Beta Blockers/CCB's/Tachycardia

[DeAnna2112]

My name is DeAnna 40yrs and i am new to this group. I feel for those with severe tachycardia..i suffer from it as well. I have been on Antenolol 50mg twice a day for almost three years and from the moment i took it...it has served me well. Problem is, i have asthma that has worsened over the past 6 months so the cardiologist switched me to a CCB called Diltiazem 240mg ER that i started this Thursday.

It was horrible..i had real bad dizzy spells that came and went, which i expected, but then intense headaches that would come on in a blink of a eye and then subsided just as fast once i laid down. I could even explain that as an adjustment to the med especially given they lower BP and i do not have high BP. But as the day went on it..it was almost like it was inducing tachycardia symptoms. Given this med works by ER it was abundantly clear the more it kept releasing the med, the worse it got as evening approached. By late evening and bedtime my lips and neck were pulsating along with my heart that was beating so fast it felt irregular with every couple of beats. I ended up having to double dose myself with Xanax to try and get through the night until i could call the cardiologist the following morning on friday. Sure enough, when i awoke friday morning i had no severe tachy symptoms as the night before just very very mild ones i tend to get when i miss a couple doses of Atenolol, which i last had Wednesday night.

The cardiologist then called in a new med called Verapamil ER 180mg yesterday after the horrible day before with the Diltiazen. Here is the thing. The Diltiazem seemed to induced tachycardia and worsened as the day went on and by evening i was in bad shape, but the Verapamil seems to be doing nothing..not making it worse but it's not controlling the tachycardia symptoms either? So here i am today trying to decide if i should just get back on my Atenolol until Monday when his office opens back up or should i give this Verapamil another try today. Problem is, the tachycardia is getting worse the longer it goes unchecked with medicine to control it and i am sure the Atenolol that has built up in my system is starting to fade given i have not taken one since wednesday and it's now Saturday. If anything my Asthma is getting worse because my heart is beating so fast and it's uncomfortable, tiring and frustrating especially if i try and do anything to keep my mind off of it.. so i keep feeling short of breath with any type of exertion. If i try and take this again today, then i won't be able to fall back on my atenolol if the symptoms get worse and this verapamil once again proves ineffective again today. I am so confused right now as to what i should do because my judgment is clouded with all these symptoms.

I am worried my tachycardia is gonna spin out of control in the process of finding the right med that is not a beta blocker. If my tachycardia is not kept in check i end up going to the hospital by ambulance it's that bad when in full swing. I had a stroke about 3 yrs ago due to a blood clot, which before the stroke is when i started experiencing tachycardia and vertigo and still have it to this day. For me, tachycardia will make you think you are dying in it's most intense form, vertigo in severe episodes, will make you wish for death...then follows the asthma attack reacting to the stress and panic of one or more of these INTENSE episodes when they occur. It's a bad combination to juggle and messing with my Atenolol is making me real uneasy right now.

Has anyone else had this problem or know why the Beta Blocker has worked so well for me for almost three years, yet i am having nothing but problems using CCB's?


Blessings and Angel Hugs to all!
DeAnna

[DeAnna2112]

Thank you jacqs23 for your kind thoughts.

Well, something is strange with this Verapamil. Has anyone experienced sleep disturbances with it. I am not sure i know how to describe it, but i kept awakening throughout the night. When i would turn over or move i would experience a tracking effect visually of my every movement i made. It got so bad at times i got up to walk it off for 10-15 minutes and it would get alittle better and then i would go back to sleep to only awaken again to it. Last night was the second night of taking this. The first night i noticed this, but it was not as bad and just shrugged it off. But then it happened again last night and it was far more frequent and intense.
Has anyone experienced anything like this with these meds?

[jacqs23]

Hi
Good luck with everything, I think I would ask for a second opinion, just to make sure and put your mind at rest. I know how you feel, its catch 22 as the more you worry the worse it gets.
Take Care

[DeAnna2112]

Thanks for your input RNRita, I will certainly let you guys know. I decided to go ahead and take another dose of the verapamil earlier and gonna see what happens and if it's anymore effective then yesterday. Feeling quite dizzy and sick to my stomach right now...hope i didn't make a mistake in doing so and not following my gut instinct...which was something isn't right about the way these meds are effecting me.

[RNRita]

I was put on verapamil as a first line many years ago.  It made everything worse for me.  I know it helps a ton of people, but I respond much better to beta blockers.  I know you shouldn't take them with asthma.  Please keep us up to date as to what your doctor tries next.  There are several other CCB out there, and if your symptoms are much different between the diltiazem and verapamil, perhaps another will work.  Good luck.

[DeAnna2112]

bbxx, yes my cardiologist is aware that i take xanax. My neurologist put me on xanax and antivert for vertigo. I only take the xanax when i need it and have bad episodes of vertigo.

Jacqs, the cardiologist did a stress test on me and a heart echo. A previous echo done on me said i had diastolic dysfunction..but when this doctor did it on me he said he saw nothing indicating that and discarded the test. The stress test i was told came back ok..but i had to stop several times during it because my heart rate was maxing out and they almost had to have me stop. I also wore a monitor for a month and it showed i was having severe episodes of sinus tachy and arrhythmias, but nothing wrong with the heart to account for it so i was told something else may be causing it...asthma or thyroid. When i had blood drawn for my thyroid repeatedly it came back normal..but scans always show several nodules..but was told that was nothing to be concerned about and the thyroid didn't seem to be the problem. So i was put on Atenolol and it seemed to control the heart rate problem for the most part until my breathing started getting worse over the last 6 months and it was decided to consider using something other then the beta block Atenolol to see if there was any improvement.

[jacqs23]

Hi

Has your doctor not done a check to see why your heart is tachycardic? I was on beta blockers from the age of 7, when I was 19 they no longer worked. My heart rate went upto 220 a minute, they found I had a pathway coming off the main valve, I had it ablated.
I suggest you ask for some tests.

[bbxx]

Hopefully someone else will have some helpful ideas. I am just curious if you checked iwth a pharmacist, not your doctor, about interactions between the medicine you are taking and xanax. Just another option to try. Be sure to tell them if you are taking any herbs or other meds.