker comes with its own little set of side effects, and you may have to experiment to find which one is suits you best.  Metoprolol has been around for a long time, and is extremely popular.  I would expect it common to experience side effects when starting up on it, and it could take a little time to acclimate to it.

Jerry_NJ · Answer

You may have bad side effects from all Beta Blockers.  Has you doctor considered calcium channel blockers?  They work differently, but both BB and CCB lower heart rates in most people.

How far down do you have to go?  I can get 50 bpm down using a combination... i.e., from resting 130 to resting 80.