Doctor,
I have had PVC's all my life and no treatment was ever deemed necessary.
In 1998, I had to have a mitral valve replacement and at that time, the doctor decided to put me on Toprol to regulate the hearbeats. As Toprol also reduces blood pressure and I have low blood pressure as it is, I started having dizziness and nausea. He then put me on Digitek, which has since been recalled and I havebeen on 0.25 mg of digoxin for about 2 months. I recently started to have cramps, abnormal bowel movements and I feel very exhausted. The doctor reduced the dosage to .125 mg and on the first day I felt better until about 6PM and then the cramps started again.
My question is, is it absolutely necessary to take medication for the PVC's since I have an artificial mitral valve? I feel so exhausted with the medication and conversely, if I take it at night, I can't sleep until 3AM. Also (and this may seem trivial to you) I have been seriously trying to lose weight (I exercise 6 days a week for about 2 hours a day) and when I don't take the medication I lose about 1/2 pound per day but when I am on the medication I either don't lose anything or I gain it back
thansk in advance