beta blocker side effects in children

[Conny1973]

Hello,

My 4 year old son (weight 22 kgs) was diagnosed with an tachycardia about 8 months ago and has been on 2.5mgs of beta blockers a day . I have heard that they can stunt his growth- is this true? he has had an ablasion done once , which was unsuccessful - so we will try again at some point in the future - the longer I can hold off surgery , the better - but I need to know if the beta-blockers are going to have long term effects.

Thank you

Conny

[Madge270]

I don't know of any. Although I don't take beta blockers because they make me so very tired and lethargic. They also make my acid reflux worse. Hopefully your son doesn't have heartburn problems.

[Jerry_NJ]

I believe there is very little experience here with treatment of children.

You may want to try a post on:
http://www.medhelp.org/forum_disclaimers/show/340
and other forums dealing with children.

I do not have any personal knowledge with the forum link about, so I send just as something to try.

Best of luck, and I assume your doctor would not prescribe a medication for a child if it was know to stunt growth... I also believe 2.5 mg is a very low dose for adults and may be a typical dose for children, that is small more sensitive bodies.